[torifile]

I've got 2 RAM slots, both with 256 megs. Should I buy 1 one gig chip and leave the 256 in there or should I get 2 512 sticks? 1.25 gigs vs. 1 gig but the 1 gig is paired. Any thoughts? How hard is it to upgrade the RAM in a 1.66 core duo mini? TIA.

[Schnauzer]

I would personally go with the two 512 sticks, for dual channel configuration.

Google found this

It's preferable to have paired RAM in the Mac Mini and MacBook, because having a pair of identical modules allows the motherboard chipset to run in dual-channel mode. This is particularly useful for these particular models because the video circuitry steals a substantial hunk of memory bandwidth. There's a measurable performance loss when running with different-sized modules.

[MCQ]

Memory's pretty cheap right now, I'd say get two 1GB sticks (maybe $60 total).

[chucker]

I second what MCQ said. Memory isn't that expensive.

[Koodari]

http://www.barefeats.com/mincd.html

There you go. Unless you play games, which the mini is basically incapable of anyway, the difference is minimal. And remember these are single app benchmarks, the larger memory will show better performance while switching between apps. Of your two choices I would pick 1GB + 256MB for general work.

But as long as you're opening the mini anyway, why bother to put in any less than 2x1GB... what I'd really do is either this or stick with the old memory.

[torifile]

I had no idea ram was so cheap these days. 2x1gig chips it is.