DDR memory for Asrock k7s41gx

Hi I have Asrock k7s41gx motherboard , Barton 2800+ and 512mb ddr ram, I think kingmax I want to increase the memory size. The present memory has 8-4-4-4- CL 2.5. Can I buy any kind of DDR memory or do I must use just the one with CL 2.5 ? I saw there are ddr memories like 6-4-4-4 or other variation! So the other stats are automatically modified by the MB or must to be of some special kind also? I think I will buy pc3200 400 mhz although my bus size is now just 333mhz. It is almost the only remaining DDR memory.

If you want to continue running CL2.5 you will need more CL2.5 memory, otherwise if you get some slower CL3 stuff all sticks will run at CL3, same goes for the rest of the timings. I doubt you would notice any difference, though.

I see that your board can use a maximum of 1GB in each slot, in this case I would recommend staying away from 1GB sticks as compatibility at that size of stick was often not very good. You may well get away with using premium (i.e. expensive) sticks which are low density and properly set up (16 chips, 8 in each bank) but you should be OK with any 512MB stick you can find.

Also, as a word of caution, the newer sticks with a CAS latency of more than 3 are DDR2 or DDR3, these are completely different and won't even fit the slots on your board. Avoid! You may well find it difficult to track down new DDR these days, personally I buy second hand..