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Question about RAM

Started by Crispy May 9, 2004 at 7:04 PM 5 replies 1.1k views

Original Post

170

May 9, 2004 at 7:04 PM

I''m pretty dense about this stuff - I know it holds data and I know how to do magical stuff with it using CPU instructions, but when it comes to purchasing a RAM stick, I''m left asking others for advice. The situation is this: I have a stick of PC-2100, 256 MB, unknown manufacturer in my computer currently. I want to buy more RAM. I haven''t landed on whether it''ll be 512 MB or a GB, but it''s definitely going to be faster (I''m thinking at least PC-3200, 400 MHz or faster). A few questions now: 1) I have an older-kind-of motherboard - can there be compatibility issues related to this or will it simply suck down the memory clock speed? 2) Will two different sticks, both of make and speed, of memory from two different manufacturers create a conflict? If so, how can I know in advance? That is - what do I have to do to be able to keep both of them in use, if at all possible? 3) Can there be any conflicts related to channel duality/stuff like that if my motherboard doesn''t support it, or will it work regardless? 4) Is PC-4000 worth the extra buck compared to PC-3200 given that my motherboard currently won''t allow me to fully utilize it anyway? 5) Which company should I keep in mind? Kingston? Viking? Something else?

Graylien

May 9, 2004 at 7:19 PM

The first thing you have to do is find out exactly what type of RAM your motherboard supports. If you buy incompatible RAM it will not work, period.

Most people will tell you not to mix multiple brands/manufacturers of RAM, but in my experience this isn''t a huge issue. There''s no real way to know in advance if one brand of RAM will conflict with another, and furthermore the results will vary from system to system.

If your motherboard doesn''t support PC-4000 RAM then forget about it, because it doesn''t support it. While you may be able to tweak your BIOS and/or motherboard jumpers, you would essentially have to hack the motherboard to get it to work. So no, the extra buck is definitely not worth it!

Kingston RAM has a good reputation. I often recommend that people check out Crucial''s website. They offer good prices and provide a wealth of information that would answer most (if not all) of your questions.

Zanthos

May 9, 2004 at 7:21 PM

1) It''ll just go as fast as it can, my board can only accomodate DDR266, so I only installed DDR266.
2) I have two sticks by different makes(both DDR266 though), not had any problems so far *touch wood*. Although there may be the odd case where somebody has had two sticks of ram that faught a war and one of them lost, these will usually be well discussed in overclocker forums.(they''re usually the people hardcore enough to mix RAM brands

)
3) *shrug* I didn''t know there was such a problem, I do know to check for ECC, Registered ECC or non-ECC memory. Not a clue in the world what that means, but your motherboard docs will say what stuff you can and can''t use.
4) You''re paying for the speed at which the memory runs, plus a bit of technological advancement inflation, so I wouldn''t say so, unless you''re planning on replacing the 3200 stick.
5) I''ve got a Corsair stick and a Kingston stick both at 256MB, the former was the cheapest at the time I needed a quick fix

"You are in a room. You can see a cow."
">look at cow"
"It is a cow."
.:Cubicle2:.

Crispy

Author

170

Crispy

May 10, 2004 at 4:24 AM

All right - thanks for the replies, guys! It''s probably going to go like this: I check out my motherboard make and manufacturer, go to the store, ask the clerk which memory would work, buy it, come home, try out if it works with my current memory stick (which it most likely won''t), take out the old stick and option it, and use the new stick.

TMAN

May 10, 2004 at 4:52 AM

my favorite place should prove helpful (and cheaper).

[edited by - tman on May 10, 2004 5:52:36 AM]

ZadrraS

May 10, 2004 at 5:00 AM

What CPU have you got? Don''t buy ram faster than your cpus fsb, unless your going to oc the cpu. Try to go for the lowest timings possible too.

drewslater

May 10, 2004 at 5:35 PM

Buy from newegg. Best prices and service of any online store IMO. Last two times I've bought ram newegg has been considerably less expensive than crucial. Items usually ship within 24 hours from newegg.

It's been my experience that as long as you buy the correct size module (e.g 184pin vs. 200pin) the speed doesn't matter as far as compatability is concerned. If you buy memory which is rated at a higher speed than your motherboard supports it will operate at the highest speed supported by the mb. On the other hand, if your motherboard supports PC3200 but you have a PC2700 module, the motherboard will simply run it as PC2700.

Also make sure your motherboard supports ECC/non ECC or Buffered/Unbuffered modules. This info should be available in your motherboard documentation. Crucial has a pretty good little tool for telling you what type of memory your motherboard will accept.

ATS

edit: fix links

[edited by - drewslater on May 10, 2004 6:36:24 PM]

[edited by - drewslater on May 10, 2004 6:37:39 PM]

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