Upgrading RAM (frequency compatibility)

Hello there!

I have some holes in knowledge I'm looking to fill. I have a hp510 with 512 ddr2-533 Mb of RAM. I've found in the manual that my model can take up to 1Gb of Ram since it has only one memory slot.

I wasn't able to find if there is a limitation due to frequency. The current memory module runs on 533mhz, i plan on removing that module and putting a new one sized 1Gb. Can the new one have a frequency, for example, 1066mhz (also ddr2)?

tnx

 

Run the application from crucial.com, it'll tell you best what speed you can run at. If your motherboard supports 1066, then that's fine but if it's only 533 then your 1066 will run at that reduced speed, either way it's a good upgrade option for you. One of the last XP machines. What do you use it for that makes you think you need extra memory?

 

Thanks for the advice, a i'll do that first thing tomorrow.

I've tried to figure the slot maximum frequency using Sandra and Speccy, but it seemed that they only show the frequency of the currently installed memory module. (correct me if I'm wrong with the parameter name I should look for)

The reason i want to upgrade the ram is constant lags i've noticed to show in the last year or so. They manifest themselves through long waiting times when opening folders or browser.

At first I suspected it was, malware, so I've done a clean install just to be sure, but the problems continued.
Then i thought it could be a hardware problem so i monitored the working temperatures and SMART attributes of the hard disk. The temperatures were fine and the SMART parameters where only a few points below ideal.

I've also compared the read/write speed of my hard disk with the results of the same hard disks on newer laptops and the difference was about 10%, which i find ok for a 5 year old laptop.

I haven't determined the number of bad sectors yet so if there is an advice for that, please recommend a program.

So then i started to observe the memory usage with processexplorer and noticed that physical RAM usage is constantly on 340 when idle, and jumps to 490 when i open a browser. So i based my diagnose on tha lags on that.

It seems that even if you don't use your computer for gaming, just regularly updating the apps you use result in a drastic increase of RAM.

 

I was trying to determine what changed between when it worked well and when it started lagging. You've certainly done what was needed diagnostically,even the re-install. Have you added new apps between then and now?

Since you say it's a laptop then most likely your video card appropriates a certain amount of memory for itself. What happens when your RAM goes to 490 then the swapfile is used to cache and retrieve elements from your hard drive which is way slower than RAM, therefore the lag.

As to why, nothing really jumps out at me, hmm before you started reloading your apps after the re-format did you try and open folders etc. on the clean machine, before updates and all? At any rate DDR2 SODIMM RAM is cheap enough these days that it's not worth it to drill down to the exact cause. Here's newegg's page on DDR2. Good luck!

Oh, does your hard drive work very hard when the lag happens? You could be right on the drive.

 

I've run another disk check with "dskchk" and it also showed no errors, however the noise the disk is making is suspicious. It chews to much for a disk without errors.

I've also noticed a drastic temperature rise that occurs while browsing through facebook images. The cpu temperature rasies by 20°. Just for a comparison, it works below 60° on the bed, or other work.

When the temperature rises the lags are noticeable a lot and the cooler runs like wild (ok, thats normal ). I'm going to try to diagnose the problem with process explorer after I get thorough the tutorial.

Any other ideas on diagnosing the cpu frenzy?

tnx

 

This used to be my train of thought as well and I ran the Crucial checker on a laptop that had 256MB DDRII 533MHZ 200pin (256MB shared with video....192MB for system was crippling it) .......it spat out 2x1GB 667MHz DDRII as advice.....bought the kit and it would not play. I can only assume the system would not downclock the RAM and or did not like the RAM as it just kept cycling. Good tool but should be treated as a guide.

 

The BIOS level can make a huge difference to the hardware that can be used, did you check it had the latest BIOS?

OEM's blocked or enabled access to a lot of features this way (maybe they still do). A maker can produce 3 ranges of laptop from the same hardware (eg. Inspiron, Latitude, Precision), it's the BIOS that differentiates them and dictates what hardware can be used.

 

Although there is no foolproof method of guaranteeing a specific brand/model/speed of RAM will work with a given PC or motherboard, here are a few tips from my experience that may help:

* Look up the system specs for your make/model online. You should be able to find out:

* The max. memory speed your board is designed to support, and

* A Qualified Vendor List (QVL) of makes/models of RAM that have been tested by the board manufacturer to work in your system.​

This being said, it's often hard (if not impossible) to find the exact memory models on the QVL, especially for older boards/PCs. If this is the case:

* Do not buy RAM with a higher speed than the mfr. specs state your board will support. I have run into many boards/PCs that have problems downclocking (reducing) RAM speed to the supported level.

* DO stick with a brand that is listed on the QVL if possible, even if it is a different model #. If you cannot find that brand, my experience has been that Crucial, Kingston and A-Data seem to be the best choices when you have to use the SWAG (Scientific Wild A:*** Guess) method of choosing a brand.

* Buy basic, no frills memory. My experience has been that "gaming" memory (the ones with the pimped-out heat sinks attached) is less likely to work well in a Plain Jane PC such as yours.​

Finally, buy the RAM from a retailer with a decent return policy (preferably no restocking fee) just in case it doesn't work well on your system.

Hope these tips help.

 

Didn't want to have to hunt BIOS etc just wanted what seemed to be the obvious fix. Got another kit today at the correct speed of current 256MB module, and hopefully that will do the job.

Good advice gman863 but even the QVL cannot cover potentially poor mass produced products, I have had issues with two sets of Corsairs on different builds although they were on the QVL......my confidence in Corsair RAM has diminished.

 

Agreed. Based on recent experiences, both Corsair and Patriot are off my personal qualified vendor list.

 

Update:

As previously stated the Crucial Memory advisor is a good tool but in the case of the Laptop I fixed last week it was completely wrong and made me waste 3 hours in returning and swapping the RAM for the "correct" product, almost being billed "restocking fees" for a free job.

The laptop was a Toshiba Satellite A100 (PSAA2A-05301N) which was very difficult to hunt down technical specifications for. Crucial advised the following product would suit, 2GB kit (1GBx2), 200-pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300 (667MHz):
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Satellite A100 (PSAA2A-05301N)&Cat=RAM

As stated with this kit in the laptop just kept "cycling" and would not get past POST, finding other A100 had 533MHz RAM and doing "dxdiag" also noting 533MHz 256MB was in that system I swapped the RAM for a product of a matching speed and it booted straight away.

- Find the technical specifications of the PC,
- Use Crucial as a "coarse" guide only and if it advises different speeds than technical specs ignore the advice.