Large slow RAM or fast small RAM better?

Greetings.

RAM question - I was given several sticks of unneeded RAM to replace my 256 MB. There is a 1GB stick - DDR SDRAM PC2100 (133 MHz) and several 500 MB sticks. I put the 1GB in with a 500 MB stick(PC3200 (200 MHz)) to see what would happen. They seem to run ok together, although the computer freezes from time to time and I have to reboot - don't know if that's the cause, as I've been doing a bit of rearranging lately, and the freezes are too intermittent to test easily for the cause (maybe once or twice a day, no noticeable pattern in what I'm doing at the time).

Q1: Is the non-matching RAM likely to cause freezes?

Q2: Would I be better to use 2x500 MB RAM if they were both 3200, than to use the current mix (I don't as yet know what the other 500 MB sticks are)?

There's a bit of gaming done on the computer, but mostly word processing, Facebook etc, Internet surfing and working on a remote server.

Running Win XP SP2, Celeron 2.6 GHz CPU.

Thanks for any help.

Geoff

PS Here's some stuff about the mobo - don't know if it's of any use:

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 11/11/2003-RS300-SB200-6A664PR8C-00
Motherboard Name Sapphire Axion RS300

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 400 MHz
Bandwidth 3200 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type Dual DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 200 MHz
Bandwidth 3200 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type ATI A-Link
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 267 MHz
Bandwidth 267 MB/s

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Sapphire Technology Limited
Product Information http://www.sapphiretech.com/mainboard/mainboards.asp
BIOS Download http://www.sapphiretech.com/downloads/downloads.asp

 

I can't make an absolute statement but I suspect the RAM mix you've installed is causing freezes. I've never heard of mixing such PC2100 with PC3200 before; I believe that won't work with most motherboards. So, you're teetering on the edge there.

You said you have several 500 MB sticks (by the way, that would be 512MB, not 500MB), but you did not clearly say how many sticks of PC3200 you have. If you post back with more detailed info, I think you can get more definitive replies to your basic question.

 

Thankyou very much usafveteran and plodr for your replies.

Actually, the computer was originally supplied (2nd hand) with 1x256MB PC2700 (333MHz) and 1x256MB PC2100 (266MHz), which is why I thought it must be OK to mix these things (btw, no freezing with that setup). Still learning this game! The slower one 'died' (although I could get it to boot after going through blue screens for 20 minutes).

The (good) sticks I now have are ... Labels say:

NCP NC8252 DDR512MB PC3200

NCP NC8100 DDR512MB PC3200

The one in the computer has module name, according to Everest: GC7CD905 and is 512MB, memory speed PC3200 (200MHz).
Label says: Legend 512MB DDR400 L6464D37--BU1HDC9C.

The 1024MB PC2100 has Module name - Kingston K serial number - 6E3EEAF7h (from Everest). Label says: Kingston KVR KVR266X72C25/1G 2.5V

In 256MB, I have my old: elixir M2U25664DS88AOG-6 256MB DDR-333MHz-CL2.5 PC2700U-25330

and also given to me:

Infineon HYS64D32000GU-7-A 32MX64 SDRAM A3E22601 PC2100U-20330-B1 256MB, DDR, 133MHz, CL2


Is the best option the first two NCP sticks - same brand (total 1024MB PC3200). Is that better than mixing the 1024MB PC2100 with the Infineon 256 MB PC2100 (total 1280MB, but slower)?

Are you saying it is best to match the 'supported RAM speed' (you called it the 'correct speed', plodr)? What happens if you don't (just curious)?

Thanks again.

Geoff

 

Well, mixing PC2100 and PC2700 is one thing and mixing PC2100 and PC3200 is another thing. As I said, I believe that won't work with most motherboards. The difference between PC2100 and PC3200 is greater than most motherboards are designed to recognize.

Do you have any solid references on what memory your motherboard is designed to work with? What make and model is your motherboard? The Everest report should tell you. Go to kingston.com or crucial.com and use their memory selector tools to see what your system uses. You could also visit the website of your computer or motherboard manufacturer and search for this info.

 

Hi usafveteran. You must either be staying up all night or holidaying in Australia (assuming you are of USA origin, as suggested by your name). Nice not to have to wait till the next day for a reply though http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

I have posted mobo info from Everest in my first post in this thread, and plodr posted a bit of info as well (just before my previous post). Will that do?

I see plodr says that the mobo is designed for 3200 whatevers and in the Memory Bus properties (from Everest), it says Bandwidth 3200 MB/s - don't know if that's the same thing.

Additional thanks.

Geoff

 

As stated:

 

Hi again.
The Kingston site only lists a few Sapphire items - nothing like mine, as far as I can tell. It said the item dosn't exist on their data base.

No joy at the Crucial site either. I couldn't find anything useful under Sapphire. I ran their detection software and came up with the following:

Your Crucial System Scanner Results
Scan Id: 919EACF331D926C3


Our System Scanner couldn't make a complete match, but we can still help you find the right memory upgrade

The following is a list of what our scan was able to detect:

System Manufacturer: RS300_
System Model: AWRDACPI
Motherboard Manufacturer: N.A.
Motherboard Model: RS300-SB200

Your Computer Specifications

512 MB DDR PC3200 1024 MB EMPTY EMPTY
Maximum Memory Capacity: 2097152 MB
Currently Installed Memory: 1536 MB
Available Memory Slots: 2
Number of Banks: 4
Dual Channel Support: N.A.
CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU Family: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.60GHz Model 2, Stepping 9
CPU Speed: 2593 MHz

Not much help, I think.

Geoff

 

Seems like you have a rare motherboard. Have you tried what plodr suggested?

 

Hi again.

I think the thrust of your question is just sinking in. I guess you are saying that MBs are designed for a particular type/size/speed(?) of memory. If that is so, I wasn't aware of it. Hence my off-centre replies. Sorry.
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/redface.gif

I don't know that this revelation will help, however, as I have not been able to find the MB on the manufacturer's site. The MB was a 2nd hand replacement in the computer, so there wouldn't be much point looking up the computer mfr's site - I can't anyway, it has no ID on it.

The best I have managed is this site, which has a review and pics: http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h549.htm
It says: it supports 400/533/800MHz FSB models with up to 4GB of PC3200 memory in dual-channel mode. Don't know if this helps.

Thanks again.

Geoff

 

Oops. Just saw your reply, after posting my last one.


Have you tried what plodr suggested?
Do you mean, have I tried 1G@PC3200? I haven't tried that yet, as I'm wondering which is the better combination - performance-wise (there is the other option I mentioned below of putting 1024MB with 256MB, both at PC2100, which gives more RAM, but slower). I wouldn't be able to easily tell if it fixed the freezing problem, as it's intermittent. I have been on for 4 hours today without it happening.

Also, should I check the speeds of the various sticks - there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation between the PC figures and the speeds in MHz. There is a Legend 500MB PC3200 listed as 200MHz in Everest (the one in the computer now), while my old PC2700 elixir is labelled as 333MHz.

 

That's great. Thanks plodr. I remember Mimsy - I like her Modesty Blaise avatar (not that a pile of hamburgers isn't equally impressive http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif).

You said in an earlier post that my MB had "two DDR channels". I thought that meant 2 slots. Anyway, that's what it has - 2 slots only.

Thanks again.

Geoff

 

Thanks plodr! The only time I go to the software forum is when I have problems, so I would never have seen this thread if you hadn't told me about it.

Wow, lots of questions here... let's see what we can figure out.

First off, you can mix speeds of RAM just fine. If you put in a PC2100 and a PC3200 they will both run at PC2100. That can cause problems if your mother board was designed for PC2700 or faster, since installing slower RAM than spec leads to issues--the rest of your entire system would have to clock down to match which it often refuses to do, and as a result your RAM can't keep up with your CPU. Crashing happens, and bluescreens galore. It is an ugly thing to behold.

Mixing PC1200 with PC3200 can cause problems, most likely because the PC3200 doesn't like under-clocking that much. Just like over-clocking, it can only go so far and still remain stable.

I googled your motherboard and found some specs suggesting you can run DDR PC-3200 just fine, and it also revealed your motherboard maxes out at 2GB, and has four memory slots. That means 512MB is the maximum per slot, and that in turn means the most likely cause of the freezing was that you had a 1GB module installed, not that you were mixing speeds. (Or of course the 1GB module might be flaky.) Makes sense?

By the way, an easy way to prove me wrong on that is to install the 1GB stick by itself. If that works, then I am wrong, and the board can handle 1GB modules.

Now, you say that when you had a PC2100 and a PC2700 installed together, you had no freezing problems, and that means the motherboard is fine with PC2100 memory. Since that's the case, here is my suggestion: Install all your 512MB memory sticks. If you have any empty slots left over after that, and unless I misread your earlier post, you should now have one empty slot, stick a 256MB module in there. You probably won't get dual channel mode but you will get a total of 1.768GB of RAM, a considerable upgrade from 256MB. Don't worry about mixing brands. Regardless of what Apple, HP, Dell, or others might try to tell you, there is no such thing as "brand-specific" memory.

EDIT:
And now I saw your post saying you have only two slots. In that case, start by testing the 1GB stick by itself. If that works, add a 512MB or 256MB that is as close in speed as possible, so it won't have to under-clock as far. If it doesn't work, install the two 512MBs that are of the same brand, to get as close to a matched pair as possible, for better performance.

 

Let me edit my previous post... you posted while I typed it.

EDIT:
Done.

 

Thanks Mimsy. Excellent information. And hello again (won't be surprised if you don't remember).

All my 512MBs are PC3200. I have a 256MB PC2100 which would match the 1GB, and would give me 1280MB @ 2100, but would that be better than 2x512MB @ 3200?

Thanks

Geoff

 

That depends a little on whether the two 512MB run in dual channel or not. If they will, use the 2x512MB, if not, go for the larger amount of megabytes.

And I'm sorry to say that I don't remember... I am very bad with names. :-o

 

Join the club on names - but, as you see, I remember Modesty (and hence Mimsy) - it brings back memories - I used to read that comic strip in the newspaper. I especially remember one time she was tied hand to hand with some big oaf and they both had a knife in the other hand with which to try to kill the other. Instead of trying to resist, which Modesty knew would be futile, she leapt forwards and sideways, using the pull she knew would come from the big bloke. It worked (surprise, surprise) - she got a cut on the arm but she was able to deliver a fatal blow to her adversary. It was all over in a moment. Willie was impressed.

Meanwhile - to less important matters. I'm not sure what dual channel means. Is that what you find in the new Intel chips - dual core? I've just got a Celeron 2.6GHz CPU. If that's not what it means, how might I find out please?

Thanks

Geoff

 

Dual channel means the computer uses the two modules at the same time, instead just first one until it actually needs megabytes in the other. Very oversimplified, it's the difference between a 2-lane highway and a 4-lane one. The same amount of cars pass a lot faster and traffic runs a lot smoother in the one with double the lanes. For the dual channel ability in a motherboard to be activated the two memory modules need to be identical twins.

And Willie shouldn't have been impressed. Any thai boxer knows that victory goes to the aggressor.

 

Thanks for that. So are you able to tell me how to find out what my computer does?

Willie was impressed by everything Modesty did.

 

It should be in your BIOS, if you don't have a manual for the motherboard/computer. Look for "memory channel mode" or something that looks similar.

 

Hi again.

I couldn't find anything in the BIOS, and I checked on the Net to see if I could get any clues as to what I should look for (trying to 'mimsymise' use of your time), but I didn't find much. I then went to the Everest report I had done and found this:

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type Dual DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 200 MHz
Bandwidth 3200 MB/s

Does that mean Dual Channel, or does it just mean there are two slots?

 

Off the top of my head, I'd say it means dual channel. I have never seen it say single on any dual channel systems I have run it on, regardless of what memory was installed at the time.

Back to your original topic though... whatever you end up installing is going to be a huge upgrade from 256MB. It's just a matter of how much bigger you want it to be.

 

Thanks Mimsy.

Might as well go for the best amongst what I have here. I guess I'll go for the 2x512MB PC3200, as it looks like that might be best. Nice to learn a bit about these machines as well - thanks.

One last question (maybe) - Is there any advantage in running speeds closer to what the MB seems to be designed for (which seems to be 3200)? I think one of the other MGs was alluding to that, and I think I read something like it elsewhere.

 

Yes.

Oh, you wanted details? Eh. :-D Simply put, whatever the board was designed for is what it likes to run at. By matching that speed with memory and other components, you create optimal computing conditions and speeds. Don't get me wrong, it will still run at these other speeds, and depending on your goals and ambitions for your computer, the difference might not be big enough to matter. But if you can get the best, at no extra cost or effort, why not?

 

Thanks - and thanks for the details (always good to learn). We need an icon for bowing in homage to those such as you of great wisdom. Pehaps this will do (although I have noticed that my smilies don't seem to be working) http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/wave.gif
Thanks again for all your help.
Geoff

 

Thanks very much for the info, but I think you might have posted in the wrong place. http://forums.majorgeeks.com/images/smilies/smile.gif