Is this RAM compatible with my motherboard?

Hello,
I am looking for a RAM upgrade from my 2x2gb DDR2 800Mhz RAM modules and I was hoping someone could give me some advice as to what is my best option that is compatible with my current system. I have read around and can't figure out if 1066Mhz and 1333Mhz RAM is even compatible with my current motherboard. Thanks in advance for the help!
Any specific brands, items that you would recommend?

Computer Type ACPI x64-based PC
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Service Pack -
Internet Explorer 8.0.7600.16385 (IE 8.0 - Windows 7)
DirectX DirectX 11.0
Date / Time 2011-07-19 / 17:51

Motherboard
CPU Type QuadCore Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300, 2500 MHz (7.5 x 333)
Motherboard Name Foxconn G33 Series
Motherboard Chipset Intel Bearlake G33
System Memory 4096 MB
DIMM1: Samsung M3 78T5663QZ3-CF7 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)
DIMM3: Samsung M3 78T5663QZ3-CF7 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (6-6-6-18 @ 400 MHz) (5-5-5-15 @ 333 MHz) (4-4-4-12 @ 266 MHz)
BIOS Type Award (09/25/08)

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM v1.1) (1024 MB)
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM v1.1) (1024 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
Monitor ViewSonic VX2835wm [28" LCD] (QFG074100760)

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 178.8 GB (2.1 GB free)
M: (NTFS) 465.8 GB (14.1 GB free)
S: (NTFS) 586.4 GB (276.8 GB free)
Total Size 1231.0 GB (293.1 GB free)

DMI
DMI BIOS Vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
DMI BIOS Version 841P091G
DMI System Manufacturer Gateway
DMI System Product DX4710-07
DMI System Version OEM
DMI System Serial Number PTG320X002907032CD2700
DMI System UUID 00226848-42E72009-02102046-10000000
DMI Motherboard Manufacturer Gateway
DMI Motherboard Product G33M05G1
DMI Motherboard Version MP
DMI Motherboard Serial Number U003090300201
DMI Chassis Manufacturer Gateway
DMI Chassis Version OEM
DMI Chassis Serial Number 50424E
DMI Chassis Asset Tag 123456789000
DMI Chassis Type Desktop Case
DMI Total / Free Memory Sockets 4 / 2

 

This Crucial UK page might prove useful.

EDIT: Welcome to Majorgeeks

 

On offence but why the RAM? It will make hardly any "visibly" noticeable difference!

Anyway from your info we can see that you have the "Motherboard Name Foxconn G33 Series" which we can find here:
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/produ...us0000111&Socket=Socket+775&Chipset=Intel+G33
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000327
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_spec.aspx?ID=en-us0000319

Apart from that follow the link Satrow has provided.

I will provided one tip if "C:" is your primary (has OS etc) clear some space on it and make sure there is at least 15% free space and do a defrag. If it is your primary this is where a lot of work from applications will be undertaken (transcoding video for example) and with only 2.1GB of "free space" it would have to keep stopping the process, swapping data over and then starting the process up again, no amount of RAM could fix that.

Aim for 15% free space on any primary HDD (windows defrag won't work without that much).

 

I didn't check the full post but yes, more free space is needed, especially on the System drive; I'd have to aim for 25-33% free space to regain drive speed (15% free space is what I've seen bandied about as the point at which SSD's begin to slow).

 

Thank you both of you for the quick replies! I am working on clearing Hard Drive space up.

On the motherboard page that Bold Eagle posted, it says the following:

1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz (FSB)
Dual Channel DDR2 800 / 667 x 4 DIMMs, Max 8GB

Does that mean a 1333MHz DDR2 would be supported? Any major advantages in that? Also is DDR3 backwards compatible with DDR2? At this point there is no price difference that I've noticed so should I buy DDR3 memory?

 

Maybe you should give us some info about how you use the computer, which programs, games you run, whether you run VM's, etc. How often you shutdown or reboot, it would give us all a better overview and allow us to work out what would be your best options in upgrading.

 

I don't have any RAM hogs like desktop widgets or ad don programs but I notice myself running at 3.6GB+ RAM usage when I have many Firefox/Chrome tabs open (running Flash plugin) as well as Audio and Video editing software such as Sony Vegas, Adobe After Effects, Audacity, etc...

I'm also interested in a slight increase in performance when I play RIFT (standard requirements: 4gb RAM)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rift_(video_game)#Development)
I am forced to play at medium settings at 1440 x 900 resolution instead of 1920 x 1200 in order to stay at around 30 fps.

I figured upgrading my RAM would be the cheapest solution to both of these issues. Once again, I have little clue as to what is compatible with my motherboard. After looking at the sites that you linked, I still don't know weather or not my Foxconn G33 motherboard is compatible with DDR3 memory and whether that would be a good choice. I don't know if replacing the video card could serve as a significant improvement or not.

Thank you all for looking and posting here, it's great to have finally found such a helpful community!

 

DDR3 is not compatable with your board.

RAM has a small notch cut in the bottom to stop you putting the worng type in. The notch is in a different position on DDR3 to DDR2 so you can not physically put DDR3 in.

As far as getting 1333MHz RAM goes (and I havent checked, I am going by you previous post that says your board supports up to 800MHz) you wont notice a difference. Your memory bus will only run at 800MHz so if you put in some that runs at 1333MHz your system would just "underclock" it and run it at 800MHz anyway.

 

Thank you for clearing that up for me. In this case, could I buy:
Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5C 4GB XMS2 PC2-6400 800Mhz 240-Pin Dual Channel DDR2 Desktop Memory
or would that cause problems since my other two cards that are already in there are a different brand: Samsung M3 78T5663QZ3-CF7 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM?

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-TWIN2X4096-6400C5C-PC2-6400-240-Pin-Channel/dp/B0027P9C9G/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1311212878&sr=1-7

 

An important factor is being overlooked here and that is your CPU. Your CPU is running at 7.5(Multiplier)X333MHz(FSB). Your RAM will scale to the FSB and will only be able to receive, process and return DATA at that speed (333MHz). Therefore I will assume your RAM is currently running at 666MHz. In EVEREST if you expand the Motherboard options and select SPD you can note the current speed your RAM is running at. Making the RAM run at a faster speed will do nothing as the DATA has to come from and goto the CPU.

I would be cleaning up the HDD's firstly and defragging/decrappifying them and assess if any improvements.