Optimal RAM

Hello All,

I have read quite a bit about RAM. However, I am still confused and uncertain as to the formulas for selected the best RAM for my system. I have used Manufacturers download tools to see their suggestions but they are all different. I have also checked the OEM Motherboard doc's, but its an old system and there are new technologies. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I would love to learn and understand how it is done. Here is what I am working with...
DIMM # 1

E-Macheine T2742
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz
Rated Bus speed 533.6 MHz
Memory type DDR
Size 512 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz)
Number of banks 1
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Registered no
Buffered no
Nominal Voltage 2.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 2.0-2-2-6-n.a. @ 133 MHz
JEDEC #2 2.5-3-3-7-n.a. @ 166 MHz
JEDEC #3 3.0-3-3-8-n.a. @ 200 MHz

DIMM # 2
Memory type DDR
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz)
No. of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Registered no
Buffered no
Nominal Voltage 2.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 2.5-3-3-7-n.a. @ 166 MHz
JEDEC #2 3.0-3-3-8-n.a. @ 200 MHz

 

Greetings, CinciPC.

Crucial.com is showing that the maximum for your machine is 1gb of DDR PC2700, which is strange because the specs you provided show 1.5gb.

I'm curious - if you open your Control Panel > System Properties page, how much memory is Windows displaying?

 

What did you find as the board for that machine, Caliban? The one I get is this: (and now i see the notation about the 1GB but i'll post it anyway since the OP doesn't seem to have RAM upgrade options with this system)

eMachines Motherboard (System Board SEABREEZE T3 w/ AGP) - MBEM101220SB
# emory Two 184-pin DDR SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) sockets
# Support for single-sided or double-sided DIMMs (DDR333/266)
# Support for up to 2 Gigabytes (GB) system memory
Note: This motherboard is designed to support DIMMs based on 512-Mbit technology for a maximum capacity of 2 GB but this technology has not been validated (current validation up to 1.0 GB) on this board.


CinciPC, when you go to the lookup that Caliban suggested, do you see more than 1GB of RAM? I'm curious if the computer is reading it considering what the spec says. It doesn't look like you can upgrade the RAM for that computer.

 

I just plugged in the specs at Crucial, but I see the same at eMachines Support (another anomaly there: Crucial says PC2700, yet eMachines says PC2100).

I also keep seeing that word 'validation' - I wonder if the board can in fact support two double-sided RAM modules (for a total of 2gb), but the upper limit of stability maxes at 1gb. Interesting.

CinciPC, I can understand your confusion about upgrading your memory. If indeed you do have 1.5gb of RAM loaded, are you experiencing any issues with the machine?

 

Hey Caliban & Handygal,

Thank you both for the response. The PC is running great and windows does recognize the total memory. I know you are not supposed to fix what is not broken but I am using this old E-Machine T2742 to learn on. I have replace the Power Supply, Upgraded the CPU to a Pentium 4 HT 3.06 Ghz (which by the way E-Machine said was not possible due to the Bios version). That too is recognized by the system and working great, showing vast improvement over the Celeron. I guess the root of my post is "is there a formula for figuring the maximum RAM speed your system can handle. I am not interested at this point at overclocking but would like the max upgrades with stability.