RAM Help?!?1

Ok im planning on buying another 256MB of RAM. So Im wondering if there a specific kind I must buy or what not? Whats a good type to get? Where at?

Specs<

< CPU AMD|3000/400 Athlon XP Barton >
< MB nForce2 Ultra AN7 Abit Ret >
< "All In Wonder" Radeon 9800PRO 128M 8X Video Card >

Thanks

 

This should help:
http://www2.abit.com.tw/test_report/AN7/02.php

You don't always install only manufacturer suggested make/model RAMs but it is definitely a wise way for those who don't have much knowledge on RAMs.

Good Luck.

PS, if you get prompted to install any language packs just click on CANCEL, you don't have to.

 

is DDR533 speed the best?

 

What is your current stick of ram? You should use ddr400/pc3200 for that setup. But if you plan on running in dual channel mode you would need a matched pair.

Rick

 

Currently Im useing a Infinion 256MB stick X 1

I dont know much about RAM so what do you think i should get?

Im looking to atleast have 2 X 256MB atleast. What you think?

 

I would try and find out what seed ram you have pc2700,pc3200

pc 2100= 266 fsb
pc 2700= 333 fsb
pc 3200= 400 fsb
Your cpu and mobo can run at 400fsb so I would get pc3200. It don't hurt to run two different speeds so say for instance if you have pc2700 and add pc3200 its ok but the pc3200 will then run at 2700 speed and you are not taking full advantage of your system. If you download pc wizard 2004 located here http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads9.html it will tell you what kind of ram you have.

Rick

 

Ya its a PC2300 (142 MHz). I think Ill prolly buy 2 new sticks w/ the 400fsb. What you think?

 

I found this one ill buy 2 of these.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-223-009&depa=0

take a look?

 

Yes you need new ram to take full advantage of your system. If you want 512mb of ram You could get two 256mb DDR PC3200 matched pair, this would allow you to run in dual channel mode witch increases perfomance but costs more.

You could also buy one 512mb DDR PC3200 for less money and save ram slots for more ram later on.

Rick

 

How about these its the same ram specs but a dual channel kit

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-145-480&DEPA=1

 

yes i like it.

 

Im wondering which would be better the one I showed you or the one you picked out becuase if their the same.... the one I had is bout 10$ cheaper.?

 

The one I showed you is a dual channel kit if you don't plan on using dual channel then save the 10 bucks

 

Can you explain to me what a duel channel kit is?

 

Lets say you have a car that can hold 4 people but you've got 8 people to transport across town. What do you do? Well you could take one load of people across town, and then go back and get another load of people (a standard memory system) or if money was no object you could simply buy another car and have the other half of the people follow you across town in the other car (a Dual channel memory bus). With dual channel technology you use two memory modules at once to further enhance performance. This essentially doubles the number of signals a second you can handle and doubles your bandwidth (volume of information that can be transferred at once). Point Blank: Dual channel technology increases memory performance but it costs more money because you have to buy memory modules in pairs. Dual channel technology also costs more because the motherboard has to support it in the chipset and a chipset that supports dual channel technology costs more due to the higher complexity of the memory bus. Higher motherboard cost + higher memory cost = higher overall system cost.

Your mother board does support dual channel so you are half way there. You would have to read your manual but I think there is a setting in bios to turn dual channel on or off. The manual will also explain what Dimm slots you need to install the ram in for dual channel.

Rick

 

alrite im gunna look for dimmsomthin about slot in my bios

 

well I couldnt find anything so should I still get that?

 

Basically im saying since I cant find it should i not get the duel kit and just go with the ones i showed or wat

-Brian

 

I ordered this motherboard -
DFI Motherboard

i was wondering if i could use my 2 DDR-SDRAM PC2100 sticks on it?

 

Just order the dual channel it will work

 

K41N, I am going to say no the board specs DDR 400 or 333, PC 2100 is 266.
Depending on what cpu you plan on using will determine if you should use 400 or 333. I am not up on the latest intel stuff so maybe someone else will give you more info

 

Attn: Doby

I also have a RAM question. I spoke to a fellow computer builder yesterday about this, and I am looking to verify it. From what I've read, Doby apparently knows his computers! I currently have 512 mb DDR 333, and an Athlon XP 3000 400 FSB. The person I spoke to yesterday said that these conflicting speeds would be the source of my computer problems. If I purchase DDR 400 RAM, will this help my system out? I have planned on buying 2x512 PC 3200 Corsair Value Select Memory, and if this will fix my slowness, I will definitely make the purchase!

Edit: My computer problems mostly consist of elongated load times, and when I exit a game such as BF 1942 DC, it takes a while for my desktop to come back up! My load times for lots of things are extremely ridiculous, my brother's Athlon 1200 loads most stuff faster than my comp!

Asus a7n8x Deluxe
Athlon XP 3000 400 FSB
Powercolor Radeon 9700 Pro
PNY 512 mb PC 2700
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

 

Re: Attn: Doby

I'm no expert, but that's what I was told. The mother board, cpu and RAM should all be running at the same speed. DDR at 333 means your cpu is slower. Get everything running at 400 Mhz and you'll be better off!

 

Ok im gunna go ahead and order that RAM you showed me. I have one more question.

I was just thinking about this, Does you cpu have to work harder with the less ram you have and if thats a yes wont the better type of ram help slow the amount of work it has to do down therefor lower the temps? All a guess from me?

Thanks

-Brian

 

Well, I'm not exactly sure if it will reduce your heat. This may not be a direct answer to your question, but when your system is low on memory, it has to pull stuff directly from the hard drive, which is MUCH slower than your RAM. The better type/greater quantity of RAM will increase your system speed, would probably be the correct response there.

Also, Abern, my CPU is running at 400 FSB, I just don't think it is running fast enough/correctly.

 

PC Jedi Master,
Running the cpu and ram out of sync can sometimes lead to instability problems such as freeze ups and occasional bsod. Remember I said sometimes, if you look at my specs I run ddr400 with a 333 fsb cpu, my ram clock is at 200 thus running my ram at its rated 400 speed with no problems for over a year. Some folks with my exact setup report they can't do this,why is beyond me.

In your case your ram has a lower clock then your cpu so if and only if you are having instability problems you would have to underclock the cpu. I would not recomend this, (Except just to try and get stable to see if its the problem) it would work fine but you would not be taking advantage of the full cpu speed.

I just read your edit and I guess you are stable but the load times hmmmmmmmm. Make sure your bios settings are correct and the cpu is recognized as Athlon XP 3000.
If they are correct try setting the fsb to 166 just to see if the load times improve, if they do then maybe new ram?

Rick

 

icu69

If you have high temps thats another issue that changing ram will not help.
Please post your temps if they are a problem

Rick

 

Alright, Thanks I was just wondering about that.

-Brian

 

Alright, I'll turn the FSB to 166 when I get time and see if loading improves. Multiplier is locked on my CPU though, so I'll be running at about 1750 mhz, I believe. I think I tried this before, but didn't load a game. (stupid me)

 

Couple other notes

Did you install the chipset drivers?
Is the 4 pin 12v atx connecter from the psu to mobo pluged in?
Sorry for the simple questions but I have seen this cause problems and your machine should run better and I think faster ram will help but try these suggestions and post back before you spend your hard earned $

Rick

 

Yes, I installed the drivers myself and Im sure the PSU is hooked up to the mobo because Ive been on the computer for about 2 weeks now. It just runs slow with games. So I think Im going to go and order the RAM. What you think?

-brian

 

lol doby were u askin me those questions or icu69? easily confused I am!

 

Hmm, my loading speeds didn't get any faster, I think it probably took longer. Sigh, sigh, sigh, I'm gonna figure this out someday. I think I'll run an online diagnostic of my HDD at Western Digital.

 

this is what your motherboard says it supports....
RAM: 4x DIMM Dual Channel DDR 400/333 4GB

PC2100 is DDR 266 it may run it but you will have a serious system bottleneck there

 

hmmm

 

Really i just want some RAM that wont cause me any problems but is nice... ya kno im a gamer so you think that one will be fine?

 

ok hmmm

 

Sorry about the confusion guys,

PC Jedi Master, I was asking you those questions about the chipset drivers and 4 pin 12v atx connecter.

icu69, Buy the ram I showed you it has a good price and will work well with your system.

Rick

 

PC Jedi Master,

This don't supprise me cause you underclocked the cpu, it was just a test
Set the fsb back to 200 and your ram clock to spd or 166 and then

Download and run memtest86 from MG also, Run for 8 hours, I don't think it will show any errors but its worth a shot. Download and run prime95's torture test for 8 hours. It seems to me that you are having problems loading things to and from memory and prime will test for this so if all of the above check out ok then I think you should get pc3200 Ram.

Let us know

 

ok

 

I've run Windows Memory Diagnostic, and that didn't find anything, but I'll grab Memtest86 and let it run tonight. I'll check out Prime95 too.

After looking at someone else's post about Norton, I'm beginning to wonder if that is slowing me down. I have NIS and NAV. I just remembered that my bro doesn't have those because he reformatted and never reinstalled them...

Also, by chipset drivers, do you mean the drivers for my motherboard? Or something else? I'm gonna look to make sure that connector is plugged in sometime today, and also look at a jumper setting I found out about on Asus' website.

 

Alright, I can't find this Prime95 thing...I found something about Mersenne Prime....is that what it is supposed to be? Link, if you dont mind, I'm not too bright!

 

ummm ill look at post it when if i get a chance tonite.

 

Memtest ran for 10 hours while I was gone last night...no errors. I can run Prime95 tonight if I can find the file. I'm about to look in the case and make sure those things are plugged in...

 

PC Jedi Master,

Here is the link for prime,http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm

I personally don't like norton it puts to much junk on your computer and can slow things down. Try and disable or uninstall and see if it helps. You could download AVG virus scan from MG's it free and just as good without all the junk.

The chipset drivers I referred to are on a disk that came with the mobo

Rick

 

I let Prime run last night, and it found an error in 2 hours and 17 minutes...it says hardware failure detected. How might I go about finding the problem, and could Prime find memory errors that Memtest didn't?

 

PC Jedi Master

I doubt it at least I have not seen this happen.

Well he know you have faulty hardeware and this is hard to pinpoint, we also know your ram is good but your cpu and ram are out of sync so underclock your cpu again to 166 and make sure your ram clock is at 166 and run prime. It should still error but I want to see

Post back

What about those chipset drivers and 4 pin 12v atx connecter?

Rick

 

OK, I'll run Prime again in a bit here. About the 4 pin 12v connector, I looked, but wasn't sure which one I was looking for. I forgot to look for 4 pins, I'll check that out again. I'll also get my CD and install the original drivers, just to see if it helps.

 

just had a look at your manual and appaerntly your board does not have the
4 pin 12v atx connecter I was talking about, sorry

Rick

 

Oh, ok, that's one less thing to do then, lol.