Using 2 different speed memory

I have 2 different speed memory sticks , i took off some from a spare notebook i had however one is a bit slower than the other and a different brand.

I used a program called cpuz and tested checked the voltages of the sticks they both seemed to be similar and both were ddr3.

Is there any drawback of using 2 different speeds of memory sticks other than the faster one being hindered a bit and working at the same speed of the slower one?

I ran memorytestx86 and did 4 passes after i installed them and it didn't come out with any errors. However when i load my operating system now and its about to launch to the desktop it turns black for like 5 seconds.

Another thing is bios detects the 4 gb of ram but my operating system says only 2.92 is usable, i am missing out on almost a whole gigabyte. I am not entirely sure if its because i have a 32bit operating system or if somehow i need to enable something to free up the extra gigabyte.

I only had 1 stick of ram before, now that i added this extra stick how much more battery life will it suck out?

Also how much memory does a windows 7 32 bit operating system generally use when just idle?

Sorry if my post is all over the place to clear things and make my questions more simply:

1. I put 2 different speed memory sticks which were drr3 , i want to know if this will be of any issue even though cpuz info was identical and memorytestx86 passed the tests

2. After i installed the memory my operating system only lets me use 2.92 so i am missing a whole gigabyte ( i do have a 32 bit OS but i would assume i would use at least 3.7).

3. How much more battery does an extra ddr3 ram stick use?

 

Hey, i came across the site today, seen you in need.

I like to help out chaps/peeps with their computer related issues.

My word of advice is,..

If it works don't break it.
If its too old upgrade it,
if is too of a dinosaurs ( bin it or put it in a place for years to come.

Ok,

What you do, is find the website for the make of the laptop/notebook

If its a Toshiba brand laptop/notebook, look underneath for the serial number & type that in the search area of the site.

Most sites have a pdf of which memory sticks are compatible with your laptop/notebook device.

Then you have clear understanding of what ram sticks you are able to put in the device.

When your stick is lower speeds then the over brand type, you have to adjust timings the same as both sticks, if one stick is under volts, then you have to over clock the voltage. But its not worth all this hassle over one stick.

So best bet, is two buy another stick of ram the same type as they much cheap today.

In question too missing gigabyte.

The black screens and crashed out system - is because the ram stick has not been adjusted in the Bois timings setting page, the voltage has not been adjusted, or wrong type of ram stick for your machine, or bad a memory stick.

 

If the RAM stick you added has a lower clock rate than the original, both sticks will operate at that lower clock rate. That's a minor issue, though. If you pass memtest, you're good to go.

Only about 3.5GB is useable under 32 bit XP and some is used for memory for your onboard video, some is for other devices and the chipset will reserve some. Here's an article which explains it in more detail: http://blogs.technet.com/b/markrussinovich/archive/2008/07/21/3092070.aspx

It should be negligible.

 

I actually have windows 7 32 bit not not windows xp

Should i still be seeing 2.92 usable only? If i change it to 64 bit will i gain my extra gigabyte?

 

Yes. It's a limitation inherent to 32 bit OSes. With a 64 bit OS, you may gain some but there will still be memory reserved for BIOS, video, the OS and hardware devices so you will never have all of your RAM useable. The advantage to a 64 bit OS is the ability to use more than 4GB of RAM.

 

So in this case its better to just stick to my original 32 bit operating system ( win 7 pro) rather than 64 bit?

It took me hours to configure my operating system how i wanted it and i would hate to do it again just to move to 64 bit and notice not difference at all in the extra gigabyte i am referring to.



I probably won't get more than 4 gb and honestly i can note a difference with the extra 2 gigs i added.

Do most people honestly need anything beyond 4 gb for notebooks that they won't be gaming with?

Do you think my intel hd graphics onboard chip is hogging some memory too?

 

Yes, the onboard graphics uses your RAM to help process video. You may be able to go into your BIOS and set how much RAM your onboard graphics uses. However, since you don't seem to be having memory issues or graphics problems, I would leave things as is. Setting the graphics memory too low will adversely affect performance too.

Unless you're getting low memory warnings or your system is bogged down for lack of memory, there's no need to "fix" anything by going 64 bit.