Home PC question re Ram

[ratter]

Is there a way to tell what sort of RAM I have?

I know from going into the system section of my computer that I have 256 mb, but is there a way to tell what type it is.

I want to get more and was looking on ebay, but I need to know what type.

I removed my ram and got some numbers from it, if it makes sense to someone please let me know

256 1Rx16 PC2-3200u-333-11 C1

[parawolf]

Okay, so it is 256MB, DDR 3200 CL3

Your best bet is to get the actual silk printing off one of the memory chips and do a google on that. However the chips may be a different implimentation to the final configuration but could give you a good heads up.

[max^power]

You're right para, it's normal DDR.

Where ever you look, you're looking at about $55 for 512mb.

You're just up the road from me, i'm more than happy to help you out if you need it.

[ratter]

Originally Posted by au^ute

You're right para, it's normal DDR.

Where ever you look, you're looking at about $55 for 512mb.

You're just up the road from me, i'm more than happy to help you out if you need it.

Was looking for possibly a 1gb stick.

Are you a retailer or do you have contacts?

if so how much for a 1gb ?

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by ratter

Was looking for possibly a 1gb stick.

Are you a retailer or do you have contacts?

if so how much for a 1gb ?

Expect to pay about $110 - $120 for 1GB of ram.

[parawolf]

ACtually make that $130 - $140, it is DDR2 that is cheaper.

See Here...

[toastyanana]

Have a look at upgradeable.com.au i bought mine thru them and was good

[max^power]

No, im well aware of the pricing, i get it wholesale Goto a swap meet, thats what you'll pay.

1GB DDR is about $130, for a brand i have had no trouble with.

[SirHenry]

Be careful with the freq. from the looks of its 333mhz not 400mhz.

I am finding for my pc finding 333 in shops these days is getting rarer and rarer... :(

Cheers

[ratter]

so I have to stick to 333 frequency, I cant use 400?

[ratter]

Is this the correct ram for me http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BRAND-NEW-1GB...QQcmdZViewItem

[ratter]

Ok another question now that I've looked, mine said PC2-3200u-333, but all the 33 mhz sticks I can find on ebay show PC2700, now I'm confused.

[ratter]

Ok the nets a wonderful thing


I have found out it is DDR2 400 mhz (PC2-3200= 400mhz)

Now I have to find some at the right price

Can I change the frequency or not? what would it do to the computer?

[luke]

Originally Posted by ratter

Can I change the frequency or not? what would it do to the computer?

Most likely stop it from working... As far as I'm aware you can't change the RAM speed on your motherboard. Don't quote me on that though

[max^power]

I find it interesting that this is DDR2! My mistake! how old is the machine? If its new, why did they only put 256 in it!?

If you have 400mhz memory and you put it in a machine only capable of 333mhz, the memory will run at 333mhz, you shouldn't have to change anything. If you try to run the memory at 400mhz and your machine can only handle 333mhz, the pc will most probably not boot up.

[jonk]

You can overclock the ram, via bios settings... but only the best ram take's that sort of punishment all the time. And have good cooling.

All depends on the mobo you're using.

[parawolf]

At this point, i'd be looking up the details of your motherboard and confirm what RAM is supported.

You should be able to determine manufacturer and model easily.

[ratter]

Thanks for the help.


The machine is a HP pavillion a1120a, it's about 2 months old
the sticker says it has 256 mb 400mhz ddr2 sdram memory

Intel pentium 4
processor 519k
3.06ghz, 1mb l2 cache
em64t, execute disable bit,
533 mhz fsb

not sure what the mother board is

[max^power]

good ole HP, no wonder it's only got 256...

[jonk]

Originally Posted by ratter

Thanks for the help.


The machine is a HP pavillion a1120a, it's about 2 months old
the sticker says it has 256 mb 400mhz ddr2 sdram memory

Intel pentium 4
processor 519k
3.06ghz, 1mb l2 cache
em64t, execute disable bit,
533 mhz fsb

not sure what the mother board is

the mobo will be some no name brand board made in Taiwan. And with ZERO overclocking features... your stuck with what you've got. Steer clear of the prebuilt stuff, they only last five years and hp will barely do two or more bios updates. Unlike ASUS which does on average 20 or so.

Oh well...

[ratter]

Not interested in overclocking it, I just want it to be a bit faster, that's why I thought I'd get some more ram.

As far as lasting 5 years, I'll replace it before then anyway, so that's not too much of an issue.

The onlt reason I went HP was we bought 2 laptops at the same time and got a good deal on the desktop, but needed to make the entire purchase at the same shop for other buissness reasons

[jonk]

Ratter, those prebuilt things can be a nightmare to update... the bios/mobo can be very hardware specific in what they accept, even 550Mhz RAM could upset the apple cart. Try it out, but be prepared for the worst, inbuilt obsolescence in these things can test out the best meaning tech's re:updating.

Better still, I always recommend to my customers they go for RAID arrays, even if only 2 discs, can speed things up much faster than a casual CPU upgrade... just food for thought.

[ratter]

To be honest I don't understand the techno side of your help, I have done some research on this system over the last couple of days and it apprears it will accept up tp 2 gb of ram (1 gb in each slot) so unless something/ someone changes my mind, I guess I'll get a 1 gb stick and update and hope it speeds things up a bit.


Thanks for any help

[niko]

generic ram is much better today that ever bfor, some boards however like overclocking more than others