Ram question

[Gilly]

looking to by 4 gig of memory and going to get these Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Kit CL5 1.8v - Ebuyer so got 2 questions ..... is that ram better than what i currently have http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2053/captureixh.png and would it be ok to use my current ram what ive got and the 1 that im gonna buy so i got 6 gbs? thanks.......................

 

[Uber Philf]

yes you can do that, but 4GB should be sufficient enough, something about mixing the RAM sticks, something about clock speed, not exactly sure, maybe someone can explain it better to you.

 

[dan7777]

Firstly you cannot mix ram at all if its same make then yeah your running 2gb ram yeah ? now your guna upgrade to 4gb ram ? of course there will be a big difference especially in games and stuff loading up os it will be much faster. hope this helps.

 

[zigzag3143]

ram

looking to by 4 gig of memory and going to get these Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Kit CL5 1.8v - Ebuyer so got 2 questions ..... is that ram better than what i currently have http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/2053/captureixh.png and would it be ok to use my current ram what ive got and the 1 that im gonna buy so i got 6 gbs? thanks.......................

OK first mixing ram is not a good idea. they are both ddr2 800 Meg sticks but. Is yoour system 64 bit cause if not you cant run more than 4 gigs.

Hope this helps

Ken

 

[Gilly]

OK first mixing ram is not a good idea. they are both ddr2 800 Meg sticks but. Is yoour system 64 bit cause if not you cant run more than 4 gigs.

Hope this helps

Ken

no, but im gonna get 64bit if i can install 6gbs how much does 32 bit run,, isit 3.7gbs would i get a performance increase using 64 bit with 4 gbs what a the downsides of running different types of ram ? im getting conflicting messages when looking through the internet some say not at all , some say yes aslong as its both DDr2

 

[zigzag3143]

ram

no, but im gonna get 64bit if i can install 6gbs how much does 32 bit run,, isit 3.7gbs would i get a performance increase using 64 bit with 4 gbs what a the downsides of running different types of ram ? im getting conflicting messages when looking through the internet some say not at all , some say yes aslong as its both DDr2

Hey gilly

first if you have a 32 bit system the system itelf cannot handle more than 4 gigs and of the four gigs only 3.3 will be regcognized. thats what my system sees. Its more than enough and Im a killer on multitasking. the ram is the same for 32 bit and 64bit. make sure you cpu and ram can run 64 bit. if you go to   Home of Gibson Research Corporation   they have a little app that will tell you abt if you can run 64bit , if dep is enabled and if your hardware can run a virtual pc. its easy to use and free. running mixed ram is a killer. I cannot count how many times i have helped people with BSOD, random freezes

let me know if you need more help

Ken

 

[Gilly]

Hey gilly

first if you have a 32 bit system the system itelf cannot handle more than 4 gigs and of the four gigs only 3.3 will be regcognized. thats what my system sees. Its more than enough and Im a killer on multitasking. the ram is the same for 32 bit and 64bit. make sure you cpu and ram can run 64 bit. if you go to **Home of Gibson Research Corporation** they have a little app that will tell you abt if you can run 64bit , if dep is enabled and if your hardware can run a virtual pc. its easy to use and free. running mixed ram is a killer. I cannot count how many times i have helped people with BSOD, random freezes

let me know if you need more help

Ken

it should be be its only 4 month old pc Acer M3201 Phenom quad core 1.8 ghz also i clicked that link but it saying i need to buy it ?

 

[Uber Philf]

you shouldnt have to?, here : View attachment securable.zip

That will tell you if your CPU can run x64

 

[Gilly]

you shouldnt have to?, here : View attachment 17485

That will tell you if your CPU can run x64

thanks. and yes it can

 

[zigzag3143]

ram question

it should be be its only 4 month old pc Acer M3201 Phenom quad core 1.8 ghz also i clicked that link but it saying i need to buy it ?

Your system will certainly be 64 bit but if you want anyway the link to the free program is GRC | SecurAble: Determine Processor Security Features |  

ken

 

[zigzag3143]

ram question

no, but im gonna get 64bit if i can install 6gbs how much does 32 bit run,, isit 3.7gbs would i get a performance increase using 64 bit with 4 gbs what a the downsides of running different types of ram ? im getting conflicting messages when looking through the internet some say not at all , some say yes aslong as its both DDr2

Ok now that we have the info I might even be able to make sense. You can run 64 bit, and should. You may not need 6gigs but if the specifications of both ram modules are exactly alike (timing, latency, speed, type, etc) and you motherboard has more than 4 slots for ram (amd it should) you can probably get away with mixing different Brands of ram. I WOULDN'T but if after you have used it with 4 gigs you feel you need more then you might be able to go for it.

Hope this has helped

Ken

 

[Frostbite]

As zig has stated mixed memory can often cause memory problems. If you do want to try running with 6gig than I would put the new memory in slot1 and 3 and the old memory in slot 2 and 4 since its dual channel. You can see this on the motherboard as the slot1,3 will be the same colour as will slot2 and 4. You can check what current slots are in use by going to the SPD tab in CPU-Z
Some info on dual channel memory
Dual-channel architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If you do get any errors like blue screens then just remove the old memory. A good program for testing for memory errors is memtest86 http://www.memtest86.com/ or the Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool built into Windows.

 

[slithernet]

Mixing both kinds of ram wont be a problem, they r both ddr2 800. For best proformance they should be matched, but i wouldn't worry bout it if i were u.

if u had ram running at 666 and were buy'in 1066 i would tell you not to mix them because all the ram would run at 666.

 

[zigzag3143]

ram

Mixing both kinds of ram wont be a problem, they r both ddr2 800. For best proformance they should be matched, but i wouldn't worry bout it if i were u.

if u had ram running at 666 and were buy'in 1066 i would tell you not to mix them because all the ram would run at 666.

Im more concerned with the cas timing and latency. If the op bought 1066 and it ran at 666 wouldn't be the biggest problem in history it would work just more slowly. I the cas timing or latency is different he might have random freezes, BSOD, and other stuff that is tons more difficult to diagnose. I have 667 ram running @ 533 and it is completely stabile.

ken

 

[Frostbite]

Look like there both Timing: 5-5-5-18 from the screenshot and website so should be ok with that.

 

[zigzag3143]

ram quewstion

Look like there both Timing: 5-5-5-18 from the screenshot and website so should be ok with that.

I Completely agree. Im just cautious abt mem mixing Had too many problems. Nice post before frostbite

Ken

 

[Frostbite]

The biggest problem I forsee is making sure the dual channel is set correct. As from the wiki link.

If the motherboard has two pairs of differently colored DIMM sockets (the colors indicate which bank they belong to, bank 0 or bank 1), then one can place a matched pair of memory modules in bank 0, but a different-capacity pair of modules in bank 1, as long as they are of the same speed. Using this scheme, a pair of 1 GB memory modules in bank 0 and a pair of matched 512 MB modules in bank 1 would be acceptable for dual-channel operation.

 

[slithernet]

Im more concerned with the cas timing and latency. If the op bought 1066 and it ran at 666 wouldn't be the biggest problem in history it would work just more slowly. I the cas timing or latency is different he might have random freezes, BSOD, and other stuff that is tons more difficult to diagnose. I have 667 ram running @ 533 and it is completely stabile.

ken

I work at a pc repair shop and install mixed memory on a daily basis, the only time you get BSOD and random freezing from mixed RAM is if u set custom timings in BIOS.

 

[zigzag3143]

ram

I work at a pc repair shop and install mixed memory on a daily basis, the only time you get BSOD and random freezing from mixed RAM is if u set custom timings in BIOS.

true been there done that. mixed memory isn't an absolute failure but I have also had to go back in and diagnose why someone elses emory with no label on it was cuasing bsids that wouldn't allow a boot. I always err on the side of caution when its someon elses stuff.

My own I dont care cause I know i can work it out

Ken

 

[VeeEss]

You don't need a program to tell you if your system can run 64-bit. Look at the processor, a Phenom X4 runs golden as x64. Now, just make sure to install x64 OS to take advantage of it.

With the sticks you are comparing, you will likely not notice much of a difference from the type of RAM, just from the increase in quantity. Both types of sticks are DDR2-800 with 5-5-5-18 timings. Of course the ones you are purchasing are XMS so there might be a slight improvement from the sticks solely because of the quality of the IC's. Since you are running an AMD, you are more than likely going to benefit from finding CL4 sticks (4-4-4-12 would be a noticeable improvement). Remember, as a rule of thumb, AMD benefits more from tight timings, Intel from speed.

Do not keep the existing for two reasons. As everyone has said already, mixing memory is bad. Brand is unimportant, the IC's make all the difference. Different IC's will have different differential clock inputs and transitions, readily causing hangs with the memory controller. The other reason is speed. The integrated memory controller in the Phenom X4 is dual-channel not triple channel. Run even number of sticks on that system.