Curse

jonnybegood · Sep 07, 2005, 11:30 PM // 23:30

hello im not really a computer expert , and i know that you can make your system faster by buying more memory sticks. as of now i am running on 256 megs of ram, and i want alteast 512. unfortunatly i hvae a depleating pot of money and a computer that has seen it's days and the computer that i just mentioned.is it possible to take out the memory stick in the old pc and put it in the newer one . if so are there any different types of memory that i will have to have to match my own? if there is any information it will be most apreciated. ty

Old Dood · Sep 07, 2005, 11:38 PM // 23:38

When you ask a tech question first you should state your current computer specs. Brand, Model, processor speed, etc.

You CAN use them, but I would not. Why? Not good to mix ram. You get allot of problems when trying to match up to different brands of ram. Go to www.crucial.com
They have a system scanner. This will scan your entire system and tell you what you have in it. You can also go to www.pcpitstop.com and run your system through that. They will tell you what you need for upgrades or if you should buy new.

jonnybegood · Sep 07, 2005, 11:44 PM // 23:44

ty alot for help

Toral Xi · Sep 08, 2005, 02:47 PM // 14:47

I totally agree with Old Warrior Dood. It is never a good idea to mix and match RAM, as matter of fact, most manufacturers sell matched sets that have been pretested in the factory so that you know they will work together.

For a good price check newegg.com. They sell all the major brands of RAM and seem to have the best prices in my opinion.

lightblade · Sep 11, 2005, 07:56 AM // 07:56

agree with above, you certainly can, but it's not recommended

cannonfodder · Sep 11, 2005, 01:21 PM // 13:21

It is fine to mix and match ram, but as you say its from an old system, you will need to check what kind of ram it is?, i.e SDRAM, DDR, RAMBUS(although not many use this), You would not want to try to put SDRAM in a DDR slot, as it wont fit and vice versa..

I reiterate mixing ram is fine to do as long as its compatible, as with any hardware there can be problems, and memory sticks should match, but as a short term answer its fine to do so.

Killion · Sep 12, 2005, 11:39 AM // 11:39

SDRAM is DDR..

HOXMAN · Sep 12, 2005, 11:44 AM // 11:44

DDR is NOT SDRAM .... DDR RAM is read on both sides and SDRAM is only read on one.. also the key is different on DDR and SDRAM.. it would not be a good idea to mix the two.. also if you have SDRAM make sure it's PC100 or PC133 that could make a difference.

EternalTempest · Sep 12, 2005, 01:43 PM // 13:43

This program can help you identify system information.
http://www.lavalys.hu/products/overv...?pid=1&lang=en

You can find out what type of memory you currently have Sdram, Rimm, DDR, etc. If you have an older pc it may be nearly impossible to get the exact same, I've mixed older sdram chips in the past and it's been fine. The main thing is to get the same type. Example if sdram, don't mix PC100 & PC133.

cannonfodder · Sep 12, 2005, 03:33 PM // 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killion

SDRAM is DDR..

Errr ok, you think that

, also OP above stated about speeds i.e pc100, pc133 etc, it's also fine to mix these as your memory will run at the lowest speed dimm, i.e if you have one pc133 and one pc100, your memory speed will run at the lowest one i.e pc100, this will not cause any problems except your memory will run at a slightly lower speed which in all fairness you will not notice..

EternalTempest · Sep 12, 2005, 04:16 PM // 16:16

I've found it's better to not mix and match. I've noticed the slower pc100 dimm in a system with pc133 will cause the pc100 to fail in about a year. They tend to work and your right about running them at the slowest memory but noticed odd memory failure (shorter life then expected) with mixed systems.

cannonfodder · Sep 12, 2005, 05:23 PM // 17:23

Nah, I dont agree with the point your trying to make entirely, as I said in my posts there can be hardware issues and problems, but using different rated DIMMS will not shorten the life expectancy of said memory stick, motherboards are designed in a way so this can be utilised as a short term solution.

As I said I have/will ever use mismatched memory sticks but there is no problem in doing so..

EternalTempest · Sep 12, 2005, 06:28 PM // 18:28

I've been a pc tech at a large learning instuation (hardware & software) for a years and the standard line is pc133 works fine in pc100 system which holds mostly true. But I've seen enough oddites and talked to other techs outside of where I work and occasional things on the web (pre-ddr stuff) that in some pc / systems / hardware failures that had me question that logic. That's all. Agree it's best to have same same pair, or at least same speed class. And your very right about even if it would cause problems, most likely have a new pc before this occured.

TopGun · Sep 12, 2005, 06:56 PM // 18:56

Every motherboard uses different RAM, so you may or may not be able to. It's best to check a good memory company website and check there. http://www.kingston.com/

Use their "Memory Search" tool to find the RAM you need in your system. To do this, you will either need to know what motherboard you have, or what model computer you have, if you bought it from a company such as Dell, IBM, etc. The memory one company uses in their systems will not match the memory another company uses, and if you hand-built your system, you need to buy your RAM depending on what kind of RAM your motherboard can use. It's all very confusing, be sure to use Kingston's site, or any other major RAM company's site.

Loviatar · Sep 12, 2005, 07:05 PM // 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOXMAN

DDR is NOT SDRAM .... DDR RAM is read on both sides and SDRAM is only read on one.. also the key is different on DDR and SDRAM.. it would not be a good idea to mix the two.. also if you have SDRAM make sure it's PC100 or PC133 that could make a difference.

YES IT IS

there are 2 main types of SDRAM

SDR (single data rate one action per clock) SDR SDRAM

DDR (double data rate two actions per clock on rising and falling)

as in the corsair memory ad DDR SDRAM

Algren Cole · Sep 12, 2005, 07:21 PM // 19:21

DDR Ram is also an SDRAM
DDR stands for double data rate. A hertz is equivelant to one complete revolution(360 electrical degrees) or simply called, one complete cycle. Do you know what a sine wave is?? Yes that wavy thingy, well one up plus one down is one revolution, or one cycle, or one HERTZ. One million of those is one Mhz.

A normal SDRAM will only process data at either up or down of that sine wave. So, for a PC133 (133 stands for 133Mhz or 133 million hertz,) it it will "process" data 8 bytes at a time at a maximum of 1064 b/sec or 133Mhz x8 x 1

DDR processes data at both up and down of the sine wave, hence double data rate. So, for a PC 2100(2100 doesn't stand for 2100 MHz) it will "process" data twice every 133Mhz(same speed as SDRAM, huh?) 8 bytes at a time(same as SDRAM, again!) at 2128b/sec(hence PC2100, they just rounded it off) or 133Mhz x 8 x 2

anyway...enough boring explanations. DDR isn't technically Double Data Rate...but it reads on both the up and down of the sine wave...so it processes double the amount of information in the same amount of time.(not technically double data rate).

It's perfectly OK to mix and match two different brands of memory but mixing and matching different types can cause some problems. Though generally these problems occur when you are mixing good RAM(something like Crucial, Corsair, Samsung etc etc) with bad RAM (something like Kingston...or any other ValueRAM manufacturer). The problems occur because the clock speeds and voltages are so different. Also don't mix high performance RAM with regular/low performance RAM...the high performance RAM will be wasted(if not ruined) because it'll get capped at the speeds of the low performance RAM.

In short...mixing RAM isn't bad....putting crappy RAM in your system is bad.

Loviatar · Sep 12, 2005, 07:48 PM // 19:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Algren Cole

(something like Kingston...or any other ValueRAM manufacturer).

maybe i am lucky but i have always had good luck with the Corsair value ram.

also i dont OC

Algren Cole · Sep 12, 2005, 08:59 PM // 20:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loviatar

maybe i am lucky but i have always had good luck with the Corsair value ram.

also i dont OC

Corair ValueRAM is among the better ValueRAM available

MetalIonicZ · Sep 13, 2005, 01:49 AM // 01:49

I suggest that if your motherboard supports DDR ram in dual channel, go for dual channel. For example, it is better to have two 256 ram modules in dual channel than one 512 module in single channel. This dual channel basically doubles the speed of memory read and write without actually changing the clock speed of the memory itself. Also, I might be able to find you the ram you require if you give me your full system specifications.