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General discussion

Upgrading Ram

by Hayden115 Jul 1, 2007 4:48AM PDT

I am thinking of upgrading my ram on my PC and have a couple of questions. I am looking at one type of chip since it is on sale.

Currently I have two slots, both with 512 MB and I want to upgrade to 2 1GB.
My Motherboard specifications states: "Chip Set- Supports DDR266/333/400 SD RAM. Two 184pin DDR DIMM sockets- Up to 2GB memory."

My PC originally came with 1 512MB DDR/PC3200 (1DIMM). I forget what other chip I added (I know it was a 512).
The question I have, do I have to look for a PC3200 chip or can I go with something different.

I came across the Kingston Technologies 1GB DDR2 SDRAM Desktop Memory ? PC2-4200 ? DIMM, and need to know if this would be compatable with my PC. I've given up asking at the store since the sales people have turned out to be brainless in what they sell.

Any help would be appreciated.

Also, on a side note, is it possible to have a 512 and 1 GB in each slot? I was informed by a sales person awhile back that they needed to be the same memory amount, but I recently read somewhere where a person has a 512 and 1g in their computer. Is this correct?

Discussion is locked

4 Posts
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And PNY?
by Hayden115 Jul 1, 2007 5:11AM PDT

Also wanted to note that I came across a PNY 1GB 3200 thats definitely looks compatable. Does anyone know about the PNY brand? Is kingston superior or are they about the same? Thanks.

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What MB or system do you have ?
by VAPCMD Jul 1, 2007 5:58AM PDT

Everyone says DDR is backwards compatible but I prefer to get that guarantee from the MB mfg and or the RAM mfg. Chk the RAM mfg's website to see what they say about RAM comp-atible with your system.

Better yet....get the full amount of RAM you plan to use when you buy the PC...then you can avoid the issue of mixing or matching RAM when you add later.

VAPCMD

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Should be fine
by jackson dougless Jul 1, 2007 5:51AM PDT

Older systems, like the original Pentium, required RAM to be in matched pairs, but I don't believe any mainstream processor since then has had that requirement.

You shouldn't have any problem with a 1GB and 512MB combination, so long as they're your basic 184-pin DDR memory modules. Nothing else really matters as far as them working together. There are a few small issues relating to performance, but nothing to get too concerned with.

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Memory needs.
by Cursorcowboy Jul 1, 2007 10:46PM PDT

Check your memory needed at "Crucial "The memory Experts"" by answering their questions in the box labeled Not sure which memory upgrade you need.

Once you establish a stock number, search the Web for a site selling the strip at a reasonable price -- Crucial isn't that cheap.

For instance, I ordered from the following site the memory shown:

BA19437 1 CRUCIAL 512MB PC3200 400MHZ CL3 184-PIN DDR DIMM = $38.70

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/index.hmx?

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