wanted: Ram buyin guide

On Sun, 11 Jan 2004 21:53:09 GMT, Will Dormann
<wdormann.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com.invalid> wrote:

 >Jon Adaptur wrote:
 >
  >> specifically I' presently looking for 64 -128 Megs for a compaq
  >> deskpro 4000 mmx (168 pin).
 >
 >It's easiest to go to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.crucial.com" target="_blank">www.crucial.com</a> and enter your PC's information.
 >
 >


well I'm looking for "pre-owned" RAM for my pre-owned computer.. I
don't want to spend more on the ram than I did on the box. It's mostly
for an internet dialup internet hookup but 32 megs of RAM is making it
a real Tortoise (and killing the HD).


So I was hoping to gain some insight into type compatability before I
buy..
I'm wondering even though crucial and compaq say advise using up to
128 meg chips is it possible to go higher to say 512 since the
technology has advanced since then

it seems I need pc66 non parity up to 128 meg SDRAMs

but I'm wondering can I use pc100 or pc133 etc. or even higher.

and should I accept or reject ECC even if it's real cheap.. (I know
it's slower but will it work?)




cd<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: wanted: Ram buyin guide 

Jon Adaptur <jadaptur DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
  > >Jon Adaptur wrote:
   > >> specifically I' presently looking for 64 -128 Megs for a compaq
   > >> deskpro 4000 mmx (168 pin).
  > >
  > >It's easiest to go to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.crucial.com" target="_blank">www.crucial.com</a> and enter your PC's information.
 >
 > I'm wondering even though crucial and compaq say advise using up to
 > 128 meg chips is it possible to go higher to say 512 since the
 > technology has advanced since then

No. If a motherboard only takes up to 128mb dimms, 256 or 512mb dimms will
either result in an error (beep codes) or will result in the larger dimms
being recognized as 128mb dimms.

 > it seems I need pc66 non parity up to 128 meg SDRAMs
 > but I'm wondering can I use pc100 or pc133 etc. or even higher.

PC100 and PC133 should work fine, as long as they're at sizes and densities
that your motherboard is compatible with. You can safely mix speeds although
the motherboard will work at the lowest speed included.

 > and should I accept or reject ECC even if it's real cheap.. (I know
 > it's slower but will it work?)

ECC isn't supposed to be slower. If the motherboard will take it, there's no
reason not to use it, but it's rarely cheaper.

Also, I'm not sure if you can mix ECC and non-ECC DIMMs on the same board.

--
Nate Edel http://www.nkedel.com/

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. That's the only way
to be sure." -- Ripley, _Aliens_<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: wanted: Ram buyin guide 

Jon Adaptur wrote:

 > it seems I need pc66 non parity up to 128 meg SDRAMs
 >
 > but I'm wondering can I use pc100 or pc133 etc. or even higher.


If Crucial doesn't list PC100 or PC133 for your system, then I highly
doubt that you can use them. Also, if you do go the ebay route, but
sure to compare the price to what you'd pay for it new. Most people do
not do this!


-WD<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: wanted: Ram buyin guide 

Explain "Density"


"On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:49:18 -0800, archmage.RemoveThis@sfchat.org (Nate Edel)
wrote:

 >Jon Adaptur <jadaptur.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote:
   >> >Jon Adaptur wrote:
   >> >> specifically I' presently looking for 64 -128 Megs for a compaq
   >> >> deskpro 4000 mmx (168 pin).
   >> >
   >> >It's easiest to go to <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.crucial.com" target="_blank">www.crucial.com</a> and enter your PC's information.
  >>
  >> I'm wondering even though crucial and compaq say advise using up to
  >> 128 meg chips is it possible to go higher to say 512 since the
  >> technology has advanced since then
 >
 >No. If a motherboard only takes up to 128mb dimms, 256 or 512mb dimms will
 >either result in an error (beep codes) or will result in the larger dimms
 >being recognized as 128mb dimms.
 >
  >> it seems I need pc66 non parity up to 128 meg SDRAMs
  >> but I'm wondering can I use pc100 or pc133 etc. or even higher.
 >
 >PC100 and PC133 should work fine, as long as they're at sizes and densities
 >that your motherboard is compatible with. You can safely mix speeds although
 >the motherboard will work at the lowest speed included.
 >
  >> and should I accept or reject ECC even if it's real cheap.. (I know
  >> it's slower but will it work?)
 >
 >ECC isn't supposed to be slower. If the motherboard will take it, there's no
 >reason not to use it, but it's rarely cheaper.
 >
 >Also, I'm not sure if you can mix ECC and non-ECC DIMMs on the same board.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: wanted: Ram buyin guide 

Jon Adaptur <jadaptur DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
 > "On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 16:49:18 -0800, archmage DeleteThis @sfchat.org (Nate Edel)
 > wrote:
   > >> it seems I need pc66 non parity up to 128 meg SDRAMs
   > >> but I'm wondering can I use pc100 or pc133 etc. or even higher.
  > >
  > >PC100 and PC133 should work fine, as long as they're at sizes and
  > >densities that your motherboard is compatible with. You can safely mix
  > >speeds although the motherboard will work at the lowest speed included.
 >
 > Explain "Density"

It's really not THAT often an issue, but density refers to the number of
chips (and sometimes internal banks) used to create a a DIMM of a certain
size.

For example: most DIMMs are 8 chips (or 9 if ECC), but a few of any given
size may be either 4 chips, or 16 (or 18 if ECC) and those with more or less
than 8 chips may be a problem on certain motherboards. Typically, the ones
where density will be an issue are where they're the largest size that
motherboard will take.

When in doubt, check Crucial, or a reference site.

--
Nate Edel http://www.nkedel.com/

"I do have a cause though. It is obscenity. I'm for it." - Toh Lehrer<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: wanted: Ram buyin guide