Author Topic: Somone who knows a lot about computers  (Read 872 times)

Zrenix

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Somone who knows a lot about computers
« on: March 11, 2005, 12:21:58 am »
sorry if this is in the wrong place....
my brother is getting more ram for his computer, and he is going to give me some ram.  He has 2 different types and we\'re not sure which one i should put in my computer. The 2 types are:
256MB of DDR333 (DDR2700)
512MB of DDR266 (DDR2100)

we know that the DDR333 is faster...but we are not sure which one would be best.  I appreciate any help.

kiacolonel

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well, I know one thing...
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2005, 12:29:45 am »
I love computers, and know a little bit about ram: if you are using a windows 98, 256 mb is just about the capacity (sp?) yet, 512mb of ram is a lot, and may be used for higher memory computers. You just have to check.

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zenofeller

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« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2005, 03:10:02 am »
zrenix, i see the bigger chunk (512) is slower and the smaller chunk is faster. as a rule, you should use same speed ram in the same computer. this is because it will all be run at the speed of the slowest chunk. thus if you have a ddr2700 and a ddr2100 in the same box, all will run as if it were ddr2100.

(note that on some older/exotic mb\'s there might actually be an issue hanging the boot if you mix memory speeds)

if you can somehow manage a split so each computers gets equal speed rams, it will be perfect. if you dont, you lose some ram speed, but it shouldnt make (much) difference.

Snyk

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Windows 98
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2005, 06:35:54 pm »
The theoretical limit (what it was made for) is 512 mb for Windows 98, however there are work arounds if you install more than that to keep windows from crashing.  So in practice you can easily have 512mb with win 98 and over 512mb if you don\'t mind editing some files manually.  

Oh and the above poster is right, try to keep the same speed ram in your system ( as a bonus you can try to match no only the bandwith but also CAS latencies).   Examples are Cas2 Cas2.5 and Cas3.    All things being equal, use the fastest memory your MB will support with the lowest CAS latency.  

Lastly newer memory (PC100 on up) was designed to be backwards compatible.  So if you toss PC2700 memory in a mb that can use pc2100 at best, the PC2700 will work at the lower speed.

Forgot to add!  Some motherboards will interlace memory.  This only works if you\'re using identical memroy and can definetly provide a performance boost.   Also there is an issue about the most memory you can effectively cache and this will vary according to your L2 (or L3) cache.  Modern systems usually can cache as much RAM as your mobo can handle, however you still may want to check with your motherboard manufacturer to see if you are affected by this.  (One such example is the FIC 503+, It can hold 512mb, but can effectively cache 256mb - so the upper ram doesn\'t perform as well.  Note that this is the rare exception to the rule).  
« Last Edit: March 13, 2005, 06:39:39 pm by Snyk »

Androgos

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« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2005, 06:51:38 pm »
512MB ram isn\'t alot, 1-2GB is standard these days

Tharizdun

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« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2005, 06:55:50 am »
Quote
Originally posted by Snyk
Also there is an issue about the most memory you can effectively cache and this will vary according to your L2 (or L3) cache.  Modern systems usually can cache as much RAM as your mobo can handle, however you still may want to check with your motherboard manufacturer to see if you are affected by this.  (One such example is the FIC 503+, It can hold 512mb, but can effectively cache 256mb - so the upper ram doesn\'t perform as well.  Note that this is the rare exception to the rule).  


Can you provide any links to more info about this? I have never heard of such a thing before, are vendors shipping motherboards with some memory banks deliberately crippled or something? Very odd..

The maximum addressible ram isnt related to on-die L1 and L2 cache either, they are unrelated concepts. Intel IA32 and compatible systems in theory can address 4GB of ram directly ( 2^32 bytes ) but in practice this is limited to 2GB of RAM because of a poor design decision Intel made in the original x86 line. Techniques such as PAE can work around this, which is why you can get p3 and p4 xeon boxes with 6, 8 or more  GB of RAM, but this is a crude hack at best and still has many limitations. To get around this the best way is to use a 64-bit arch like the new AMD cpus.

Xantam

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« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2005, 03:59:08 pm »
Post the speed of the RAM that is in your computer now, and the FSB (Front Side Bus) speed, and the operating system you\'re using. It should match the speed of your RAM for optimum performance.
Chances are your best bet is to go with the 512Mb one though.