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Old 01-24-2005, 04:53 AM   #1 (permalink)
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Cool Some RAM questions

Hi, I bought a new Cicero computer about a month ago. It has 512 pc3200 ddr ram. My computer has 2 slots for ram, and one is filled up by the 512. I want to upgrade my ram, and I have some questions.

1. Does it matter if I use two differnt brand names of ram in each of the 2 slots?

2. What is the differnce in PC3200, 3400 etc, will i notice any differnce in performance in the larger numbers?

3. Can I have one stick of DDR2 Ram, and the other wiht DDR Ram?

4. If i put a 1gb stick of ram in, will it constantly overheat, and will it be compatiable with the 512 Ram i currenlty have?

Thx alot for the help... And please note, I am just starting to get into computers, so please dont use terms that I probaly wouldent know.
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Old 01-24-2005, 11:31 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dwarfy.mafia
Hi, I bought a new Cicero computer about a month ago. It has 512 pc3200 ddr ram. My computer has 2 slots for ram, and one is filled up by the 512. I want to upgrade my ram, and I have some questions.

1. Does it matter if I use two differnt brand names of ram in each of the 2 slots?

2. What is the differnce in PC3200, 3400 etc, will i notice any differnce in performance in the larger numbers?

3. Can I have one stick of DDR2 Ram, and the other wiht DDR Ram?

4. If i put a 1gb stick of ram in, will it constantly overheat, and will it be compatiable with the 512 Ram i currenlty have?

Thx alot for the help... And please note, I am just starting to get into computers, so please dont use terms that I probaly wouldent know.
Well....please wait for more advice...will likely be better.

1. It depends, I have three brands inside. One OEM, Samsung and a TakeMS. Some motherboards do not like different brand memory modules being mixed. However it will work in most cases. Noone will tell you it's 100% safe to mix them. Always better to get identical modules.

2. PC3200 is supposed to handle 400Mhz speeds, while the PC3400 will take more and still work without a hitch.

3. Dunno about that but my guess is NO.

4. Well supposing you ude the same kind of ram (Pc3200), then there should not be a reason why it should not work. And NO it will not overheat constantly. Good luck man.

JAN
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Old 01-24-2005, 12:29 PM   #3 (permalink)
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3. Can I have one stick of DDR2 Ram, and the other wiht DDR Ram?
No. DDR is 184 pin and DDR2 is 240 pin so DDR2 won't physically fit.
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Old 01-24-2005, 12:58 PM   #4 (permalink)
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You don't wanna get DDR2 anyway...it's just a fill-in before DDR3 is released. Not much performance difference IIRC.

If I were you I would buy a slot of 512mb pc3200 or 1gb pc3200 (if your mobo can is designed to take that much) depending on your budget.
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Old 01-24-2005, 01:14 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Does it matter if I use two differnt brand names of ram in each of the 2 slots?
Not really, no

Quote:
What is the differnce in PC3200, 3400 etc, will I notice any differnce in performance in the larger numbers?
No such thing as [marketed] PC3400 but the difference is that memory with higher rated clocks can be overclocked more. Yes, to get those speeds you need to overclock the memory (which will in some cases, overclock the system as well)

Quote:
If I put a 1gb stick of ram in, will it constantly overheat, and will it be compatiable with the 512 Ram I currenlty have?
RAM will only overheat in very special circumstances, feel free to add that memory

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so please dont use terms that I probaly wouldent know
Hehe, but when you dont know and we explain, then you learn


Quote:
3. Can I have one stick of DDR2 Ram, and the other wiht DDR Ram?
And on mobos that have both DDR and DDR2, you can use one or the other, not both

Quote:
You don't wanna get DDR2 anyway...it's just a fill-in before DDR3 is released. Not much performance difference IIRC.
Well if you've got the nice CAS3 stuff there's a nice difference. Also, waiting for DDR3 mobos to come out ... especially when you'e got an older comp and looking to upgrade ... would mean a really long wait
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Old 01-24-2005, 04:37 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Thx for all the help. I have a few more questions though.

1. How do I know if my mobo can support DDR2 ram?

2. My friend told me that if i have 1 stick of 512, and 1GB, the 1GB will slow down to the 512 or somthing like that. Is that true?
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Old 01-24-2005, 04:41 PM   #7 (permalink)
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It has 512 pc3200 ddr ram. My computer has 2 slots for ram, and one is filled up by the 512
This tells me it doesn't support DDR2. As for the speed thing, that doesn't apply to RAM size. If you bought a PC3200 stick and a PC2700 stick and installed them both the 3200 would run at 2700 speeds.
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Old 01-24-2005, 07:49 PM   #8 (permalink)
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So, If I have 1gb and 512, it will run like 1512 mb?
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Old 01-24-2005, 07:51 PM   #9 (permalink)
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No, it will run like 1536MB
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Old 01-25-2005, 03:28 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Praetor
No, it will run like 1536MB
Just for clarification : 1 GB = 1024 MB , 1/2 GB = 512 :::SO::: 1024+512 = 1536

HAAHHAHA...nice one Praetor

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