is this a problem or normal?

Thanatos

Thanatos

Active Member
well i got another stick of RAM for my B-Day (thanks dad!). it is exactly the same as my other 2 gig 800 mhz ddr2 stick. i put them in dual channel format. isnt that supposed to double the mhz? i really am not noticing any speed differences. how would i find out the mhz? in bios, maybe? and another thing, i should have 4 gigs of RAM, now, but windows says i have 3.25, which is more than 2, yes, but not a full 4. so, is all this normal? thanks.
 
The reason you are only seeing 3.25 gigs of memory is because you are running 32 bit Windows. You need 64 bit Windows to see all of the memory.
 
Green dog252 said:
well i got another stick of RAM for my B-Day (thanks dad!). it is exactly the same as my other 2 gig 800 mhz ddr2 stick. i put them in dual channel format. isnt that supposed to double the mhz? i really am not noticing any speed differences. how would i find out the mhz? in bios, maybe? and another thing, i should have 4 gigs of RAM, now, but windows says i have 3.25, which is more than 2, yes, but not a full 4. so, is all this normal? thanks.
Click to expand...

Effectively yes it means it doubles the MHz but that doesn't necessarily mean you will notice the difference. Try running a memory benchmark with and without the extra stick, you should be able to see the difference there.

The 3.25GB thing is a common problem with 32bit OS and 4GB of RAM. What's happened is the upper range of memory addresses are reserved for onboard devices like your video card, this thread explains it http://www.computerforum.com/150015-32bit-4gb-barrier-demystified-much-possible-pics.html
 
Green dog252 said:
well i got another stick of RAM for my B-Day (thanks dad!). it is exactly the same as my other 2 gig 800 mhz ddr2 stick. i put them in dual channel format. isnt that supposed to double the mhz? i really am not noticing any speed differences. how would i find out the mhz? in bios, maybe? and another thing, i should have 4 gigs of RAM, now, but windows says i have 3.25, which is more than 2, yes, but not a full 4. so, is all this normal? thanks.
Click to expand...

No, it doesn't double the speed. Both will have the same clocks, dual channel provides a second path, doubling the data bandwidth which prevents the memory controller creating a bottleneck for the CPU. The clocks of the memory don't change, it just provides a greater path for the data

To find the speed, either look at the black screen when the computer POSTs and it should say, or look at CPUz. It will display half of the actual speed, so will show 400Mhz rather than 800, that is normal and correct though :)

I am assuming you are on a 32 bit operating system, that is why it only show 3.25GB. If you want to utilise all 4GB, you will need a 64 bit operating system, however I wouldn't recomend XP for it because the drive support of XP 64 bit is terrible. You also have to make sure that your porcessor has 64 bit architecture and can support a 64 bit OS
 
man, thanks! its all really clear to me now, lol. yep, AMD Overdrive utility says the memory is in dual channel and at about 401.5 mhz. how do you find out if your CPU is 32 bit or 64 bit? my cpu is the AMD Athlon II X2 250. i am saving up for windows 7 ultimate or home premium, so hopefully that would make it see that there are 4 gigs there! heres what AMD Overdrive says.... all normal?;)
33vg0oj.jpg
 
Green dog252 said:
man, thanks! its all really clear to me now, lol. yep, AMD Overdrive utility says the memory is in dual channel and at about 401.5 mhz. how do you find out if your CPU is 32 bit or 64 bit? my cpu is the AMD Athlon II X2 250. i am saving up for windows 7 ultimate or home premium, so hopefully that would make it see that there are 4 gigs there! heres what AMD Overdrive says.... all normal?;)
33vg0oj.jpg
Click to expand...

it is a 64 bit processor :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top