Quick Ram question

[MDP91]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to double check something before I do this,

I currently have 2x 1gig RAM stick in my PC, I have windows XP home edition. Now I run alot of programmes and do alot of editing ect on my pc, and I wanted to upgrade from 2gig RAM to 4gig.

I have found this for sale on play.com

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/34315...Non-ECC-CL5-DIMM-Computer-Memory/Product.html

Now, I wanted to know, if I buy two of these and replace with my current sticks will my OS regonise them?

Here is my motherboard specs, and by the looks of it, it will work, but I wanted to check before I spend £30:


memory specs for my motherboard:
Maximum Memory

4096 MB 533/667 MHz DDR2 (Unbuffered Non-ECC)
Memory Bus Speed Range

533 to 667 MHz
Memory Slot

2 x DIMM Slots

 

[KDF]

XP Wont recognise 4 gig.

 

[Tom]

32bit XP Wont recognise more than 4 gig.

Isnt that more the case?

 

[KDF]

Sort of. 32bit XP wont recognise more than about 3GB.


And people who run 64bit XP generally specify that rather than just saying windows XP.

 

[MDP91]

you say MORE than 4gigs, so does this mean I can have upto 4gigs?

If not can I have 1x 1gig & 1x 2gig so I have 3gigs ram?

 

[KDF]

You can put 4 gigs in but it will only use around 3ish gig. I would buy the 2 x 2Gig as if you upgrade your OS later you can use all of it.


Back to your original question, yes that stuff will work although the CL is quite high !

 

[MDP91]

so whats worth doing?

 

[KDF]

Get 4 gig but try and look for stuff with a better CL.

 

[MDP91]

sorry, im not sure what CL is/means, lol, im a bit of a novice with the speeds and things.

But if I buy 2x 2gigs, is it worth fitting it all to my XP currently atm?

 

[David]

buy 4gig, you'll get up to 3.5 anyway, who cares about the rest./

 

[MDP91]

ok, so if I buy 4gigs with my 32bit xp home edition I will still be using upto 3.5 gigs anyways? Sorry for all the questions, just dont want to waste my cash, I want to make sure im buying something I will use.

 

[David]

thats what i just said! yes!

 

[mugglesquop]

u can only use more than 3.5Gb if you are running a 64bit OS. To run 64 bit you need a 64 bit Processor, so check this as well before u go and try to install Windows XP x64

 

[MDP91]

I wont be, so I dont need to worry about that, thanks for the help fellas

 

[KDF]

CL = Cas Latency.

Simply put the lower the better..... but thats not really the case if you start comparing different speed ram.

 

[iain187]

vista should recognise 4gb ram if you install service pack 1 so that is another option if you want to consider it

 

[MDP91]

na, Vista is s**t, id rather wait it out with XP, then maybe get windows 7 when it comes out.

 

[dajones]

i got my memory from here
http://www.crucial.com/
if the pc is oem then you can find the ram by looking for your pc. i think theyve got a scanner tool on there to find out what your pc runs. i got 2 gb's for 20 quid when i eventually take the plunge for vista ill get another 2

 

[DMS]

The theoretical maximum RAM limit in a 32bit version of Windows is 4GB minus the amount of addressible memory present in any add-in cards you may have (sound cards, graphics cards etc...). XP played it safe and only allowed 3.5GB max to be used.
I think Vista SP1 does indeed allow you to use up to 4GB in total.

Or get a 64bit processor. Theoretical maximum RAM is 16 terrabytes then.

 

[Munson]

CL = Cas Latency.

Simply put the lower the better..... but thats not really the case if you start comparing different speed ram.

Nice to see someone else who realises CAS latency is measured in clocks.

Faster speed RAM can have a higher latency, but because it's in clock cycles, the actual latency (in time) is often very similar. IMO this is most commonly misunderstood with high performance DDR3. "oh noes!111one, high latency!" "well considering it's running at 1800Mhz - noes, not really"

Saying that, at comparable DDR2 speeds, then yeah the CL is reasonably important when comparing different sticks.

PS. I'm agreeing, but rambling. I'm bored, and up early waiting for a fridge freezer to be delivered

 

[KDF]

Its amazing the number of people who get confused by it.

And yes.. you were rambling