DIMM, DDR, etc RAM WTF?

[Daviso27]

I have PC2100 128mb DIMM RAM. I want to upgrade to at least 512mb or better...now Some people say that it doesn't matter what type of RAM you get, as long as its PC2100. Does my motherboard require DIMM, because DIMM RAM is hard to find, in fact I have only found one place that sells it. Can I use a different type of RAM?

[Accord Man]

I've been reading on the matter for a couple of hours.. from what I understand, the ram you add will only work as fast (fsb) as the ram you currently have.

so I'm guessing anything DDR PC2100(so 266), with the lowest possible CL, is what you need.. RIght now CL2 is what seems to be the higher scale product.

[drdingo21]

if you are looking to upgrade you can get a 512 mb strip for about 60 bucks shipped. You are correct accord man, iff all the memory in the system is a differnt speed, then it will all run as fast as the slowest stick in the motherboard.

*edit*Ill go ahead and shed light on the CL thing:)
It stands for CAS Latency. The number stands for how many clock cycles goes by before the RAM starts to carry out and read the commands sent to it. So basicly the lower the better.

*edit 2*Make sure you don't go cheap on the memory, for these you get what you pay for....

[Addict]

Just buy what you already have. Unless you have a newer motherboard, its probably not going to support anything over teh PC2100 standard anyhow.

Like drdingo21 said, don't go cheap. You do get what you pay for. Samsung seems to be the less expensive of the good brands.

[Racing Rice]

Yeah, what the last two foos said.. :D :yes:

[Daviso27]

I came up on some sticks of RAM..
2-128 MB SDRAM DIMM, H
1-256 MB SDRAM DIMM, H

They do not fit my MB...Now My question is How can I find out waht PC it fits? PC133, PC100? Mine is PC2100...

All of the sticks have HSSTK on them, if this makes a difference...They are all Samsung Sticks, so Iwould like to do something with them, Trade or sell um.

[Daviso27]

This is what I have....

[Daviso27]

Im Fukt! I just found out my Sh!t is PC800 RIMM. Those damn sticks are expensive as hell...The cheapest Ive seen is $95 for 128MB...They need to be installed in pairs...

[Addict]

Originally posted by Daviso27
Im Fukt! I just found out my Sh!t is PC800 RIMM. Those damn sticks are expensive as hell...The cheapest Ive seen is $95 for 128MB...They need to be installed in pairs...
Yup. The folly of rambus.:|

[drdingo21]

yep they are. it sucks to be you ;)
Rdram is expensive as hell, and yes it does need to be run in pairs...good luck

[Racing Rice]

Originally posted by Daviso27
Im Fukt! I just found out my Sh!t is PC800 RIMM. Those damn sticks are expensive as hell...The cheapest Ive seen is $95 for 128MB...They need to be installed in pairs...

Crap man, it would almost be cheaper for you to buy a whole new MB, Processor, and memory.:o

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by Racing Rice
Crap man, it would almost be cheaper for you to buy a whole new MB, Processor, and memory.:o :yes:
with newegg referbs you can get a motherboard, ram, and cpu for that.

[Addict]

Originally posted by drdingo21
:yes:
with newegg referbs you can get a motherboard, ram, and cpu for that.

Just watch those though. My cousin's EPoX refurb just died. Its only 5 months old.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by Addict
Just watch those though. My cousin's EPoX refurb just died. Its only 5 months old.

Yeah, I haven't ventured to the refurb section there yet. I'm a little skeptical...

[drdingo21]

Originally posted by 94_AcCoRd_EX
Yeah, I haven't ventured to the refurb section there yet. I'm a little skeptical... really? My 8k3a+ is running great for almost a year...i was worried about getting a referb because its a referb, but i paid like 1/4 of the price and all is well...

[Maxvla]

just cause its rdram its not the end of the world.

mhz for mhz rdram kicks the pants off ddr. the benefit you see with ddr is it will overclock much higher than rdram and can be installed in single dimm increments.

rdram isn't quite dead but its definately on its way out. however that doesn't mean performance is anywhere near bad. its actually quite good still. i continue to see rdram setups at 180fsb pushing 3500mb/s or higher memory bandwidth while ddr boards (single channel) even at 200fsb are barely getting 3200mb/s. now dual ddr is a whole different story. its the best of both worlds.. the configuration is like rambus but you use ddr not rdram and you get the high overclockability with the huge bandwidth. highest i've seen was 5800mb/s on the new Gigabyte Intel Canterwood board running 240fsb on an engineering sample p4.