Hey, Tonight, I went out and bought myself a stick of 512mb RAM, to go along with the 256 I already have. I install it, boot up windows, and log in.. Nothing is different. I go to system information, and it says that I still have 256mb of ram.. but CPU-Z says I have 768mb of ram, which is what I want it to say. So.. I switch the sticks of ram, putting the 512 where the 256 used to be and vice versa. Still, nothing is different. I do notice my computer to be a small bit faster, but that just might be my mind trying to think it was faster. Is windows not detecting new ram normal, or is there a problem, and if tehre is, how do I fix it? I can get screenies if you need em. Thanks, Canada Eh895
try running the 512 without the 256. if it beeps at you, you have bad ram, or your computer doesnt support the type you bought. Give it back to wherever you bought it from and trade it in for another one. If the 512 works alone, then there is some incapability, are you sure they are both DDR 400 (PC3200) or other? you should always put the highest one in the first slot, which is normally the closest to the CPU..
Oh crap, that might be the problem. According to CPU-Z, Slot 1, the new stick, is DDR PC3200, while Slot2, the stick that came with my computer, is DDR PC2700. Would this be the problem?
So... if I take the 256mb stick out and try it with just the 512, will my computer explode and/or catch fire? Or will anything cease to work?
If your mobo is compatible with PC-3200, then you shouln't expect it to fry your mobo. It will just not boot up to Windows. With mixing dimms, what happens is that the PC-3200 becomes backwards compatible. It acts as if it's PC-2700. This wouldn't be stable to run. That's why matching pairs of memory would be the safest. I would exchange that memory for a PC-2700 512MB. I would always match dimms of memory, like 512 to 512, PC-3200 to PC-3200.
Yeah... I just put the 512 in by itself.. I plug it in, turn it on, and my comp goes "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP".. scared the crap outta me.. Does this mean that the motherboard does work with the PC3200, or will it work? What I'm trying to say is is there any chance that it will fry my motherboard? Does PC2700 generally cost any more than PC3200?
pc3200 will not work on your computer, get a refund on your 512 and get a pc2700. they should be cheaper, since they are older...
BS to the guy who said it's "safest" to run both DIMMs at identical speeds. souldn't matter, it would be like running a high performance fan blade with a low performance motor, nothing bad hapens. in fact if you have slower ram it's ideal to run wiuth a faster dimm because when it's scaled down it's latencies are typically a bit lower. they are actually more expensive as not as many DDR333 Dimms were made as DDR400, supply and demand... DDR400s been out forever and the supply is much higher. The price diference isn't huge though as a half gig of good quality ram(not the crap they sell at bestbuy) ranges from 30-40$ almost no matter what.
NO LiSTEN. PC3200 ram will RUN FINE in a pc with pc2700 dimms/cpu htt. The ram is faulty I think, take it back to the store and get them to test it.
Okay, I need a straight answer.. Will my computer work or not work with PC3200 RAM and a PC2700 RAM at the same time.. Does the big beep that occured when I installed the 512 stick alone mean that the RAM is faulty, or that the computer will not accept PC3200? Thanks!
