Hi all.

I have been planning on upgrading my PC for a while but due to the cost of it I am looking at making my system a little more bearable so I am looking at upgrading the RAM in my PC but I have got right confused so I have a few questions.

My current ram is 512mb PC3200 but only 200mhz, I can only find 400mhz though. So the way I can see from my tiny bit of knowledge is I have the following options:
1. Mix the the different sticks of RAM but the 400mhz will be limited to 200mhz.
2. Pull out my 200mhz and just have a stick of 400mhz.

But im running AMD that supports dual channel which from what I believe means its better to run a 'pair' so
3. Run my 200mhz and 400mhz as a pair (if this is possible, I don't know)
4. Pull out my 200mhx and replace with a pair of 400mhz

So which is the better route for me?

If you need further system info just ask

Thanks in advance, Greboth.

I would say replace it all so it is all the same megahurtage if you know what i mean.

PC3200 is DDR400 memory. See here
If you use ram of different speeds, then they both will run at the lower speed.
You'll get your best results by using 2 sticks of the same speed RAM.
What motherboard you have would help, as that determines what speed of ram the system can use. ie. if the motherboard is limited to 200MHz, then putting 400MHz ram in won't make it faster, the ram will still run at 200MHz.

What you have is DDR400, MB (and OS) shows it as 200 MHz, because that's the real memory clock. There are no 200 and 400 MHz versions of PC3200. You should still try to use the same kind of module (e.g. latencies may differ etc.), but it's not a big deal...

Quote from need :

PC3200 is DDR400 memory. See here
You'll get your best results by using 2 sticks of the same speed RAM.

Stupid question time: So your saying PC3200 is DDR400, which the '400' means it is 400mhz? so the RAM in my PC is actually 400mhz not 200mhz?

If I am right, then another stick of 512mb DDR400 will compliment what I already have in my PC. Which leads to a query of mixing brands of RAM. Reading up on it, it seems it is best to use the same brand. Which if I have got my head round this means my best option is to buy 2 new sticks of DDR400 RAM.

In which case why does my PC show it as 200mhz? Edit: Answered above already

Quote :

What motherboard you have would help, as that determines what speed of ram the system can use. ie. if the motherboard is limited to 200MHz, then putting 400MHz ram in won't make it faster, the ram will still run at 200MHz.

Only name I can find is Winfast NF4UK8AA and what I can find on google, I can use upto 4Gb of DDR400 RAM.

What's your Operating System ? Is it 32 or 64 bit ?
Can u afford, say, 2 Gb (if u have XP) ?

512Mb reeeeeeally sounds low...

32 bit xp and yes I can afford 2gb. Which if my assumptions above are correct would be best as 2 x 1Gb?

Edit: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/98690 is about the best I can find, anyone know if its possible to get it cheaper?

Quote from Greboth :

Hi all.

I have been planning on upgrading my PC for a while but due to the cost of it I am looking at making my system a little more bearable so I am looking at upgrading the RAM in my PC but I have got right confused so I have a few questions.

My current ram is 512mb PC3200 but only 200mhz, I can only find 400mhz though. So the way I can see from my tiny bit of knowledge is I have the following options:
1. Mix the the different sticks of RAM but the 400mhz will be limited to 200mhz.
2. Pull out my 200mhz and just have a stick of 400mhz.

But im running AMD that supports dual channel which from what I believe means its better to run a 'pair' so
3. Run my 200mhz and 400mhz as a pair (if this is possible, I don't know)
4. Pull out my 200mhx and replace with a pair of 400mhz

So which is the better route for me?

If you need further system info just ask

Thanks in advance, Greboth.

Post the make and model of your motherboard and I'll give you a RAM reccommendation.

IF you don't know the make/model of your motherboard use the software in this link:

http://www.gtopala.com/

Download the "stand alone" version. Run it, (ignore any security warnings windows throws up), and click on the Motherboard option under Hardware in the menu on the left.

Should be all you need to know

Property Value
Manufacturer Winfast
Model NF4K8AA
Version
Serial Number

North Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 Revision A3
South Bridge NVIDIA nForce4 MCP Revision A3

CPU AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3000+
Cpu Socket Socket 939

System Slots 5 PCI

Memory Summary
Maximum Capacity 16384 MBytes
Maximum Memory Module Size 4096 MBytes
Memory Slots 4

Edit: Found the manual for it, says I can use 1gb ddr400 sticks so shouldn't be any problems. Unless there is something I have missed.

Matched pair is definitely the recommended way to go.

Unfortunately DDR memory is relatively expensive. You can actually buy DDR2 memory for less !!

You have a choice:

Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2), DDR PC3200 £54.04 (inc Delivery)

http://www.crucial.com/uk/stor ... x?IMODULE=CT2KIT12864Z40B

or

Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB), DDR PC3200 £51.03 (inc Delivery)

http://www.dabs.com/products/c ... 000-4294959239-4294960363


Both decent manufacturers, (though I've never personally used Corsair), and both the same spec and pretty much price.


You should notice quite a bit a difference in the responsiveness of your machine moving up from 512MB to 2GB of memory.

@geezmoor: Yh those are the ones I thought I could use

Thanks for the help guys I noticed looking at prices the DDR is more but oh well. There is a couple of little PC shops by me which I want to try to see if they got it cheaper, but I doubt it. Roll on payday

Quote from Greboth :

@geezmoor: Yh those are the ones I thought I could use

Thanks for the help guys I noticed looking at prices the DDR is more but oh well. There is a couple of little PC shops by me which I want to try to see if they got it cheaper, but I doubt it. Roll on payday

If money is tight, you could get away with just getting a single 1GB stick and run it with the one you have already. That will give you a total of 1.5GB and cost you under £30.

When it comes to selecting memory it goes like this, (allowing for Mobo compatibility of course):

1st - Total Amount
2nd - Speed (determined by the lowest speed module installed).
3rd - CL value
4th - Other clock settings.

People waste a lot of money IMO on memory modules with lower CL and other clock settings when actually the performance of their machine would benefit more from just extra GBs or Mhz.

Money isn't really tight, just going to wait to pay day anyway as its only Monday I was thinking about just adding 1 gb but as runs dual channel and the price isn't that alot really I might as well go for 2gb

I shall keep that list in mind if/when I come to buy anymore RAM.

Is that your main system? Seems a little on the slow side. If your willing to pay out £50 for RAM might as well save up for a while and get a whole new system....Just built a system for someone (minus a graphics card, onboard will do for what they want) for £320. Includes AMD Athlon 64x2 6000+, 2GB ddr2 800mhz ram, 250GB hard drive, screen, mouse etc. Just an idea.

If not, ive got 2 sticks of DDR3200 sitting in an old broken PC I could send, think they are both 512mb, I know one is at least!

Quote from robt :

Is that your main system? Seems a little on the slow side. If your willing to pay out £50 for RAM might as well save up for a while and get a whole new system....Just built a system for someone (minus a graphics card, onboard will do for what they want) for £320. Includes AMD Athlon 64x2 6000+, 2GB ddr2 800mhz ram, 250GB hard drive, screen, mouse etc. Just an idea.

If not, ive got 2 sticks of DDR3200 sitting in an old broken PC I could send, think they are both 512mb, I know one is at least!

minus the screen and periferals you could do what i did, e8400, 4gb DDR2 800mhz ram, 512mb HD4650, 500GB hard drive for about the same price

Utilizing dual channel isn't as good as it is hyped to be. It may only give up to 5 - 10% more performance, which really sucks. Get some good old memory, and get a new video card =)