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RAM Confusion
Hi all.
With the profusion of different types of RAM on the market today I'm a little confused about the type of RAM I should use to upgrade my comp. Is there a "quick" way to tell? My comp is a couple of years old now and I know that it takes SDRAM, not DDR. Would the best way to tell be to get the MoBo stats and check the manufacturer's site? TIA, Erin |
#2
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On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 12:51:06 GMT, "Erin Peterson"
wrote: Hi all. With the profusion of different types of RAM on the market today I'm a little confused about the type of RAM I should use to upgrade my comp. Is there a "quick" way to tell? My comp is a couple of years old now and I know that it takes SDRAM, not DDR. Would the best way to tell be to get the MoBo stats and check the manufacturer's site? TIA, Erin When the system posts there should be a BIOS ID string, a long sequence of letters and numbers at the bottom of the screen. On some boards you might need to press escape key or turn off the logo screen in the bios in order to see these numbers. Write that down and Goggle search it... if you don't positively ID it then post that string here. Also there should be markings on the motherboard, usually printing either at the top of the video card (AGP) slot or in the middle of the PCI slots, displaying the make and model number and often the revision number. "Sisoft Sandra" can be found by a Google search, it will identify the chipset the motherboard uses, and "maybe" correctly identify the motherboard. WIth either of these bits of info you can find the manufacturer or post that info here and based upon the chipset we'll likely be able to figure out. "In general", a two year old system would be able to use PC133, but closer to 4-6 years old might need lower density, "PC100" memory. These generalities are no substitue for the specific info about the motherboard, that is the definitive factor. |
#3
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"Erin Peterson" said in
: Hi all. With the profusion of different types of RAM on the market today I'm a little confused about the type of RAM I should use to upgrade my comp. Is there a "quick" way to tell? My comp is a couple of years old now and I know that it takes SDRAM, not DDR. Would the best way to tell be to get the MoBo stats and check the manufacturer's site? TIA, Erin Once you know your brand and model, but more importantly once you know which particular motherboard you have, you could use www.crucial.com to give you a list of what memory sticks are appropriate for your computer. I've bought from them and like them, but I've also bought elsewhere when prices were better. I noticed that Corsair now wants a bigger sales volume and has their Value line of memory sticks which equates to Crucial and other common brands. I always liked Corsair but they used to be the premium brand and a very premium cost. Once you enter the brand and model, or the mobo brand and model, they'll tell you which memory sticks fit your system. Be sure to pick a bus speed that you want since they'll list several across all support bus speeds. Then you can buy from them or simply get the specs from their recommendation and find another brand with equal or better specs. In my last system, I might've gotten Crucial but instead found some better Geils that were also cheaper (it was a 1-day sale at newegg.com). |
#4
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kony wrote:
On Wed, 10 Mar 2004 12:51:06 GMT, "Erin Peterson" wrote: Hi all. With the profusion of different types of RAM on the market today I'm a little confused about the type of RAM I should use to upgrade my comp. Is there a "quick" way to tell? My comp is a couple of years old now and I know that it takes SDRAM, not DDR. Would the best way to tell be to get the MoBo stats and check the manufacturer's site? TIA, Erin When the system posts there should be a BIOS ID string, a long sequence of letters and numbers at the bottom of the screen. On some boards you might need to press escape key or turn off the logo screen in the bios in order to see these numbers. Write that down and Goggle search it... if you don't positively ID it then post that string here. Also there should be markings on the motherboard, usually printing either at the top of the video card (AGP) slot or in the middle of the PCI slots, displaying the make and model number and often the revision number. "Sisoft Sandra" can be found by a Google search, it will identify the chipset the motherboard uses, and "maybe" correctly identify the motherboard. WIth either of these bits of info you can find the manufacturer or post that info here and based upon the chipset we'll likely be able to figure out. "In general", a two year old system would be able to use PC133, but closer to 4-6 years old might need lower density, "PC100" memory. These generalities are no substitue for the specific info about the motherboard, that is the definitive factor. I would recommend the new release of Aida32 over SiSoft Sandra, the 'Enterprise System Information' build. I've known Sandra to be wrong almost as often as it's been right. Aida32 is, IMO, *the* most useful tool for IDing components. Especially the new release that has a far more up-to-date database than the older version I just replaced. It even provides hyperlinks to manufacturers sites where available. -- ~misfit~ |
#5
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"~misfit~" wrote:
I would recommend the new release of Aida32 over SiSoft Sandra, the 'Enterprise System Information' build. I've known Sandra to be wrong almost as often as it's been right. Aida32 is, IMO, *the* most useful tool for IDing components. Especially the new release that has a far more up-to-date database than the older version I just replaced. It even provides hyperlinks to manufacturers sites where available. 'Ya know, you turned me on to Aida a year or so ago, and I must admit that I find it to be an invaluable tool. Sandra still has her place, but for a quick and simple method of determining many things, Aida just can't be beat. Jon |
#6
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Jon Danniken wrote:
"~misfit~" wrote: I would recommend the new release of Aida32 over SiSoft Sandra, the 'Enterprise System Information' build. I've known Sandra to be wrong almost as often as it's been right. Aida32 is, IMO, *the* most useful tool for IDing components. Especially the new release that has a far more up-to-date database than the older version I just replaced. It even provides hyperlinks to manufacturers sites where available. 'Ya know, you turned me on to Aida a year or so ago, and I must admit that I find it to be an invaluable tool. Sandra still has her place, but for a quick and simple method of determining many things, Aida just can't be beat. Yep, it's a great little proggy Jon. Have you grabbed the new version? It's more up-to-date with modern systems, the 'Enterprise System Information' build is the one to go for. -- ~misfit~ |
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