A few questions about RAM

N

No More Wolves

New member
'ello again.

Do any of you know how to determine how much RAM my computer can run?

Do you know what sort of ill effects could take place by using more RAM than what my computer recommends?

And lastly-- can a bad memory stick make my computer run slower than what it would if the stick were removed completely? I have a 1 GIG stick and a 256 MG stick and I think the 256 MB may be fried.

Thanks!

I'm using a 2.24 GHz Celeron with 1.25 GB of RAM. I'm running Cubase SE and DFHS, with a PODxt for my line in.
 
Best way to test your RAM is to put each stick in seperatly (first slot) fire it up and run the hell out of it. Atleast this way you can see if there is a problem, and if there is, which stick it would be. A bad stick of ram could cause just about anything to happen. To take it a step further, once you determine if both sticks are fine or not, put one that you know for a fact works, in the second slot (leaving the first one open) and reboot, etc, then repeat for the remaining slots, if both sticks work great in all the slots, seperatly, you're in good shape. Most people wouldn't recommend running two sticks with such a different capacity, but for all intents and purposes it should function in single channel quite well.
 
No More Wolves said:
'ello again.

Do any of you know how to determine how much RAM my computer can run?

Do you know what sort of ill effects could take place by using more RAM than what my computer recommends?

And lastly-- can a bad memory stick make my computer run slower than what it would if the stick were removed completely? I have a 1 GIG stick and a 256 MG stick and I think the 256 MB may be fried.

Thanks!

I'm using a 2.24 GHz Celeron with 1.25 GB of RAM. I'm running Cubase SE and DFHS, with a PODxt for my line in.
Click to expand...


Im a pc gamer. I know computers like the back of my hand. Heres a quick way if you are using Win98, Win2000, or WinXP.

A. On your desktop, look for an icon labeled "My Computer". Right click on my computer, then click at the bottom of the selections called "Properties" in the same grey menu box. Another screen will pop u with a picture of either a monitor or your cpu manufactor. Wait 15secs. On the bottom of that screen it will say "System:". It will list your proccessor and speed. Also it will list your memory amount.

B. Click the "start" button on the bottom left of your screen. Look for a link called,"My Computer". And follow the steps I listed above after clicking on "My computer".
 
qb2k5 said:
Im a pc gamer. I know computers like the back of my hand. Heres a quick way if you are using Win98, Win2000, or WinXP.

Wait 15secs. On the bottom of that screen it will say "System:".
Click to expand...
Wait 15 seconds for what? As soon as you click properties the info pops up immediately unless your computer is a P.O.S.
Most of the time a 256 stick will have tighter timings than a gig stick. If you are running the timings "by SPD" then make sure that the stick with the looser timings is in the first slot or you may get random reboots or crashing.
The manual for your particular make and model of your motherboard should tell you the max amount of ram that it will handle.
 
No More Wolves said:
'ello again.

1. Do any of you know how to determine how much RAM my computer can run?

2. Do you know what sort of ill effects could take place by using more RAM than what my computer recommends?

3. And lastly-- can a bad memory stick make my computer run slower than what it would if the stick were removed completely? I have a 1 GIG stick and a 256 MG stick and I think the 256 MB may be fried.

Thanks!

I'm using a 2.24 GHz Celeron with 1.25 GB of RAM. I'm running Cubase SE and DFHS, with a PODxt for my line in.
Click to expand...

1. Easiest thing to is read the motherboard manual. If your computer didn't come with one, go online with the manufacturer.

2. There is no "ill effect" from having too much RAM. The only problem would be if you installed a type of size RAM chip that your computer did not support.

3. Well if you swap your RAM from 1.25 gigs down to 256, yes it will run slower, but just because it has LESS RAM, not bad. In my experiance the usual result from bad RAM is the system crashing or locking up, not running slower.

Creamy has it right. The best cheap RAM test is swapping the chips around and then seeing what happens. Although if you think the 256 is bad, I'd say just don't use it. 1 gig of RAM should be plenty.
 
No More Wolves said:
Do you know what sort of ill effects could take place by using more RAM than what my computer recommends?

Can a bad memory stick make my computer run slower than what it would if the stick were removed completely?
Click to expand...

First, download and use the free Memtest86 v3.2 diagnostic program to validate your installed RAM. The program is an .ISO image, so burn it directly to make a bootable CDROM.

Let the program run all night, or until it hits an error. Any error is a bad error, and has to be corrected. If the program runs multiple passes without error, your memory subsystem is in good shape. The diagnostics are very comprehensive and will shake out marginal memory problems. Don't skip doing this. Marginal memory will make your entire machine unstable.

Next, unless you are running Win98 or WinME, the operating system won't have a problem with 1.2gb. Microsoft has TIDs published for running Win98 with more than 512mb.

As noted above, take steps to insure you have matched memory in your machine. Mismatched SPD is asking for trouble. If your 256mb stick isn't an exact match for the 1gb, then fix that situation. Corsair XMS and Crucial are excellent memory. Avoid the cheap-o bargain basement stuff.
 
I've used several different speeds and capcities of ram in the same box, and generally found it to run stable, the higher speeds clock down to match the slowest speed stick. Not an ideal situation to be in, but it can work. Ideally, if you are running multiple sticks, you want the same capacity, same clock speed, etc. Don't let some of the low prices fool you, read the reviews, etc. I use Rosewill ram (www.newegg.com) I have 4 512mb sticks of PC3200 in both of my boxes, my g/fs and upgraded my mom and sisters PCs using it as well, and have had zero problems (knock on wood)
 
ocnor said:
Wait 15 seconds for what? As soon as you click properties the info pops up immediately unless your computer is a P.O.S.
Most of the time a 256 stick will have tighter timings than a gig stick. If you are running the timings "by SPD" then make sure that the stick with the looser timings is in the first slot or you may get random reboots or crashing.
The manual for your particular make and model of your motherboard should tell you the max amount of ram that it will handle.
Click to expand...

My computer pops of instantly. I know alot of avg joes whos pc running Winxp takes 10 secs to load up that info.
 
Download CPU-Z and Sandra benchmark. Both these free software tell you everything about your pc.
 
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