Can I blow up my 'puter trying this?

Bass Master "K"

Bass Master "K"

New member
I have a P3, 366mhz, 128 RAM computer that I use for the web (not my DAW), and as I was installing a CDRW drive I noticed I have another slot for some more RAM.

Through a friend I got my hands on two different sticks of RAM, one looks older and very much like the RAM that I have in my computer, the other one looks much newer but neither of us are sure how much RAM there actually is on the sticks. I don't see any identifyable marks on them.

Is it possible I will damage my computer by trying to plug one in and see if it is compatable with my system? Or if it isn't will it just not register that there is any extra RAM there?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Since this computer is my lifeline to here I don't want to blow it up! ;)
 
Hey Ken, I wouldn't chance it. I don't think the wrong RAM is going to hurt anything on the mobo (at least when my buddy got the wrong RAM from those pukes at Pacific Solutions, it didn't fry his Sony Viao...they just outright sold him the wrong freakin' RAM for it....).

The only thing I can think of by installing more ram is this. I believe that non registered RAM will restrict you to only two sticks that will successfully run on your box. Registered RAM will allow you to run 3 or 4 sticks successfully.

Hey man, RAM is freakin' cheap these days. Just pull one of your sticks you have right now and take it on down to a reputable shop and explain your hardware setup and see if you can run another stick of it. If it is all non registered, then you probably can't, but if you can, you can easily add another 256MB for around $30-40 dollars!

Didn't see you at the D59 CD release party at Berbati's Friday night. Freakin' great show. I hadn't seen D59 (even though I did all the editing on their CD...). I seen Mobius though. Nick has came a long freakin' ways as a front man since the Point Five Past days. Go check them out if you haven't seen them yet.

Ed
 
Little to no chance that you damage anything. I'd try it.
(yes, I do know more than a thing or 2 about computers).

No guarantees ;)
 
Hey Ed :)

Ya, I was pricing RAM for my DAW and I noticed that a stick of 128 for this puter would run only like 40$. The thing is that this computer is running fine without the extra RAM, I don't really need it for anything specific but just thought that since this RAM fell into my hands that if it would work and not hurt my system I might as well give it a run. Obviously it would not be worth bothering to try if there is a chance it will hurt my mobo.

Since I want to add another stick of RAM to my DAW to get it up to 1.2GB DDR RAM, and I need an external verb unit (I'm not really crazy about Cubase SX's verbs) I would rather spend the $40 towards one of these purchases, especially since this computer does everything that I ask it to....although if it would do it faster it would be nice :D Anyhow, that's what led me here...

I havn't heard D59 yet, but I have heard of them. I don't believe I have heard of Mobius yet. I'll keep my eye's peeled in the A&E and WW and have to catch a show. Hope all is going well in the recording world for ya. ;) Keep in touch...
 
The registered/unregistered thing has nothing to do with how many sticks you *can* use. You simply can't mix the two.

The only risk in trying this is the risk associated with any upgrade/repair. Just be careful. If the stick fits (there are little notches, don't force anything) then there is an ok chance that it'll work.

Your P2 366Mhz will require either PC100 or PC133 memory. Registered memory would be a consideration at sizes over 512MB, but most boards do not support it and you probably can't go over 512 on your board anyhow. At crucial you should be able to score a 256MB stick for around $40-50.

Personally, I'd give it a shot if you feel comfortable with it. I do this kind of crap all the time. Just make sure that part of your bare skin is always touching a metal part of the case (get your mind out of the gutter) and that you unplug the machine before opening it up.

Note: if one of the sticks is something like PC66, it will still be recognized by your system, but may cause instability (or it might simply work fine). If your system acts funny *at all* after the upgrade then remove the memory. It might be a good idea to add the new memory to the first DIMM socket so that it'll be used first, hence any problems will become apparent much sooner.

Slackmaster 2000
 
yeah, what Slack said about putting it in the first slot. Id put it in by itself first then add your other sticks one by one.
 
Thanks for the info Slackmaster. How can I tell registered vs. unregistered RAM?

One of the sticks is a newer Kingston stick...looks like it was made in 2001.

The other one looks more like I remember my RAM looking like on the inside of computer, but it doesn't have any name on it other than ASD which is written on each of the black boxes on the stick along with a bunch of numbers.

They are both 72 pin which is what my ram is and I would feel comfortable doing the install, I have installed everything new on this computer and so far so good. I'm always very careful about contacting metal frequently during installs to avoid static electricity. My main concern was just that I didn't want to plug it in and turn on my computer and have smoke pouring out the back :rolleyes: because since everything runs fine now it would be retarded to mess up my comp just because I was being experimental without a real need to be.

BTW Slack, thanks for the prompt service on the Homerecording.comp CD. I checked your website out too and downloaded two of your tunes....good stuff!
 
Find out what the front side buss is. I believe you'd need sdram 66 for that computer. As mentioned it wouldn't hurt as long as it fits, it just won't recognize if it's too old. Most ram will work if its too fast but not too old/slow.
 
Glad you got the CD, make sure to check out the enhanced stuff on your computer!

jake, any P2 350Mhz or higher runs on a 100Mhz FSB (that was one of the main differences between the LX and BX chipsets), so he needs at least PC100. I'm assuming he meant P2 366 anyhow, because there was no P3 366. Just FYI, I'm full of useless facts, of which at least half are completely wrong.

Slackmaster 2000
 
"Is it possible I will damage my computer by trying to plug one in and see if it is compatable with my system?"

In a word, yes.

Real world story from a few weeks ago: A guy I work with, who really should have known better, was working on a friend's computer. He had some old unused SDRAM DIMMs lying around and thought he would use one to upgrade his buddies computer. Problem was, his buddies computer used DDR RAM. Now, the two RAM types have notches in different places to prevent you from installing the wrong kind. However - and I'm really not sure just how he did this - the guy went ahead and crammed the SDRAM into the DDR slot ("it was REALLY hard to get it into the slot") .

The result - he powered the system on and POOF. Dead motherboard, CPU, RAM. The idiot had to pick up the bill for replacement parts.

Moral of the story is don't try to fit a square block into a round hole.
 
Well thanks everyone for your replys, it will help me in the near future. I opened my comp up and low and behold my knowledge that I "knew" it was 72 pin was in fact wrong :rolleyes:

It turns out it's 168 pin DIMM that runs at 100mhz. My buddy says he can get his hands on this even easier since it's older and he doesn't use it as much when rebuilding systems.

Slack, it's definately a P3, I thought it was 366mhz, maybe it was a 333? It's a Dell Dimension XPS T series. Anyhow, I actually looked up info in my owners manual and this bad boy :rolleyes: ;) can actually handle 768 Megs of RAM! LOL, my DAW makes this thing look like a calculator. Oh well...it fits the bill and has been a good comp.

I really appreciate all the advice. I will make sure I don't force anything...I want my comp to be the "non-smoking" variety.
 
i've smoked a couple it ain't no big deal. i've even electrocuted myself on a power supply a time or two, that ain't no big deal either.

of course, i've got don king hair, but... that ain't no big deal. since it's not your main box, you might as well go ahead a eXperiment.

and if you can't use those DIMM chips, I'll throw em into my crusty, dusty Ensoniq ASR-X pro.
 
Nope, the P3 started at around 450Mhz...really not a whole lot different from a P2 at that time...didn't really become "fast" until the coppermines at 600.

At any rate, if it really is 366Mhz then it can't be a P3. No matter.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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