Lots of RAM questions

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DavidK

DavidK

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Hi, I have a store bought HP Celeron 566, came with 64 megs of ram. I upgraded to 128, it only has two slots, so 64 and 64.

Q: I want to add 256 more. Are they all they same, and compatible? Is there anything I should know before I buy?

Actually, my mom is going to buy it for me as a birthday gift, so it cant be mail order, she lives near every Best Buy/Circuit City/Staples.etc/. Any Ideas? My computer will only go up to 384megs ram, so I figure if I get a 256ram chip and use one of my 64 meg ram chips, I should be better off than I am now. True?
 
sometimes when you mix and match brands or types of Ram, you run into problems....i did it on my HP with no problems.....

if it does cause problems, just settle for the 256 MB only...thats not bad...unless your doing video editing, in which you need a shitload......
 
Like Gidge said, 256MB ain't so bad.

I'd pull the two 64's a put one 256MB in.

Check the specs though on your machine, some can't handle a 256MB DIMM.
 
In this case, the best answer is to read the motherboard manual. 384 is a weird number for max memory, so I would want to read the book. If you don't have the manual, you can possibly open the computer up and find out the motherboard manuafactuer, and get the info from the web.
 
If thats a HP Pavillion (aka piece o' crap), I have one with a 256MB stick and a 64MB stick...it will definitely take the 256...if it plays well with the 64 will be a crap shoot, but no biggie if it doesnt......

Circuit City has a 256 MB PC133 for $29.99 and a 128 MB stick for 14.99 .....Centon is the brand name....half decent......get one of each and that will be 384MB for under $45......
 
www.crucial.com (Micron) has a great memory finder for darn near every PC made. It will show you what you need and can use (plus they have darn good prices and service.... I highly recomend them.)
 
Thanx a bunch guys:cool:

Gidge, I have a Pavillion 6645C (c must mean cd burner).

Tim, cool link, but it says the Max Memory is 256 ram, and I am pretty sure it is 384 ram. Does anybody actually know what the maximum RAM is for this model?

Gidge, why is the Pavilion a piece of crap? I am not doubting you at all, I just want to know what to look for. I am completely self-taught on computers and most of my friends dont own one.
I think the problems might be:

Shared RAM for video?
Limited expansion ( If it only can do 256RAM, obviously that is true)
Shit soundcard ( I have a Soundblaster Live and a Darla24 now)

Final Question: will it be easy to add another hard drive in the future? I am just using the one it came with, but will I have any problems adding a fast (7200) one for audio? Cheers, Dave
 
DavidK said:
Thanx a bunch guys:cool:

Gidge, I have a Pavillion 6645C (c must mean cd burner).

Tim, cool link, but it says the Max Memory is 256 ram, and I am pretty sure it is 384 ram. Does anybody actually know what the maximum RAM is for this model?

Gidge, why is the Pavilion a piece of crap? I am not doubting you at all, I just want to know what to look for. I am completely self-taught on computers and most of my friends dont own one.
I think the problems might be:

Shared RAM for video?
Limited expansion ( If it only can do 256RAM, obviously that is true)
Shit soundcard ( I have a Soundblaster Live and a Darla24 now)

Final Question: will it be easy to add another hard drive in the future? I am just using the one it came with, but will I have any problems adding a fast (7200) one for audio? Cheers, Dave
Click to expand...

Any consumer level pc you buy at a big retailer is cheap because the components inside are lower quality parts. They are optimized/intended for browsing the web, using Office and playing games. Chances are you have a really small power supply that can realistically only handle the load of the components that came with it.

You should check to make sure your system handles ATA66. This allows the HD to transfer data at a higher rate (66Mb/sec vs. 33Mb/sec). All new HD's should run this and this makes a bigger difference than 5400RPM vs. 7200RPM.

If you are at all serious about digital audio recording, you either spend the big $$$ on the workstation level PC's or build it yourself. Personally I like building computers myself and selecting all the components. I haven't owned a name brand PC since my Compaq Presario back in 1996.
 
Thanx a bunch Brzilian:cool:
Does anybody know where I can get the exact specs (AT A66) etc. on my computer? I have no clue where my manuals et al are, my apartment is so crowded, I can rarely find my cat ( He loves it that way).
If you are at all serious about digital audio recording
Click to expand...
Very serious, but very broke. My Girlfriend lost her job on 9/12 because of 9/11, so I am supporting us on a violinists salary, just above a Dunkin Donuts salary ( well kinda).

Is a 7200rpm hard drive easily installed on my system? Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a hard-drive specialist ( Star Trek):cool:
 
Manuals here

http://www.hp.com/cposupport/manindex/hppavilion19765_eng_man.html

Specs:

http://www.hp.com/cposupport/personal_computing/support_doc/bph05434.html


It's an intel 810 chipset, so it's most likely ATA/66

Not the end of the world if it isn't ATA/66

I've recorded 8 tracks at once and mixed 20 with a moderate amount of plugins on ATA/33 on a Celeron overclocked to 450MHz.

Installing a hard drive is 'relatively' easy. I'm 99.9% positive you won't have a problem installing a second hard drive on your machine, I worked on a pavillion last week that was I think the same model number - celeron 533MHz. It had 2 Hard drives.

It all sounds kinda odd, I mean of course you can have 4 devices in a computer... BUT. With HP/Compaq/Packard Bell... you just never know.

Did you buy that memory yet? - Hope not.

It only supports 256MB Maximum. And as a pair, not one.

You need 2 X 128MB DIMMS. PC-133 is fine.

---


This is what I'd do for starters:

I'm quite sure you can get a recording machine happening there. Boost the memory to 256MB (with 2 individual 128MB DIMMS), add a second 7200 RPM hard drive as the Primary Master on the Second IDE channel.

- Format your current Operating system drive, if it's a stock HP install and hasn't been done before.

- Dual boot if your using it for more than strickly recording.

Email me or post back if you need more info.
 
Hehehe, your mom is buying RAM...


there is a joke in there somewhere...











Ahem, oh wait, that is my mom.


Sorry. My bad.
 
Mom buying you Ram?...why not, I GAVE her some ram last night.....

uh...sorry:D

piece o'shit in my case means that the quality is less than stellar.....of course ive had no problems with mine, but I think id get better performance out of a quality motherboard, etc......

now, lets not talk about when i added a hard drive to this thing...the case is so small i had to take the whole thing apart and pull out the power supply (not exaggerating) to put in a second hard drive....hopefully your will be as easy as the model Emeric saw....
 
BTW,

I wouldnt worry about what it is capable of for digital audio....i have a 500mhz Celeron Pavillion, and i added 256 MB ram and a 30GB Maxtor 7200 rpm hard drive along with a Delta Audiophile soundcard and i get 16 tracks easy with some plugins.....

btw, im showing 320MB ram (orig 64MB plus an added 256MB stick) yet it says mine has a 256MB max....how is this?....
 
Thanx all, looks like I have to get two 128 sticks. Dont know if my mom can figure that out, maybe I should ask for a puppy.

Gidge, what model do you have, and how the heck do you get that much ram to work?
 
David,

I have no earthly idea how I did it, and now im not even sure if I shoulda.....i had no idea there was a 256MB limit until Emeric pointed it out....my BIOS is showing the 2 sticks and Sytem Properties is showing 320MB....i have the 6630.....

Emeric,

how can i tell if my system is utilizing this Ram?.....
 
One more question,

What should I expect with 256RAM as opposed to 128? Will my life be different? Will I be happy? Will my hair grow Back?

My computer is currently multi-purpose ( Internet dial-up, Some games, etc.) Will I notice a big difference in increased audio tracks,decreased dropouts, etc., or does that have to do mainly with the speed of the hard drive, and the lack of a second one?

When I got cakewalk PA9 18 months ago, the box said : you need a pentium 266 and 64megs ram. Boy, have I learned a lot from you guys!!!
 
Gidge, if it says 320 cool, than its using it. Probably a BIOS and motherboard that was designed to handle it, but no accurate spec available at release date.

So, maybe 320MB would work for you David. But, If it were me, I'd by 2 X 128MB.

Will you notice much between 128MB and 256MB.

Only if your machine is running at optimal levels to begin with. I'm not talking major tweeks... but you are running an HP. If the OS is stock HP install then it's full of crap that will bog your system down.

Tough call David. I'd 'say', you should have 256MB system ram. But if your machine is not running at it's best, then you won't notice any difference anyway.

Lots of variables. Do you know a local computer guy that could help you out?

Outside all that, buy the RAM, you will need regardless.

The rest of the setup will follow.
 
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