Upgrading my RAM: What should I buy?

graniteharbor85 said:http://www.ebay.com/itm/ram-memory-upgrade-deal

It’s honestly tough to find 🙂

if you want to save some $40 since it doesn't have a 36-month warranty.

First off, we're talking about a budget scavenger hunt here—you can probably snag even more $17 if you know how to haggle, mostly because this thing is running on ancient DDR2.

Secondly, if he’d actually put in a little effort, he would’ve posted his full specs and asked which RAM we’d recommend. Then we could actually tell him—he’s likely rocking some old e2xxx Intel, a Celeron, or maybe a Pentium. Instead of blowing $133 on 4GB of RAM, he’d be better off selling the CPU, the motherboard, and that measly 1GB of leftover RAM, then taking that cash plus the $133 he would've spent and putting it toward a new G530 + H61 combo with 4GB of DDR3
instead.
Thirdly—do you honestly think he’s gonna be stuck on this exact same setup for another three years?

graniteharbor85 said:First off, this is just used gear, so there's room to haggle $17 if you know how to negotiate, especially since we're talking about DDR2.

Secondly, if he’d put in a little more effort, he could have posted his entire build and asked which RAM we actually recommend. Then we'd really know—he probably has some ancient Intel e2xxx, Celeron, or Pentium chip. Instead of blowing $133 on 4GB of RAM, he’d be better off selling the processor, the motherboard, and that leftover 1GB of RAM, then taking those $133 plus the cash from the sale to grab a new G530 + H61 combo with 4GB of DDR3.

Thirdly, do you honestly think he's going to stick with this exact same setup for another three years?

Yeah, my computer gets slow sometimes, but hopefully adding new RAM will fix it.
I'm running Windows 7, so it should work fine enough.
After hearing that, I bet he'll be riding this setup for five years before he even thinks about an upgrade.

What’s the actual deal with DDR2 versus DDR3 memory (aside from the price tag)—is it even a meaningful difference? Where am I actually going to feel that gap, like in gaming or something?
Also, what's the real-world difference between 800MHz and 1066MHz? Is that anything to worry about, or does it even matter?

It comes down to the speeds, plus you can't exactly jam DDR2 RAM into a DDR3 slot or vice versa.

The speed gaps are pretty minor, so I guess it's not worth stressing over.

I'm looking to pick up this module . I've been running some Corsair RAM for about three years now (see the CPU-Z screenshots here)

My motherboard is http://europe.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=P45TS





Will these two sticks work together without crashing my system? One is old and the other is new, so the latencies don't match. Thanks

Unfortunately, with those mixed motherboard kits, you never really know until you actually try it. Honestly, though, just grab the 4GB setup—RAM is dirt cheap these days anyway...

Look, different speeds and latencies aren't a dealbreaker as long as the sticks are compatible and don't clash with each other or the board. Both should just settle into whatever the slower stick's settings are.

But what kind of RAM are you even running right now? You're telling me it's DDR3 but it's stuck at 800MHz? You need to show your rig some respect, specifically by messing with the FSB:DRAM ratio...

Look, you can't just jam DDR2 and DDR3 together in the same rig—it’s physically impossible. If you decide to go the DDR3 route, you’re gonna have to pull that old DDR2 module out first.

I have no idea how to fix this. I tried setting it up, but it only lets me pick auto or DDR3 800 (400 MHz). I can't figure out where I'm messing up. My processor is an E4300 running at an FSB 800MHz, so I guess that's why the memory won't go any higher :-( I don't get why I can't actually change it. If anyone knows what's going on, let me know.

Benjamin King2 said:You can't run DDR2 and DDR3 at the same time. If you buy DDR3, the DDR2 module has to go.

It's a DDR3 module, not DDR2, but I have no idea why I can't push the frequency higher.😢

When I set the auto option in the BIOS, everything looks fine according to the CPU-Z screenshots. But if I switch it to the other setting, DDR3 800 (400MHz), CPU-Z shows a DRAM Frequency of 394 MHz. My processor performs worse and the system just hangs. 😢

If it won't let you tweak the other FSB:DRAM ratios, then you're just hitting a wall with that motherboard's limitations and the whole mess of mixing DDR2 and DDR3. Honestly, I wouldn't know—I've never owned a board like that...

Can you drop the exact link for that old RAM?

graniteharbor85 said:Send me the exact link for that old RAM.

http://www.crucial.com/store/partspe...=CT25664BA1339

I pulled the motherboard manual and adjusted the jumpers from their default settings to match the FSB 1333 and the memory speed. I managed to get some new latency settings, so check the photos and judge for yourselves. The MHz hasn't changed, though. As for the BIOS, I'm completely lost...

Looks like your memory is running at 800 MHz based on those screenshots—not the 1333 you were aiming for. You should probably jump into the BIOS and set the RAM to 667 MHz instead.

My BIOS lets me switch to 667 MHz, but as soon as I save and reboot, it resets back to 400 MHz. I’ve been reading online that the processor needs to support this too. I'm running a Core 2 duo E4300 which operates at an FSB 800, meaning my memory is stuck at 400 MHz. Does anyone here have this specific CPU paired with faster DDR3 memory than 400 MHz? Thanks.

Thanks, everyone.

I pulled it off, and here’s the proof. I also picked up two identical 2GB Crucial sticks from Newegg, so they're running in dual mode now.



I manually bumped the bus speed up to 333 from 200 and dropped the multiplier from 9 down to 6. This E4300 is great for overclocking since it's unlocked; I've got it running at 2000 MHz instead of 1800 MHz. I pushed it to 2150 MHz two years ago, so I know it'll be stable. Thanks for the help.

Hey there, quick question about RAM: can I mix modules with different speeds? For instance, if I have one stick running at 400 MHz and another at 800 MHz, will they actually play nice together?

In theory, yeah—you can do it—just don't go trying to mix different types like DDR and DDR2. That’ll be a disaster. If you do manage to get it running, the whole system is just going to throttle down to whatever speed the slowest module is clocked at.