RAMs and Clocks

Computer Hardware
#1

Hi,
I’ve got this PC of mine which I must admit is not of the Generation I live in :stuck_out_tongue: Its a PIII 550Mhz with 512cache. When I assembled it back in 1999, it had 64MB of Ram. I then did the huge upgrade on RAM and got it to 128 (64+64) :o Recently, I purchased 2 more RAMs - 128 a piece at well … throw away price (call me a scavenger if you will :bigsmile: )

Now for my doubts and questions.
Both the 64s clocked at 100 while the 128s clock 133. Will I have any performance degradation if I put all the 4 RAMS to get 384MB. Or, would it be better if I just stuck to the 128 x 2? Is there some thing that I’ve got to do in the BIOS to tell the PC that the speeds of RAMs inserted vary and there by get better performance?

Will appreciate a reply that would make sense to me, as I’m not too aware of the fundas involved. Its just that some people call me wise cause I’ve managed to throw in all components required and form a PC by myself!

Guess it really is true … “In the valley of the blind, the one eyed man is King” :stuck_out_tongue:

Cheerios
:slight_smile:

#2

u can put the 128Mb as well the 64Mb in your mobo
the 128Mb sticks will just run at 100mhz instead of 133mhz.
only problem could be that if your mobo isnt that new the 128Mb sticks will be reconized as 64Mb (if the sticks uses HD chips), but that is not sure at all! most likely you’ll have no problems with it.

#3

I usually get higher mhz RAM intentionally and set the Access time in BIOS to the lowest(which is actually the highest [fastest]) and this way I don’t worry about lag or any memory gaps. Its always safer to go higher, at worst the motherbaord as Maelstrom said will simply read it and work off it on a lower setting that it is meant for. You need not worry.
:slight_smile:

#4

Honest, I did not know there was a whole lot more to Club CD Freaks!

Thank you so much for those replies. Guess I’ll go ahead and plug it in. Know what… I was wondering what Maelstrom was referring to when he said MoBo. Presumed it was my PC and continued. It was when I started typing this reply, the bulb flashed (awfully late eh! :stuck_out_tongue: ). Anyways, is MoBo a standard short form among the techies? Nice to learn that anyway, Guess some of us learn even past our 35s :slight_smile:

Ok, now to the point. My “MoBo” :wink: does accept those 128s and recognises it rightly too. Thank Heavens :slight_smile: Now, just wondering where exactly in the Bios should I fool around? When I get back home after work later today, I’ll mess with everything anyway - just wanted to know how far I can poke my nose.

One other thing is, is it better to have more ram with clocked down speeds of 100 or to have less rams with all clocked properly at 133?

Thanks again and…
Cheerios
:slight_smile:

#5

One other thing is, is it better to have more ram with clocked down speeds of 100 or to have less rams with all clocked properly at 133?

that depends on whether u need the additional memory or not. if u do things that require a lot of memory (such as a lot of multitasking, photo editing, etc), u’d be better off leaving the extra ram in and running at the slower speed, or ur system will start using virtual memory, which would be much slower than if u had the ram in there.

if u don’t need so much memory, and ur mobo supports pc133, then feel free to use only the pc133 sticks, which would improve memory transfer rates. 256mb of ram is enough for most users, so this could be a viable option for u. however, if ur mobo only supports up to pc100, u should just leave all the ram in.

as for fooling around in the bios, remember that ur settings can only be as aggressive as ur weakest stick. if u have quality ram, u can try setting the CAS latency to 2 (down from 3; usually under “advanced chipset features”), which would provide a significant performance boost. also, ur pc133 ram has a better chance of handling CAS 2 at pc100 speeds than ur “real” pc100 sticks do, so this would be another possible reason to leave out the pc100 sticks.

#6

Thank you So Much! :slight_smile: Really appreciate the help I’ve got on the Club CD Freaks forum.

Guess, now I’ve got a clear idea of what should be and should not be. I normally use the PC for internet and for chats with my family besides the winamp. I presume this would not be called multitasking the way its meant to be as at most its just about 2 little applications that run simultaneously. So, I guess its wisest to stick to the two 128s at 133 clock speed and to change the latency to 2.

Thank you so much for those advices … I’ll now leave the podium !

Cheerios
:slight_smile:

#7

no problem, let us know if u encounter any problems. :wink:

#8

If I’m not mistaking, the Pentium III-500 is a CPU based on the Katmai core. This core runs on FSB 100 (Coppermine used FSB133).
If the busspeed of the memory is faster than the FSB of the CPU, the extra performance gain because of the faster memorybus will be extremely small and thus giving you only a small increase of performance. More memory can give you a huge performanceleap, but memory with a higher busspeed won’t…

So I’d advice to put in the memory and enjoy the ride!

#9

just my thoughts
P3 500 uses a 100Mhz system bus, bit useless to let the memory operate at 133Mhz, dont even think his mobo support that (mobo = motherboard)
so just put everything you have in the mobo and let it run at 100mhz you’ll be fine.

#10

The only problem I can see is that in order to use all four banks the memory for bank 3 & 4 four must be single sided memory.

#11

Originally posted by Sorondil
The only problem I can see is that in order to use all four banks the memory for bank 3 & 4 four must be single sided memory.

thats what i meant with HD chips on the sticks :slight_smile:

#12

With my Athlon 600 classic + Asus K7m I got stability problems when mixing pc100 and pc133 memory. If you suddenly get any problems this might be it.