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#1
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When adding RAM, does it have to be from the same manufacturer?
I currently has 512mb (2x256) of DDR PC-3200 RAM and am looking to add
either another 256 or a 512 to the third slot on my motherboard. I think the memory I currently have is from Kingston (though I built this rig so many years ago I can't quite remember). Do I have to buy a Kingston stick of RAM or can I just buy any brand and not have problems? Also, I have my 2x256 setup running in dual-channel mode. With the new stick interfere with that at all? Thanks. |
#2
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When adding RAM, does it have to be from the same manufacturer?
In article , "Teh Suck"
wrote: I currently has 512mb (2x256) of DDR PC-3200 RAM and am looking to add either another 256 or a 512 to the third slot on my motherboard. I think the memory I currently have is from Kingston (though I built this rig so many years ago I can't quite remember). Do I have to buy a Kingston stick of RAM or can I just buy any brand and not have problems? Also, I have my 2x256 setup running in dual-channel mode. With the new stick interfere with that at all? Thanks. If you tell us the motherboard, we can give you a better quality answer. RAM from different manufacturers can be mixed. From a hardware perspective, a good deal of mixing is allowed. What fouls up the works, is poorly written BIOS programs. Some early Athlon64 motherboard BIOS were just terrible when it comes to mixing the RAMs. Intel motherboards should be more friendly. Tell us the motherboard, and we can comment on your dual channel question. And in the world of RAM, you can never guarantee a person, that there will not be trouble with RAM. Despite all possible user planning, it is still possible to run into trouble. For example, you could buy all Kingston sticks, and still have trouble when they are all plugged in. Paul |
#3
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When adding RAM, does it have to be from the same manufacturer?
Paul wrote:
In article , "Teh Suck" wrote: I currently has 512mb (2x256) of DDR PC-3200 RAM and am looking to add either another 256 or a 512 to the third slot on my motherboard. I think the memory I currently have is from Kingston (though I built this rig so many years ago I can't quite remember). Do I have to buy a Kingston stick of RAM or can I just buy any brand and not have problems? Also, I have my 2x256 setup running in dual-channel mode. With the new stick interfere with that at all? Thanks. If you tell us the motherboard, we can give you a better quality answer. RAM from different manufacturers can be mixed. From a hardware perspective, a good deal of mixing is allowed. What fouls up the works, is poorly written BIOS programs. Some early Athlon64 motherboard BIOS were just terrible when it comes to mixing the RAMs. Intel motherboards should be more friendly. Tell us the motherboard, and we can comment on your dual channel question. And in the world of RAM, you can never guarantee a person, that there will not be trouble with RAM. Despite all possible user planning, it is still possible to run into trouble. For example, you could buy all Kingston sticks, and still have trouble when they are all plugged in. Paul Hi, I have a Shuttle AN35N Ultra board with a 2100+ processor. Using the 1st and 3rd slots gives me dual channel (thus the 2nd/middle slot is vacant). Thanks. |
#4
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When adding RAM, does it have to be from the same manufacturer?
In article , "Teh Suck"
wrote: Paul wrote: In article , "Teh Suck" wrote: I currently has 512mb (2x256) of DDR PC-3200 RAM and am looking to add either another 256 or a 512 to the third slot on my motherboard. I think the memory I currently have is from Kingston (though I built this rig so many years ago I can't quite remember). Do I have to buy a Kingston stick of RAM or can I just buy any brand and not have problems? Also, I have my 2x256 setup running in dual-channel mode. With the new stick interfere with that at all? Thanks. If you tell us the motherboard, we can give you a better quality answer. RAM from different manufacturers can be mixed. From a hardware perspective, a good deal of mixing is allowed. What fouls up the works, is poorly written BIOS programs. Some early Athlon64 motherboard BIOS were just terrible when it comes to mixing the RAMs. Intel motherboards should be more friendly. Tell us the motherboard, and we can comment on your dual channel question. And in the world of RAM, you can never guarantee a person, that there will not be trouble with RAM. Despite all possible user planning, it is still possible to run into trouble. For example, you could buy all Kingston sticks, and still have trouble when they are all plugged in. Paul Hi, I have a Shuttle AN35N Ultra board with a 2100+ processor. Using the 1st and 3rd slots gives me dual channel (thus the 2nd/middle slot is vacant). Thanks. That is an Nforce2 motherboard. Two slots are on one channel and one slot on the other channel. To expand your RAM, buy a new 512MB stick. Place the 2x256MB DIMMs in slot 1 and 2 (basically the pair of slots that are "close" to one another). The new 512MB stick goes in the third "lonely" slot. (Your total RAM will be 1GB.) Nforce2 has one of the most flexible arrangements for dual channel. All the user has to do, is balance the total amount of RAM on each channel. The 2x256MB goes on one channel, and the 1x512MB goes on the other channel. Both channels have 512MB total as a result. With a 2100+, the processor FSB is at 133Mhz. I don't expect any problems running the RAM at DDR266 speeds, so this should be a pretty painless upgrade. Running Nforce2 at DDR400 speeds is when things get more challenging (I had to buy some CAS2 memory to make it work error free at DDR400 on my Nforce2 motherboard). As for memory speed, the higher speed RAMs are backward compatible with lower speed applications, as you already know. Since you own PC3200 already, the new stick might as well be PC3200 as well. If the RAM has the same CAS speed, then no one stick holds the other ones back. If you need to sell the memory later, it will be easier to sell PC3200 memory, than the slower stuff. HTH, Paul |
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