Am I using the right RAM speed PC2100

[T.J. Harry]

I am planing to upgrage my computer with Gigabyte Mother Board having the
following specs (relevant part. Request advice reg the memory type/speed
-------------- the spec --------------
GIGABYTE (AMD, Socket A) GA-7VKMP VIA KM266 DDR, Video & Audio,
USB 2.0 ATX MB

GA-7VKMP
VIA ProSavage KM266 AGPset

Socket A for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron 200/266 MHz FSB
Supports AMD Athlon™ XP processor 2200+ and beyond.
Auto-detects CPU voltage
------------------------------------------------
The vendor is going to give me a single 256MB DDRAM PC2100 module. Do I need
PC2600 RAM module to get the optimum performance from the new mother board.

Is PC2100 having a speed of 133 MHz and PC2600 266 MHz.
How does the PCxxxx relate to the mememory speed. Request advice.

Thanks, -Harry

 

[Michael J. Apollyon]

Harry,

This should clear it all up for you.

The four digit number after PC represents the memory's data
transfer rate in MB/sec. (3200 = 3.2GB/sec)

PC1600 = DDR200 = 100MHz actual, 200MHz effective
PC2100 = DDR266 = 133MHz actual, 266MHz effective
PC2700 = DDR333 = 166MHz actual, 333MHz effective
PC3200 = DDR400 = 200MHz actual, 400MHz effective

 

[Adrian]

That is fine. You can buy faster memory if you intend to upgrade later but
otherwise you are going to pay more for memory speeds you do not need

 

[T.J. Harry]

Michael J. Apollyon,

Thanks, excellent info !!. Did you miss PC2600 or is it
implied in the list provided by you.

I forgot one info. My vendor is going to give me AMD
XP2000MHz processor. So will it be better to use
PC2600 (266 MHz, I guess), for my Gigabyte Motherboard

-Harry

 

[DaveW]

There is NO such thing as PC2600 RAM. PC2100 DDR RAM runs at 266MHz. It's
what you need. (PC2700 DDR RAM runs at 333 MHz.)

 

[T.J. Harry]

Hi Readers, Request Help/Advice

Pl read my earlier postings on the same subject.

What should be the letters/numbers appearing on the memory chips on the
memory modules so that I can make out what I get is a PC2100 chips' module.

 

[T.J. Harry]

Hi Readers

Thanks for your response(s)

It appears I did not make my point clear. I went to a vendor to buy a 128MB
PC2100 module. The module has a few chips soldered on to a (Module)strip.
One Chip has a paper sticker(!) on it reading PC2100. The 2nd chip has a
sticker(!!) reading "warranty void if removed" on the 3rd bare chip I can
manage (very faint) to read ??1600. So I argued that it is a PC1600
128MB module. The vendor maitains that it is a PC2100 module. My question
is, what should be the letter/number appearing on the chip, which indicates
that it is a DDRAM PC2100 chip module. I need a 256 MB module. Is PCxxxx, a
DDRAM or SDRAM.

-Harry, Original Poster

 

[Michael J. Apollyon]

Hi again,

AFAIK, there really are no industry standard memory chip or
module markings. You can usually just google the PN, but a
sticker is usually the most you get with generic RAM. You can
read the memory module's SPD with a software utility like
Sandra, CPU-Z, or Aida32. Then run memtest86 at the rated
speed to know for sure.

Personally, I have never seen a PC1600 module and find it
rather unlikely that a reputable vendor would try to pass one
off as a PC2100 module these days.