Is extra memory useable?

[Dave Kahn]

Motherboard is Gigabyte Technology 7IXE4 which has 3 dual inline
memory module (DIMM) sockets. It can take up to 256 MB in each socket
with memory size varying in each socket in any order.

I've just installed an extra 256 MB module. AIDA32 shows all 3 modules
functioning correctly: 256 MB, 256 MB, 64 MB. Yet the total physical
memory is shown as 255 MB, aound 77% utilised, and AIDA32 suggests
installing more memory to imporve applications performance.

OS is Windows XP Home Edition, and Control Panel/System/General shows
256 MB of RAM.

What gives? Individually the memory modules appear to be running
correctly, there are no special steps in the MoBo manual to configure
the memory - the BIOS is supposed to detect it automatically - but it
doesn't appear all to be useable. Any suggestions will be gratefully
received.

Incidentally this system originally had just 2 x 64 MB modules. It
really groaned under XP. Installing the first 256 MB module produced a
huge leap in performance. I was hoping for a bit more with the 2nd
stic

 

[steven67@]

Motherboard is Gigabyte Technology 7IXE4 which has 3 dual inline
memory module (DIMM) sockets. It can take up to 256 MB in each socket
with memory size varying in each socket in any order.

I've just installed an extra 256 MB module. AIDA32 shows all 3 modules
functioning correctly: 256 MB, 256 MB, 64 MB. Yet the total physical
memory is shown as 255 MB, aound 77% utilised, and AIDA32 suggests
installing more memory to imporve applications performance.

OS is Windows XP Home Edition, and Control Panel/System/General shows
256 MB of RAM.

..


How many chips are on each of these 256MB DIMMs, and what are the part
numbers on the chips?

This motherboard uses an AMD 750 chipset, which supports memory chip
densities up to 128Mbits. Most, recent 256MB DIMMs have eight 256Mbit
chips, and are not supported by this board. You will need 256MB DIMMs
that use sixteen 128Mbit chips--eighteen 128Mbit chips if the DIMMs are
ECC.