Memory conundrums

[floppybootstomp]

In which Mr Flops learns that it is indeed a good idea to RTFM

In the first machine in my sig I have two 1Gb sticks of OCZ PC6400 memory.

OCUK advertised the same deal at a reduced price and I could not resist, so ordered another two sticks.

This is the one, £62.26 when on offer.

So I was looking forward to having 4Gb RAM on my gaming rig...

However, when I opened up the case, I noticed the cooling pipes on my Zalman CPU cooler overhang the 4th memory slot - foiled (see pic below) I couldn't turn the cooler around as then the pipes would foul the onboard chipset cooling.

I toyed with the idea of getting a different cooler but then thought I'd put all 4 OCZ RAM sticks into the second machine in my sig and maybe switch motherboards at a later date.

So I took the Corsair Memory (2Gb) out of machine # 2 and put all 4 OCZ sticks in there. The 2Gb of Corsair PC6400 is now in my main rig.

Only problem was, only 3Gb showed, both in Bios and in Win XP.

I updated the P5B Bios from 1101 to 1206 and it didn't make any difference.

I went into Bios and changed a setting in Northbridge config to memory remap enabled. That made 4Gb show up in the Bios but only 2Gb show up in Windows

So I changed that feature back to disabled.

Flummoxed, I decided to consult the motherboard manual and read this:

If you install Windows XP 32 bit Operating System the limitation of this OS version is that it may reserve a certain amount of memory space for system devices.

We recommend that you install less than 3Gb system memory if you would like to work under Windows XP 32 Bit version OS.

The excess memory installation will not cause any usage problem but it will not give users the benfit of manipulating the excess memory space.

In other words if you're using XP 32 bit, you can't use more than 3Gb system memory on the Asus M2N-Sli Deluxe motherboard. And when I checked the manual for my Asus P5B deluxe, it said exactly the same thing.

So you see, it really does pay to consult the oracle or in more common parlance - RTFM

I do have a third machine, earmarked for use as a media Centre and built around an Asus M2V motherboard. That has a Gig (2 x 512Mb) DDR2 RAM in there but it's a different CAS and frequency setting so won't work alongside the OCZ RAM.

I'm going to put the 2Gb of OCZ RAM into the 3rd machine which is overkill really as it's main use will be for music playback and playing movies. However, I expect I will play a few games on it so it will probably come in handy eventually.

Bloody annoying though

I did consider changing to a motherboard that can handle 4 x 1Gb RAM sticks or even 'upgrading' to XP 64 Bit or maybe even Vista 64 Bit but I thought no - enough is enough.

So there ya go folks, read those manuals, they're supplied for a good reason

Here's the pic, not very good quality, taken with a Canon Ixus i5, I got a little too close, but you can see how the heat pipes overhang the memory slot.

 

[Adywebb]

Damn annoying isn't it? - and one of the reasons I had to use Windows Server 64bit on my dual-CPU rig with 4GB RAM.

That OCZ RAM is pretty good - got it in one of my rigs - if you have no use for it now Flops, I will happily buy it off you at the price you paid

 

[Me__2001]

hasn't mucks been going on about this for a few months now ?

 

[Adywebb]

Indeed he has...

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3194370.php

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2682168.php

 

[floppybootstomp]

How did I miss those threads?

Well I never... I can understand missing that one last August, I was going through some bad stuff then, but the recent one.... No excuse

That OCZ RAM is pretty good - got it in one of my rigs - if you have no use for it now Flops, I will happily buy it off you at the price you paid

Now I'm wondering...

I've just put the 2 Gig of OCZ memory into the machine that will become a Media Centre.

I had 2 x 512Mb of Kingston Value RAM in there: 667Mhz; PC5300; CL5, which I thought would be fine for music and video playback and a few older games.

Would having 2 Gig of higher specced RAM be beneficial?

Probably not.

Lemme think on this for a coupla hours, would you mind?

If you want the memory Ady, I'll lop off the loose change and round it up to £60.00 inc postage - that ok?

 

[Adywebb]

It probably won't do any harm having the 2GB in the Media Centre rig - however I'm more than happy to give you the £60 for it as I was looking to pick some up anyway

 

[floppybootstomp]

Ok, made me mind up, I think I'll keep the 2Gb of memory in this machine, it was a good price and it will kinda future proof it.

I'll offer up the Kingston RAM for sale here shortly I think.

This is the spec of the Media Centre machine, housed in a Thermaltake Bach Media Centre desktop style case, silver.

Asus M2V Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200 single core CPU 2Ghz, stock cooler
2Ghz OCZ PC6400 Memory (2 x 1Gb)
Nvidia 7300GS 512Mb Video card
Floppy Drive
DVD-ROM Drive
Samsung 500Gb SATA II hard drive
MX1000 Mouse
Wireless Mini keyboard.

The hard drive is partitioned into 25Gb (OS); 220Gb (Music); 220Gb (Movies).

All is need now is a flat screen TV with a PC input.

I was also wondering, in another machine I have a 7600GT 256Mb video card with an hdmi output. If I swapped the video cards over, the 7300GS would be ok for playing a fair selection odf games (all I have on there atm is Microsoft Flight Simulator X) would the output from the video card (hdmi) give a good display on a TFT TV equipped with an hdmi input?

 

[Adywebb]

Good decision - just a shame I didn't get to save a few quid


I'm not too up on HDMI - but from what I've read you need to make sure you get a TV with true 1080p native panel resolution, as opposed to those that just 'support' 1080p which are just up-converted 720p/1080i, to work correctly with the card.


Edit: If it makes you feel any better regarding 'RTFM' - I've just bought a nice new Asus P5K Deluxe WiFi mobo..........just had a look at it and discovered it only has one PS/2 socket for a keyboard, you need to use a USB mouse - only my KVM switch uses PS/2 connectors only

Looks like I'm gonna have to get myself a USB to PS/2 converter

 

[floppybootstomp]

Funny you should mention that.....

I just bought a Logitech G5 corded mouse for machine # 2, which uses a KVM to share with machine # 3

G5 only had a usb connector and even with a converter would not work through my KVM

So I switched both mice (G5 and MX1000) directly into each respective machine.

Ho hum, hey-ho......

 

[Adywebb]

My KVM (D-Link) works fine using a USB converter with my old Logitech cordless mouse, but I did read somewhere about some USB mice needing an 'active' converter as opposed to passive one - perhaps yours is one of those??

 

[muckshifter]

We been "tripping" over this 4gig lark for some time ... at least now you can buy the hardware & software capable of using 4gig or more ... be careful, it's still a numbers game where some manufacturers are cheatin.


But hey, if all else fails ... RTFMF

 

[PotGuy]

I've ended up with about 10 usb/ps2 converters. Not sure how as I've only owned 5 mice.

Very strange.

 

[Alf]

Well in anycase, if there is 4 Gbs and XP only sees 3 Gbs.... Does 1Gb go to waste- or would XP use it in extreme situations?

 

[floppybootstomp]

Well in anycase, if there is 4 Gbs and XP only sees 3 Gbs.... Does 1Gb go to waste- or would XP use it in extreme situations?

This from my first post:

If you install Windows XP 32 bit Operating System the limitation of this OS version is that it may reserve a certain amount of memory space for system devices.

We recommend that you install less than 3Gb system memory if you would like to work under Windows XP 32 Bit version OS.

The excess memory installation will not cause any usage problem but it will not give users the benfit of manipulating the excess memory space.

That was from the motherboard manual.

Basically, it won't do any harm but it's being wasted, it won't get used - ever.

 

[muckshifter]

Well in any case, if there is 4 Gbs and XP only sees 3 Gbs.... Does 1Gb go to waste- or would XP use it in extreme situations?

LoL ... OK, I'll try again ...

XP 32bit OS can "see" 4gig ram, however, various devices require memory mapped access known as "memory-mapped I/O" ... a good example is a graphics card with 256mb ram, that memory has to first be mapped ... guess what, it uses your memory to do it. Graphics memory mapping overwrites a part of the system memory. This, in effect, reduces the total amount of system memory that is available to the operating system.

I still find it quite amusing to see people wanting 2gig graphics cards.

There is a more technical answer, but, in a nutshell, do as your manual suggests.

 

[Alf]

Got it boss