RAM Question

[Patty]

My daughter just purchased a couple sticks of RAM for a computer that
currently is using PC-2100 DDR-RAM. The guy at the computer store sells
her 2 sticks of PC-133 SDRAM and tells her they're the same thing, but the
PC-133 will just run a little slower. I thought they were two different
things and will the PC-133 SDRAM run in a system that takes PC-2100
DDR-RAM? Wouldn't she be better off buying a faster speed of DDR-RAM and
using it instead of the PC-133 if she can't find PC-2100 RAM? The computer
in question is a Dell, but I don't know the model #, just that it came with
PC-2100 RAM.

Thanks!

Patty

 

[Gert Elstermann]

Patty noted:

My daughter just purchased a couple sticks of RAM for a computer that
currently is using PC-2100 DDR-RAM. The guy at the computer store sells
her 2 sticks of PC-133 SDRAM and tells her they're the same thing, but the
PC-133 will just run a little slower. I thought they were two different
things and will the PC-133 SDRAM run in a system that takes PC-2100
DDR-RAM?

Yes... no!

Wouldn't she be better off buying a faster speed of DDR-RAM and
using it instead of the PC-133 if she can't find PC-2100 RAM?
Yes.

The computer
in question is a Dell, but I don't know the model #, just that it came with
PC-2100 RAM.

Thanks!

U r welcome!

Patty

Gerty

 

[manny]

My daughter just purchased a couple sticks of RAM for
a computer that currently is using PC-2100 DDR-RAM.
The guy at the computer store sells her 2 sticks of
PC-133 SDRAM and tells her they're the same thing,
but the PC-133 will just run a little slower. I thought
they were two different things and will the PC-133
SDRAM run in a system that takes PC-2100
DDR-RAM? Wouldn't she be better off buying a faster
speed of DDR-RAM and using it instead of the PC-133
if she can't find PC-2100 RAM? The computer in
question is a Dell, but I don't know the model #, just
that it came with PC-2100 RAM.

SDR (PC133, PC100, etc.) and DDR (PC2100, PC2700,
etc.) are not compatible with one another, electrically
(SDR uses 3.3V, DDR 2.5V) or mechanically (SDR has
2 notches in the edge connector, DDR only 1), but a few
motherboards can use both types (not simultaneously -
that voltage difference is why) and will have memory slots
of different colors (normally black for SDR, blue for DDR).
The difference in speed will be very small due to the CPU's
L2 cache handling almost all memory accesses.

 

[Patty]

SDR (PC133, PC100, etc.) and DDR (PC2100, PC2700,
etc.) are not compatible with one another, electrically
(SDR uses 3.3V, DDR 2.5V) or mechanically (SDR has
2 notches in the edge connector, DDR only 1), but a few
motherboards can use both types (not simultaneously -
that voltage difference is why) and will have memory slots
of different colors (normally black for SDR, blue for DDR).
The difference in speed will be very small due to the CPU's
L2 cache handling almost all memory accesses.

So, she took the RAM back, talked to the same guy at the store and told him
that he had sold her SDRAM and she needed DDR-RAM and he acted like, "oh,
you should have told me that in the first place." What the heck did he
think that PC-2100 RAM was? He exchanged it for a stick of PC-3200 RAM and
she's going to give it a try.

I knew the PC-133 was not the same as PC-2100, just wanted some other
opinions. Thanks so much.

Patty

 

[DaveW]

I'm sorry to hear that people like that work in computer stores. The RAM he
sold her will NOT work correctly. For starters it has the wrong number of
pins for the DDR slot on her motherboard. She needs to go back and demand
an exchange to DDR RAM, not the SDRAM he sold her.

 

[manny]

On 20 May 2006 13:52:17 -0700, (e-mail address removed) wrote:

So, she took the RAM back, talked to the same guy at the
store and told him that he had sold her SDRAM and she
needed DDR-RAM

SDRAM = Sychronous Dynamic RAM.
PC133, PC2100, PC2700, and PC3200 are all SDRAM,
but PC133 is SDR (Single Data Rate) while the others
are DDR (Double Data Rate).

and he acted like, "oh, you should have told me that in
the first place." What the heck did he think that
PC-2100 RAM was?

He's obviously an incompetent buffoon who tries to blame
others for his mistakes.