What memory do I need for my PC??

[mojouk]

I have a 3.2 GHz P4 Desktop, with 800FSB, 1M L2 Cache, and it has hyperthreading technology (whatever that means)

It currently has only 512MB RAM in (2 x 256MB PC3200 DDR Samsung).

This is no way near enough memory for what I need as my PC keeps on crashing.

I'm thinking of getting 4 x 512MB or 2 x 1GB, but I don't know which is better?

Also, what type of RAM do you think I need, would it be PC3200 DDR 400Mhz ?? I don't know what 400MHz stands for!!

Any advice much appreciated

ALSO, I was thinking of upgrading my graphics card, and I don't know if it's possible, because it's an integrated card that came with the PC I bought (off the shelf at PC World).

Is it possible to add a graphics card to a PC, without any soldering or altering my existing PC??????

 

[Belloni]

Heya there...

Hyper threading is basically for example, in a parking lot instead of having 1 parking toll, you have 2 so it's quicker !!! lol hehe

Er... well you have PC3200 so go for that... I didn't worry about the MHz

Here is 512MB just buy four lol and a 1GB. Crucial are good value for money... I have them ! lol
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Crucial_Value.html (Go to the bottom, 2 up for 1 GB and 3 up for 512Mb) It really depends on how much you willing to spend and what you need it for...

Hope this helps lol www.overclockers.co.uk are a good website i use them ! There good prices aswell. hehe

Good luck m8

 

[mojouk]

Thanks for that..........

Just out of interest, I was thinking of upgrading my graphics card, although I don't know if it's possible, because it's an integrated card that came with the PC I bought (off the shelf at PC World).

And it's REALLY rubbish. I noticed you had a 6600GT, and I've been sorely tempted by it. How good is this graphic card?

Also, is it possible to add a graphics card to a PC, without any soldering or altering my existing PC.

 

[Belloni]

lol Well i havn't ACTUALLY got it atm !!! i had to pre-order it i been waiting 2 weeks so far ! lol

But it's a VERY good card, for the price... well worth it especially the one i am getting since it's a Gainward *Goes like hell* Golden sample edition so better performance!

You should consider it alot... How much is your allowance ?! lol (That would help me and other peeps)

I will tell you about it when i get it which should be this week or soon !!! lol grrrr !

Also... about you fitting another graphics card... i think that depends on your motherboard lay out ?! But you shouldn't really ask me m8... Ask everyone else but i don't see a problem why not ?! lol But look into it before you do ! lol

What pc did you buy from PC world ? Can you show us the specs ?!

Good luck

 

[UnReAl]

Thanks for that..........

Just out of interest, I was thinking of upgrading my graphics card, although I don't know if it's possible, because it's an integrated card that came with the PC I bought (off the shelf at PC World).

And it's REALLY rubbish. I noticed you had a 6600GT, and I've been sorely tempted by it. How good is this graphic card?

Also, is it possible to add a graphics card to a PC, without any soldering or altering my existing PC.

If you can tell me what motherboard you are using that would help m8,also what make is your system,if you have a graphics card slot on your motherboard you may be able to disable the onboard graphics and use your AGP slot if you have one
For a guess i say you have a dell just a guess lol

 

[floppybootstomp]

As UnReAl said, if your motherboard has a graphics card slot (probably AGP if it has) and there's an option in the BIOS to disable onboard video, then yes, you will be able to upgrade.

You'll have to find out those two things.

Your system shouldn't crash just because you have 512Mb RAM, that's plenty, albeit about the minimum you want with today's systems.

If you really want a Gig of RAM, Crucial, Corsair, Kingston are all good makes.

But I'd gamble that you have a hardware problem there somewhere, it may even be the RAM, you could run Memtest (do a google) to find out if your RAM is sound or not.

Possibly a software problem, but that's less likely.

Good luck.

 

[mojouk]

Hi.

I have 1 PCI slot left. There are no AGP slots.

The existing graphics card (ATI RADEON X300 128MB) is taking up the PCI-Express slot.

These are the motherboard specs:

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 63-0100-000001-00101111-072204-iSPGDL_G$EV915001
Motherboard Name Unknown
Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 800 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s
Chipset Properties:
Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale i915


Does this give a better idea about whether I can turn off the current graphics card and add another in the PCI slot????

I don't want to take the PC apart because it is covered by warranty.

Cheers for the input!!

 

[floppybootstomp]

The X300 card really isn't too bad. Your memory is OK as well. And you say you're experiencing crashing?

Search for Memtest, download it, run from a floppy or CD (you can d/l an ISO to burn to CD) and make sure your memory is OK.

Your main problem is you purchased from PC World, and the warranty thing.

Your graphics card is not integrated to the mb, it's independent.

You could upgrade to any ATI 'X' series card, X700 or X800 would be good.

What games are giving you problems? The X300 isn't too bad at all, 325Mhz core, 200Mhz memory, it should run all but the most demanding games.

I think you have a problem elsewhere.

 

[UnReAl]

You have a pci-e graphics card you also have a pci-e motherboard so,you do not have intergrated graphics you have a nice pci-e card so the updates in graphics hardware are really good,depends how much cash you have,and dont worry about braking you pc changing a GPU is easy And dont forget the new XT850XT PCI-E

 

[mojouk]

Hi.

Thanks for that. I didn't know that much about my my options before.

I only just found out what motherboard I had by downloading AIDA32.

I'm not a PC gamer, but I do ALOT of 3D graphics and animation stuff, which requires alot of memory to render stuff. I think that's what is causing my PC to crash. I use, Maya, Photoshop, Microstation, Illustrator, 3D Max, Flash, etc.

Can you give me a brief idea about how I go about putting in a new PCI-E compatible graphics card?
Do I have to disable my existing graphics card in the BIOS, etc?

Maybe I need to get someone who knows about these things as I don't really have a clue!

 

[UnReAl]

Hi.

Thanks for that. I didn't know that much about my my options before.

I only just found out what motherboard I had by downloading AIDA32.

I'm not a PC gamer, but I do ALOT of 3D graphics and animation stuff, which requires alot of memory to render stuff. I think that's what is causing my PC to crash. I use, Maya, Photoshop, Microstation, Illustrator, 3D Max, Flash, etc.

Can you give me a brief idea about how I go about putting in a new PCI-E compatible graphics card?
Do I have to disable my existing graphics card in the BIOS, etc?

Maybe I need to get someone who knows about these things as I don't really have a clue!

If your that uneasy about putting a new GPU in then yes get some help m8,also you may be pushing your systems memory a little try this m8 when it next crashes.

Go to start>control panel>performance and maintenance>admin tools>event viewer> you will see application security and system look in system or application to find out the error you may be getting when your system crashes ok dued
Then come back and tell us what you find

 

[floppybootstomp]

To replace your graphics card (assuming you're running Win XP).

Download newest Nvidia or ATI drivers, unzip if necessary, to a location of your choosing.

Uninstall existing drivers from Control Panel >> Add/Remove Programs. Reboot. Your display will look rubbish, but don't worry.

Shut down computer.

Swap out vid card. One screw and maybe releasing the card retaining mechanism (usually pushing or pulling a clamp, by hand), then remove old card.

Push new card firmly in place, fit retaining screw.

Boot.

Install new drivers from where you've stored your download. Reboot.

Right click desktop, enter graphics setup. Set resolution and refresh rate.

That's it.

If you need help or are not sure about anything, just post here and ask, somebody will be here to help you.

 

[mojouk]

Hi.

Cheers for the info guys.

I did the check in the Event Viewer it shows that the following errors have taken place in the past month:


type: ERROR, source: DCOM, category: NONE, event: 10010
type: ERROR, source: SERVICE CONTROL MANAGER, category: NONE, event: 7000
type: ERROR, source: SYSTEM ERROR, category: 102, event: 1003
type: WARNING, source: Tcpip, category: NONE, event: 4226
type: WARNING, source: W32 Time, catgory: NONE, event: 36
type: ERROR, source: cdrom, category: NONE, event: 7
type: WARNING, source: disk, category:NONE, event: 51
type: WARNING, source: Win32K, category: NONE, event: 240
type: ERROR, source: sbp2port, category: NONE, event: 9
type: ERROR, source: ati2mtag, category: NONE, event: 108


Most of the above have occurred a few times but this one in particular keeps on recurring:

type: ERROR, source: SERVICE CONTROL MANAGER, category: NONE, event: 7000

The PC is only 1 month old, so I'm a bit puzzled about why I'm getting any errors ?

 

[floppybootstomp]

There will always be errors. That's just Microsoft.

Don't worry about it, you are fretting unnecessarily.

In fact, the best solution is - don't look at the errors log

The crashing, however, is something to worry about.

 

[mojouk]

So to go back to my original question.....about memory......

What does non-ECC or ECC branded mean?

I've ben told you have to make sure your PC is compatible with this or the memory won't work.

Also, what is dual channel memory? How do I know if I have this?

And finally, how do I know if my motherboard is compatible with DDR400 memory?

 

[psd99]

So to go back to my original question.....about memory......

I've ben told you have to make sure your PC is compatible with this or the memory won't work.


And finally, how do I know if my motherboard is compatible with DDR400 memory?

I can only answer two out of your four questions to the best of my ability:

Yes you have been told right, if you have not got the correct memory installed your computer will not go into Windows XP = it will not work, so no point in putting in an incorrect memory type. This would be a Waste of time and money.

Right to find out your motherboard type you have two options:

1. i have not read what computer u have im assuming its a BRANDED one not a homemade one, if this is the case go to google.com and type in the NAME and MODEL Number of your computer, from here there would have been some genious in this world that can tell you your motherboard make and its specifications.

2. You could try ringing up the MANUFACTURES of your PC, they might have a good idea which motherboard that you have in your beauty!

Out of the two I would be tempted to choose number one, looks easier and quicker to find out the details.

Good luck

 

[mojouk]

My motherboard specs are:

Motherboard ID 63-0100-000001-00101111-072204-iSPGDL_G$EV915001
Motherboard Name Unknown
Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 800 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s
Chipset Properties:
Motherboard Chipset Intel Grantsdale i915

The EXISTING memory stick I have in there is PC3200 DDR CL3. That's all it says.

So would I need a non-ECC memory or an ECC memory? (Don't even know what that means)

Also, what about DDR400??

 

[floppybootstomp]

Dual channel memory mode is, without going into great detail, 2 sticks of preferably identical memory working on two seperate buses on your motherboard. This makes the whole thing run faster - in theory.

In practice, any two like memory sticks will work together in dual memory mode, they don't have to be a matched pair. It is best to have the same brand of memory working together though.

PC3200 is the same as DDR400. DDR400 = Double Data Rate 400 fsb, or 2 x 200 fsb.

As for ECC or non ECC, I really don't know what that is, to be honest, but CL3 is the slowest of I think three options, CL2.0; CL2.5 & CL3.0.

I'd be fairly confident in saying that any PC3200 memory and above would work in your machine.

It's a shame you can't get the motherboard number as then you could use Crucial.co.uk's online matching service to determine which type of memory to use.

It may also be worth looking at Crucial's site to determine what ECC & non-ECC mean, there's likely an explantion there. All I know is ECC is better.

Crucial

 

[muckshifter]

ECC = Error Correction Circuitry




By tradition ECC memory is slower.

 

[mojouk]

As I don't know the model number of my MB, I just checked my existing RAM to see what it is and it's:

PC3200, Non-ECC, 64/72-but, DDR400 SDRAM, 400MHz, CL3

Not sure how to check if my MB is ECC compatible, but I think I'll have to get in contact with the manufacturers for that info.