Re: RAM
- From: Paul <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:31:37 -0400
Bob Knowlden wrote:
Something does not compute here. The board is supposed to be capable of taking 512MB DIMMs. A 512MB total system RAM limit with three DIMM slots would be unusual.
An alternate document:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07293&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN
says that the board supports 1.5GB of RAM (3 X 512MB).
In principle the original poster could add a single 512MB DIMM to the third slot, for a total system RAM of 1GB. I don't recommend that, though, because I've had compatibility issues when mixing different makes of RAM. Such problems can be worked around with manual BIOS settings, but appliance PCs (HP, Dell) may not make those settings available.
I think that the 512MB of RAM that's already in place should be adequate for XP, if the machine isn't running too many memory-intensive applications. (Unfortunately, up-to-date antivirus software can use a lot of memory.) The obvious clue is whether the hard disk activity light is on a lot of the time, which would indicate too much use of virtual memory. If there is excessive disk activity, having more RAM may improve performance.
PC133 SDRAM is an old type, so it's more expensive than types currently in use (DDR2, DDR3). It's still possible, though, to get 512MB PC133 SDRAM DIMMs for about $25 (plus shipping) at www.newegg.com. (I'd normally refer people to www.crucial.com, for safety, but their prices on 512MB SDRAM appear to be about $60 - too much of a premium.) I suggest removing the old RAM and installing two 512MB DIMMs; the system may be less stable if all 3 memory slots are filled.
A hint, in case of trouble with the new RAM: I recently max'd out the RAM of an old Dell Dimension 2350. It had only 256MB of RAM installed, and it was choking very noticeably. (It uses DDR, also somewhat old and expensive: $18 each for two 512MB sticks.) It wouldn't boot with the new RAM initially. I cleared the CMOS with the jumper, and then the machine recognized the RAM. (I ran Memtest86+ on it without generating any errors, so it must have been sound.) It wasn't magically transformed into a fast PC, but it runs much more pleasantly without the disk thrashing.
I have an Asus retail motherboard, the "P4B" model, with the 845 chipset.
That would be similar in design to the P4B-LA. (The difference is, my
motherboard has more PCI slots.) I placed 3x512MB DIMMs in it, the day
I got it, and it worked fine with those. That gave me 1.5GB of memory.
I got some RAM for about $50 a stick at the time, for a total of $150
to fill the machine.
(My motherboard manual)
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/sock478/p4b/p4b-105.pdf
The P4B manual claims it would accept 1GB sized modules, but I
can't find a reputable source of those. There are lots of
registered/ECC modules (server memory) at that capacity and
PC133 speed, but I don't see any unbuffered PC133 at 1GB capacity
that I trust. So 3x512MB may be a safe limit, in terms of buying
experiences.
This is the datasheet for the 845 (SDRAM based) chipset. This is
the chip that drives the memory on the P4B-LA motherboard. Page 9
mentions "3 GB Maximum using 512 Mb technology", where the 512megabit
refers to 64Mx8 chips. I bet those do exist, but the problem would
be finding some. So that would be proof that the per-slot limit
is a 1GB sized module, consisting of (16) chips of 64Mx8 chip type.
And the total machine limit would be 3GB of memory.
http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/290725.pdf
To double the memory, a single 512MB module would do the
job. That would be the cheapest upgrade. I never had any memory
problems with that machine, so I'm guessing that bus loading
with three sticks total should not be a problem in this case.
I had three double sided sticks, and the machine didn't flinch.
If you need feedback on the current hardware configuration,
you can run a copy of this. This doesn't install any software,
and you unzip it on the machine, then run the cpuz.exe file.
There is also included, the cpuz.ini file, which gives the
program the info it needs to run. (It'll fit on a floppy diskette,
if you leave it zipped.) It tells you the current speed of
the memory operating in the computer, and the memory CAS.
This doesn't really matter, as you're attempting the cheapest
upgrade possible, but it is still nice to know what is in
the machine (like if you need help later).
http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz/cpuz_152.zip
Examples of products. Keep in mind, in terms of customer
ratings, some customers don't know their motherboards can't
take a 512MB stick, which is why they report "DOA" or problems.
So not every customer with a problem here, has a clue. For
example, my older P2B-S can't use this stuff, even though
the sticks would plug into the motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052307857%201052407863&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=RATING
Paul
.
"SC Tom" <sc@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:O4Nobn4TKHA.5552@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Melvin" <marvwade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:%230QcXC4TKHA.4484@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxMy daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB has three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of 256MB. She wonders why the system is slow.According to the manual here http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/OEM/HP/manual/amazon_manual.pdf , the max allowed is 512MB, so it looks like you're already there.
I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB of memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist without problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2?
I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the desired result.
Mel
The system may be slow from numerous other causes besides lack of RAM, although depending on what applications are being run, 512MB should be sufficient. Try running Disk Clean-up, and checking for viruses and other malware. Look for stuff that's installed that may not be used any more. Do a Google for "Why is my computer so slow." There are a lot of things that may help speed it up some.
SC Tom
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