NEED GUIDANCE IN UPGRADING RAM

LeakingLava

Hi everybody I have a packard bell b2316 AIO but I had some bits of it upgraded likethe processor and I added a graphics card. Now I would like to replace my RAM with another set of RAM and I am not sure if the other set of RAM is compatible with my system. Here's the spec of the motherboard and some details of my research:

- Number - MCP73VT-PM
- Link - http://www.e4allupgraders.info/dir1/motherboards/socket775/ecsMCP73VT-PM.shtml
- This link that I've provided isn't excatly the same as mine but I've seen in some other forum (by googling) that there are some sort of versions of this motherboard such as, V1.0 and V2.0 and I'm not even sure what the exact differences of the 2 motherboards are.
- http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?mfr=Packard%20Bell&model=iMedia%20B2316%20AIO
- This link from crucial.com says that my motherboard can take a pc2-6400 which I believe runs at 800 Mhz and so comes my problem.

The problem is that, the ECS motherboard link thing says this: 'Support DDR2 667/533/400 DDR2 SDRAM' which I believe doesn't include the pc2-6400 running at 800Mhz. And the RAM that I am currently looking at to buy is a pc2-6400 running at 800Mhz.

Please do correct me if my assumptions are out of place or just wrong. Thank you all for reading.


Edit: I just found another problem. The ECS motherboard link says this: '• Single-channel DDR2 memory architecture'. And the RAM I'm interested in says that it's dual-channel. Would that work?

Edit: Here's the RAM link: http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-ddr2-pc2-6400-fatal1ty-edition-dual-channel.html

LoGiE

It should work without any problems. Take a look here, The backward compatabiliy section tells you everything you need to know.

LoGiE

LeakingLava

LoGiE wrote: »

It should work without any problems. Take a look here, The backward compatabiliy section tells you everything you need to know.

LoGiE

I think I sort of understand that sector of it but in terms of 'working', would it work on 800Mhz or 667 or something like that? I actually found out that the RAM I have on at the moment are pc2 6400s but running at something like 333Mhz (says cpu-z). I am really confused now as all along, I thought that pc2 6400 runs at 800Mhz. -.-

LoGiE

LeakingLava wrote: »

LoGiE wrote: »

It should work without any problems. Take a look here, The backward compatabiliy section tells you everything you need to know.

LoGiE

I think I sort of understand that sector of it but in terms of 'working', would it work on 800Mhz or 667 or something like that? I actually found out that the RAM I have on at the moment are pc2 6400s but running at something like 333Mhz (says cpu-z). I am really confused now as all along, I thought that pc2 6400 runs at 800Mhz. -.-

The ram will run at the highest rate your board supports. If that's 333mhz then thr 800mhz dimms will underclock itself to run at that speed.

LeakingLava

LoGiE wrote: »

The ram will run at the highest rate your board supports. If that's 333mhz then thr 800mhz dimms will underclock itself to run at that speed.

Ah. so it will actually work? And what if my mobo only supports single channel? Would the RAM still work with it? Do you think it's worth buying the RAM even though my mobo will restrict some of those features of the RAM?

Greyfoot

LeakingLava wrote: »

Ah. so it will actually work? And what if my mobo only supports single channel? Would the RAM still work with it? Do you think it's worth buying the RAM even though my mobo will restrict some of those features of the RAM?

There is little point changing the modules, you could increase the capacity if you have empty sockets though. Dual-channel sticks will work in single channel and as mentioned before will be downclocked to 667mhz.

Tbh its not worth it...

LeakingLava

Greyfoot wrote: »

There is little point changing the modules, you could increase the capacity if you have empty sockets though. Dual-channel sticks will work in single channel and as mentioned before will be downclocked to 667mhz.

Tbh its not worth it...

I actually forgot to mention that I actually have 2gb at the moment and this upgrade that I'm interested in is for a 4gb. You really think it's not worth it? Right now my computer's actually struggling a bit when I try to open up a few tasks for it..

Greyfoot

LeakingLava wrote: »

I actually forgot to mention that I actually have 2gb at the moment and this upgrade that I'm interested in is for a 4gb. You really think it's not worth it? Right now my computer's actually struggling a bit when I try to open up a few tasks for it..

Can you give us a quick rundown on your pc`s current specs?

LeakingLava

Greyfoot wrote: »

Can you give us a quick rundown on your pc`s current specs?

Mobo - given above
RAM - 2gb pc2-6400 (2x1gb)
Hard drive - I can't even remember but I do have space. 1.3tb I believe.
CPU - E6600 Conroe (not overclocked or anything)
GPU - BFG 7800 GTX
Monitor - LG Flatron 19.5"
PSU - Corsair HX620

Anything else I missed that you want?

Greyfoot

LeakingLava wrote: »

Mobo - given above
RAM - 2gb pc2-6400 (2x1gb)
Hard drive - I can't even remember but I do have space. 1.3tb I believe.
CPU - E6600 Conroe (not overclocked or anything)
GPU - BFG 7800 GTX
Monitor - LG Flatron 19.5"
PSU - Corsair HX620

Anything else I missed that you want?

Well, in my opinion you should keep the psu as its overkill(I suspect its an upgrade )install the old one and sell the rig. Then either build a system for yourself or buy one-plenty of them going cheap these days on adverts.

Just my 2 cents.

PS: Back to your original question, the ram will work on your mobo in single channel mode, but I doubt that your system will work better. You can try to increase the paging file and see if it performs better.

LeakingLava

Greyfoot wrote: »

Well, in my opinion you should keep the psu as its overkill(I suspect its an upgrade )install the old one and sell the rig. Then either build a system for yourself or buy one-plenty of them going cheap these days on adverts.

Just my 2 cents.

PS: Back to your original question, the ram will work on your mobo in single channel mode, but I doubt that your system will work better. You can try to increase the paging file and see if it performs better.

what actually happened was that I had a system before (manufactured) which was a packard bell b2316 aio. Then my friend was selling some of his rig then buying new parts so I was the one who bought the 7800 gtx, hx620 and his e6600.. so the mobo, and ram and my primary hard drive are all from the previous system I had. You really think I should go for selling these items and buy better ones or sell the whole set then buy a different set? you see another problem is that I don't have much cash to spend so I don't think I'm gonna get a much better rig after I sell this one. That's why I stick to upgrades..

LeakingLava

Darn it. it's an 8800gtx lol. didn't notice i mistyped.