how many pins does my ram have??

conZ

how can i find out how many pins my ram has.??
have i to open my comp up and count?
if i find ram with the same amount of pins, can i just slot that in?
-iv got 64mb ndram, brutal..

Saruman

Ndram? Do you mean Sdram by any chance? Its usually 168pin but no thats not the only consideration.. you also need to know if you are using old PC66 or PC100? There is also stull like is it parity/non parity.. buffered/unbuffered.. etc... usually it will be the latter in both of those in most systems.

Chances are if you have a cpu with a clock speed of say 600 / 650 / 700 etc... you will have PC100 as you will have a 100mhz bus... if you had an older cpu, older than 500 PIII then its probably PC66 which is very old and hard to get..

btw these days you can usually only get PC133 but thats backward compatible so you should be ok to get another 128 or so of PC133 and it will just slow down to the level of whats in your system.

Ferror

Originally posted by Saruman

btw these days you can usually only get PC133 but thats backward compatible so you should be ok to get another 128 or so of PC133 and it will just slow down to the level of whats in your system.

133 only slows down to pc100, don't use pc133 in a pc66 machine- Goes crazy, i.e. Stick of 128 pc133 only registers as 16mb or not at all!!

Gerry

Thats utter ****e, the problem is that some older boards will not be compatible with the newer, possibly higher density chips on more modern pc133 modules. A lot of the time they work fine though. The problem with only a part of the ram showing up occurs on some old machines ok, but its nothing to do with the speed of the ram.

Gerry

By the way conz, the easiest thing to do is to post the spec of the machine, or preferably the make and model of your motherboard, programs like sisoft sandra will be able to give you this info, if you look hard enough it will tell you what type of ram it takes also. www.sisoftware.co.uk

conZ

thx gerry.
oh ya, bout the NDRAM.
when i turn on my computer, when tis loadin, it says that its NDRAM, but when i opened that program up, it said i had SDRAM.
i duno.
thx neways.

Saruman

Sure its not saying NVRAM?? That would make more sense... nVram is part of the bios.. like if you cleared the bios with your jumper on the baord you might get a message like "NVRAM cleared by jumper"... etc...

As for Ferror i think you should take that F at the begininng of your name away... while there are some configs that what you said is true... in reality on most PC133 will work at 66.

Gerry

Indeed, just look at most celeron machines using a 66mhz bus. They were being produced up until very recently, (plenty of em still being sold ), and if pc133 was the standard at the time, the machine will have pc133 ram, because that is what is commonly available, it works, and it lets you upgrade to a cpu with a 133mhz bus speed in future ( though manufacturers are not exactly thinking of that, its a side effect )

conZ

Originally posted by Gerry
By the way conz, the easiest thing to do is to post the spec of the machine, or preferably the make and model of your motherboard, programs like sisoft sandra will be able to give you this info, if you look hard enough it will tell you what type of ram it takes also. www.sisoftware.co.uk

ya, but how do i find out how many pins my SDRAM has?
i want to get a new stick of ram, what should i lok for in this program to tell me what type of ram to buy..??

thx.

Gerry

look, the type of ram displayed by sisoft sandra is what you can go into the shop and ask for. The amount of pins is almost never mentioned. It is pc100 or pc133 sdram, or pc2100 ddr ram, or pc800 rambus rdram, or if the machine is ancient, edo ram. Just post up here what sisoft says about the memory in your machine.

conZ

ok..
installed memory = 64mb SDRAM
mainboard = ECS K7S5A

it also says:
physical memory/BIOS banks:

ROW-0 = Empty
ROW-1 (RASL-0 RASL-6) = 64MB DIMM SDRAM single-bank
ROW-2 = Empty
ROW-3 = Empty

also "maximum installable memory: 512MB"
and "maximum module size : 128MB"

from my many years of expierience in this field (little and none) i came to the presumtion that i have 4 slots to put ram in, 128MB max at a time., and 512MB the max altogether...
so...
is this -- 64MB DIMM SDRAM single-bank -- the type of ram i need to ask for in the shop?

thx gerry, i figured you are getting a bit frustrated with me, but forgive me, i am a n00b

conZ

Originally posted by Saruman

btw these days you can usually only get PC133 but thats backward compatible so you should be ok to get another 128 or so of PC133 and it will just slow down to the level of whats in your system.

-->so i can get P133, even if i have P100 and the P133 wil go back to P100.?! will this be slower than just getting a P100 stick?

---

on that Sissoft sandra program, it tells me:

"supported STD/FMP/(B)EDO Speeds = 70ns, 60ns"
"supported momory types = STD, FMP, EDO, Parity, ECC, SIMM"
"--- voltage = 3.3V"
\/

---

\/
-just looking on komplett.ie :
:Generic SDRAM PC133 128MB 7-7.5ns
- Memory 168-P 3.3V

>7-7.5ns - would i be able to get this type of ram?
>couldnt find anything in the program the told me about the chip's memory.

i have 64mb sdram DIMM already
would i be able to get the above stick from komplett.ie ?

on komplett.ie it says:
the address for the chip on komplett.ie
"If you have a Compaq, Acer, AST, Dell, IBM, Siemens, Packard Bell or other non-industry-standard computers, these memorymodules might not work with your computer. Check with the manufacturer of your computer which types can be used."
-> i got this computer built by a friend of mine but all the chips, cards etc. are SiS( he has some deal with them or something-gets them cheap). would the above apply to me?


thx in advancethe addy for the chip

Saruman

If your m8 built it its probably standard and not brand like dell etc.. though usually that statement is there because some of the older systems had non standard mem.. usually you are ok.. only for legal reasons i suppose..

Anyway yes PC133 will slow down to PC100 fine.. it wont be any slower than getting actual PC100 mem...

Im saying it should work.. cant tell you its absolute though... You should probably get the mem here in Ireland though... its not that much more expensive from say www.itdirect.ie or www.peats.ie
and you can always bring it back if it does not work.. from abroad you can only return it at your own expense etc...

From IT direct its 128MB DIMM SDRAM - PC133 - € 44.99 including VAT

Komplet is cheaper but less so when you include shipping.. still is cheaper but since your not entirely sure i would say buy Irish

conZ

well actually, komplett.ie is much cheaper..
Generic SDRAM PC133 128MB 7-7,5ns
Memory 168-P 3.3V
->works out including next daydelivery and VAT at just over €33.

---

also the sissoft sandra prog says that my ram can supprt 70ns, 60ns..
will the above ram be supported?

swiss

From looking at the website detailing the motherboard you mentioned

MEMORY

2 DDR DIMM sockets and 2 DIMM sockets support (can not be used simultaneously)
Two 184-pin DDR SDRAM (DDR200, DDR266) or
Two 168-pin 3.3V SDRAM (PC100, PC133)
Maximum: 1.0GB (DDR or SDRAM)

Your motherboard have 4 slots, 2 of which can take both PC100 and PC133 RAM and the other 2 of which can take DDR RAM (Double Data Rate - more expensive but faster).

PC133 and PC100 RAM is referred to as SDRAM (or synchronous dynamic ram). The figures 133 and 100 refer to the speed of the RAM. I would recommend that you get the PC133 RAM rather than the PC266 (DDR RAM) because it's cheaper, and an extra 128 would make your system a lot faster. It's also widely available, and relatively cheap (although RAM prices have risen somewhat since 6 months ago).

Because the maximum RAM you can install is 1 Gig, and can consist of only SD or DDR RAM then you can install up to 512Mb of RAM in each module. For best performance it is often advisable to have comparable amounts of ram in each module (for example 256Mb RAM in both modules rather than 512Mb in one). This is somewhat more expensive however, and the performance gain is (IIRC) not excessive.

conZ

thanks swiss...
that was very helpful.
sound:)

---

edit : just looking on komplett.ie(again)..
for the SDRAM:
Generic SDRAM PC133 128MB 7-7,5ns
>would this be ok?
>whats the story with the "ns" thingy??
>what should i be looking for on my motherboard to determine what type "ns" should i get?(i looked and found what i wrote in a previous reply, 70ns, 60ns)

---

and for the DDR ram:
DDR-DIMM PC2100 128MB DDR CL2.5
>is this ok??

conZ

would the above ram fit my computer?

swiss

would the above ram fit my computer?

I'm not quite sure what type of RAM you're referring to (DDR or SD). Both types will 'fit' in your PC. There are quite a few RAM types out there, but (for now) PC133 RAM (SD) is the most popular. PC100 RAM is a little bit older, and is being phased out (as is the PC133 incidentally, but it's still going to be around for quite a few years yet).

Also, be aware that if you buy the PC100 RAM, you will have to slow down your existing PC133 ram down to the PC100 standard (which isn't usually a problem, but does mean your existing RAM runs a little bit more slowly).

Once you've made the decision which RAM type to buy, the only thing you really need to concern yourself with is confusing which modules you put the RAM in. Remember, two of your RAM modules take SD RAM, two take DDR. These should be marked as such, or else look for an indicator such as PC133/PC100 (SD) or PC266 (DDR).

Once you've put in the RAM, it should be picked up by the BIOS once you've booted your system.

Edit:
Sorry but I just noticed this in your previous post:

also "maximum installable memory: 512MB"
and "maximum module size : 128MB"

This seems to conflict with the specifications of the motherboard given in the website, which indicates that the maximum module size is 512MB, rather than 128MB as the sisoft software mentioned. I'd say that maybe the sisoft software picked up your DDR RAM modules and added it to the SD modules, rather than treating them seperately. Perhaps someone can confirm this?

conZ

well, i was thinking of getting both of the above ram, DDR and SDRAM.
128mb each..
i was just wondering about the "ns" bit..
:in the SiS program it said i have 70ns, 60ns..
does this have anything to do with the "7-7.5ns" in the SDRAM???

swiss

well, i was thinking of getting both of the above ram, DDR and SDRAM.
128mb each..

Bad idea, sorry. Remember

MEMORY

2 DDR DIMM sockets and 2 DIMM sockets support (can not be used simultaneously)

You can't use the DDR and the SD DIMM sockets at the same time (well I suppose you can, but the Operating System will only use one of the types of RAM). In other words you can't expect your motherboard to support the notion of swopping and changing between different RAM types. Pick one type and stick to your guns

i was just wondering about the "ns" bit..
:in the SiS program it said i have 70ns, 60ns..
does this have anything to do with the "7-7.5ns" in the SDRAM???

ns stands for nano-seconds. It refers to the speed of your RAM by indicating how long it takes to retrieve data. For SD RAM 7 - 7.5 nanoseconds sounds about right. I'm not entirely sure where the other figure comes from. Maybe it's a different area of caching, or maybe it refers to your hard drive, although typically retrieval times for a hard drive is about 100ns+. These are pretty semantic details though. If you want to know the in depth technical specifications of DDR and SD RAM I'd advise you to check out a website that gives you the gritty details .

_CreeD_

Access times on SD-Ram DIMMS are profiled differently to older SIMM modules. FPM/EDO was 70/60ns total access time, I'm not sure exactly how that was caclulated. But SD-Ram total access time is often stated as the inverse of it's operating frequency (Eg. 133Mhz or 266Mhz DDR (As it's really 2x133Mhz) = 1/133000 = 7.5ns). So really the most important thing to look for when buying a DIMM at whatever frequency your board can take is the CAS value, often written as CLxxx - this is one of the values determining how quickly data can be addressed within the DIMM, lower is better (2 being the best so far).

conZ

so, it doesnt care what "ns" i choose in the ram- it doesnt have to be specific for my computer, the higher the ns, the faster it is.is that right??!?
-originally posted by swiss-

Because the maximum RAM you can install is 1 Gig, and can consist of only SD or DDR RAM then you can install up to 512Mb of RAM in each module. For best performance it is often advisable to have comparable amounts of ram in each module (for example 256Mb RAM in both modules rather than 512Mb in one). This is somewhat more expensive however, and the performance gain is (IIRC) not excessive.

so the maximum i can have in my whole computer at any one time is 512mb. and it can only be from either SDRAM or DDR RAM.
you had me confused there for a while...
i taught it would be best to get 128mb SDRAM and 128mb DDR RAM. i taught(for some strange reason) that 128mb of each would be good together and it would be much faster..
soi can only have one or the other in at one time...
thanks