Deskpro EN - RAM advice?

I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
DIMM, 133mhz etc. According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
three 128 mb cards. It seems fine. Can I safely add a second one of
these, 256 mb again.

(I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? Or that and a
single 128 mb card?)

It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? I will probably
buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.

Thanks.

On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 02:33:41 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

>I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
>DIMM, 133mhz etc. According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
>three 128 mb cards. It seems fine. Can I safely add a second one of
>these, 256 mb again.
>
>(I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
>100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? Or that and a
>single 128 mb card?)
>
>It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
>any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? I will probably
>buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
>aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.
>
>Thanks.


You don't specify the exact machine type, but normally yes, you can
add 256MB more.
100 or 133mhz: you might need to adjust in the BIOS/setup disk or it
might do that itself- but the speed difference is neglectable.
Important: you need Compaq-compatible modules. Compaqs are known picky
about that. Buy something that comes out of a Compaq, or ask for the
exact type number and search the datasheet.

The 256 mb card fitted is a CL2 type. If I put the same RAM size but
CL3, will the diference be negligible? I understand this will make
the CL2 work at CL3 speed, but is the difference between this and
having two CL2's negligible?

Thanks.


On Nov 8, 2:07*pm, Secoh <nospample...@ask.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 02:33:41 -0800 (PST), poachede...@hotmail.co.uk
> wrote:
>
> >I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
> >DIMM, 133mhz etc. *According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
> >three 128 mb cards. *It seems fine. *Can I safely add a second one of
> >these, 256 mb again.
>
> >(I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
> >100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? *Or that and a
> >single 128 mb card?)
>
> >It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
> >any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? *I will probably
> >buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
> >aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.
>
> >Thanks.
>
> You don't specify the exact machine type, but normally yes, you can
> add 256MB more.
> 100 or 133mhz: you might need to adjust in the BIOS/setup disk or it
> might do that itself- but the speed difference is neglectable.
> Important: you need Compaq-compatible modules. Compaqs are known picky
> about that. Buy something that comes out of a Compaq, or ask for the
> exact type number and search the datasheet.

It's a Deskpro slim desktop type, 866 mhz, with Windows 2000 pro SP4
and all updates installed.


On Nov 8, 3:06*pm, poachede...@hotmail.co.uk wrote:
> The 256 mb card fitted is a CL2 type. *If I put the same RAM size but
> CL3, will the diference be negligible? *I understand this will make
> the CL2 work at CL3 speed, but is the difference between this and
> having two CL2's negligible?
>
> Thanks.
>
> On Nov 8, 2:07*pm, Secoh <nospample...@ask.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 02:33:41 -0800 (PST), poachede...@hotmail.co.uk
> > wrote:
>
> > >I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
> > >DIMM, 133mhz etc. *According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
> > >three 128 mb cards. *It seems fine. *Can I safely add a second oneof
> > >these, 256 mb again.
>
> > >(I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
> > >100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? *Or that and a
> > >single 128 mb card?)
>
> > >It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
> > >any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? *I will probably
> > >buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
> > >aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.
>
> > >Thanks.
>
> > You don't specify the exact machine type, but normally yes, you can
> > add 256MB more.
> > 100 or 133mhz: you might need to adjust in the BIOS/setup disk or it
> > might do that itself- but the speed difference is neglectable.
> > Important: you need Compaq-compatible modules. Compaqs are known picky
> > about that. Buy something that comes out of a Compaq, or ask for the
> > exact type number and search the datasheet.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

wrote:
> I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
> DIMM, 133mhz etc. According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
> three 128 mb cards. It seems fine. Can I safely add a second one of
> these, 256 mb again.
>
> (I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
> 100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? Or that and a
> single 128 mb card?)
>
> It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
> any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? I will probably
> buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
> aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.
>
> Thanks.
The motherboard chipset, being Intel's chipset of the era, has a limit
of 512MB. It does not matter whether you use 2x256MB or 1x256MB +
2x128MB. What does matter is that the memory MUST be PC133 non-parity,
and good quality, too. You should be paying pennies for 2x128MB PC133.

.... Ben Myers

Secoh wrote:
> On Sat, 8 Nov 2008 02:33:41 -0800 (PST),
> wrote:
>
>> I almost forgot - this computer came with a single 256 mb RAM card in,
>> DIMM, 133mhz etc. According to Crucial.com it should only have up to
>> three 128 mb cards. It seems fine. Can I safely add a second one of
>> these, 256 mb again.
>>
>> (I have a 64mb card in a drawer as salvage, but it is different speed,
>> 100mhz - would that spoil things if I added it too? Or that and a
>> single 128 mb card?)
>>
>> It is slightly cheaper to buy two 128 mb cards than one 256 - is there
>> any reason why a single 256 mb card would be better? I will probably
>> buy a second hand card for £6 from an ebay seller with 100% rep - I'm
>> aware of pitfalls with dodgy sellers there.
>>
>> Thanks.
>
>
> You don't specify the exact machine type, but normally yes, you can
> add 256MB more.
> 100 or 133mhz: you might need to adjust in the BIOS/setup disk or it
> might do that itself- but the speed difference is neglectable.
> Important: you need Compaq-compatible modules. Compaqs are known picky
> about that. Buy something that comes out of a Compaq, or ask for the
> exact type number and search the datasheet.
>
No. The 866MHz Pentium 3 implies 133MHz speed memory only... Ben Myers

Hi!

Your system uses the Intel 815 chipset, which can accept PC133 SDRAM.
If you have PC133 parts to install, you should use them, as they will
provide the best performance and stability. (PC100 modules might not
be stable in your system, since they will probably be overclocked a
bit.)

You can install a maximum of 512MB RAM. Amazingly, high density
modules *are* supported. I've put a single 512MB PC133 modules in one
of my Deskpro EN systems and it worked fine. The system recognized all
the capacity.

The memory controller in these things is really pretty tolerant and
will happily take modules of mixed sizes. You don't have to pair them
up, although some performance gain might be seen if you can.

You can put more than 512MB RAM in place, but if you do, the BIOS will
tell you that you've installed too much RAM and must remove some of
it. (I think it might be possible to hack the BIOS and remove this
limit, but I haven't tried mainly due to lack of skill in this area.)

William

William R. Walsh wrote:
> Hi!
>
> Your system uses the Intel 815 chipset, which can accept PC133 SDRAM.
> If you have PC133 parts to install, you should use them, as they will
> provide the best performance and stability. (PC100 modules might not
> be stable in your system, since they will probably be overclocked a
> bit.)
>
> You can install a maximum of 512MB RAM. Amazingly, high density
> modules *are* supported. I've put a single 512MB PC133 modules in one
> of my Deskpro EN systems and it worked fine. The system recognized all
> the capacity.
>
> The memory controller in these things is really pretty tolerant and
> will happily take modules of mixed sizes. You don't have to pair them
> up, although some performance gain might be seen if you can.
>
> You can put more than 512MB RAM in place, but if you do, the BIOS will
> tell you that you've installed too much RAM and must remove some of
> it. (I think it might be possible to hack the BIOS and remove this
> limit, but I haven't tried mainly due to lack of skill in this area.)
>
> William

512MB is the limit imposed by the Intel 815 chipset family... Ben Myers

Hi!

> 512MB is the limit imposed by the Intel 815 chipset
> family... Ben Myers

I read that somewhere, but the Deskpro EN's behavior has me wondering
what would happen. It can and does count up the RAM beyond the 512MB
limit.

Maybe one of these days I'll sit down with one of my assembler books
and try to teach myself about assembly language programming and
program disassembly. Then I can see about trying to Advanced BIOS
Diddling (which may end up being the truth!) ...

William

William R. Walsh wrote:
> Hi!
>
>> 512MB is the limit imposed by the Intel 815 chipset
>> family... Ben Myers
>
> I read that somewhere, but the Deskpro EN's behavior has me wondering
> what would happen. It can and does count up the RAM beyond the 512MB
> limit.
>
> Maybe one of these days I'll sit down with one of my assembler books
> and try to teach myself about assembly language programming and
> program disassembly. Then I can see about trying to Advanced BIOS
> Diddling (which may end up being the truth!) ...
>
> William

Right here it says that all the 815 are limited to 512MB:

http://www.intel.com/design/chipsets/mature/index.htm

What you are seeing is a defect in the BIOS allowing it to count more
memory than is supported. Not exactly for successful BIOS diddling.
Start by getting yourself some old published IBM PC AT BIOS listings,
the various Intel instruction set manuals, Microsoft's MASM (or open
source equivalent). There's a steep learning curve here. I'm on the
downside of that learning curve from the last century... Ben Myers