I've seen the kingston and crucial ram finder to match it to ur system but is this really needed, in case i want to buy from a different manufacter. I already know my computer takes pc2100 DDR ram, is there anything else i need to make sure is compatible?
But the ram i have in is the ram that came with the computer, its probably generic or cheap something like that, should i replace both modules? Anyway i was asking about compatibility, not which RAM modules would work the best together. Thanks for the info tho, ill look into it.
How important is it to keep the same brand of ram. I already have 512MB, and i want to upgrade another 512MB. What types of problems occur if they aren't the same brand and how likely is this to happen?
Really what you should do is look up yeah computer and see if the mobo supports higher speed or even dual channel. If it does I would blow the pc2100 out on ebay and buy the fastest it could take. just remeber you can mix and match ram, but not with dual channel or different speeds. On dual channel it has the be same everything with the two sticks and the mobo needs the same speed in all slots or it will automatically slow the ram down to the lowest speed of all the sticks.:>
Well, i looked up my mobo and it only takes pc2100 or pc1600 so i guess i'll just have to stick with this, it'll be good enough with the extra 512MB RAM and 256MB radeon 9550, but now i have to worry about whether my power supply unit can handle it, i think its only 250watts. I can't wait till i get a new computer. I've been trying to decide whether to build it, or just get it from dell..
EWWWLLLL Dude its a dell....died en laughter lolo....' Nah not a good one, but yeah better off building yeah own.:> Good Luck!
I dont think its a good idea to hand a 16 year old $800 - $100 for his first time computer build, so waht other manufacter should someone buy from for a comp. for $800 - $1000? HP, Compaq, gateway?
Well the reason you would by from the same brand is because if you don't it could cause instability on your comp and that isn't good......lol
Yeah got me confused. ARe the kid or the father? Actuaslly a computer can be built cheaper than that. It all depends on use. I just built a comp for my mom's b-day. It only cost me 500 and its not too shabby. 9600xt agp radeon vid card...2 x 512 dual channel samsung ram...3000 atlon 64 winchestor...and a msi k8n mobo. I did this for bout 500 or a little less and it scores better than a 3.0 intel pentium 4. Its perfect for office use and internet surfing. The only problem I had is the cheapy samsung ram didnt like the automatic oc of the board. So I had to shut it off. See it all depends on what you need it for. Hell my gaming rig cost 900 and 350 of that went to the vid card when they were popular. So do you still really want want to waste 1500 on a 850 comp yeah can do yourself?
A 250W PSU is fine for something like that. If PC2100's your limit then buy an extra model, there aren't too often compatibility problems. If there are then just bin the old stick and get another the same. Generally custom or home builds are more fruitful since you get exactly what you want, but if you're inexperienced, it's sometimes better to leave it to a trained professional. Bear in mind if you're looking for something that isn't bog standard, there are more bespoke places to look than dell.
One more question. I have a AGP4x slot and i want to know will it not work AT ALL with a 8x card or just not as good. Also, i have PCI slot on my motherboard but was wondering if that is compatible with pci express. Are PCI and PCI express the same thing or different. Sorry for my noob questions.
Pci and Pci express are to two totally different things. Pci x runs at 16 x and I forgot what reg pci runs at. Basically pci x is a faster speed than the old trusted pci slots. And yes a agp 8x card will run at 4x. The mobo will automatically down the speed. Your probally not going to notice a difference in the cut speed running a 8x card at 4x unless gaming. Im running a 4x savage 2000 in a 2x slot and notice no difference. If your doing just surfing and office work then the delayed speed wont hurt yout. Just make sure the card says it can run at 4x/8x speed :>
You may also need to check which AGP voltage it uses. Older mobos have a different voltage AGP slot which could damage a new card.
Well, when I bought the video card which said 8x, but I stopped panicking when I saw on the box 2x, 4x, 8x, so thats resolved. Now i can run the Sims 2, Sim City 4, and Rome: Total War at solid frame rates with maximum settings and I can run Call of Duty 2(recently bought and is the entire reason why i'm doing this upgrade) at a solid 25-40fps under directx 7.0 which runs very smoothly, though I can't under 9.0c even tho I have it because it skips too much. Concerning the RAM, and how I accidently bought 512MB ecc off eBay when I have non-ecc installed. I read an article on the internet that looked legit. They actually tested mixing ecc and non-ecc and said that the only effect was that ecc wasnt enabled on either module. They think the manufacturers only say not to mix brands when it actually doesnt matter to the point that you should go through all the trouble trouble to match up your original RAM with the RAM you install later. I really dont want to have to buy 1GB when I already have 512MB, it doesnt seem fair or necessary. I'll run some benchmarks before and after and I will definitely buy another 512MB of the same brand ecc if my system is ustable or worse afterwards. I'll be the mythbusters and find out whats really up. I just hope i get lucky and nothing goes wrong. Here's my before: Pentium 4 2.4GHz 512MB pc2100 RAM intergrated intel video And After: Pentium 4 2.4GHz 1GB pc2100 RAM ATI 256MB Radeon 9550 AGP4x It's not all that but its sure as hell better than that crappy integrated intel video. All this for just $100, and to think, i was gonna buy the XBOX 360 just to play Call of duty 2.
<shudders> All i can say really is try one extra module, if it works fine, then hooray, if not then you'll have to add another.
