Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus (
More info?)
James,
I'd go with Paul's latter advice on selling your current ones to pay for
some of the upgrade of 2 sticks of CAS3 PC3200 256MB.
Dual Channel does make a difference. I have the same mobo btw.
"James" <howa1151@bellsouth.net> ¦b¶l¥ó
news:QPE5d.203275$%n4.168768@bignews6.bellsouth.net ¤¤¼¶¼g...
> Thanks , Paul. Hadn't really thought of a 256 - 128 combo .. that will
save
> me a bit. Mainly looking to have enough memory .. not much of a speed
> tweaker but I am a gamer. Still stuck with a 1.6P4 so going with PC3200
> would probably be a bit of overkill at the moment.
>
>
> "Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message
> news:nospam-2609041438050001@192.168.1.177...
> > In article <jhy5d.52468$as2.37189@bignews3.bellsouth.net>, "James"
> > <howa1151@bellsouth.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Need to upgrade the memory on my p4p800se. This is what I have now ..
> > >
> > > Memory Module(s)
> > > Memory Module 1 : Micron 256MB 16x(16Mx8) DDR-SDRAM PC2100U-2533-750
> (CL2.5
> > > up to 133MHz) (CL2 up to 100MHz)
> > > Memory Module 3 : Nanya NT128D64S88A0G-7K 128MB 8x(16Mx8) DDR-SDRAM
> > > PC2100U-233-750 (CL2.5 up to 143MHz) (CL2 up to 133MHz)
> > >
> > > I'm thinking : 3 sticks of 256 pc2100 to obtain "dual channel"
> operation.
> > > Would this work or would I be better off just starting fresh?
> > >
> > > I would like to < $100 - $150 if possible.
> > >
> > > thanks , james
> >
> > Well, what you buy depends on what problem you are fixing.
> >
> > The first priority is having enough memory to prevent the
> > OS from swapping out some programs, to make room for the
> > others that the user runs. Swapping to disk will make a
> > machine perform like a slug, if you try to run too many
> > programs simultaneously on a machine with too little RAM.
> >
> > The processor to memory subsystem path is decoupled, so if
> > you use a slow memory configuration, the processor will still
> > run and compute correctly. If the programs you run are compute
> > bound (do a lot of calculating, but don't make a lot of random
> > references to different areas of memory), then speed wouldn't
> > be an issue. If you are running a program like Photoshop, it
> > likes both quantities of memory and speed in that memory.
> >
> > In terms of speed, my measurement using memtest86 on a 865PE
> > based board, showed a 30% memory bandwidth improvement by going
> > dual channel. So, buying a 256MB 16x(16Mx8) to match your Micron
> > and buying a 128MB 8x(16Mx8) to match your Nanya, gets you the
> > 30% more memory bandwidth, and a total of 768MB of ram (enough
> > for anything, except Photoshop with its "infinite" appetite).
> >
> > The other dimension of the problem is basic clock speed on the
> > sticks of RAM. If you were to buy a pair of PC3200 DDR400 sticks,
> > the clock rate on the ram is 400/266=1.5 , for a 50% improvement
> > in clock rate (assuming a FSB800 processor). A lot of the accesses
> > to RAM are done in bursts, and the burst rate improves with the
> > higher clock speed.
> >
> > With the budget you have listed, for the first option, of just
> > "dualling up" the memory, I can see a 256MB module costing
> > $25-38 US, and maybe slightly less than that for a 128MB module.
> > So, maybe $65 will buy you 30% more bandwidth.
> >
> > If you throw away your current memory, and buy 2x256MB matching
> > PC3200 sticks, I can see some branded RAM at $40 for 256MB.
> > You could get two of those for $80. You could get four of those
> > for $160, or buy 2x512MB for $160. Buying enhanced CAS at this
> > point, would be a waste of money and put you way above budget.
> > CAS3 gets the job done just fine.
> >
> > It is nice to have memory with a warranty on it, if you see
> > yourself using this computer for a few years. If you expect to
> > have more money to throw at computers in the near future, then
> > buying a memory with less of a warranty is another option.
> >
> > Don't buy memory with unbranded chips on it (i.e. no company
> > name printed on the chips), because they are likely rejected
> > chips of unknown quality.
> >
> > And deal with a company that does allow bad memory to be returned.
> > When you get the memory, test with memtest86 from memtest.org.
> > The test program is floppy based, and will allow you to determine
> > if the memory is error free or not. Memtest86 tests _all_ the
> > memory, and moves the program code out of the way, and test
> > underneath itself. Don't accept memory that cannot pass this
> > test, no matter how much of a "bargain" it was.
> >
> > In terms of "feeling faster", I think you'll find 2x256 PC3200
> > makes a difference you can detect, when it is run in dual channel
> > mode. I could tell the difference between running in single
> > channel mode and dual channel mode, because when I bought the
> > 865PE based computer, I could tell when opening windows that
> > it was too slow. The local company who sold it to me, put unmatched
> > DIMMs in it - they were both 256MB modules, but one module had
> > x16 chips and the other had x8 chips. It took me two tries before
> > they got it right :-( The only reason I bought a pre-built computer,
> > was for the warranty - the machine was a gift, and I didn't want
> > to be accused of giving a "Frankenstein" computer
> >
> > HTH,
> > Paul
>
>