Trying to confirm if this RAM should work

[lunbux]

Hi.
I'm upgrading my memory and I simply want to know if Apacer 4GB DDR3 1333 / PC10600 DIMM would work on my ECS H55H-M v1.0 motherboard.

I've asked a friend and he said it should work, but what happens is that my computer boots until the Windows logo then reboots by itself.

I put back in the old module and it works just fine, so I'm pretty sure it's the Apacer that has the issue. But I want to be sure that it's not a compatibility issue before I ask for a replacement, because if it is not compatible, then I'd just try returning it and ask for a refund instead.

 

[Tradesman1]

Should be fine, may want to clear the CMOS first then install in slot 1 closest to the CPU - should be good, if no boot, stick is prob bad

 

[lunbux]

Should be fine, may want to clear the CMOS first then install in slot 1 closest to the CPU - should be good, if no boot, stick is prob bad

I see. I already tried clearing the CMOS. I guess I would have to go back to the store then. I'll just update this once I do.

 

[Tradesman1]

Let us know how it goes

 

[lunbux]

Let us know how it goes

I went back to the store and had the stick tested to another machine and it worked just fine. I was lucky enough to get another brand as replacement, and had that tested too before leaving. Unfortunately, this other stick is also not compatible with my PC. It sucks but I'll just keep this one until I build a new setup, or hopefully, I could sell it.

EDIT:
Could it be my OS? I'm using Win7 Ultimate Edition, 32-bit.

 

[Tradesman1]

Do you have the latest BIOS?

 

[lunbux]

Yes, I do.

 

[lunbux]

Okay, this is kinda weird and I just want some sort of second opinion. The replacement I got is a Corsair and I tried it and as I said before, I encountered the same trouble--system reboots once it reaches the Windows logo. I basically gave up back then and was planning on just getting another stick which is the exactly the same as the one I have working.

But I was able to bring my machine to a shop (there are a lot of circumstances and I couldn't just easily bring my desktop's CPU to a shop) and this is what happened:
- person from the store removed my working stick and installed the Corsair
- tinkered something in the BIOS
- got STUCK at Windows logo (instead of immediately restarting)
- plugged my working 2GB stick along with the 4GB
- successfully booted up!!

Okay, I was relieved that I didn't have to buy another stick. But the issue now is that the system recognizes the whole 6GB but only says that 3.18GB is useable. I was expecting something around 4GB since the max memory my motherboard supports is 4GB.

Here's the screenshot of the info from SIW: http://i.imgur.com/fHbaTWb.jpg
Is there something I should be worried about? I was told that as long as the frequencies are the same for both sticks, it's all good. But as I said, I want opinions from other other people as well because I couldn't fully trust that shop considering my previous dealings with them.

 

[Tradesman1]

Depends on the rest of the rig - Win32 can see and work with up to 4GB but often the system takes and reserves some of the DRAM for other things - notably to share with the GPU, so you often end up with only about 3-3.75GB or so useable

 

[lunbux]

Depends on the rest of the rig - Win32 can see and work with up to 4GB but often the system takes and reserves some of the DRAM for other things - notably to share with the GPU, so you often end up with only about 3-3.75GB or so useable

I feel like I should go back to college and take Computer Engineering before building a new machine. Haha. A couple more questions:
What if switching to 64-bit still gives me the same useable memory?
And is there nothing wrong with my current setup? I'm a bit worried because the sticks aren't the same brand and capacity. I remember reading somewhere years back that as much as possible, if one is to use 2 or more, use the same capacity. In my case, should be 2 x 2GB. Also, under the Corsair, there are only three for the Memory Timing, while on the other, there are six.

I'm basically scared that my system would become unstable in the near future if I keep this setup.