need to upgrade old ddr2 ram, what will work?

[Zachary Uram]

I have rather old 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 @ 401MHz (Timing: 6-6-6-18).

I want to upgrade to 8GB. I was looking on newwegg and the only ram I saw that
had the correct timing was like $154! Also it was PC2 6400. Not sure what that means.
Can someone please point to me to the memory I can buy. Will (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel work even if it uses a different timing such as 5-5-5-18?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yes, the timing should not matter. What matters is that it's not ECC memory (Or that it is on systems that use it, which yours most probably does not unless it's a workstation or server.), that the speed, i.e. DDR2 800, is supported by the motherboard and that the module size is also supported by the motherboard. Almost all motherboards from the last ten years support at least up to 4GB modules but many of them do not support 8GB modules, especially on old DDR2 boards. Some don't support certain sizes of module though so it would be best to be certain.

I can't really say what will or will not work without knowing the model of your motherboard to check module size and number of slots. What is your motherboard model number? It should be printed somewhere on the motherboard itself.


At a guess, I'd say this will work, if your board has four DIMM slots so you can use your existing 4GB and this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-800 Memory ($52.45 @ Amazon)
Total: $52.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-18 04:50 EDT-0400