Am I using the right RAM speed PC2100

  • Thread starter Thread starter T.J. Harry
  • Start date Start date
T

T.J. Harry

I am planing to upgrage my computer with Gigabyte Mother Board having the
following specs (relevant part. Request advice reg the memory type/speed
-------------- the spec --------------
GIGABYTE (AMD, Socket A) GA-7VKMP VIA KM266 DDR, Video & Audio,
USB 2.0 ATX MB

GA-7VKMP
VIA ProSavage KM266 AGPset

Socket A for AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron 200/266 MHz FSB
Supports AMD Athlon™ XP processor 2200+ and beyond.
Auto-detects CPU voltage
------------------------------------------------
The vendor is going to give me a single 256MB DDRAM PC2100 module. Do I need
PC2600 RAM module to get the optimum performance from the new mother board.

Is PC2100 having a speed of 133 MHz and PC2600 266 MHz.
How does the PCxxxx relate to the mememory speed. Request advice.

Thanks, -Harry
 
Harry,

This should clear it all up for you.

The four digit number after PC represents the memory's data
transfer rate in MB/sec. (3200 = 3.2GB/sec)

PC1600 = DDR200 = 100MHz actual, 200MHz effective
PC2100 = DDR266 = 133MHz actual, 266MHz effective
PC2700 = DDR333 = 166MHz actual, 333MHz effective
PC3200 = DDR400 = 200MHz actual, 400MHz effective
 
That is fine. You can buy faster memory if you intend to upgrade later but
otherwise you are going to pay more for memory speeds you do not need
 
Michael J. Apollyon,

Thanks, excellent info !!. Did you miss PC2600 or is it
implied in the list provided by you.

I forgot one info. My vendor is going to give me AMD
XP2000MHz processor. So will it be better to use
PC2600 (266 MHz, I guess), for my Gigabyte Motherboard

-Harry
 
There is NO such thing as PC2600 RAM. PC2100 DDR RAM runs at 266MHz. It's
what you need. (PC2700 DDR RAM runs at 333 MHz.)
 
Hi Readers, Request Help/Advice

Pl read my earlier postings on the same subject.

What should be the letters/numbers appearing on the memory chips on the
memory modules so that I can make out what I get is a PC2100 chips' module.
 
Hi Readers

Thanks for your response(s)

It appears I did not make my point clear. I went to a vendor to buy a 128MB
PC2100 module. The module has a few chips soldered on to a (Module)strip.
One Chip has a paper sticker(!) on it reading PC2100. The 2nd chip has a
sticker(!!) reading "warranty void if removed" on the 3rd bare chip I can
manage (very faint) to read ??1600. So I argued that it is a PC1600
128MB module. The vendor maitains that it is a PC2100 module. My question
is, what should be the letter/number appearing on the chip, which indicates
that it is a DDRAM PC2100 chip module. I need a 256 MB module. Is PCxxxx, a
DDRAM or SDRAM.

-Harry, Original Poster
 
Hi again,

AFAIK, there really are no industry standard memory chip or
module markings. You can usually just google the PN, but a
sticker is usually the most you get with generic RAM. You can
read the memory module's SPD with a software utility like
Sandra, CPU-Z, or Aida32. Then run memtest86 at the rated
speed to know for sure.

Personally, I have never seen a PC1600 module and find it
rather unlikely that a reputable vendor would try to pass one
off as a PC2100 module these days.
 
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