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Thread ID: 111763 2010-08-10 22:55:00 Memory Sanco (683) Press F1
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1126432 2010-08-10 22:55:00 Hello to all the great people of PressF1

No, the memory isn't for myself personally (although I could do with a refresh of my old cerebellum...:lol: ) but for my PC, and I have a few questions on type etc.

I am not 100% sure whether all ram is compatible with all systems, whether one can indeed mix and match or it is better to stick with the same brand and so on.

I have a packard bell pc (now, I know what you think, but please don't laugh) iXtreme E303, several years old, with 1 gig memory and starting to show signs of needing at least another gig of it to spruce up performance, so off I went to several websites, including noel leeming and dick smith, to make a little research on prices and availability. Little I had known that there were so many different types of ram with even different amount of "pins" etc., so I need to know how I can find out the type of ram my machine mounts without physically opening the box, and would also like to have your knowledgeable input with the type of ram I should seek to purchase, price range for say, 1gig and whether you would have suggestions for a particular shop - online or otherwise - you may want to mention, or even yourselves, as I understand some of you are techies or shop owners.
If you need to know more specs of my machine, please ask and I will do my best to answer those as best as my limited knowledge in these areas will allow me.

Thank you in advance for any help you will be able to offer.

Sanco
Sanco (683)
1126433 2010-08-10 22:59:00 I went to packard bell and found the following data for my pc with regards to memory etc:

• Packard Bell iXtreme E303 MAX RAM: 4GB
• This iXtreme E303 has memory slots/sockets: Four (4)
• Upgrade Size: 1GB
• Memory Kit: 1x 1GB
• Module PIN count: 240-PIN
• Memory Generation: DDR2
• Module Speed: PC2-3200, DDR2-400
• MHz of Module: 400MHz
• Latency of Module: CL3
• The Packard Bell Kingston Desktop DIMM Type: UDIMM, Unbuffered DIMM, Unregistered DIMM
Sanco (683)
1126434 2010-08-10 23:00:00 According to this

www.memoryupgrade.pro

It can take 4 GB max. And uses DDR400 ram
Speedy Gonzales (78)
1126435 2010-08-10 23:05:00 It's getting pretty hard to buy ram for old machines now. However, for desktops it's a bit more flexible. (DIMM for desktop and SODIMM for notebooks.)

You 'can' mix and match ram brands and speeds although not really recommended. You will have to find something that matches your FSB speed of your motherboard, although faster ram will still work, it will work at the same speed as the slowest stick or FSB.

The only thing you will have to really watch is not to get DDR2 or DDR3 for a DDR(1) mobo.
SoniKalien (792)
1126436 2010-08-10 23:06:00 Thank you speedy, as I had found out above. Can I just get a stick of ddr 400 ram from, say, kingston and the two sticks will happily live side by side? Sanco (683)
1126437 2010-08-10 23:09:00 Ok SoniKalien, so it would have to be ddr2 min 400Mhz as it is the recommended type of ram at packard bell for my system.

So far all good. One more question is where would you guys suggest I get some good stuff?

Cheers
Sanco (683)
1126438 2010-08-10 23:09:00 Hmm wait.. umm if the site itself says 240 pin, this isnt DDR 400. DDR 400 is 184 pin (and the old type ram). You can put anything in it. But if the system supports dual channel, then all sticks should be the same brand and speed. What does the stick thats in it, at the mo have on it?? DDR2-400? Speedy Gonzales (78)
1126439 2010-08-10 23:12:00 Oh, ok. So DDR2, as stated above by the PB website would be the 240 pin type? Sanco (683)
1126440 2010-08-10 23:15:00 If the site for the system says 240 pin, I would say its 240 pin. So, when you go to whatever store. Ask for PC2-3200 / DDR2-400 ram Speedy Gonzales (78)
1126441 2010-08-10 23:19:00 Hummm, now I went to other ram websites in UK and Aussie stocking ram for my particular model and all state is a 184 pin DDR 400...
Should I open the box and count the pins myself...if that is how it works???
Sanco (683)
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