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| Thread ID: 87220 | 2008-02-13 02:23:00 | RAM type and speed | B.M. (505) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 639884 | 2008-02-13 02:23:00 | Righty ho you guns out there, here’s Bob’s curly question for the day. :) I have a Compaq Presario 2500 2.6gig notebook here which presently has two Infineon PC2700 (166m/hz) 64bit DDR SDRAM modules installed. (Whew) (Well that’s what Everest tells me.) However, the manual says it should have two PC2100 DDR-266 SDRAM modules installed. The Manual also says that the machine has a 400MHz System Bus. Question 1: Is the System Bus and the Front Side Bus the same? Question 2: Shouldn’t the RAM speed match or exceed the Bus speed. The reason for my investigation is I feel the machine should run considerably quicker and I’m sure it isn’t a software problem. (Virus – Trojan – Malware – Rubbish etc.) Hence I’m looking at Hardware because I’ve struck it before where the wrong specification RAM was causing the hold up. All help and suggestions appreciated. PS Running XP and no other problems. |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 639885 | 2008-02-13 02:37:00 | Look it up on Compaqs website and see what that says its should have. You'll need the full model number. It can be a software problem, like WIndows bloat - the slowdown it gets after a year or so. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 639886 | 2008-02-13 02:38:00 | If the maximum RAM speed is 266, than your 333 RAMs would slow themselves down to 266. | qazwsxokmijn (102) | ||
| 639887 | 2008-02-13 08:12:00 | Jeeeeeeeeez guys, please read the post . :rolleyes: If you can’t comprehend, then I’ll put my teeth in! ;) |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 639888 | 2008-02-13 09:28:00 | Without being that well versed in Intel marketing speak Q1 You probably have a 100MHz system clock used to transfer 4 bits of info per cycle hence 400Mhz FSB Q2 Memory clock speed doesn't have to be the same as CPU clock. Your system could well detect the RAM type and adjust to suit. Cpu-z is what I use to tell me what is happening in plain language www.cpuid.com Are you running off the mains or sitting in front of TV on battery? Notebooks often run slower on battery. |
PaulD (232) | ||
| 639889 | 2008-02-13 10:55:00 | B.M. Q1 no, Q2 yes Ram speed and type have an insignificant effect on apparent system speed. If the system runs without crashing then its the right type if it's rated speed is higher than the Bus speed, not FSB, then it will be limited to the Bus speed. What is far more important is how much of it there is. If your 2 ram modules add up to 256MB total then XP will run like a three legged dog. Conversely unless the system is worked very hard with multiple tasking anything over 1GB is probably a waste of money. HTH |
jinja_thom (4306) | ||
| 639890 | 2008-02-13 19:08:00 | Thanks guys . Narrowing the question down a bit more the system has PC2700 RAM installed . The Manual says it should be PC2100 . :confused: Is that a significant difference? What is the vital difference between PC2700 and PC2100? Then the PC2700 is supposedly 166 MHz where the recommended PC2100 is 266 MHz and just to confuse me the System Bus (which you say is not the Front Side Bus is 400 MHz . The machine is running on power with 512 meg of memory so it should handle XP a lot better I feel . Compared to my desktop which has the same amount of Memory and a slightly slower processor it is an absolute snail . Having said that, it has never crashed and everything runs fine . It’s just the speed which is why I’m looking at the RAM speed and FFB speed . Problem is nothing is making much sense to me in that department . :D |
B.M. (505) | ||
| 639891 | 2008-02-13 21:53:00 | Narrowing the question down a bit more the system has PC2700 RAM installed. The Manual says it should be PC2100. :confused: Is that a significant difference? What is the vital difference between PC2700 and PC2100? PC2700 is designed to run on a 166MHz bus, it's Double Data Rate so also called DDR333. If the notebook only has a 133MHz bus for PC2100 (DDR266) the PC2700 will run at PC2100 speeds. Was Everest identifying the ram from it's performance or the maximum speed listed in the SPD on the ram module? It's possible that it is running at the PC2700 speed. CPU clocks and other clocks on the motherboards have moved on from being derived from the same source. If you are doing things with a lot of hard drive accessing, a notebook drive runs at a slower speed than modern desktop drives. Edit Re desktop CPU what is it. As well as speed there is type. Your Notebook probably is a Celeron, the desktop could be Pentium at a higher bus speed even though less G |
PaulD (232) | ||
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