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Thread ID: 81082	2007-07-15 10:42:00	New Additional Ram	shione83 (7126)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
569295	2007-07-18 00:28:00	ok ran that memory test program all was well with no errors. but before i did that i refitted and cleaned them YES!! i used an antistatic wrist band :)	shione83 (7126)
569296	2007-07-18 05:33:00	ok a bit of clarification. It would seem, as is normal practice, your motherboard colours the RAM to indicate the channels - i.e green = 1 channel, purple = the other channel. with 1 matched chip in each channel it will use dual channel mode - your original config. With 2x256 in green and 1x512 in purple you're attempting to match your old 512 ( 2x256) to your new 512 ( 1 x 512 ) in dual channel mode, no surprise it doesn't work really as they need to match speed, timings etc exactly to work properly in dual channel mode. With 1x256 & 1x512 in green and 1x256 in purple you have different amounts of RAM in each channel so it drops back to single channel mode and works - but at a lower speed than your original RAM. There's also a good chance your older RAM is DDR 333 or 266 etc and the New RAM is working at that speed. I'm afraid your best option is to buy another 512 to match the new one and discard / sell the old 2x256. As for the out of memory errors, they are a separate issue i'm not sure whats causing them. Most people do ok on 512 or more	dugimodo (138)
569297	2007-07-18 06:29:00	ok ran that memory test program all was well with no errors. but before i did that i refitted and cleaned them YES!! i used an antistatic wrist band :) I take it that your ram is all present and correct now? If so, cool! :) :thumbs:	feersumendjinn (64)
569298	2007-07-18 06:59:00	ok a bit of clarification. Which would have been fine if it was right. nForce2 didn't work like that. From Nvidia "Both of the memory controllers on DualDDR are functionally identical with all control and timing parameters independently programmable. This flexibility allows the users to populate up to three asymmetric DIMMs in any organization, size and speed. DualDDR simply adjust to the lowest common density that will facilitate 128- bit bandwidth, allowing a wide variety of different DIMM combinations to operate reliably regardless of the individual density and latency characteristics." The way shione83 has the memory the common density is 128MB so that should be in 128 bit mode leaving the 512 in 64 bit mode. The preferred way is to have the two 256MB in the same channel and the 512 in the other so that the common density is 512MB. The MSI board shione83 has is a mystery, he has said that it is AMD and has an Nvidia controller but the manual he's referred to is for a SIS Intel board.	PaulD (232)
569299	2007-07-18 07:27:00	ok I don't really know anything about nForce 2 and the lowest common density thing is new to me, but still I think I was basically right ( ok I got green & purple backwards ). Just because the Nvidia chipset can support asymetric dual channel configurations doesn't mean it will work in this case - and with 768M in one channel and 256 in the other I see no way of it working at all ( not that we've established it actually is a nForce 2 board ?? ) The reason for matched Dual channel RAM chips being sold is because there's no way to be sure any 2 random RAM chips will work reliably as a pair until you test them As I understand Dual channel the RAM works in pairs effectively making one pair of RAM chips ( or 3 in 2 + 1 config ) appear as a single amount of Memory with twice the bandwidth which would always require an equal amount in each channel. I stand by my recommendation that another 512 of the same type has a better chance of working than 3 mismatched chips	dugimodo (138)
569300	2007-07-18 08:22:00	As I understand Dual channel the RAM works in pairs effectively making one pair of RAM chips ( or 3 in 2 + 1 config ) appear as a single amount of Memory with twice the bandwidth which would always require an equal amount in each channel. The example nVidia use in their tech document is a 64 matched with a 128 so equal isn't required unless MSI has borked the implementation.	PaulD (232)
569301	2007-07-19 09:32:00	i have increased my virtual memory to 2000MB initial size and to 3000MB max size... but am still getting an insufficient memory error when using photoimpact or paint shop pro. As a matter of interest, I have been using Photo Impact ( PI8 PI10 and PI12) for the last 4 years and have never owned a pc (all xp and minimum 1gb ram) that did not get the "insufficient memory" error while using hoto Impact. I belong to a pi forum (Photo impact international) and there are always members there complaining about this error in Photo Impact. One has 6 gb ram! PI is a good program but don't forget to save your work often:) Can't comment on PSP but don't allow a memory hungry program like Photo Impact give you the wrong idea about your configuration.	minster (9180)
569302	2007-07-19 22:10:00	I was under the impression dual channel needed like modules in the slots too, and simply wont work with all 3 slots full regardless of module sizes, least with the 939 socket boards (NF3 & 4), i dont believe any they would of gone backward from NF2, so yeah, get 2 512Mb modules for the same colour slots.	SolMiester (139)
569303	2007-07-19 22:25:00	You're comparing AMD's memory controller in the CPU with nVidia's on the motherboard and same colour = same channel (not that dual mode is much faster). 3 slots can and did work, it was common to start with 2x256 and then get a 512 as memory got cheaper. Some boards don't allow you to manually change all the memory settings in bios like Abit. Then you could be tripped up by what's in the memory SPD chips so 2x512 same brand is a safer option.	PaulD (232)
569304	2007-07-19 23:10:00	You're comparing AMD's memory controller in the CPU with nVidia's on the motherboard and same colour = same channel (not that dual mode is much faster). 3 slots can and did work, it was common to start with 2x256 and then get a 512 as memory got cheaper. Some boards don't allow you to manually change all the memory settings in bios like Abit. Then you could be tripped up by what's in the memory SPD chips so 2x512 same brand is a safer option. Oh yeah, I am too......duh!	SolMiester (139)
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