Some manual writers ought to be shot!

[ESPNSTI]

So I bought 512mb PC2100 DDR ram, unregistered and unbuffered, because my 256MB that I already had just wasn't enough for FarCry.

I checked my mobo manual before I bought the chip (which was $80), and this is what it says:

• Up to two 184-pin Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) with gold-plated contacts
  DDR200 and DDR266 SDRAM
  64 MBit, 128MBit, 256MBit and 512MBit technologies for the following memory configurations:
  - 64 MB (Minimum)
  - 256 MB (64 MBit technology)
  - 512 MB (128 MBit technology)
  - 1024 MB (256 MBit technology)
  - 2048 MB (512 MBit technology)

So I'm thinking, that that's per slot (the mobo has two slots), so I can use 512 in one and 256 in the other.
I got the chip today, put it in, the bios lists it as 768MB, so I'm thinking I'm good, but no, the damn thing just keeps rebooting and having blue screens and such.
If I just put the 256 in or the 512 by itself, then it's fine.
So I now realize that than fucking manual meant that those are the configurations for both slots, and that evidently, I can't mix 256MB and 512MB chips .
Up to now, ALL computers that I had (before DDR) just about alowed all combinations of sizes of chips, and if they didn't they at least put in a table stating that if you put 64MB in slot 0 then you can put 128MB, 256MB in slot 2, etc...

The least they could have done is stated that you cannot mix memory sizes

Or perhaps I'm wrong about this and perhaps I should have been able to do that and something else is wrong?

On the upside, even with 512, i can run FarCry in 1024x768x32 with all options set to very high and sound to dolby 5.1 .

[Viper007Bond]

I have a 512 and 256 in my computer right now...

You do need to order your ram from largest to smallest though (the largest in slot 1, the 2nd largest in slot 2, etc.).

[bahnstormer]

what proc and grfx card do u have.
what mobo do u have? what chipset is it?
ddr is best to have 2 of same size sticks

[ESPNSTI]

Yep I put 512 in slot 0, and 256 in 1 first, I also tried it the other way around.

I have a P4 1.8Ghz Northwood processor.
Geforce Ti4400 graphics card.
Intel D845BGSE motherboard.

Certainly not current technology, it's all more than 2 years old, but it's quality stuff.

I knew you had to have SIMMs in pairs, but I always thought that DIMMs got rid of that restriction.
That's why I'm so pissed, since it doesn't specifically state that.
I thought I was fairly careful in picking the memory too, I mean c'mon I even bought the same brand name, same specification memory as the 256MB that I already had.

It frustrates me because I've been putting PCs together from time to time, including this one which I completely ordered in parts using pricewatch.
And I have been working with computers since about 1980 .

Anyway, any of you want to pay me too much for a 256MB stick of memory:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...485333220&rd=1 .

[zenon]

Originally Posted by ESPNSTI

• Up to two 184-pin Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs) with gold-plated contacts
  DDR200 and DDR266 SDRAM
  64 MBit, 128MBit, 256MBit and 512MBit technologies for the following memory configurations:
  - 64 MB (Minimum)
  - 256 MB (64 MBit technology)
  - 512 MB (128 MBit technology)
  - 1024 MB (256 MBit technology)
  - 2048 MB (512 MBit technology)

Is this dual channel ram? I didn't think dual channel RAM came with bus speeds as low as 200\266, but that would explain your problem.

Also, when you're buying RAM it's best to be very careful to match name brands, unregistred\registered, bus speeds etc. of all of your RAM sticks.

[ESPNSTI]

Originally Posted by zenon

Is this dual channel ram? I didn't think dual channel RAM came with bus speeds as low as 200\266, but that would explain your problem.

No, this isn't dual channel ram, DIMM has nothing to do with that.

Originally Posted by zenon

Also, when you're buying RAM it's best to be very careful to match name brands, unregistred\registered, bus speeds etc. of all of your RAM sticks.

Yah, thought of that, the only thing that I thought that didn't matter, based on my experience with ALL computers I had previously worked on was memory size:

Originally Posted by ESPNSTI

I even bought the same brand name, same specification memory as the 256MB that I already had.

[Viper007Bond]

Brands don't matter as long as they are the same type and speed.