I need HELP wid RAM

[El_Smee]

know i have 2 sticks of 1/4 of a gig ram running at 400 and another stick of 1/2 a gig running at 333 know there all in my gigabyte K7 Triton GA-7S748 this motherboard does not have dual DDR(my friend said you have to have dual DDR to run 2 stick or more of ram proprly).

1. Is what my Friend said true?
2. What Speed is my combinded gigabyte of ram running at 333 or 400?
3. What do you sujest I do about this?

should i remove the half gig stick running at the slower speed??

 

[acidosmosis]

If you use two different ram modules at different speeds then they will all run at the speed of the slowest ram module. In your case the 400mhz ram module will be running at 333mhz since your also running 333mhz RAM in that system.

Edit: Take out the 2 sticks of 256MB/400mhz RAM and do some tests. Benchmarks maybe. Then put them back in and do it again. See which is better.

Depending on what your doing or what kind of application you are running it may be better to have your system running with the 512MB@400mhz (2 sticks of 256@400mhz) running in dual-channel or to have the 1024MB@333mhz (2 sticks of 256 + 1 stick of 512).

I also believe (can anyone confirm this?) that you can't run in dual-channel mode unless both sticks are of the same speed. Possibly also may need to to both be the same amount of RAM. I've also heard that it is advised that both sticks of RAM be the exact same kind. If I was going to run in dual-channel I would buy the Twin-X RAM. (ie., something like this: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-489&depa=0 )

 

[El_Smee]

Originally posted by acidosmosis
If you use two different ram modules at different speeds then they will all run at the speed of the slowest ram module. In your case the 400mhz ram module will be running at 333mhz since your also running 333mhz RAM in that system.

Take out the 2 sticks of 256MB/333mhz RAM and do some tests. Benchmarks maybe. Then put them back in and do it again. See which is better.

Depending on what your doing or what kind of application you are running it may be better to have your system running with the 512MB@400mhz or to have the 768MB@333mhz.

srry i dont know how to test it. At this current time i dont have software that will do that

srry if my first post didnt make much sence but it was
2x 256mb/runing at 400mhz
and 1x 512mb/ running at 333mhz

BTW what does dual DDR do then?

so hears the main question again
What combo is better

2x 256mb = 512 mb /400mhz

or

2x 256mb + 1x 512mb = 1024 mb/333mhz

Which set up would be faster?

 

[acidosmosis]

As far as the "dual DDR"

Actually, there's no such thing as dual-channel DDR memory. There are, however, dual-channel computer motherboards designed for additional performance when memory is installed in matched pairs. If you have a computer designed for dual-channel memory operation, it will work with a single memory module or multiple modules of varying densities, but to take advantage of dual-channel mode, you'll simply want to purchase and install your DDR memory in pairs.

Also, take a look at http://www.kingston.com/literature/MKF_495.pdf

"Dual memory channel designs double the peak bandwidth over equivelant systems that only offer single memory channels."

Sorry about that, had a few typo's in there.

 

[El_Smee]

ok thx man

that clears up my query on Dual DDR

how about the 2 different set up

What combo is better

2x 256mb = 512 mb /400mhz

or

2x 256mb + 1x 512mb = 1024 mb/333mhz

Which set up would be faster?

BTW i have a AMD athlon xp 3000mhz (333fbs) does this mean the fastest ram i can run is 333mhz???

 

[Didou]

What it means is that there won't be any difference if you run the Ram at 200mhz ( 400DDR ) rather then 166mhz ( 333DDR ) since the CPU is only able to use it as fast as 166mhz.

You might even notice a performance decrease if you run the CPU FSB & memory at different speeds ( asynchronous mode ).

 

[lowman]

Agreed

Didou is on point regarding this subject...

 

[El_Smee]

OK i more problem im running my cpu with the 1 gig setup but for some reson 3DMark 03 says im running it at 132mhz

how i fix?

 

[Didou]

3Dmark isn't the most precise tool when it comes to detecting system specs.

Use a better program such as CPU-Z or CPUID.

If you wish to benchmark the memory, you can always get Sisoft Sandra Free Edition & run the memory benchmark.

 

[Moimit]

dont you all know that the chipset doesnt support Dual channel mode. get a good nforce2 motherboard they do have dual channel. thats my $0.02

 

[young&wild]

Originally posted by Moimit
dont you all know that the chipset doesnt support Dual channel mode. get a good nforce2 motherboard they do have dual channel. thats my $0.02

Yep ya right on that. I went to the manufacturer's site, no sign of the board supporting Dual Channel.

Taken from http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-7S748.htm

Introduction
GA-7S748 is the most value-oriented solution for latest evolved AMD Athlon™ XP 400FSB processor. Equipped with SiS AGP8X and DDR400 supporting Chipset, GA-7S748 delivers excellent performance to desktop platform. The SiS 748 chipset, the succeeding product of SiS most competitive Chipsets for AMD K7 platform, is furnished with a complete set of today's cutting-edge features combined with SiS's brand new Hyper-streaming Engine optimizing the performance of the entire computer system. DDR400 memory support and the advanced 400MHz processor bus unleash the full power of AMD Athlon™ XP processors. The AGP 8X graphics interface is built to derive the maximum performance from the most powerful graphics accelerator. In addition, the USB 2.0 and 6-channel audio are equipped to provide a complete solution for platforms used in home and office environment. GA-7S748 is the best buy platform with stunning performance for full spectrum of applications.

Advanced 400 Front-Side Bus Support
This platform supports the highest CPU frequency and system bandwidth for fully utilizing the intense computing power of latest AMD Athlon™ XP 400FSB processor and providing enhanced system responsiveness.

Superb bandwidth AGP 8X graphics interface
Featuring AGP 8x (AGP 3.0) the new generation VGA interface specification, this platform delivers enhanced graphics performance with high bandwidth speed up to 2.12GB/s. Allowing users to have a more realistic graphics experiences while gaming or movie watching

 

[Didou]

He mentionned in the first post that his board was not DualChannel capable so we're all aware of that.

The problem here is that his ram "seems" to be running at 133mhz ( 266DDR ) when it should be running at least at 166mhz ( 333DDR ) allthough I believe it's 3Dmark not detecting properly the actual Ram speed.

DualChannel doesn't bring much performance increase on a K7 platform anyways.

 

[Moimit]

see the sis chipset might as well not support the dual channel mode because i have seen many problems with the sis chipset and DC even with good ram.eg kingston. sis just suck get a real motherboard

 

[Didou]

He allready has the board/Ram & wants them to work together. Telling people to change hardware doesn't really help at all.

The only available SiS chipset to support DualChannel DDR Ram is for P4s & works quite well so I do not see where you noticed that SiS chipsets & DC didn't go well together.

 

[Moimit]

i apologise. just i had a lot of troubles with my old sis chipset so i get a little edgy. sis are ok but be careful.
soz didou...