Ram Upgrade, not improved help!

[British_Command]

I ahad a Ram upgrade from 512mb - 1024mb, before the upgrade i could play certain levels on counter strike and now after the upgrade i cant it stutters on the maps and is really annoying.

It is picking up all the 1024MB! but please any advice is helpful!

if you need more info im glad to tell you.

 

[Tedster]

is your pagefile size set to automatic?
do all your memsticks match exactly?

 

[British_Command]

yeah

we had a pc technician put in the memory cards and yes both exactly the same x2 512mb ram cards and Page file?

Page file is 2100MB.

 

[iss]

The ram is the same brand and same speed?

 

[British_Command]

yes

yes i believe so and i can check again if you want.

 

[Sharkfood]

We need more system info in order to make a determination what could be wrong.

Adding memory can absolutely cause problems if the proper steps aren't followed or the memory is incorrect for the system. Also, many systems need memory in pairs for proper performance (many Intel based systems that support dual-channel, etc.etc.).

The fact a "pc technician" doesn't address any of this since many "pc technicians" really dont know all the caveats or have specialized knowledge for one particular configuration and not another, etc.etc.

 

[British_Command]

yes

yes i believe so and tell me some specific info of the system you want?

I have Sisandralite2007 which tests your computer (benchmarks) on all different parts of your system, but im not a PC Genius so i wouldn't be able to understand the more complex results.

 

[Sharkfood]

What would probably yield the most information would be if you could download CPU-Z and use it's html report (in the about tab) and attach it to a post here.. else use it's register dump/save and copy/paste that into a post here. You can google/websearch for CPU-Z and it's a tiny, zipped download.

 

[Rick]

Personally, I would remove the memory module and see if the problem still exists. This may be a total coincidence and has nothing to do with your memory - Yes, this kind of stuff happens all the time.

If the problem still exists once the module is removed, then you can be fairly certain the problem is something else.

If the problem goes away after removing the module and reappears when the module is reinstalled - Then we can be very certain this is the memory.

If you feel squeamish about taking the memory out (It's a very simple, low-risk procedure, even for a novice), then you can run a memory test such as www.memtest.org to test your memory. Generally speaking, memory errors often result in failure, not slow performance. But I'd give it a whirl anyway.

 

[British_Command]

ok

OK thanks but what do i put in instead of the RAM or do i leave RAM slots empty? and here is cpu-z info :

By the way the file is too big too copy and paste so here is an url to the .txt file

http://www.filefactory.com/file/ea148f/

Thats the link, scroll down to download for free with File free basic or soemthing, then click start download.

 

[Sharkfood]

HI again British Command,

From your CPU-Z dump, there are some hints of possible problems already.

Can you launch CPU-Z one more time and look at the 3rd Tab for "Mainboard" and report what Manufacturer/Model appears there?

Also, on the "Memory" tab, there is an area that says "Channels #" .. does it say "Dual" there?

 

[Rick]

The upgrade should have added an additional module, not replaced your old one(s). If there's only one memory module in your computer at the moment, you should ask the technician where your old one went.

Your computer should run fine with just one module.

 

[Sharkfood]

Your computer should run fine with just one module.

As it's an Intel cpu on an i865 series chipset, this may not be accurate. These chipsets are designed around dual-channel memory and will only yield good CPU performance with memory in pairs.

The CPU-Z dump attached shows two DIMM's- a pair of matched 512mb sticks (same brand/model), but they are in DIMM 1 and DIMM 2 slots, which is usually incorrect, but without further mainboard information, it's hard to determine. Also, performance mode is disabled which may also hint that the memory is simply in the wrong DIMM slots.

Most i865 series mainboards have 4 DIMM slots and for dual-channel and performance mode, they require memory in DIMM1 & 3, or DIMM 2 & 4 slots. Chances are good this system had 2x256 in dual-channel/performance interleave mode, and the upgrade to 1gig replaced those with 2x512Microns (as the CPU-Z reports), but the tech simply didn't put them in the right slots.

This will condemn even the most powerful P4 cpu down to Celeron-like performance... IF this motherboard has dual-channel support/doesn't cripple the i865 chipset (some cheap, cheap clone motherboards cripple an i865 in an i845 mainboard.. which makes them perform extremely poorly/single channel and no performance memory interleave mode.. basically P4 3.0ghz's performing like Celeron 1.5ghz).

 

[British_Command]

Right

Mainboard:
Manufacturer : Dell Computer Corp.
Model : 0K8980

Channels # : Dual.

So what do i have to do? switch the memory cards around and i did get x2 512mb and i will ask around for the x2 256mb.

 

[Rick]

As it's an Intel cpu on an i865 series chipset

Good thinking. I made the mistake of assuming it was SDR or DDR. Judging by the system board model that was just posted though, they appear to be DDR DIMMs.

[CENTER]

[/CENTER]

So what do i have to do?

We know the gory details of how your memory is configured now, so that will help a lot. Dual-channel using DDR shouldn't be a necessity - simply optional.

Assuming the above, I'd probably troubleshoot as follows...

• Verify your system is slow with both modules (New memory)
• We should always make certain your problem still exists prior to troubleshooting as sometimes things like this can be intermittent. Having both modules making your system slow might infer they are incompatible or defective (This reinforces your assumption).
  
• Verify your system is slow with one module at a time (New memory)
• If taking one module out resolves your issue and reinstalling your other starts the problem again, this is a good sign that only one of your modules is defective or incompatible. If the computer doesn't boot up with one memory module, there may be additional preperation necessary.
  
• Verify your system is still fast with old memory (256mb modules) or with other, different memory modules.
• By reproducing positive results with the old (or misc) memory, we can rule out another [coincidental] software or hardware issue.
  
• If the new memory is still slow and the old memory is still slow, then we can look elsewhere for a problem. It could be just a coincidental software issue, another unrelated hardware issue or an interesting combination of things resulting from the installation of the new memory.

The most absolute (and quickest) way to figure out if the memory is to blame is install your old modules or other working modules into your computer (other than the new ones). If the problem goes away, it was definitely your new memory. If the problem stays, then we can look to other things. So if you still have access to your old memory, that would be awesome.

 

[British_Command]

Ok

Ok thanks alot i'll get on it and report back hopefully with good news

 

[British_Command]

well

well i took one RAM card out and it seemed better at first but no there is still stuttering on 2 maps.

Im going to see if i can find the old modules and try em out.