My parents want an old computer to learn the basics on, like email and web browsing, so my dad brought home an old computer from his job for me to fix up and give to them. I do this alot and I usually have no troubles but getting more RAM for this system is very confusing.
The motherboard is a MSI K7 Pro. If you search for it on their site it will say it doesn’t exist but if you search for ‘MSI K7 Pro’ on Google the first link goes to the product page in case you are wondering the specs. It supports 768MB total memory. There are 3 slots which support up to 256MB each slot. It came with 1 stick of 128MB running at PC100, Cas 2. I would like to get 2 more sticks of 256MB so that I can run Windows XP on it smoothly. On 128MB it actually runs really well but that is without any programs and using a very stripped version of XP.
So, the troubles come with densities and other technicalities I do not know the names to. I want generic RAM for this system because I won’t be overclocking or running intensive apps. The RAM that came with the system is Micron I think. It has a little M symbol and when I did a search for the product number it pointed me to a Micron page with neat info on it. It didn’t say if it was low or high density however. When I do a pricewatch search for PC100 or PC133 (sometimes the PC133 is cheaper) RAM and I check out the specs on the site they give warnings about compatibility. Alot of them say that high density chips like the ones they are selling (and the cheapest kinds which is what I want) will only fit on motherboards that have DIMM slots that max out at 512MB per. It also lists a number like 32x4. When I check out the motherboard manual there is a table filled with numbers that relate to the compatibility of memory chips. 32x4 is listed there so I assume that the board can take them but then there is the warning that high density will only read correctly on boards that max out at 512MB per slot. They warn that the board will only read it as 128MB. What is also confusing is that some sites list chipsets that support the RAM they are selling and they list the AMD 751 chipset which is the one that the board uses but they contradict themselves by saying it will only work on boards where the DIMM slots max out at 512MB.
Can someone help me understand this chart and how to tell if certain types of memory will be compatible on my system? I also sometimes see another number in addition to the 32x4 or 32x8 which is usually 32x64 which is cannot find on the table. Any help would be appreciated. Here is the table that came on the motherboard manual:
I can’t help you with the high desity bit, but I can tell you what the 32x4 type numbers mean. A stick of RAM normally have a couple RAM chips on it, the number tells you how many and what type. Your 32x4 means you have four 32MB chips on that stick, for a total of 128MB of RAM. A 32x8 means you have eight 32MB chips for a total of 256MB of RAM on that stick.
When they talk about single sided, or double sided, some RAM sticks have the chips on one side of the stick or on both. If the board only supports single sided, and you put in a double sided stick, then the board would only use the RAM chips on one side of the stick, or half the amount of RAM on that stick.
I hope that helps, until someone more knowledgable comes along.
I figured that out after looking at the stick of 128MB and an old 32MB stick I had lying around. So if the store is selling a 256MB stick, 32x4, then that’s 128MB on each side which makes it double sided. The previous page on the manual says that both single and double are supported so that should make that particular stick compatible, yes?
And, if a 256MB stick is 32x8 then it’s single sided but that number does not appear on the memory compatibility chart making it not-compatible… I hope this is correct.
I thought that when they list the number, it is all the chips on the stick, not just the ones on one side. But then I haven’t looked into PC100 RAM in a LONG time, and didn’t start working in tech support until after DDR was the standard.
So if someone says 32x4 that would make me think it was a stick of 128MB, not 256MB. But then, what do I know?
A word of warning. I was trying to up grade the memory in my sister’s old HP and it required PC100. And I mean required. It would not accept PC133 at all. So you might end up having to pay the extra and get that PC100.
It’s practically compatible with any type of PC100/PC133 DIMM, except 256Mbit width 32x8 modules. (I’m guessing 512Mbit 32x8 as well)
So my recommendation is picking up one or two 256 MB modules. PC133’s are probably less expensive. And make sure they are CAS 2 for maximum compatibility with your existing DIMM, plus make sure they are not using 32x8 DRAM. (Should be 16x8).
By the way, the “32x8”, “32x4”, “16x8” etc. does not refer to the number of sides of the module. It’s a specification of what type of DRAM chips are used on the module. 32x8 means 8 32Mbit chips, i.e. 256 MB. 32x4 means 4 32Mbit chips, etc.
So a 256 MB module using 16x8 technology would be built up by 16 chips of 16Mbit each. (And, since you cannot fit 16 on one side, it will thus be 2-sided.) However a 128 MB module using 16x8 technology is 1-sided.
RealTronic thanks for that info. That chart at the very bottom of the page says it’s compatible with 32x4. Should I go ahead with that type despite the warnings on the store webpages? I’d prefer to get those over the 16x8’s because they were cheaper yet branded. The 16x8 type seemed to be the generic ‘will work on any board’ type yet were more expensive.
The x4 modules are so-called “high density” modules. Generally speaking they are regarded as less compatible. But according to the chipset specs they would work.
I don’t know - the safest is of course using 8x8 PC100’s (double-sided 128 MB) but I don’t think you can find those anymore…
But the 16x8 should work fine - even the PC133 ones.
