do I have to get memory that is PC4200 or does it matter with DDR2 type memory??? Thnx
2007-11-26 12:25:00 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
you can get any kind of ddr2. if you get something of a higher speed, it'll run at the speed of the slowest ram.
2007-11-26 12:28:36 · answer #1 · answered by superfergalicious 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it matters, unless you wish to completely change out all memory currently installed in your system and replace it will all new. In this situation, where you change out all your current memory sticks, you still have to ensure that your motherboard supports the speed you want to use.
For example: Today we have some rather fast memory, up to 667 or even faster. However, in order to use this memory, you would require a motherboard that supports that fast a speed.
Also, there is not any need to completely switch out all available memory sticks. It is best to add memory modules (sticks) to what you currently have.
*note*, your system most likely supports a couple of different speeds. Please be aware that if you buy a faster speed than what you currently have installed, and your motherboard supports that faster speed, but you leave some of the slower modules installed, the entire point of upgrading your memory is reduced in half, because while you have more memory, your system will revert to the slowest speed current installed modules are capable of. So, if you want to get the full benifit of upgrading RAM modules, go ahead and get what is currently installed and add to that.
The only time you should replace all of your RAM modules is when you wish to replace all if it with a faster speed. Again, be sure your motherboard supports that speed.
If you make a mistake when you buy and installl the memory, you WILL crash your system. It may take up to a week to do so, but it WILL crash it. I tell you this because we bought the wrong RAM modules and added it to what was already installed. In the meanwhile we added a new printer too. A week later the computer crashed. We thought at first it was the printer, because it had been a week since we installed the RAM, and the printer was the last item we had added. Usually, when a system crashes you look to the most recent change that had been made. We did a whole bunch of work to try and fix the system to no avail. We went out and bought a new computer, which was great because we then had two Windows Media Center Edition 2005 computers, which allows me to use Group Policy in our networked enviroment. A few weeks later we thought of removing the new RAM, just for the heck of it, even though we really believed it had been the print drivers that caused it to die, and once we put the old RAM back it booted up like nothing had ever happened to it!!
The moral of the story is YES you need the right RAM, and you need to ensure your motherboard supports it.
A great place to check and see what types of RAM your particular motherboard can handle go to Crucial dot com,
http://www.crucial.com
There you can run a test on your system for free which will dertermine all the types of RAM your system can handle. You don't have to purchase the memory from Crucial, but if you want you can. This is a very reputable website, very well known and used by many computer users. So, you can trust it and download the component which runs the test without any fears.
Good luck and a very happy holiday season.
2007-11-26 20:41:38 · answer #2 · answered by Serenity 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As long as it is DDR2, you are fine. In fact DDR2 is cheaper than DDR, so you save money.
As far as the PC4200. Look for anything of that speed or higher. They are backward compatible. but not forward compatible. don't get anything lower than a PC4200 or the one you currently have will run at the slower speed!
http://www.tigerdirect.com/
http://www.newegg.com/
2007-11-26 20:39:13 · answer #3 · answered by mit 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes it does matter if its an old pc it will be ddr1 if its cople years old ddr2 and then for new pcs theres a new kind. look on your motherboard and get the model number and ask the computer store about that board and what kind of chip you need if you dont know. you could look on the card itself thats in the pc you want to put a new one in, if the card says ddr2 then use that.
2007-11-27 00:02:26 · answer #4 · answered by J M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes it does matter greatly.
Now days you are better off to check manufacturer specs before doing anything. Do some research. Look on-line etc at your pc/motherboard or RAM manufacturers web site or check some of the forums. with all the ECC, non ECC, CL1, CL2, CL3, Parity, blah, blah, blah specs out there, it is better to buy the right stick of memory first, than have to find someone that wants your "unused" "mint in box" wrong one...
2007-11-26 20:51:30 · answer #5 · answered by Mike and Holly B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Memory sticks are also different sizes, so you have to get the same size......you can however, increase the memory from say a 128 meg of memory to a 1gig, etc.....just as long as the memory stick is the same size as the other one you replace.............and, with the same slots in the same place........
2007-11-26 20:33:04 · answer #6 · answered by White Dove 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You can go slower, but it can't read RAM at higher speeds than your processor is rated for.
2007-11-26 20:32:07 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋