Is This Mixing RAM?
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From: Boris on 21 Jan 2010 12:10 I want to add some memory to the i6000 laptop that I just got fixed. It has 512 MB RAM, and the original invoice shows: Dual In-line Memory Module 256, 400, 32X64, 8K, 200, 512 I note that it does not state DDR2. Here's what I've found at Crucial.com: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?mfr=Dell&model=Inspiron+6000 I'd like to get the 1GB stick for $27, remove one of the 256MB original sticks, and end up with 1.5GB of RAM. But, I'm not clear if I can mix DDR2 with the original RAM. Crucial shows that the i6000 memory doesn't have to be installed in matched pairs, since it doesn't support dual channel, but would all memory have to be DDR2? If I can mix DDR2 and the original memory, I imagine the speed will be limited to that of the original memory speed. This machine will be used primarily for browsing, mail, and Word. Thanks.
From: Boris on 21 Jan 2010 12:55 Boris <nospam(a)nospam.invalid> wrote in news:hja1q6$ech$1(a)news.eternal-september.org: > I want to add some memory to the i6000 laptop that I just got fixed. > It has 512 MB RAM, and the original invoice shows: > > Dual In-line Memory Module 256, 400, 32X64, 8K, 200, 512 I note that > it does not state DDR2. > > Here's what I've found at Crucial.com: > > http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?mfr=Dell&model=Inspiron+600 > 0 > > I'd like to get the 1GB stick for $27, remove one of the 256MB > original sticks, and end up with 1.5GB of RAM. I mean 1.25GB RAM But, I'm not clear if > I can mix DDR2 with the original RAM. Crucial shows that the i6000 > memory doesn't have to be installed in matched pairs, since it doesn't > support dual channel, but would all memory have to be DDR2? > > If I can mix DDR2 and the original memory, I imagine the speed will be > limited to that of the original memory speed. > > This machine will be used primarily for browsing, mail, and Word. > > Thanks. >
From: William R. Walsh on 21 Jan 2010 12:56 Hi! You cannot mix DDR and DDR2 memory (unless you use a hammer, which is not a recommended technique). The two are electrically incompatible with one another. What you *can* do (usually) is mix differing speeds of memory that are of the same general type. For example, you could mix PC2700 and PC3200 DDR memory in the same system, and everything would run at the PC2700 speed. Likewise you can also mix DDR2 PC2-4200 and PC2-5300 in the same system. The memory would run at the PC2-4200 rate. Some memory controllers will reject memory that is too fast. I have not noticed this out of Dell systems, so you should not have a problem with it. You can also (generally speaking) mix modules of differing sizes (although some systems require that a "bank" consisting of multiple sockets require that both sockets have the same size modules installed--not usually a problem on laptops since each slot is typically a separate bank) without problems. This will, however, force your system's memory controller to run in so-called single channel mode. There is a slight (usually less than 10%) average performance penalty that will result from doing this. William
From: Boris on 21 Jan 2010 13:26 "William R. Walsh" <wm_walsh(a)hotmail.com> wrote in news:9349d9ec-431f- 4ab6-8dba-ea099ca91ce4(a)36g2000yqu.googlegroups.com: > Hi! > > You cannot mix DDR and DDR2 memory (unless you use a hammer, which is > not a recommended technique). The two are electrically incompatible > with one another. > > What you *can* do (usually) is mix differing speeds of memory that are > of the same general type. For example, you could mix PC2700 and PC3200 > DDR memory in the same system, and everything would run at the PC2700 > speed. > > Likewise you can also mix DDR2 PC2-4200 and PC2-5300 in the same > system. The memory would run at the PC2-4200 rate. > > Some memory controllers will reject memory that is too fast. I have > not noticed this out of Dell systems, so you should not have a problem > with it. > > You can also (generally speaking) mix modules of differing sizes > (although some systems require that a "bank" consisting of multiple > sockets require that both sockets have the same size modules > installed--not usually a problem on laptops since each slot is > typically a separate bank) without problems. This will, however, force > your system's memory controller to run in so-called single channel > mode. There is a slight (usually less than 10%) average performance > penalty that will result from doing this. > > William > Thanks, William, I appreciate the information. Crucial states: "Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot", so the laptop existing memory is DDR2. The laptop memory slots aren't 'banked', so I won't have to worry about matching. And, as you say, the speed hit is slight. Thanks again.
From: Ben Myers on 21 Jan 2010 14:58
Boris wrote: > I want to add some memory to the i6000 laptop that I just got fixed. It > has 512 MB RAM, and the original invoice shows: > > Dual In-line Memory Module 256, 400, 32X64, 8K, 200, 512 I note that it > does not state DDR2. > > Here's what I've found at Crucial.com: > > http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?mfr=Dell&model=Inspiron+6000 > > I'd like to get the 1GB stick for $27, remove one of the 256MB original > sticks, and end up with 1.5GB of RAM. But, I'm not clear if I can mix DDR2 > with the original RAM. Crucial shows that the i6000 memory doesn't have to > be installed in matched pairs, since it doesn't support dual channel, but > would all memory have to be DDR2? > > If I can mix DDR2 and the original memory, I imagine the speed will be > limited to that of the original memory speed. > > This machine will be used primarily for browsing, mail, and Word. > > Thanks. The Inspiron 6000 requires DDR2 memory, which is less expensive than the older DDR. It's original memory is DDR2, so there is not a memory type to "mix". However, you can mix and install memory modules of two different capacities. If you replace one 256MB stick with 1GB (Great move, BTW!), you will end up with about 1.2GB of memory, and a faster running system. Assuming you are running XP, this amount of memory is fine. If you have the misfortune of running Vista, get a pair of 1GB DDR2, and you'll have respectable performance... Ben Myers |