Upgrade Question

[mikew]

I have a generic P166 with 64mb ram and want to upgrade to 128mb ram. My mobo is a P5I430VX-250DM Explorer 11.
Here's the issue:
The manual shows that I can go to 128mb (it has 1 x DIMM slot and 4 x SIMM slots)and it has a chart which says for 128mb to set the memory at 32mb in each of the 4 SIMM slots. I want to know if I can put 2 x 64mb in the first 2 SIMM slots instead, (the chart shows 2 x 32mb in the first 2 slots for a 64mb setup so why not 2 x 64mb for a 128mb setup).
Also, can I use 50ns memory and change to 50ns in bios. The existing bios is set at 60ns.
Thanks in advance,
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[mikew]

Sorry about the add-on but I have just been reading the manual and notice it says " Supports from 8mb to 64mb 3.3v/unbuffered SDRAM DIMM or 3.3v EDO DIMM for DIMM slot". Does this mean I could also configure with 1 x 64mb DIMM and 2 x 32mb SIMMS and if so could I use a 64mb SDRAM DIMM PC66/PC100/PC133 (These are much cheaper on ebay).
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[Paleo Pete]

Nope, don't think either will work. I looked up the Specs (http://www.qdius.com/products/430vxdm.htm) for the rest of the crews' convenience...

That motherboard has the Intel 430VX chipset, which means it can only cache 64MB of memory no matter what configuration it is. If you add more than 64MB it will actually slow the machine down. Also, the specs I looked up say it supports 8-64MB chips, which means it probably won't read the double sided 128MB ones. They will probably work, but will only read 64MB, since the board can only read one side.

I would stick with 64MB max, any more and you'll slow it down. either SIMM or DIMM should work, if it were me I think I would opt for a 64MB DIMM chip. Then again, if you have 64MB in it now, you may want to hang onto what you have and use it, as long as it's not giving you Illegal Operation errors, GPFs or BSODs. Those can often be related to bad memory.

One note, check the link to the specs above, it has a picture of the board. See the slot immediately above the CPU socket? That's a cache slot. In the specs it says you can upgrade to 512MB cache, that may help performance a bit if you can find a cache chip...but it still won't cache more than 64MB memory, the only i430 series chipset that will is the HX, and you have to add tag RAM...whatever that is...

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[mjc]

It depends, some of the boards you could...they supported bothe SIMMs and DIMMs at the same time, but most are an either-or. Any way for that particular board (an Intel 430 chipset) going beyond 64MB is the biggest waste of money this side of Washington DC...it can't cache more than that so you take a major performance hit...like it can slow to a crawl or worse. I would save the money and apply it toward something a little newer, maybe, or just go out some night and catch a movie or something...'cause you're effectively maxed out right now.

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mjc
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Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[mikew]

Thanks for the info Pete/mjc. Guess I'm Donald Ducked for getting any more speed out of it. I am having random Illegal Op's and BSOD's though so it may be wise to look for a cheap 64mb DIMM stick and remove the 4 x 16mb SIMM's. Can I use a PC66/100/133 SDRAM DIMM. The manual says 3.3v unbuffered SDRAM DIMM (see 1st. post)?????
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[This message has been edited by mikew (edited 10-06-2001).]

[This message has been edited by mikew (edited 10-06-2001).]

[mjc]

Should be able to get by with a stick of PC100....64MB, look around it is pretty cheap right now,

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mjc
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Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[iisbob]

Yes, you can use the PC100stick, it'll default to PC66 speed, as MJC suggested-you might want to look at upgrading the Motherboard, you can find a good 440lx/ex chipset on ebay for usually around $20 or less, these Baby AT boards and will fit in most ATX standard cases and someitmes in full AT cases. These boards will also give you the benefit of being able to upgrade your RAM past the 64mb mark if you so choose.

If you'd like a recommendation i have an Epox 68lxr board that has run fine for nearly 7 years now, with an overclocked 300 Celeron ( w/128k l2 cache) running at 375 mhz on a 78mhz front side bus-it's one of my general all purpose tester's, when i need a PC to test software or hardware.


Don't worry if the previous paragraph went over your head-it just means that the old Epox ( and the new ones ) are good, stable boards so they are worth the money. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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iisbob
"Ward, come upstairs and talk to The Beaver."
-- June (Mrs. Frisky) Cleaver

[mikew]

Thanks Guys,
Just one last question. Would my chances of compatibility be better if I bought PC66 instead of PC100 (PC66 is also very cheap on ebay.
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[BigBlue66]

Hey,

No, as mentioned previously, the PC100 will default to 66Mhz.

If it were me, I would keep the future in mind, and buy the PC100 that could be used in newer motherboards. If you do happen to upgrade the motherboard, a PC66 stick of memory will basically be worthless, since the FSB of newer motherboards is faster than that.

Cheers,

Big Blue 66


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"Right turn Clyde!"

[mjc]

I suggested the PC100 because I was digging through Intel's site and come up with the fact that there have been timing issues with that chipset and PC66, but the PC100 works fine...and if you look at Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com) you'll see that PC100 is about $4 plus shipping, or about $11 over at Crucial, with free shipping...doesn't really get much better than that.


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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[Rick]

I Agree with MJC
About $11 over at Crucial with Free shipping Plus they make about the most reliable memory anywhere ., The Best for less http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif


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To REALLY screw things UP, YOU NEED a COMPUTER !

[mikew]

Just got a reply after a week from the mobo manufacturer (QDI) telling me to use 64MB PC66 SDRAM, but apart from that their tech rep says I must use a double sided, double height with 2 rows of 8 chips on each side for a total of 32 chips. He says the other kind have chips on them that are too advanced for the old memory controllers on the Explorer mobo's (mine is a QDI Explorer 11 P5I430vx-250DM mobo) ????
Is that what chips are on a 64MB PC100 or is he full of bull sh..
Comments very welcome as I am about to buy.
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[mikew]

Just noticed today that the Memory Test during boot up sometimes runs three times before the boot process is allowed to continue. Would this also be indicative of a doubtful memory stick.
Advise appreciated.
Thanks,
Tanzie (The Old Fart)

[mjc]

No for most machines the normal memory test is three times...some machines will test only once, and others will test once on reboot but three on first boot...or any combination in between, if your BIOS has the option for a quick test it should cut it down to once all the time (hopefully).

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[mikew]

Hi mjc,
Solid answer to the last question. Bios Quick Start Enabled and memory is now checked once only.
"YOU GUYS ARE GOOD"
Any comments on "Double Sided/Double Height/32 chips" memory suggested above by QDI. I don't see any of this type on the net.
Thanks,
Tanzie The Old Fart

[This message has been edited by mikew (edited 10-11-2001).]

[YODA74]

Heard a question about Tag Ram this might explain it a little.

The area in an L2 cache that identifies which data from main memory is currently stored in each cache line. The actual data is stored in a different part of the cache, called the data store. The values stored in the tag RAM determine whether a cache lookup results in a hit or a miss.

The size of the data store determines how much data the cache can hold at any one time. The size of the tag RAM determines what range of main memory can be cached. Many modern PCs, for example, are configured with a 256K L2 cache and tag RAM that is 8 bits wide. This is sufficient for caching up to 64 MB of main memory. If you add additional main memory, however, it won't be cached unless you also expand tag RAM. Some motherboards allow you to add additional tag RAM chips for this purpose but many do not.

For Pentium Pro and Pentium II microprocessors, the tag RAM is integrated in the chipset. Pentium Pros have an integrated L2 cache capable of caching up to 4 GB of main memory. Pentium IIs use a SEC daughtercard for L2 caches and can cache up to 512 MB.




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