RAM

[leichaolan]

What's the difference between pc 100 and pc 133 RAM? Is there like a huge difference in performance? I got a new motherboard with 3 ram slots and I've got some older pc 100 ram in there totaling 160 mb and I'm wondering if it's worth it to totally go crazy and get like 2 or 3 pc 133 256mb sticks, or go get a single pc 100 256mb stick so that it will work with the RAM currently in my computer. Thanks.

[hiredgoonz]

PC100 can run at 100mhz and PC133 can run at 133mhz...it depends on what type of CPU you have...if you have a newer P3 w/a 133mhz fsb, you'll need PC133 (although some PC100 will run at 133mhz, it's better just to get the correct stuff)

You can mix and match PC100 and PC133, although you're only guaranteed stability if you run it at 100mhz...and there will be no performance increase just by using PC133 instead of PC100...it only runs faster if you set it to do so...

The older Athlons run at 100mhz memory bus, some P3s run at 100mhz, and 350-450mhz P2s run at 100mhz...some Athlon boards allowed you to run the memory at 133mhz instead of 100mhz, but the performance gain was almost nil...

So the type of RAM you need depends on the system...

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When all else fails, read the instructions.

[This message has been edited by hiredgoonz (edited 07-01-2001).]