Ram speeds

[Saitek]

Hi Everyone!
Can I put 2 different speeds of ram in one machine?
I wanted to try a 266 in a machine using 333.
I expect the answer is no, but I thought I heard that is may work from somewhere.
If I tried it, would it jam/upset the machine? And do yall think it would work anyway?

Thanks
Ben

[Delta_]

It will work but it will run at the speed of the slowest one.  If your FSB is 266 then go for it, if it is 333 then avoid it.  Make sure in the bios the ram speed is set to 266 or auto before you do it.

[Saitek]

Ic. Thanks Hi-D. So is it not worth upgrading a computer up from a 256mb ram to a 512mb ram simply because it would run up to a lower speed. I wanted to add a 266 speed to a 333 speed in my machine to bring it to a total of 512 ram. I mean would it still be no improvement?

Ben

[Delta_]

What speed is your FSB?

If it is 266 yes it is worth it, if it is 333 no it is not worth it.

[Saitek]

Nope... it isn't worth it. The computer's ram is at 333 that I wanted to add the 266 to. Oh well. Never mind.
Thanks anyway,
Ben  

[Delta_]

I am talking about the FSB, front side bus, not the ram speed when i say FSB.  It is the speed the processor runs at.  Is it 333 or 266?

[Saitek]

Well after a search my Dad eventually found it. This is the spec for the computer I thought of adding the ram too:

400Mhz bus speed.
Level 2 Cache 512kb.

Sorry doesn't make any sense to me.
Is that it?

Thanks,
Ben

[Delta_]

Yes that is it, i am surprised you are using 333 memory with that, you should use 400 to get the FSB and RAM in-sync to stop any bottle-necking affects when the processor tries to over take the RAM when processing things.  If you ever have the money and a bit of time swapping the DDR333 RAM for DDR400 will help.  Other than that i don't recommend putting the DDR266 in or else the gap will become bigger and any bottle-necking affects will become very noticeable under intense loads. (i.e flying in FS9)

Out of interest what processor do you use?  From what i see from the information you have given already i would guess it is an AMD 3000+ Barton?

[congo]

It could be a P4, running

[Saitek]

Its a P4 processor. The computer is only 6 months old and we bought it from a good store.(PC World)

Ben

[Delta_]

I am very surprised they put the RAM they did in it.  They should have supplied DDR400 if the FSB is 400.  

Which P4 you using?

[Saitek]

Sorry Hi-D, but i don't know the answer to that.  :-/
Thanks for all yr help on this thread.

Ben

[congo]

Saitek,

You can download a little program called WCPUID to give you all the specs on the CPU.

If you enter the name of the mainboard into Google, you can get to the manufacturer's site and their support for that board will give you the RAM specs and recommendations.

The mainboard ID is written on the board itself. It may be in your manual, if the manual is correct.......

[Saitek]

Thanks Congo. That should help!

Ben