RAM
in [Hardware]
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From: Bob Knowlden on 17 Oct 2009 22:13 Something does not compute here. The board is supposed to be capable of taking 512MB DIMMs. A 512MB total system RAM limit with three DIMM slots would be unusual. An alternate document: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07293&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN says that the board supports 1.5GB of RAM (3 X 512MB). In principle the original poster could add a single 512MB DIMM to the third slot, for a total system RAM of 1GB. I don't recommend that, though, because I've had compatibility issues when mixing different makes of RAM. Such problems can be worked around with manual BIOS settings, but appliance PCs (HP, Dell) may not make those settings available. I think that the 512MB of RAM that's already in place should be adequate for XP, if the machine isn't running too many memory-intensive applications. (Unfortunately, up-to-date antivirus software can use a lot of memory.) The obvious clue is whether the hard disk activity light is on a lot of the time, which would indicate too much use of virtual memory. If there is excessive disk activity, having more RAM may improve performance. PC133 SDRAM is an old type, so it's more expensive than types currently in use (DDR2, DDR3). It's still possible, though, to get 512MB PC133 SDRAM DIMMs for about $25 (plus shipping) at www.newegg.com. (I'd normally refer people to www.crucial.com, for safety, but their prices on 512MB SDRAM appear to be about $60 - too much of a premium.) I suggest removing the old RAM and installing two 512MB DIMMs; the system may be less stable if all 3 memory slots are filled. A hint, in case of trouble with the new RAM: I recently max'd out the RAM of an old Dell Dimension 2350. It had only 256MB of RAM installed, and it was choking very noticeably. (It uses DDR, also somewhat old and expensive: $18 each for two 512MB sticks.) It wouldn't boot with the new RAM initially. I cleared the CMOS with the jumper, and then the machine recognized the RAM. (I ran Memtest86+ on it without generating any errors, so it must have been sound.) It wasn't magically transformed into a fast PC, but it runs much more pleasantly without the disk thrashing. "SC Tom" <sc(a)tom.net> wrote in message news:O4Nobn4TKHA.5552(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > "Melvin" <marvwade(a)columbus.rr.com> wrote in message > news:%230QcXC4TKHA.4484(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> My daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. >> 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB has >> three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of 256MB. She >> wonders why the system is slow. >> >> I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB of >> memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist without >> problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2? >> >> I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the desired >> result. >> >> Mel > According to the manual here > http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/OEM/HP/manual/amazon_manual.pdf , the max > allowed is 512MB, so it looks like you're already there. > The system may be slow from numerous other causes besides lack of RAM, > although depending on what applications are being run, 512MB should be > sufficient. Try running Disk Clean-up, and checking for viruses and other > malware. Look for stuff that's installed that may not be used any more. Do > a Google for "Why is my computer so slow." There are a lot of things that > may help speed it up some. > > SC Tom >
From: 1PW on 18 Oct 2009 05:19 Melvin wrote: > My daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. > 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB has > three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of 256MB. She > wonders why the system is slow. > > I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB of > memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist without > problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2? > > I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the > desired result. > > Mel Hello Mel: Of course the best clean-up and system optimization steps can be taken to squeeze a bit more speed back out of this system. However, this does seem like a very good time to consider putting a new system on your Christmas list for your daughter-in-law. Respectfully, -- 1PW
From: Paul on 18 Oct 2009 12:31 Bob Knowlden wrote: > Something does not compute here. The board is supposed to be capable of > taking 512MB DIMMs. A 512MB total system RAM limit with three DIMM slots > would be unusual. > > An alternate document: > > http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07293&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN > > > says that the board supports 1.5GB of RAM (3 X 512MB). > > In principle the original poster could add a single 512MB DIMM to the > third slot, for a total system RAM of 1GB. I don't recommend that, > though, because I've had compatibility issues when mixing different > makes of RAM. Such problems can be worked around with manual BIOS > settings, but appliance PCs (HP, Dell) may not make those settings > available. > > I think that the 512MB of RAM that's already in place should be adequate > for XP, if the machine isn't running too many memory-intensive > applications. (Unfortunately, up-to-date antivirus software can use a > lot of memory.) The obvious clue is whether the hard disk activity light > is on a lot of the time, which would indicate too much use of virtual > memory. If there is excessive disk activity, having more RAM may improve > performance. > > PC133 SDRAM is an old type, so it's more expensive than types currently > in use (DDR2, DDR3). It's still possible, though, to get 512MB PC133 > SDRAM DIMMs for about $25 (plus shipping) at www.newegg.com. (I'd > normally refer people to www.crucial.com, for safety, but their prices > on 512MB SDRAM appear to be about $60 - too much of a premium.) I > suggest removing the old RAM and installing two 512MB DIMMs; the system > may be less stable if all 3 memory slots are filled. > > A hint, in case of trouble with the new RAM: I recently max'd out the > RAM of an old Dell Dimension 2350. It had only 256MB of RAM installed, > and it was choking very noticeably. (It uses DDR, also somewhat old and > expensive: $18 each for two 512MB sticks.) It wouldn't boot with the new > RAM initially. I cleared the CMOS with the jumper, and then the machine > recognized the RAM. (I ran Memtest86+ on it without generating any > errors, so it must have been sound.) It wasn't magically transformed > into a fast PC, but it runs much more pleasantly without the disk > thrashing. I have an Asus retail motherboard, the "P4B" model, with the 845 chipset. That would be similar in design to the P4B-LA. (The difference is, my motherboard has more PCI slots.) I placed 3x512MB DIMMs in it, the day I got it, and it worked fine with those. That gave me 1.5GB of memory. I got some RAM for about $50 a stick at the time, for a total of $150 to fill the machine. (My motherboard manual) ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/sock478/p4b/p4b-105.pdf The P4B manual claims it would accept 1GB sized modules, but I can't find a reputable source of those. There are lots of registered/ECC modules (server memory) at that capacity and PC133 speed, but I don't see any unbuffered PC133 at 1GB capacity that I trust. So 3x512MB may be a safe limit, in terms of buying experiences. This is the datasheet for the 845 (SDRAM based) chipset. This is the chip that drives the memory on the P4B-LA motherboard. Page 9 mentions "3 GB Maximum using 512 Mb technology", where the 512megabit refers to 64Mx8 chips. I bet those do exist, but the problem would be finding some. So that would be proof that the per-slot limit is a 1GB sized module, consisting of (16) chips of 64Mx8 chip type. And the total machine limit would be 3GB of memory. http://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/datasheet/290725.pdf To double the memory, a single 512MB module would do the job. That would be the cheapest upgrade. I never had any memory problems with that machine, so I'm guessing that bus loading with three sticks total should not be a problem in this case. I had three double sided sticks, and the machine didn't flinch. If you need feedback on the current hardware configuration, you can run a copy of this. This doesn't install any software, and you unzip it on the machine, then run the cpuz.exe file. There is also included, the cpuz.ini file, which gives the program the info it needs to run. (It'll fit on a floppy diskette, if you leave it zipped.) It tells you the current speed of the memory operating in the computer, and the memory CAS. This doesn't really matter, as you're attempting the cheapest upgrade possible, but it is still nice to know what is in the machine (like if you need help later). http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz/cpuz_152.zip Examples of products. Keep in mind, in terms of customer ratings, some customers don't know their motherboards can't take a 512MB stick, which is why they report "DOA" or problems. So not every customer with a problem here, has a clue. For example, my older P2B-S can't use this stuff, even though the sticks would plug into the motherboard. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052307857%201052407863&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=RATING Paul > > "SC Tom" <sc(a)tom.net> wrote in message > news:O4Nobn4TKHA.5552(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> >> "Melvin" <marvwade(a)columbus.rr.com> wrote in message >> news:%230QcXC4TKHA.4484(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >>> My daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. >>> 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB >>> has three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of >>> 256MB. She wonders why the system is slow. >>> >>> I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB >>> of memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist >>> without problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2? >>> >>> I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the >>> desired result. >>> >>> Mel >> According to the manual here >> http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/OEM/HP/manual/amazon_manual.pdf , the >> max allowed is 512MB, so it looks like you're already there. >> The system may be slow from numerous other causes besides lack of RAM, >> although depending on what applications are being run, 512MB should be >> sufficient. Try running Disk Clean-up, and checking for viruses and >> other malware. Look for stuff that's installed that may not be used >> any more. Do a Google for "Why is my computer so slow." There are a >> lot of things that may help speed it up some. >> >> SC Tom >>
From: Melvin on 19 Oct 2009 12:09 "SC Tom" <sc(a)tom.net> wrote in message news:O4Nobn4TKHA.5552(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > "Melvin" <marvwade(a)columbus.rr.com> wrote in message > news:%230QcXC4TKHA.4484(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> My daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. >> 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB has >> three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of 256MB. She >> wonders why the system is slow. >> >> I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB of >> memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist without >> problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2? >> >> I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the desired >> result. >> >> Mel > According to the manual here > http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/OEM/HP/manual/amazon_manual.pdf , the max > allowed is 512MB, so it looks like you're already there. > The system may be slow from numerous other causes besides lack of RAM, > although depending on what applications are being run, 512MB should be > sufficient. Try running Disk Clean-up, and checking for viruses and other > malware. Look for stuff that's installed that may not be used any more. Do > a Google for "Why is my computer so slow." There are a lot of things that > may help speed it up some. > > SC Tom > Tom, am I misreading the manual ? It looks to me like the system allows from 8-512 MB of memory in EACH of the three slots which would set the maximum memory of 1.5 MB. Mel
From: SC Tom on 19 Oct 2009 13:12
"Melvin" <marvwade(a)columbus.rr.com> wrote in message news:%23MSVuZNUKHA.5004(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > "SC Tom" <sc(a)tom.net> wrote in message > news:O4Nobn4TKHA.5552(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> >> "Melvin" <marvwade(a)columbus.rr.com> wrote in message >> news:%230QcXC4TKHA.4484(a)TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >>> My daughter-in-law has an older HP system with a ASUSTeK P4B-LA REV. >>> 1.xx motherboard and a 2.00 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor. The MB has >>> three memory slots. Slots 1 & 2 contain a memory stick of 256MB. She >>> wonders why the system is slow. >>> >>> I would like to add more memory but my question is can I add a 1 GB of >>> memory in the 3rd slot? Can different size memory co-exist without >>> problems or do I need to add two 1GB cards in slots 1 & 2? >>> >>> I'm looking for the least expensive methods that accomplishes the >>> desired result. >>> >>> Mel >> According to the manual here >> http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/OEM/HP/manual/amazon_manual.pdf , the max >> allowed is 512MB, so it looks like you're already there. >> The system may be slow from numerous other causes besides lack of RAM, >> although depending on what applications are being run, 512MB should be >> sufficient. Try running Disk Clean-up, and checking for viruses and other >> malware. Look for stuff that's installed that may not be used any more. >> Do a Google for "Why is my computer so slow." There are a lot of things >> that may help speed it up some. >> >> SC Tom >> > > Tom, am I misreading the manual ? It looks to me like the system allows > from 8-512 MB of memory in EACH of the three slots which would set the > maximum memory of 1.5 MB. > > Mel The book is confusing. On page 6, it says there are 2 DIMM sockets when the picture shows 3. Then on page 14, section 3.4, it has the install chart and at the bottom it says "Total System Memory (Max 512MB)". Who knows? Personally, I think the manual is incorrect, and the other links that show the mobo as accepting 1.5GB are correct. Sorry if I confused anyone with this manual's link. SC Tom |