ezpc.tech

Hi All,

Having a problem with a client's PC - RAM specifically. It's an Intel P4, 3Ghz, Gigabyte 8IPE1000P2 M/Board with 4 DDR RAM slots and 3 of them occupied with 512meg cards. The machine was VERY slow to boot and run apps. Pretty much fixed that with tweaks, but the boot mem check says it is running in single channel mode and has 1.5gb RAM, but the system and my diagnostic app says it only has 1gig. Thinking there was a problem with one of the cards I removed one of the three and it ran in dual channel mode but says it only has 512meg RAM. Played musical cards with the same result. I'm thinking there is a conflict or a faulty card. Curious as to why there are only 3 cards and not four. I have always thought RAM should be paired. Does anyone have any ideas?

Aaaand ... maybe a dumb question, but can I run a single 1gb DDR SD RAM card in a 2.9ghz P4 Intel HP Pavillion t740a or do I need to pair 2 x 512's?

Cheers

OldGrayGary

Hi ezpctech

Here's the manual for the Gigabyte board --- http://america.giga-byte.com/FileLis...1000p_20_e.pdf

The memory only needs to be in pairs if you wish it to operate in dual-channel mode. Whatever the case, though, there are timing issues depending on the FSB of the P4 that relate to the speed the modules need to run at = When using paired modules for dual-channel operation, it's best if they are exactly matched - same brand/model (best if purchased in a kit - some models of modules can vary in the chips used).

There are reasons that system memory reports lower in 32-bit Windows systems as they approach the 4gb limit, but it doesn't seem like this should cause the symptoms you are experiencing at a much lower amount. I'd double-check that the modules are of the proper timings and in the right banks. As far as the system reporting less than the Bios, have a look at the following article for a little more information on that --- http://experi3nc3.wordpress.com/2007...32bit-utilise/ --- The typical scenario envisioned by that article is that of a 32-bit Windows system approaching the 4gb limit.
_______________

As far as the memory for the HP, you'd be OK with a single 1gb module. Here's the support page for that --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...435846&lang=en --- It's main support page is here --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/p...35846&lang=en&

Best of luck
. . . Gary

ezpc.tech

Thanks Gary, you have been a tremendous help. Thanks for investing the time in my issue.
Regards
Tony

ezpc.tech

Forgive my ignorance Gary, but is FSB Mode equivelent to the System Bus Clock?

ezpc.tech

Never mind...sorry... figured it out ... need more coffee HA!

ezpc.tech

Perhaps something stronger ... ummm... is the FSB frequency the same as the system bus clock or the original bus clock?

OldGrayGary

Hi again


The FSB, or "Front Side Bus", is generally a strategy and a term originated by Intel for the comminications link connecting the cpu to the "northbridge" part of a chipset (in brief, the northbridge generally controls flow to and from the cpu, system-memory ("ram"), graphics (AGP or PCIe), and the "southbridge" (which controls comminications with slower peripherals (IDE, SATA, USB, Ethernet, etc.).

The Wikipedia does a fairly decent job of giving brief explanations -
Front Side Bus --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_side_bus
Northbridge --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northbr...28computing%29
Sountbridge --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southbr...28computing%29 --- they have some helpful charts and diagrams, too.

It can get a bit confusing since so many timings and frequencies use the word "clock" as part of their terminology. The FSB is sometimes referred to as the system bus.

Some of this terminology is soon to be on its way to computing-history books, as many of the once-external "buses" are moving onto the same die as the cpu. Amd already has "HyperTransport", and soon Intel will move from using a FSB architecture to connect multiple cores to something more akin to the more-direct HyperTransport type of link. If you follow the related articles in the above Wikipedia webpages, you can find information on all sorts of topics in PC architecture.

Best of luck! ... and good reading!
. . . Gary

ezpc.tech

Thanks Gary,

Tell you what... Wherever you work I hope they are paying you what you're worth! That being the case they'll go broke soon!

You're a champion.

Kindest Regards and many thanks...
Tony