Got A Question About RAM Compatibility

[Salvador]

Hi,

I have an older 370 Celeron mobo that says that it only supports two sticks of 128 mb RAM max.

What if I put a stick on 256 mb RAM in one slot? Would it just not work or would it fry my RAM or the system?

I'd like to try it, but I certainly don't want to fry anything.

TIA

Sal

 

[Boonesmi]

i dont think it will break anything, it will either work or it wont

 

[Desmoquattro]

i don't think it's going to fry anything...the worst that could happen is it won't recognize the full 256mb...and you're still stuck with 128. what motherboard do you have...if you have ram questions...you should look for kingofcomputer...he seems to know all about ram...

 

[shathal]

Do be aware that in most older boards the "largest" DIMM has to be in Memory Slot 1. Also, make sure (since it's a Celeron board) that the board CAN take your DIMM (be it PC100).

Mostly, DIMMs are supposed to (according to spec) be able to switch down, but the cheaper DIMMs don't do that. Just so you know.

Since it's a Celeron board, I guess you'd preferrably wants a PC-66 DIMM.

Hope this helps.

And no - it shouldn't break anything, at least not permanently.

 

[Salvador]

Well.. Basically what happened is that I bought an upgrade for a work computer and put the 128 mb's of PC133 RAM in the Celeron 366 machine because it's Cas 3. I'm going to be unexpentently switching jobs here and the computer is going back to my boss, so I'm going to swap the RAM back and all that I will have is the stick of 256 mb PC133 Cas 2.

I can either let the 256 mb Crucial go with the work computer (not going to happen), put the stick of 256 mb RAM in a box and wait for my next system (if I ever buy another PC133 system) or go ahead and try to use it in the Celeron machine. Even if it only saw 128 mb's instead of the 256, at least I'd get the 128 mb's out of it. Without the extra RAM, it just has 32mb's of RAM, so I'd have to upgrade in some way.

As long as it won't hurt my system or the RAM, I think I'm going to do it. I'm not going to buy anymore PC133 RAM. My next system is going to be DDR and it would just be a waste to buy more.

Thanks for your input.

Sal