Just got my 512MB of Crucial memory in, got a question and a startling observation!

[KDOG]

Ok I got 2 - 256MB sticks of PC133. I have them in the slots right next to each other. Is that ok? I mean as far as heat or anything electrical goes? The reason I ask is that my mobo has 3 Dimm slots but 1 is kinda separated by a bigger space than the other two, I don't have it in that one. Is that for double sided memory? My memory is, so should I move one over to that other slot?

My observation is that I got it installed and started up the puter, I went straight to system info and it said I had 511.45MB of Physical memory and get this 364.11MB of available memory. Wha..? Windows is hoggin' like 155MB of memory? Well, I guess I'm glad I got all this memory then, looks like with Windows, I'll need it...

 

[Hender]

You actually have to have the two DIMMs next to each other for them to be recognized and work properly, so you're good the way you are. They don't generate enough heat to do any damage, although DDR and Rambus have been shipping in systems with heatsinks on them. Don't know why, but I guess it never hurts.

As for memory in Windows, no your Windows is not acting strangely. In fact, every OS you can throw at that machine will do the same thing. The more memory you have, the more memory your OS will use so that the system runs smoother and you don't have to use a swap file as much. I used to have 128 MB in my Win2K system, and then I moved to 256 MB and the memory usage of each program went up significantly, sometimes even doubling, just because Windows was loading more information into RAM. I'm running 512 MB now (not that I need it, but I bought 256 MB of RAM for my friend and I'm...uh...borrowing it for the time being), and the same thing happened, although not as much (what the hell kind of sloppy programming would require so much RAM for each program, and I'm not talking about Windows, but the indovidual apps). Besides, that's 360 *MB* of free memory you have anyways. Don't get into the big hard drive problem where on a 40 GB drive, you see you have "only" 10 GB left and you think you need to upgrade immediately or something is wrong. That's still a lot of free space.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi there. Usually, memory is/are installed starting from the "0 slot". The slots are arranged differently, depending on the mobo manufacturer. Consult your owners manual. There is no danger in putting them right next to each other; everything was designed that way, so there's no danger in it. On bootup, what does the bios tell you? I'm talking about right after you hit power, and you have the black screen with the white letters...it should run a memory test. Even if you have "quick boot" enabled, it should still report on the total amount of memory.

Also, from the desktop, right click My Computer, go to properties. It will tell you how much total ram you have. As long as it says 512mb, you're good to go.

 

[spamboy]

You can put the memory in any combo of slots.

 

[Monel Funkawitz]

<< You actually have to have the two DIMMs next to each other for them to be recognized and work properly, >>



What? Maybe if you are running EDO SIMMS, but not SDRAM. You can put it in any slot (MEMORY, of course )you want. That space was provided for two reasons (Trace routing and length)



<< They don't generate enough heat to do any damage, although DDR and Rambus have been shipping in systems with heatsinks on them. Don't know why, but I guess it never hurts. >>



Memory does not need a heatsink. That &quot;Heatsink&quot; is actually a shield. It is necessary due to the high noise intolerance of some DDR/Rambus PCB designs. Memory chips do addressing, not switching.

 

[Hender]

My bad about the DIMMs...I've just always assumed that they had to be together, although I do know that you have start in the first DIMM slot, right? Tell me I got that right. SIMMs had to be installed in pairs, unlike DIMMs, but I did honestly think that they had to be together. Actually, I think this is the first time I've ever had more than one DIMM installed at once, so I guess that's why I thought wrong....

As for the spreaders on memory, I've seen actual *heatsinks* on Rambus RAM, just like you'd find on a little video card, but I didn't think they had enough output to really do anything.

 

[Stringy]

<< My bad about the DIMMs...I've just always assumed that they had to be together, although I do know that you have start in the first DIMM slot, right? >>


Nope, Sorry, you go that wrong as well... Infact some Mobo's actually do better with the Slot labeled Slot3 or 4 even, this became popular with the Abit boards and it does help all boards somewhat...

I've seen those &quot;heatspreaders&quot; on Ram before, I question it's value.. the chips really don't &quot;heat&quot; up.. a basic fan blowing across I would think is sufficient IMO



Craig

 

[>>>Newbie<<<]

It is about the width of the chipset memory controler data BUS.

If you run 30-pins 16-bits EDO RAM on a 32 bit chipset memory controler, you will need to run them in pair. If you have 72-pins, than it can stand alone. Beside, running in pair can take adv. of interleave mode, silly faster.

 

[TRUMPHENT]

Rambus chips generate so much heat they are not tested until they are assembled on the RIMM. They make so much heat it melts the miniature balls of solder. This is only one reason the stuff is so expensive. You have to wait until you have a completed RIMM to find out if one of the chips is defective. I think they have to toss the entire RIMM when that occurs. Even if the RIMM has no defective chips, the assembly is very expensive to manufacture compared to SDRAM.

 

[TunaBoo]

[qMemory does not need a heatsink. That &quot;Heatsink&quot; is actually a shield. It is necessary due to the high noise intolerance of some DDR/Rambus PCB designs. Memory chips do addressing, not switching.[/i] >>



It doesn't matter of RAM dos addressing or switching, the point is it can make a lot of heat. One way to cope with it is through different shaped ram chips (TinyBGA). Another is through heat spreaders you can buy. Some people report a increase of 5 MHz to the OCability of their ram, to others it makes no difference. But as with all computer parts, the cooler you run it the happier it will be.