RAM and video cards

[imported_cck]

I have a Dell D400 with 2.0GHz Dothan 755 processor.

The recommendation is to use 266 MHz RAM but when I bought the notebook, they said that the minimum is 266 MHz....

I have found from the Intel site that if the chipset is 855 GM, support is only for 266 MHz. The 855 GME chipset supports 90 nm processors and 333 MHz RAM.

So, how do I determine which chipset I have ?

With Sisoft SANDRA, I get 855 GM/GME ??

Any ideas anyone ??

 

[SKORPI0]

Try this program -- Aida 32 - click to save. 3171kb zip file.

Install and run program, go to motherboard, then chipset.

 

[imported_cck]

I went out with the intent to purchase 266 MHz RAM but the salesman at the shop insisted that 333 MHZ
RAM would work equally well - it would just run at 266 MHz - so I let him have a go at it but
my notebook wouldn't boot..... so we tried 266 MHz RAm - 1 512 MB piece - it worked fine...

Then, I used SiSoftware Sandra and got this information under Mainboard Information :

System Memory Controller
Location : Mainboard
Error Correction Capability : None
Number of Memory Slots : 2
Maximum Installable Memory : 2GB
Bank 1 - DIMM_A : DIMM Synchronous DDR-SDRAM 512MB/64 @ 266Mt/s
Bank 2 - DIMM_B : DIMM Synchronous DDR-SDRAM 256MB/64 @ 266Mt/s

Chipset 1
Model : Dell Computer Corp 82852GM/GME/GMV/PM, 855GM/GME Montara Host-Hub Interface Bridge (A2-step)
Bus(es) : ISA X-Bus PCI PCMCIA CardBus USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Front Side Bus Speed : 4x 100MHz (400MHz data rate)
Width : 64-bit
IO Queue Depth : 12 request(s)

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module 1 : Kingston 793839B6 512MB 16x(32Mx8) DDR-SDRAM PC2100U-2533-750 (CL2.5 up to 133MHz) (CL2 up to 100MHz)
Memory Module 2 : EBD26UC6AMSA-6B 8B665C46 256MB 8x(16Mx16) DDR-SDRAM PC2700U-2533-700 (CL2.5 up to 167MHz) (CL2 up to 133MHz)

Performance Tips
Notice 224 : SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Warning 2507 : Mainboard has too few memory slots. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Warning 2508 : All memory slots are full. Upgrading the memory may be difficult or expensive.
Tip 2546 : Large memory modules should be ECC/Parity.
Warning 2544 : System/Video shared memory greatly reduces performance. Use external video card.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.


My questions now are :

1. I was told that the D400 came with 266 MHz RAM but what gives with
Memory Module 2 : EBD26UC6AMSA-6B 8B665C46 256MB 8x(16Mx16) DDR-SDRAM PC2700U-2533-700 (CL2.5 up to 167MHz) (CL2 up to 133MHz)
which is clearly 333 MHz RAM ??

2. Any idea why the notebook wouldn't boot with the 512 MB 333 MHz RAM - Kingston.

3. Does anyone know anything about adding external video cards to a notebook ?

4. Are video cards which can be inserted into the PCI slot available ?