RAM for a 440LX based system

[Bremen]

I'm going to use my old PII for a file server. So I figured I might as well put the max ammount of RAM in this thing (a whole 384MB! woo hoo). Anyway, when I orginally tried upgrading the ram the board wouldn't work with "newer" SDRAM DIMMs. Eventually I was told it was because of the chip configuration (that is theoretically PC100 RAM should run at the slower speed, but the chipset can't support chips beyond a certain density). So when I'm looking at old RAM how can I tell which ones will work in my board?

 

[Jeff7]

Might you still have the manual? It might give compatible memory types. There are numbers, something like 32x8 or 4x64, something like that. They have to do with how the memory's banks are arranged. I only vaguely understand it.


Maybe you can dig up some PC66 RAM somewhere. That should almost certainly be low density, and supported by the 440LX.

 

[Bremen]

Maybe you can dig up some PC66 RAM somewhere

Well the problem is the people selling don't always know :0) Its an Intel OEM board from Gateway, so if I follow the manual I should be buying the ram from Gateway... rotfl.

I believe 16x64 DIMMs will work, but I'd like confirmation from someone who actually knows what they're talking about first :0)

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: Bremen
I'm going to use my old PII for a file server. So I figured I might as well put the max ammount of RAM in this thing (a whole 384MB! woo hoo). Anyway, when I orginally tried upgrading the ram the board wouldn't work with "newer" SDRAM DIMMs. Eventually I was told it was because of the chip configuration (that is theoretically PC100 RAM should run at the slower speed, but the chipset can't support chips beyond a certain density). So when I'm looking at old RAM how can I tell which ones will work in my board?

Actually you can use 512MB of ram.

What you'd do is get 2 256MB low density modules.

You can use PC100/133 modules so long as they support slower speeds which surprisingly enough some do not.

This guide seems to be true...
http://reviews.ebay.com/Myth-Low-Densit...ory-modules_W0QQugidZ10000000001236178

I had quite a bit of difficulty when I was first getting some low density high capacity modules as a LOT of them are high sensity cause it's cheaper.

If you can get two 256MB low density modules, you'll be able to get 512MB ram.

modules are SUPPOSE TO be backward compatible in speeds so a PC133 module should work with PC66 or 100 but one time I bought a PC133 low density module and it didn't work with my laptop, turns out when I called kingston that I absolutely had to buy the 100 module as the 133 didn't support slower speeds, they probably did this on purpose because the 133 modules WERE cheaper.. :frown:

 

[butch84]

I've got a bunch of pc100 128mb sticks that I'm sure would work. I'd be happy to get rid of some if you want them - no charge.

Good luck!

 

[Bremen]

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Actually you can use 512MB of ram.

What you'd do is get 2 256MB low density modules.

You can use PC100/133 modules so long as they support slower speeds which surprisingly enough some do not.

This guide seems to be true...
http://reviews.ebay.com/Myth-Low-Densit...ory-modules_W0QQugidZ10000000001236178

I had quite a bit of difficulty when I was first getting some low density high capacity modules as a LOT of them are high sensity cause it's cheaper.

If you can get two 256MB low density modules, you'll be able to get 512MB ram.

Actually I can't :0) I did quite a bit of googling and managed to find that the SDRAM chips used on the DIMM must be 64Mbit bit chips, 8x8, 16x4 or 4x16. A 256MB DIMM using these chips would need 32 chips, which I think you'll have problems finding, and would not work anyway (maximum DIMM size of 128)

modules are SUPPOSE TO be backward compatible in speeds so a PC133 module should work with PC66 or 100 but one time I bought a PC133 low density module and it didn't work with my laptop, turns out when I called kingston that I absolutely had to buy the 100 module as the 133 didn't support slower speeds, they probably did this on purpose because the 133 modules WERE cheaper.. :frown:

Its much more likely that the PC133 module was just not low enough density. Looking on newegg; kingstons desktop PC133 module uses 128Mb SDRAM chips while the PC100 module uses 64Mb chips. Go figure the PC133 part is half the price :-\

 

[Blain]

1. Go to ebay
2. Search and find 128MB "PC66" DIMMs (make sure they are PC66 only, not "PC66/100/133")
3. Check the sellers ratings
4. Buy from a good seller
* Simple

 

[Philippine Mango]

Originally posted by: Bremen

Originally posted by: Philippine Mango

Actually you can use 512MB of ram.

What you'd do is get 2 256MB low density modules.

You can use PC100/133 modules so long as they support slower speeds which surprisingly enough some do not.

This guide seems to be true...
http://reviews.ebay.com/Myth-Low-Densit...ory-modules_W0QQugidZ10000000001236178

I had quite a bit of difficulty when I was first getting some low density high capacity modules as a LOT of them are high sensity cause it's cheaper.

If you can get two 256MB low density modules, you'll be able to get 512MB ram.

Actually I can't :0) I did quite a bit of googling and managed to find that the SDRAM chips used on the DIMM must be 64Mbit bit chips, 8x8, 16x4 or 4x16. A 256MB DIMM using these chips would need 32 chips, which I think you'll have problems finding, and would not work anyway (maximum DIMM size of 128)

modules are SUPPOSE TO be backward compatible in speeds so a PC133 module should work with PC66 or 100 but one time I bought a PC133 low density module and it didn't work with my laptop, turns out when I called kingston that I absolutely had to buy the 100 module as the 133 didn't support slower speeds, they probably did this on purpose because the 133 modules WERE cheaper.. :frown:

Its much more likely that the PC133 module was just not low enough density. Looking on newegg; kingstons desktop PC133 module uses 128Mb SDRAM chips while the PC100 module uses 64Mb chips. Go figure the PC133 part is half the price :-\

Trust me, you can use low density 256MB modules in that machine, I know because I have a machine with a 440LX and BX chipset. The 256MB module was meant for the BX based system but I thought I mind as well try it out in the LX system to see if it'd work, turns out it did. It works because the LX chipset supports upto 512MB ram.

Here is a module I know for a FACT will work in a 440LX and BX based system.

CT32M64S4D8E

Made by crucial technology.

This is the second name on the modules, which indicates they're made by micron.
MT16LSDT3264AG-1-EB1


Kingston also has some Low Density 256MB memory modules you can pickup from their website, I know because thats how I got my PIII 440BX based laptop to read 512MB ram (two DIMM slots) opposed to the manual's suggestion of 256MB of ram. 😉

Oh and if you're wondering about the 32chips thing, these modules have 8 chips on both sides despite the fact that the name says 32MX64. I wouldn't be surprised if the chips are logically divided up so instead of having 8 chips per side, you have 16 or 32 chips per side or something like that...

 

[Bremen]

Those modules are 16x8 chips (128Mbit). Are you sure you have a LX board?? :0) I have similiar modules and I can say they definitely don't work in my board.

or maybe someone ripped you off with relabeled EDO parts? The chipset will apparently support up to 1GB of EDO memory (in a 4 DIMM board, if the board has 3 DIMM slots its still only 384MB). Interestingly it will actually support mixing SDRAM and EDO DIMMs!