RDRAM Memory Question

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Borg20001

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Jan 9, 2001
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Some elderly friends of mine have an old Dell (about 7 years old) that has WinXP home as the OS but they only have 128Meg of RDRAM (I opened it up and found that they only had one stick in the two slots).

Their pc is VERY slow to do anything these days. They only use it for internet (They have a DSL line) but in opening emails or going online its like dial-up (or at least seems that way).

Given that RDRAM is wicked expensive, would it make any sense to upgrade their memory say to either 256Meg by adding another stick of 128M ram, or adding a a 256M stick to get them to 384?

Can you mix and match RDRAM as long as its the same speed? In this case I think they have PC800 memory.

I've tried to get them to upgrade their system by buying a new box (there's many cheep ones out there for $500 or less) but that's too steep for their budget.

Would it make any difference to go to either 256 meg or 384 meg?

Or would I have to pair them up ? in which case, I've seen 512 meg for $134 but that's the upper limits, I'd think they want to spend less than $100 for the upgrade.

Any advice?

Thanks in advance
 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

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Dec 24, 2005
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I have a 500MHz or so Celeron box with 128MB of memory, and XP Professional. It always was, and continues to be, fine for most tasks, including browsing the Internet. It's much more likely they are having software issues rather than hardware issues.

Each RDRAM memory slot must be filled with either RDRAM or a dummy module (C-RIMM). If you have an empty slot, then it's not RDRAM.

Wikipedia.org: RDRAM
 
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Borg20001

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Jan 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: RebateMonger
I have a 500MHz or so Celeron box with 128MB of memory, and XP Professional. It always was, and continues to be, fine for most tasks, including browsing the Internet. It's much more likely they are having software issues rather than hardware issues.

RDRAM is install in serial. Each slot must be filled with either RDRAM or a dummy module. If you have an empty slot, then it's not RDRAM.
Click to expand...


Hmmm, well for software they have AVG free for anti-virus, ZoneAlarm Free for firewall, and Adaware SE. They also have Office 97 running on their pc.

The slot is empty, maybe the dummy piece fell out, though I did not see it in the box. I should look back at their original invoice to see how much memory they purchased. I could have sworn that it was RDRAM as that was what Dell was spec'ing out at the time in 2000. I'll have to check again to see. The pc has a P4 1.4GHz cpu and a 40 Gig HD. Its running the integrated video and sound on the motherboard.
 
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Borg20001

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Jan 9, 2001
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I stand corrected. According to the record that they kept, they have a Dell Dimension 4300 and it came with 128 meg of SDRAM @ 133 MHz installed.

So if I can find some SDRAM to plug in, maybe that will help allievate some issues.

I'm just trying to fix the cheapest thing first.

Thanks for the info.

I'd appreciate any other guidance you all might offer.
 
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Borg20001

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Jan 9, 2001
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Well, now that I know its SDRAM, I think I'm set from a pricing standpoint.

Crucial has 512 Meg of P133 memory for about $68 shipped.

I may have them try that and see if it helps their system speed.
 
daveybrat

daveybrat

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Jan 31, 2000
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Originally posted by: Borg20001
Well, now that I know its SDRAM, I think I'm set from a pricing standpoint.

Crucial has 512 Meg of P133 memory for about $68 shipped.

I may have them try that and see if it helps their system speed.
Click to expand...


Careful there before ordering that. A lot of older systems did not accept 512MB sticks of SDRAM. Mostly it was the early P4's and AMD athlon systems that took it and later P3 motherboards.

Their system probably has a 512MB ram maximum which would be 2 256mb sticks.

You're better off purchasing a 256MB stick from Crucial and giving them 384MB total.

Should be a huge boost in speed for probably $30-$40 range.

 
RebateMonger

RebateMonger

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As far as software, my standard recommendations for home PCs are AVG Free, Windows Defender, and the Windows XP SP2 firewall. That combination is adequate (along with some safe browsing habits) to keep folks safe without interfering with Windows or common applications.

MS Office '97 was a pig. It was, by far, the worst version of Office ever written.
 
daveybrat

daveybrat

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Jan 31, 2000
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Originally posted by: RebateMonger
As far as software, my standard recommendations for home PCs are AVG Free, Windows Defender, and the Windows XP SP2 firewall. That combination is adequate (along with some safe browsing habits) to keep folks safe without interfering with Windows or common applications.

MS Office '97 was a pig. It was, by far, the worst version of Office ever written.
Click to expand...

Agreed, best combination of security with the least consumption of system resources.

I install the same combination on new systems and i also install Spybot S&D and use the immunize function to help block spyware.

 
daveybrat

daveybrat

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Originally posted by: robisbell
save your money and buy a board and ram instead of spending any on that old stuff.
Click to expand...

Have you actually read the OP's post Rob??

I've tried to get them to upgrade their system by buying a new box (there's many cheep ones out there for $500 or less) but that's too steep for their budget.
Click to expand...

They don't want to spend a lot. And adding ram will greatly increase their computer's speed. Replacing a motherboard and ram is not an option. On top of that they would also need a new power supply, case, and cpu.

Get the 256MB stick of ram OP and they should be good.
 
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Borg20001

Senior member
Jan 9, 2001
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Originally posted by: daveybrat
Originally posted by: robisbell
save your money and buy a board and ram instead of spending any on that old stuff.
Click to expand...

Have you actually read the OP's post Rob??

I've tried to get them to upgrade their system by buying a new box (there's many cheep ones out there for $500 or less) but that's too steep for their budget.
Click to expand...

They don't want to spend a lot. And adding ram will greatly increase their computer's speed. Replacing a motherboard and ram is not an option. On top of that they would also need a new power supply, case, and cpu.

Get the 256MB stick of ram OP and they should be good.
Click to expand...

Davey and others,

Thanks for the feedback.

Their PC is a Dell 4300 with a 1.4 gHz Pentium 4 cpu. I think it can take up to 1 Gig of SDRAM. But your advice sounds good. What I may end up doing is getting two 256 meg sticks of used SDRAM from Fardringle here for what it will cost for 1 new stick of 256 meg ram from Crucial. Boost them to half a gig of RAM and hope that that helps with their speed problems. If not, then they are only out 30+ bux and we can see what else can be done.
 
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cubby1223

Lifer
May 24, 2004
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The Dimension 4300 will accept 512mb sticks of ram.

Post a "Want To Buy" ad here, you can get 2x256mb pc133 from someone for half the price of that Corsair stick. 512mb will be a tremendous speed boost over 128mb.
 
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