Which Memory is best to use? Asus A7N8X Deluxe?

[itakey]

I have an Asus A7N8X Deluxe with a Patriot Extreme Performance 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit.


I would like to upgrade this machine to as much ram as the motherboard will allow.

Here are the specs:
Memory
Dual-Channel DDR 400
3 x 184-pin DIMM Sockets
Max. 3 GB unbuffered PC3200/PC2700/PC2100/PC1600 non-ECC DDR RAM Memory (Twinbank)
Expansion Slots

Here is a link to the Crucial Advisor with the exact details too:
Crucial Recommended for A7N8X-Deluxe


Anyone know of any good memory deals to get this machine up to 3 GB?
I would need 3-1GB 184 Pin DDR400 PC3200's I think.

 

[itakey]

Here are a few I've found:

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 PC 3200

A-DATA Vitesta 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)

2GB (2x1gb) PC3200 (400MHz), CAS 3-3-3, DDR Dual Channel 184-Pin DIMM Kingston ValueRAM

2GB PC3200 400FSB DDR (1GB x 2) 184 Pin Memory Dual Channel Kit W/Lifetime warranty (HD)


Anyone recommend any of these?
I only need 3GB, how would I be able to buy a 2X1GB pack, and then a single chip that is compatible? Or maybe i'll buy a 2X1GB kit, and then try to use either one of my current chips, or use my Kingstong Hyper-X PC3000 512MB chip.

 

[myocardia]

Were you aware that with Skt. 754 processors, 3 sticks of RAM will either force your RAM to run slower (166 Mhz, instead of 200 Mhz), or it won't boot at all, depending on which processor revision you have?

edit: Oops, I forgot that they made Skt. 754 Venice cores. They are the only ones that are able to run 3 sticks @ 200 Mhz.

 

[itakey]

I have no clue about the 754 processor stuff. I am running an AMD XP2100+ overclocked in the 2.1 to 2.2 Mhz range.

After researching it seems like the DDR older ram is way more expensive than a lot of the deals going on for DDR2. Anyone know of any decent DDR deals?

I've tried to run all 3 of the chips I have, 2 from a kit, and the Kingston Hyper X and everything was good for a while, but then it started blue screening. I just wasn't sure if it was windows in conjunction with the 3 sticks of ram or not.

Anyone think all 3 of these sticks I have can play together?

2X512GB of these - 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
2X512's
2-3-2-5 (CAS Latency 2)

1X512GB of this - 184- Pin HyperX DDR 370MHz (PC3000) KHX3000/512 512MB Module
2-2-2-6-1 (CAS Latency 2)
1X512 info


Could these 2+1 play together successfully? I don't care if one gets knocked down in speed, I just want them to all work in a reliable manner.
Anyone know?

 

[myocardia]

Oh man, Skt. A was a long time ago. My bad. Anyway, Skt. A has no limitations like that, including the fact that it can use 3 sticks in dual-channel. So, if you used one 1GB stick, along with with two 512 MB sticks, you'd then get 2 GB in dual-channel, and if you use three 512 MB sticks, you'll end up with 1 GB in DC, plus 512 MB in single-channel.

And as far as whether or not your sticks will work together, you just said that they did. If you're now getting BSOD's, either one of your sticks is failing, or you've got one of the settings different than you had them when they were working fine together. I'd put my money on a stick going bad, though, unless you play around alot in your BIOS.

 

[itakey]

Thanks for the info.

I don't play around a ton in my BIOS anymore since I don't overclock like I used too. I usually just set it comfortably, and let it ride. Maybe i'll reload a fresh copy of windows and see if it still occurs. Guess I might be stuck buying all 3 of the same memory, but i'll try your suggestion of using all 3 again, or maybe buying a 2X1GB kit plus use one of my 512's to have 2.5GB, or buy 1GB stick and add it to 2X512.

Anyone else have any comments to my earlier posts?

 

[itakey]

Anyone else?

 

[myocardia]

Hey man, you don't necessarily need to buy new RAM. You just need to download MemTest (click on Free Download, on the left side of that page), and find out if one of your sticks is bad. I'd recommend doing it before trying to reload Windows. If you don't, you'll have to reload Windows again, with the bad stick removed or replaced.

 

[itakey]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Hey man, you don't necessarily need to buy new RAM. You just need to download MemTest (click on Free Download, on the left side of that page), and find out if one of your sticks is bad. I'd recommend doing it before trying to reload Windows. If you don't, you'll have to reload Windows again, with the bad stick removed or replaced.

Good Idea.
I might plan to reload windows anyways since it has been a while and is getting a little stuffy, but I will plan to pop back that chip and see if MemTest86 can give me some clues if it is bad.

Thanks!