Thanks Troy!
I might go with this supplier, anyone heard of them?
http://www.memoryupgrade.pro/512mb-...1-1356-pc2100-ddr-266mhz-so-dimm-upgrade.html
Glad to hear I don't need to 'flash the bios'; last time I tried that, it resulted in a tricky episode with the local constabulatory.
LOL, good one.
Personally, I don't like to flash a BIOS unless I have a reason. If I'm not experiencing any of the bugs that an update is alleged to fix, and I don't need whatever new functionality the update is alleged to provide, and everything is working hunky-dory, I prefer leaving things be. Why? Because once in a while, a BIOS update goes bad; and once in a while, they go bad with gusto.
The BIOS (Basic Input Output Services) controls the computer's most low-level processes. In a sense, it's what tells the computer that it's a computer as opposed to, say, a space heater or a Vegematic. If an update goes really, really bad, it can render the computer unbootable and irreparable by any means other than replacing the mobo.
This only happened to me once; and of course, it was on a Sunday at a commercial account that had to have the machine up and running by Monday. I was reduced to having to buy the closest approximation of the mobo -- at CompUSA of all places. Worse yet, the contract included parts and labor (it was the last one of those I sold), so I couldn't even recover my expenses.
And you know why I did the flash? Because it was necessary before the mobo would recognize a RAM upgrade. Without the upgrade, it would only support 128 MB sticks X three banks. They needed 512 MB to run some app or another, which meant replacing the sticks with 256 MB modules, which meant flashing the BIOS.
Now as for the RAM (one of my favorite subjects, by the way)...
I've never heard of that memory supplier. Maybe they're great. But maybe they're re-branding whatever RAM they happen to get, which I kinda don't like seeing as how good RAM is pretty cheap these days.
Also, many people will disagree with me, but I find I have fewer problems when all of the RAM in a system is identical. Same size, same speed, same manufacturer, same lot if at all possible. Sometimes this isn't possible, but when it is, I like all the sticks to be the same.
In theory, none of this should matter. I know people who routinely mix speeds, for example. That shouldn't be a problem. The machine should just clock down to the slowest stick. I also don't know many people who care about mixing manufacturers as I do.
But I also know I've had a few machines become unstable after doing what should have been a perfectly good RAM upgrade with perfectly compatible (but not identical) RAM, and become stable again when I matched all the sticks.
Maybe there are subtle differences between RAM made by different manufacturers. Maybe by coincidence I installed a bad stick. Or maybe it's just my imagination. But nonetheless, whenever possible, I use identical sticks, even though it usually means removing the existing RAM as well. (The only exception I make is on those few machines that use RAMBUS, which is too expensive and hard-to-get to be that picky.)
I usually buy RAM in quantity when it goes on sale at MicroCenter or one of the local computer shows, and then I push RAM upgrades for the next few months. For average users, I really haven't had any problems with any of the mainline manufacturers (Crucial, Kingston, Samsung, etc.). Kingston's ValueRam line has always been a favorite of mine for average-user machines because it's dirt cheap and I've
never had a stick go bad.
For gamers, people who do heavy-duty video editing, architects and engineers using CAD/CAM apps, and others who push the envelope, I like Mushkin, OCZ, or Corsair memory (with the heatspreaders, of course).
As to how much RAM to install, I say put in as much as the mobo will handle, up to 4 GB on a 32-bit OS. (A 32-bit system can only address roughly 3.5 GB, anyway, so anything over 4 will be wasted money). On a 64-bit system, hey, go wild. A 64-bit system can address up to 128 GB of RAM. (How much improvement you'll see using anything more than 8 GB is questionable, however.)
Sorry. I'll stop now. I just love talking about RAM. One of my many oddities, I guess....
-Rich
