RDRAM confusion.

T

typhoon43

2[H]4U
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Apr 5, 2001
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You know, this is the LAST time I offer to help somebody.. :mad:
I'm fixing a PC for someone complaining of slowness and popups. Well I have the popups under control and the slowness isn't from the sypware. It's the Machine:

Dell Dimension 8100, 1.3Gig P4, 128MB PC600 RAMBUS RAM.. Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

This guy is running Windows XP, and it's sitting at the desktop using 122-125 Megs. Page much? :D In any case, I want to get him to 256 Megs and call it a flippin' day. I ran CPU-Z and it shows as running Dual Channel. CPU-Z had DIMM#1 and DIMM#2 available to choose from. Does this mean he has 2 x64MB? I wasn't even aware they made single 64MB chips of Rambus. Honestly, I've been building PC's for over 5 years now, but I avoided the whole Rambus thing when it came out, so I have almost no clue how to proceed. Can I just buy a SINGLE 256MB PC600 RDRAM module, or will I have to pair them?

Thanks gang.
 
You've gotta pair RDRAM sticks, last I looked. The sweet spot was the 850E + PC1066 RDRAM. Finding 2x256 (2x512 maybe) PC800 would probably be easiest.
 
well, it really depends on if it's dual channel rdram or not. if it's single channel, you can buy one stick and use a termination stick... if it's dual, then you need 2x128mb.

also, one wasy way to find out how the ram is configed in the system... pop the side off and look :cool:
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
well, it really depends on if it's dual channel rdram or not. if it's single channel, you can buy one stick and use a termination stick... if it's dual, then you need 2x128mb.

also, one wasy way to find out how the ram is configed in the system... pop the side off and look :cool:
Click to expand...


Well it did say Dual Channel in CPU-Z, and DIMM1 and DIMM2 showed as filled. I popped the side off, but it seems dell used a giant shroud that covers the CPU and the memory. I didn't feel like really digging in last night, but it looks like I need to check it out. Chipset is Intel 850. I don't remember seeing the "E"
 
hmmm, i think the 850 is dual channel (which might be obvious at this point :p).. i have an 820 sitting nearby that's single channel RDRAM.
 
haha just ordered up 2 128MB sticks for 95 bux from the Egg. This guy better pay me back :D Thanks for the help bro!
 
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