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100 sdram??

N

northleaf65

n00b
Joined
Nov 28, 2009
Messages
45
Sent an email to compaq (hp) support and the rep tells me:

I have checked the specifications of your computer and found that your computer supports Memory up to 794MB (Ideally it is 768 MB)

You can insert one 512 MB and one 516 MB Memory modules in the computer.

Memory Type: 100 Sync DRAM.

So my questions are:

1) Why did the rep tell me the board supports 794mb and then he suggested a 512mb and a 516mb? And *** is a 516mb? Do those even exist?
2) Can I use memory that's 133mhz?
3) Can the memory be ECC? Not sure what this means exactly..
4) And do I need high density or low density memory? What is the difference?
5) And what about un-buffered vs. buffered?

Also, here's my specs from MemoryStock.com (notice the different amount they tell me I can use):

************Motherboard**********

Mother Board Manufacturer: Compaq
Motherboard Model: 073Ch

************Processor**********

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor
Processor Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
Processor Speed: 1302
Processor FSB: 100

************Bios**********

Bios: Compaq
Version: 786K5

************Memory Details**********

Memory Manufacturer:
Installed RAM: 512 MB
Maximum RAM: 1.5 GB
Total Slots: 3
Capacity: 256 MB,256 MB,
Memory Type: 17,17,
Speed: 133 MHz,133 MHz,
Slots: DIMM2,DIMM3,
 
You need a single stick of 256MB PC133 unbuffered SDRAM. I would not bother with 512MB dimms. Back 10 years ago when these systems were popular 512MB dimms were not guaranteed to work reliably.

You should be able to pick up a 256MB dimm for less than $20 US shipped on a FS/FT forum. I have a few of these sitting in my desk at the moment that I would let go cheap (just a little over shipping cost) however I do not have the time to go to the postoffice.
 
If it has only 2 slots and they are already populated with 256MB dimms I would not bother trying to upgrade.
 
well the hp rep said it would work and the bios may support it.. i sent all the details to a memory upgrade site and am waiting on their reply. We'll see what they have to suggest...

What's the worst that can happen if I did stick a 512 in one of the slots? Wouldn't fry it, right?
 
It will not fry. It's more likely that it will cause instability problems. At work where I have built machines for over 12 years I have been through this with several different 512MB dimms and in most cases fighting to get them working reliably was not worth my effort especially when the dimms were 3 to 5 times the 256MB dimm price.
 
Well in that case, I'm right back to my first question. How hard / what are the risks involved in just soldering on a dimm socket to the board and adding another 256mb? I'm thinking I'd need special tools to solder on properly and I sure don't wanna fry my board doing this.
 
northleaf65 said:
Well in that case, I'm right back to my first question. How hard / what are the risks involved in just soldering on a dimm socket to the board and adding another 256mb? I'm thinking I'd need special tools to solder on properly and I sure don't wanna fry my board doing this.
Click to expand...

If you're serious, this is not possible. Not only would it require some first party knowledge of how your board was built, but also software programming knowledge to raise the memory slots in your BIOS, coupled with custom drivers for your OS...
 
Just replace one of the 256 sticks with a 512 stick. It should work no problem.

A PC-133 stick should work fine. It will just clock down to 100.

You don't want ECC. Back then, ECC was meant for server boards and will not add anything whatsoever and might not even work.

Make sure not to get a stick with the little square memory chips on it... Those were incompatible with almost everything when they came out.

If you could borrow a stick from somebody to make sure it will work first, that is the best route to take before buying one.
 
Drakan290 said:
If you're serious, this is not possible. Not only would it require some first party knowledge of how your board was built, but also software programming knowledge to raise the memory slots in your BIOS, coupled with custom drivers for your OS...
Click to expand...

see this thread please
 
cyclone3d said:
Just replace one of the 256 sticks with a 512 stick. It should work no problem.

A PC-133 stick should work fine. It will just clock down to 100.

You don't want ECC. Back then, ECC was meant for server boards and will not add anything whatsoever and might not even work.

Make sure not to get a stick with the little square memory chips on it... Those were incompatible with almost everything when they came out.

If you could borrow a stick from somebody to make sure it will work first, that is the best route to take before buying one.
Click to expand...

this is what I think I'll try first. Adding just 256mb thru this method should help alot seeing as my pc seems to always be running on virtual memory. But I'm not sure which type of memory stick to buy. Non-ecc, ok. But how about all this high-density/ low-density stuff? And non-buffered?
 
northleaf65 said:
see this thread please
Click to expand...

I mean sure, you've got the space, and a basic layout, but since you're working with an OEM board, chances are they've got the bios locked down tight, let alone the fact you'd need some precision soldering tools and first hand knowledge as to where any power or data lanes are, and that's not even touching the fact your windows install will probably not recognize the 3rd slot if you don't have the correct drivers..

I mean really, you would honestly spend more time and money soldering on that slot that you would doing odd jobs for a few extra bucks, then buying a cheap C2D CPU/MOBO/RAM combo.
 
I mean really, you would honestly spend more time and money soldering on that slot that you would doing odd jobs for a few extra bucks, then buying a cheap C2D CPU/MOBO/RAM combo.
Click to expand...

Agreed. This is a lot of work for a system that most of us throw in the trash. I have thrown away / sent to recycling many faster systems here at work since no one wants them.
 
cyclone3d said:
Make sure not to get a stick with the little square memory chips on it... Those were incompatible with almost everything when they came out.
Click to expand...

Been there. I should have a few of those sticks somewhere in the office (unless I threw them away) since they did not work on anything. I believe the chips were made from wintec or similar.
 
Drakan290 said:
I mean sure, you've got the space, and a basic layout, but since you're working with an OEM board, chances are they've got the bios locked down tight, let alone the fact you'd need some precision soldering tools and first hand knowledge as to where any power or data lanes are, and that's not even touching the fact your windows install will probably not recognize the 3rd slot if you don't have the correct drivers..

I mean really, you would honestly spend more time and money soldering on that slot that you would doing odd jobs for a few extra bucks, then buying a cheap C2D CPU/MOBO/RAM combo.
Click to expand...

^^As far as I can tell, the bios DOES read the slot and simply registers it as "empty" as if there's no RAM stick installed. I used belarc advisor and two other memory upgrade sites (scan my computer tool) and all of them register my pc as having 3 dimm slots with dimm 1 "empty". The hp rep (via email support) even tells me my board will support a 512mb stick.

As far as power lanes go, you may have a point seeing as I don't even know what this means lol, and I suspect windows would automatically detect the ram seeing as the bios already does, right? And of course, the soldering job would be a pain.

And as far as upgrading goes, the RAM sticks on ebay are quite cheap and so is a dimm socket. I imagine soldering tools aren't too expensive and may have a friend with that those already.

drescherjm said:
Agreed. This is a lot of work for a system that most of us throw in the trash. I have thrown away / sent to recycling many faster systems here at work since no one wants them.
Click to expand...

Well my pc actually performs pretty well and I've kept it maintained. Don't have the funds to build a new system even though I'd much prefer it.
 
drescherjm said:
Been there. I should have a few of those sticks somewhere in the office (unless I threw them away) since they did not work on anything. I believe the chips were made from wintec or similar.
Click to expand...

but don't all memory sticks have square memory chips on them? Or square as opposed to rectangular or something?
 
^^ depends on the company that made them, most older SDram is rectangled.

but that doesnt really matter, it could be alot of work adding a slot and you are more likely to fry your whole rig if you do it wrong.

i NEVER had problems with 512mb sticks in any of my old PIII boards and i had several, laptops, not sure, but just buy a 512mb stick and be done with it
 
I believe the main problems were some boards would not work with high density and I believe some required it.
 
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Got the 512mb RAM stick, installed it 30 minutes ago and it works!... no need to do all that soldering to add a dimm slot.
 
A15G said:
Wow...
Click to expand...

yea i did alot of reading and questioning just to end up doing nothing more than adding a bigger ram stick, but at least it worked....

the board is always listed as only supporting 256mb sticks in each slot, hence why i wanted to add and make use of the empty dimm spot on the board... but since it accepts the 512mb stick, I now have the 768mb max w/o adding a dimm socket and another 256 ram stick.

that, and at least I learned some things heh. :cool:
 
yea for real.... that, and sites like crucial's site detect my comp as supporting 512 max and 256mb as the largest size compatible, while memory stock tells me 1.5gb ram is usable! That, of course, would be true if all 3 dimms were functional but even then that's probably wrong. Hp support told me 768mb max so I ordered the crucial 512mb (lol) and it works. I do wanna stick another 512 in just to see what happens but I'm thinking 768mb actually is the max.
 
Compaq had a habit of understating the amount of memory a computer could handle. My Evo n610 could supposedly only support up to 1GB RAM, but I came across a 1GB stick, added it to the 512MB stick already present, and it worked.

Like one of the previous posters mentioned, it probably had more to do with what memory was widely available (or what they tested) rather than a hard limit imposed by the chipset or BIOS. In the 15 or so years I've been building/repairing PCs, I've only run across 2-3 machines that the chipset flat out wouldn't recognize more memory beyond what it was specified to accept. I recall one of them was just deliberately crippled in the BIOS, as the chipset could support three times the amount of memory that IBM allowed.
 
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