RAM speeds/compatibility

2008-10-18 13:49:47

#1

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

Someone I know asked me to speed up their computer, which has Vista. I initially thought it was just the junky programs HP installs on all their prebuilt computers, but I realized the major problem was the RAM, when I noticed he had only 1024 MB, and only 896 MB recognized by the system, due to the onboard graphics "borrowing" memory.

The computer is a HP Pavilion a1710n, with an AM2 X2 4200+, PC2-4200 RAM, and an Nforce 430 chipset. I found this RAM, which seems like a great deal for 4 GB. Will it work with the motherboard, considering the great jump in RAM speeds?

Also, I was thinking getting a real video card might be a good idea, as it would free a bit of memory and let the computer perform better in games. What is the best videocard that wouldn't be limited by the processor? The board has a PCI-E slot, obviously.

Edit: Power is probably a bit of a concern, considering the PSU, so something power efficient would be nice for the card.

Edit II: Power is a major concern; the PSU is only 300W with a maximum 12V output of 19A. So really, he probably needs a new PSU if he wants a new card. I don't know any card that could run with something that weak. So...cheap and good PSU suggestions would be nice, as well.

Last edited by nukchebi0 (2008-10-18 13:56:02)

2008-10-18 14:05:14

#2

jamiet757: Member; +138|6889

Getting a video card will not free memory if it is shared with onboard video. Also, 1Gb isn't that terrible, I dunno why you think that is the main problem. The ram you found might not work, you would have to check the motherboard specs. It might be too fast, so the motherboard will downclock it, thus wasting your money.

Also, a video card will not speed up his computer, unless he is gaming with the onboard, so don't waste the money.

EDIT: the memory that comes with it is DDR2 533, the one you selected is 800. The motherboard only supports 533, so I wouldn't bother. Just tell him to buy a new PC if he wants it to be faster.

Last edited by jamiet757 (2008-10-18 14:06:51)

2008-10-18 14:09:08

#3

Wallpaper: ☺; +303|6260|The pool

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts. … n%20a1710n

List of ram speeds... Looks like it only supports 1 gig modules

As for the PSU, I have an Antec Basiq 500W with 18A on the 12V and Im running a PNY 8800GT.

EDIT: Reformat, too. Preloaded shit will slow down anything.

EDIT2: And if he has Norton or McAfee on there, get that shit off. Both of them are worse than the viruses they dont protect you against

Last edited by Wallpaper (2008-10-18 14:11:31)

My flickr

2008-10-18 14:12:05

#4

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7032|Cambridge (UK)

nuk: have you done a complete re-install of Vista?

Start there.

Also, if the HDD is small, fragmentation could be slowing things down - at the very least use windows defrag after every install, better yet, get your mate to buy Diskeeper.

But, yeah, 1GB is slightly on the low side for Vista.

But, as Jamie says - you're gonna need to work out what speed ram the mobo can take - and then hope that the BIOS is friendly enough to allow you run it at it's best speed.

The best option may be to go for another 1GB of 4200's.

2008-10-18 14:17:33

#5

ilinear: Bigger. Better. ilinear.; +27|6712|Lisburn, NI

Video card is still a valid option, if it frees up the rest of the 1gb, by disabling the onboard.
Not the best, but still valid.
Go with more RAM, plus a format. Problem solved.

2008-10-18 14:22:39

#6

Scorpion0x17: can detect anyone's visible post count...; +691|7032|Cambridge (UK)

jamiet757 wrote:
Scorpion0x17 wrote:
nuk: have you done a complete re-install of Vista?

Start there.

Also, if the HDD is small, fragmentation could be slowing things down - at the very least use windows defrag after every install, better yet, get your mate to buy Diskeeper.

But, yeah, 1GB is slightly on the low side for Vista.

But, as Jamie says - you're gonna need to work out what speed ram the mobo can take - and then hope that the BIOS is friendly enough to allow you run it at it's best speed.

The best option may be to go for another 1GB of 4200's.
According to the specs I found, the mobo only supports 4200. Also, it supports 1gb sticks max, like wallpaper said, and it should have 2x 512 sticks now. So if you are going to get new memory, it should be 2x 1gb PC2-4200. That is the max you will be able to get.

And scorpion has a point with defrag, that slows it down a lot. Also, get a registry cleaner, like Registry Mechanic. That will solve problems in the registry that might cause a slowdown.

Yeah, I saw your edit and 'papers persons post that came in whilst I was typing that, but couldn't be arsed to edit mine.

Nuk: wot Jamie say.

2008-10-18 14:34:50

#7

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

Okay, I found a Evga 9600GT for $70 after rebate, which seemed like a good deal for me. I thought the video card route would be a good idea just because he plays games, and the onboard graphics are a travesty.

Otherwise, I'll do everything short of a full-reinstall.

2008-10-18 14:55:41

#8

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6464|Winland

If he is happy with onboard now, why would he need a powerful card like that? Just get an 8400GS, 6200LE or something.

As for the RAM, go with the cheapest 2x1GB CL5 sticks you can find.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2008-10-18 14:58:34

#9

GC_PaNzerFIN: Work and study @ Technical Uni; +528|6681|Finland

Freezer7Pro wrote:
If he is happy with onboard now, why would he need a powerful card like that? Just get an 8400GS, 6200LE or something.

As for the RAM, go with the cheapest 2x1GB CL5 sticks you can find.

I recommend A-DATA Vitesta 800mhz 1GB sticks. they cost 13€ here and with little voltaage boost work stable at >950mhz

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8

2008-10-18 15:18:39

#10

Bertster7: Confused Pothead; +1,101|6848|SE London

Get another couple of GBs of RAM. 1GB for Vista is simply not enough and that will have a big, big impact on performance. Don't worry about what speed the RAM is, since it often won't impact the price 800MHz RAM is often the cheapest, purely because it is the most common - it won't run at those speeds, but that doesn't matter.

Video card, if he wants it soley for gaming, he may well need a new PSU if he were to get anything fairly powerful.

2008-10-18 15:21:21

#11

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

No new video card; he said he is fine with what he has. But okay, the cheapest 2 x 1 GB kit I can find?

2008-10-18 15:36:19

#12

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

As in, this?

2008-10-18 15:37:19

#13

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6464|Winland

nukchebi0 wrote:
No new video card; he said he is fine with what he has. But okay, the cheapest 2 x 1 GB kit I can find?

No, get a cheap graphics card. 2GB is really the minimum Vista should run on, a cheap graphics card will give back that 128MB that the integrated is stealing. It's not like it's more than $30 anyhow.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2008-10-18 15:40:47

#14

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

Oh, epicly cheap. Will do. And was the RAM selection good?

2008-10-18 15:41:50

#15

GC_PaNzerFIN: Work and study @ Technical Uni; +528|6681|Finland

this one is good. I have it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6820211066

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8

2008-10-18 15:43:46

#16

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6464|Winland

nukchebi0 wrote:
As in, this?

+ This X300 for $6, or this 7300 for $20, if he has a big monitor (over 1280x1024).

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2008-10-18 15:53:12

#17

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

I found this, which seems worth the $6 over the 7300. He does have Oblivion, as I just realized, and wasn't complaining about not being able to play it because he hasn't tried to. I think he would welcome the ability to at least run it.

2008-10-18 15:59:49

#18

Freezer7Pro: I don't come here a lot anymore.; +1,447|6464|Winland

nukchebi0 wrote:
I found this, which seems worth the $6 over the 7300. He does have Oblivion, as I just realized, and wasn't complaining about not being able to play it because he hasn't tried to. I think he would welcome the ability to at least run it.

Do so.

The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP

2008-10-18 16:00:22

#19

nukchebi0: Пушкин, наше всё; +387|6591|New Haven, CT

Okay, sounds good. Thanks to everyone for the help.

BF2S Forums RAM speeds/compatibility

jamiet757 wrote:

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

nukchebi0 wrote:

nukchebi0 wrote:

nukchebi0 wrote:

Board footer