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ram question
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Supersonicdarky
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O.P. ram question
google doesn't want to help me today

1) what exactly does the frequency of ram mean? (333mhz, 667mhz, etc)
2) is it a good idea to mix ram with different frequencies? (i can guess that no, but some seem to support clocking down to match maximum freq of others)

sorry for being newb
01-06-2008 07:58 PM
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djdannyp
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RE: ram question
http://www.crucial.com has a tool where you can scan your computer and it'll identify what's already in there and what your motherboard can take.

it'll only suggest upgrades that'll work with your current configuration so it'll mean you don't need to understand all the frequencies, etc :P
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01-06-2008 08:09 PM
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Mike
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RE: ram question
2) You can, but like you said, every other RAM stick will downclock to the one that has the lowest frequency.
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01-06-2008 08:10 PM
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MeEtc
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RE: ram question
1. The frequency is basically how many times per second the RAM can send/receive data
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01-06-2008 09:31 PM
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Shippo
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RE: ram question
I guess what some are saying here that the higher the MHz, the better. But I suppose keeping to the same frequency would help better, especially in a dual-channel setup.
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01-06-2008 10:33 PM
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Supersonicdarky
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O.P. RE: ram question
i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today :)
01-06-2008 10:42 PM
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andrewdodd13
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RE: RE: ram question
quote:
Originally posted by Supersonicdarky
i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today :)
Also, you must realise that the Dual Channel feature of DDR SDRAM is only available when you install memory in pairs - ie, two memory chips of the precise same type.
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01-06-2008 10:58 PM
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Supersonicdarky
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O.P. RE: RE: RE: ram question
quote:
Originally posted by andrewdodd13
quote:
Originally posted by Supersonicdarky
i thought that I would have to mix frequencies because cpu-z reported my current module to have a max bandwidth of 333 MHz, but after reading some things its actually 667 since its double of what it reports (Double Data Rate)

I learned something new today :)
Also, you must realise that the Dual Channel feature of DDR SDRAM is only available when you install memory in pairs - ie, two memory chips of the precise same type.
check my thinking plz

two configurations:

1) 2gb module
2) 2x1gb module

and if this is true...
quote:
Originally posted by someone on some other forum
yeah, just to elaborate, RAM tranfsers data in "strobes". Just like a strobe light, it cycles on and off. Well, what dual channel does is offset each pipe so that one stick is strobing on, while the other is off. It is really more complicated than that, but I thought short and to the point was the way to go. hope this helps.
then configuration 2 would be faster than config 1, right?
01-06-2008 11:18 PM
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Apatik
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RE: ram question
Yes.

But Dual Channel has nothing to do with the "Double Data Rate", basically, Dual Channel is to RAM what RAID0 is to Hard Disk Drives, it just expands the width of the memory bus, allowing data to be transferred faster.
And as for RAID0, data modules have to be of same capacity, and preferably of the same frequency (if not, the motherboard will just use them at the highest speed allowed by the slowest of the two modules).

About frequencies, DDR is often referred to as "DDR400" or "DDR667", etc., but they actually operate at half these frequencies (==200 or 333MHz). But as they're "Double Data Rate", they are able to send two data "words" per cycle, hence the doubled frequency.

Another denomination used for DDR2-667 is "PC2-5300" (e.g.), the 2 standing for DDR2, and 5300 means it has a maximum data bandwidth of 5.3GB/s.
For DDR400 it would be PC-3200.

Hope it's clear enough =)
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01-06-2008 11:37 PM
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