PC hardware: How do I know what my RAM settings are supposed to be?
How do I know what my RAM settings are supposed to be?
by Blurr26 - 1/5/09 12:59 PMHello!!! I wanted to know for myself (and my neighbor who I'm trying to help) how do I know what the correct/best settings are for my RAM? He recently upgraded his RAM on his desktop, but things seemed to be running slower. How can I find out what are the native settings for his RAM so I can make sure the settings are correct in the BIOS? He has an older, off brand desktop. Very basic. Thank you for any help you can provide...
Why would anyone think more RAM is more SPEED?
by R. Proffitt
- 1/5/09 1:05 PM
In reply to: How do I know what my RAM settings are supposed to be? by Blurr26
These are only slightly related. That is, more RAM does not mean an OS or program would run any faster. Yes you might see some improvement with a database but depending on the OS (let's use XP for example) you may find that past 1GB in some usage the machine will clock in a little slower because there is more ram to manage.
Now let's see the make and model of your machine?
Oops, can't find it.
Bob
RAM settings
by Blurr26 - 1/5/09 4:19 PM In reply to: Why would anyone think more RAM is more SPEED? by R. Proffitt
"Now let's see the make and model of your machine?
Oops, can't find it." Ok, I can handle a weee bit of sarcasm.
I commented that his machine was an older, no-name brand (as in a brand I've never heard of in my life). I didn't know if there was some type of software that could run and tell you what your RAM settings are supposed to be based on what's installed. As far as the system running faster with more RAM, I thought that an his OS (WinXP Home) would show faster performance going from 256MB RAM to 2GB. I know certain environments show more of a performance improvement with increased RAM, but I thought this type of step up would show improvement across the board. It seems like his system drags compared to the way it was before. Again, is there a way to determine what the BIOS settings are supposed to be for the installed RAM? If someone just installed RAM into a computer (without knowing the exact specs, but memory that would work for that computer), is there a way to determine the correct memory settings? Thanks.
If you still require hardware specifics, let me know and I'll crack open his computer and look. I was just wondering if there was software to tell such things...
Download and run PCWizard 2008...it'll tell you what's
by VAPCMD - 1/5/09 4:58 PM In reply to: RAM settings by Blurr26inside that PC. CPUZ and GPUZ are also informative.
VAPCMD
Perfect, thanks!!!
by Blurr26 - 1/5/09 5:35 PM In reply to: Download and run PCWizard 2008...it'll tell you what's by VAPCMDLike I said, "perfect, thanks!!!" PCWizard 2008 is giving me all the information I needed (and a heck of alot more). Great program. Thanks for your help.
(NT) Glad we could could help and indeed they are great programs!
by VAPCMD - 1/5/09 5:58 PM In reply to: Perfect, thanks!!! by Blurr26Another fine investigative tool is
by R. Proffitt - 1/5/09 6:28 PM
In reply to: RAM settings by Blurr26
EVEREST (the free version.)
No sarcasm, but details are the fuel to find your answers. I didn't see what OS is in use in your first post. Tell more, get more.
And in case you don't know, I have yet to see software that tells us the correct settings. IN THEORY the SPD on the stick of RAM is supposed to tell the motherboard's BIOS how to set the access times and more.
You know how well things work in theory. (now that's sarcasm!)
Bob
The other thing that might be worth mentioning is
by VAPCMD - 1/5/09 11:11 PM In reply to: Another fine investigative tool is by R. Proffitt
there may be no way for the user to set or change the timings due to the manufacturers BIOS limitations.
VAPCMD
I'd double check that you bought the right RAM
by Dango517 - 1/10/09 4:50 AM In reply to: How do I know what my RAM settings are supposed to be? by Blurr26Check the specifications closely.
What is the latency of the RAM you have compared to the RAM you replaced? The lower the latency the faster the I/O speed of the RAM. RAM is basically a store for data that would be found on the hard drive. Electronic transfer of data to and from the RAM to the CPU is faster then the mechanical transfer of data to and from the hard drive to the CPU. The RAM stores commonly used data. Uncommonly used data is still being transferred from the hard drive.
Remember even a super computer can only process information off the net according to it's connection speed. Is there a difference in the PCs speed on line and off?
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