At 05:54 PM 9/14/1998 Monica Veith  wrote:
>
>I wish to know the difference between dimm ram and sdram.
>
>Also, I have a P 166 MMX with 32 mb edo ram
>
>I would like to know which of the above two rams would fit. . .
>
>My computer has one long black slot for the new type of ram and
>4 for edo ram
>


Monica:

Members of PCBUILD have advised you that DIMM is a
form factor (168-pin, Dual In-line Memory Module) and
SDRAM is a synchronous type of DRAM chip.

You didn't specify the motherboard (or computer) you
have (you should always mention it when asking about RAM
upgrades) so, now that you have your definitions, you're not
any more enlightened about how to upgrade your system.

If your motherboard can run 6 nanosecond 3.3v SDRAM,
then you might consider replacing all your old EDO SIMMs
with a 64MB SDRAM DIMM. You only get perhaps a 5%
increase in speed over high speed EDO SIMMs (not
very noticeable unless you overclock).

However, if you have a mix of EDO pairs (and these are
not all 60-nanosecond RAM) and you wish to upgrade to
64MB (the maximum cachable amount, unless you have a
HX or one of the newer non-Intel chipsets), then you should
replace ALL your existing EDO SIMMs with a current
PC-100 compliant DIMM (if it will work -- it might not). Costs
maybe $85.

This will guarantee RAM consistency, allow you to set your
motherboard to a more aggressive RAM timing, and permit
your new DIMM to migrate to a newer motherboard that
supports faster processors (i.e., Pentium II or Super
Socket 7). The old EDO can go back into the 166MMX
board when you swap it out.

HTH.

John Chin

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