On 19 Feb 99, at 19:50, Kevin Runyan wrote:

> I want to upgrade the ram on my computer. It has two card slots--the first
> has one 32 meg SDRAM unbuffered while the other slot is empty. The two
> stores I have checked do not have "unbuffered" bulk or PYN SD Ram. I've
> gotten conflicting stories from several stores also. I have 4 questions:
>
> 1)  where can I find unbuffered SD RAM until I find it?
>
> 2) should I replace the old 32 meg unbuffered SD-Ram and start fresh with
> the 64 meg buffered S-DRAM?
>
> 3) will it cause problems or slow down if I run unbuffered with buffered
> RAM?

  I've only run across the term "buffered" in connection with EDO DIMMs,
not SDRAM.  One of the two notices along the underside of DIMMs indicates
whether they are buffered EDO, unbuffered EDO, or SDRAM.
  Some boards require "SPD" SDRAM, with the extra EPROM -- these DIMMs will
work fine in boards that don't need this feature.

> 4) How can I find how much RAM my computer will take?

  This is subject to three constraints:

a.  How much the motherboard chipset can support.

b.  How much the motherboard maker makes provision for (could be less
than a).

c.  How much the L2 cache can span (could be CPU (PPro/PII) or chipset
dependent; can be less than b...)

  Your motherboard manual *should* answer these questions; if you can't
find the answers there, you'll have to tell us what you've got.


David G

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