PC RAM upgrade question

[Vincent]

Damn, this is the second time today I've had to post a new thread in this section.  Ah well...

We're wanting to get more RAM (stuck on 256Mb just now) in this PC and I just want to be sure I'm going to get the right thing.

Motherboard (from the manual):
Foxconn 600A01 Series (ATX)
Three 184-pin DIMM slots
Supports PC2100/PC2700/PC3200 memory
Supports 128/256/512Mb technology up to 3GB

From the foxconn website:
Memory:
Single channel, unbuffered, 2.5V DDR266/333/400, (3) 184-pin DIMM sockets, max 3GB

Am I right in thinking that 2 of these will work fine:
333MHz 184Pin 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM DIMM 2.5V 2.7Gb/Sec

We won't be using the 256 that we already have - that'll be kept incase anything happens to the new DIMMs, so we'll only have the two 512Mb DIMMs in the machine leaving the 3rd slot free. Just want to make sure I'm buying the right thing.

--edit--
I've just seen these:
400MHz 184Pin 512MB PC3200 DDR RAM DIMM 2.5V 3.2Gb/Sec

Would they work ok?

[jj]

what cpu have you got, it might be worth getting 400mhz ram if you have a 400mhz fsb or intend to upgrade in near future, but otherwise the ram you are going to buy is fine

[Vincent]

AMD Sempron 2600+ 1.83GHz.

No idea about the fsb though.

[BadBigBen]

Both work fine for the Sempron... the FSB should be either 266 or 333mhz...

in my opinion get the 400mhz RAM, as it will leave you the option of buying an Athlon at a later date, without having to upgrade the RAM aswell...

[K7HTH]

BadBigBen wrote:
in my opinion get the 400mhz RAM, as it will leave you the option of buying an Athlon at a later date, without having to upgrade the RAM aswell...

The time you start looking for more upgrades after RAM is the time you need to just purchase a new PC. Because if you thought Amiga was a money pit...

[BadBigBen]

Actually, my PC costs me less than my Amiga did....

I build it myself... and have been building PC's for the last 5 yrs or so...

upgrading the CPU to get a bit more power is still cheaper than buying a whole new PC...

[Methuselas]

The Semperon is a 333mhz bus, but get the 400Mhz Ram, 'cos then you can upgrade to a full Athlon at 400mhz, which are steadily increasing over the 2.1 Ghz stage. Your motherboard should support it. The memory itself will downgrade to the lower bus settings, without issues. I was doing the same thing, until I upgraded to a 2.2 Barton. :-D

[Vincent]

Excellent, I'll get the PC3200s then.

Thanks.

[blobrana]

[Vincent]

CAS rating?

Only thing I can think of is "Cool as Sh*t", but I doubt it's that :-P

[blobrana]

LOL
Don`t worry about it.
it`s just a bios thing....

[Vincent]

Finally got round to ordering 2 of the 400MHz ones today :-)

[KThunder]

CAS is column address strobe  it has to do with the timing of refresh etc. and is changeable in most bioses. going too tight will make your system unstable or unusable but with good ram you can squeeze a little more performance out of your system.
it is kindof like the difference between 50nanosecond and 60 nanosecond ram on a good amiga accelerator. not a huge difference but a difference none the less  

[Vincent]

Ah, so it's "Cool as sh*t" or "Crap... ah sh*t!" :-D

Might check my BIOS in a little while.

[blobrana]

Your ram, if its good, will support 2 easily...
Reduce to 2.5 or 3 if the ram is really naff...

(i guess a speed increase of 6 - 10% might be possible)

But your motherboard/Bios might not support Cas rating (it will be preset on `Auto`)

Have a read of `BIOS for Beginners` here.
(no mention of CAS there though)