Can somebody explain this to me?

Chuplayer

Chuplayer

CAGiversary!
EDIT: I don't want to upgrade the motherboard. I have no real reason for wanting three 1GB sticks. I just want to know why things are contradicting themselves here.

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The max RAM the motherboard can support is 3GB. There are three RAM slots.

The problem is that each slot can only take 512MB. That means the max RAM is actually 1.5GB? How does that make any sense?

Could I put in 1GB in each slot and see what happens? I really want to get 3GB out of this rig.
 
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[quote name='Hybrid5006']Do they even make 1GB PC133 SDRam?[/quote]

I figured they would since, you know, the thing maxes out at 3GB and there are three slots. If there is a way to access the other 1.5GB, somebody please tell me.

(your rig sucks by the way...)
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Not as hard as your mom, but your mom does make me happier.
 
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is this a desktop of laptop? if ths a deskop, you might have to change to a motherboard with better RAM input slots.
 
Desktop, and I don't want to change motherboards. I want to know why the advertised max RAM is double what I'm physically able to put in.
 
Looks like the companies that still make PC133 RAM, don't actually manufacture 1GB sticks anymore. I looked on many of the big PC part sites, and all of them only offer sticks on 256MB and 512MB flavors.
 
[quote name='SEH']Looks like the companies that still make PC133 RAM, don't actually manufacture 1GB sticks anymore.[/QUOTE]

Anymore? Did they ever in the first place?

Also, that still doesn't explain why the data is saying that the max each slot can take is 512MB. Not the max stick available. The max possible. Why is that half of what the system can take? Because it can't take it. Even though it... can? I don't know what's going on!
 
[quote name='Earmuffin585']False advertising , Sue them!!! (Jking) . Why don't you want to upgrade?[/QUOTE]

I'm going to get a new computer next year. I am going to continue using this one, though, and I want to get the most out of it.
 
The 3.5 GB limit is the maximum a 32-bit operation system can use. Your system is old enough, that at the time it was made there was no practical use for that much memory, so it was built with only 3 ram slots, meaning you can only install 1.5 GB's on that motherboard.
 
[quote name='csalzman']The 3.5 GB limit is the maximum a 32-bit operation system can use. Your system is old enough, that at the time it was made there was no practical use for that much memory, so it was built with only 3 ram slots, meaning you can only install 1.5 GB's on that motherboard.[/QUOTE]

You are not helping.

EDIT: And you're possibly wrong.
 
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It would be cheaper to buy a new motherboard and 2x 2GB sticks. You'd be spending $180 just for 1.5GB, imagine how much a full 3GB of SDRAM would cost.
 
[quote name='Earmuffin585']oh, are you doing heavy pc gaming on it? And what OS do you have?[/QUOTE]

I don't plan on doing heavy gaming on it except for old-school emulators. I just want to max it out because it would help performance and I might need the RAM in the future. I'm using XP on it. When I retire this computer to its future status, I plan on putting some sort of stripped down version of XP on it.
 
[quote name='TimPV3']It would be cheaper to buy a new motherboard and 2x 2GB sticks. You'd be spending $180 just for 1.5GB, imagine how much a full 3GB of SDRAM would cost.[/QUOTE]

I am not necessarily going to be getting that particular RAM. What I was outlining was the fact that the motherboard can take 3GB but yet due to the constraints on its individual slots it can only really take half that, which is bullshit unless I'm missing something.

Yes, I would like to get three 1GB sticks. That may or may not exist.
 
[quote name='Earmuffin585']you could save the 1Gb of RAM for your upcoming pc and put 2 sticks of 512 MB RAM.[/QUOTE]

Not helping.
 
[quote name='mingleje']this topic bothers me more than the dolls[/QUOTE]

I've had more meaningful conversations with brick walls.

I do not want to buy a new PC right now. I do not want to buy that particular RAM. I do not care for what I'm going to do with this PC now or in the future. I just want to know why the three slots max out at half a gig of RAM while the actual(?) maximum RAM is double what the combination of the three slots can provide.

BTW, I did find 1GB RAM sticks that would be suitable for this application provided my PC can take gig sticks. Unfortunately, they're balls crazy expensive.
 
1GB PC133 sticks exist http://www.pricewatch.com/browse/system_memory/pc133_1gb. Your PC's memory guide is here http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01127188/c01127188.pdf and it says that your board can handle up to 512MB modules, but they can be "double sided" in that each slot will take a 512x2 stick. I'm pretty sure that all 1GB SDRAM sticks are double sided, i.e., the memory is split into 2 banks read separately by the board. So 3 slots x 512x2MB = 3GB total.

I think what everyone else has been saying is that upgrading PC memory this old is not really financially sound. Even 3 sticks of the cheapest memory at the link I provided is $84 (way cheaper than I expected to find), and for that much you could get a decent new board and at least 1GB of DDR2 or DDR3 that would vastly outperform 3GB of PC133 (of course, you also have to throw in a new CPU). I don't know of any motherboard made in the past 4-5 years (at least) that uses PC133 (they're on DDR three now), so buying this is a waste of money if you're going to get a new board in the next year.
 
Why would anyone want to help you when after people post something who may be trying to help or inform you, you immediately respond with "not helping". You seem like a total ass. Unfortunately the last guy seems to have helped you out, although I'm sure you'll find some reason to bitch about his reply as well.
 
[quote name='SEH']Why would anyone want to help you when after people post something who may be trying to help or inform you, you immediately respond with "not helping". You seem like a total ass. Unfortunately the last guy seems to have helped you out, although I'm sure you'll find some reason to bitch about his reply as well.[/QUOTE]

Hehe, whoops. I only helped because I knew exactly what the OP was asking for and it only took a second to look up what he wanted to know (that's what manufacturer websites are for). He seems to be asking a hypothetical question since he doesn't really want a sensible realistic answer ("just buy a new computer") and no one was getting it. He could just be trying to mess with everyone, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. :D
 
I, like everyone else, wouldn't recommend spending money on something like this, when its just going to be replaced within a year.

IMO, your best option is to salvage what you can from your current rig, such as case, hard drive(s), power supply, optical drive(s), and put the money you were going to spend on ram, into upgrading the rest of the PC. You can get a good motherboard/CPU combo for under $150 easily.
 
[quote name='c4tp']1GB PC133 sticks exist http://www.pricewatch.com/browse/system_memory/pc133_1gb. Your PC's memory guide is here http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c01127188/c01127188.pdf and it says that your board can handle up to 512MB modules, but they can be "double sided" in that each slot will take a 512x2 stick. I'm pretty sure that all 1GB SDRAM sticks are double sided, i.e., the memory is split into 2 banks read separately by the board. So 3 slots x 512x2MB = 3GB total.[/quote]

THANK YOU!!! That's exactly the information I couldn't find on the HP/Compaq website. I went to the product's page, and I didn't see that PDF file listed. I don't know how you got to it, but you're awesome. And that RAM on Pricewatch is good enough for me.

I think what everyone else has been saying is that upgrading PC memory this old is not really financially sound. Even 3 sticks of the cheapest memory at the link I provided is $84 (way cheaper than I expected to find), and for that much you could get a decent new board and at least 1GB of DDR2 or DDR3 that would vastly outperform 3GB of PC133 (of course, you also have to throw in a new CPU). I don't know of any motherboard made in the past 4-5 years (at least) that uses PC133 (they're on DDR three now), so buying this is a waste of money if you're going to get a new board in the next year.
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This isn't exactly helping, but I appreciate the input.

If I said "my mom's getting this old computer" would everybody stop suggesting I should just junk this computer? It is not going to get replaced within a year. It is not going to be ignored. It will be used a lot. A whole lot. I'm not concerned about the SDRAM being low performance. I knew that when I bought this computer. But you can't deny that upping the RAM won't be completely useless if I plan to use this computer well into the future. And somebody will be using this computer well into the future.
 
Good luck in finding 1gb chips, don't get the ECC kind.

And if you wanted exact help, why didn't you go to a tech board, not a gaming board and be a douche?

And let me paraphrase this....

You're not exactly helping yourself here, but I appreicate the thread.
 
[quote name='xycury']Good luck in finding 1gb chips, don't get the ECC kind.[/quote]

Will do. Thanks. EDIT: Wait, it seems like ECC is the only type available on that Pricewatch link, and the other RAM I found last night is balls crazy expensive, so I won't be getting it regardless of whether it's ECC or not.

And if you wanted exact help, why didn't you go to a tech board, not a gaming board and be a douche?
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Because I like CAG most of the time. And there's nothing douchey about saying "you're not helping" in response to replies that aren't helping. If I wanted a new computer, I would have asked for advice in getting a new computer.

The only douchey thing I said was in response to the douche who had to bring dolls into this topic.

And let me paraphrase this....

You're not exactly helping yourself here, but I appreicate the thread.
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:applause:
 
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