Geil black dragon ram

[brikhead]

Hello ExTS people!:)

 

I'm looking to add more ram to our p.c. it currently has 2, 1 Gb sticks and I'd like to add another 2 to take the total to 4 Gb.

 

I was wondering about the "Qualified Vendors List" supplied by Asus.

How important is it to use the memory found on this list?

 

I only ask because the ram currently installed isn't on this list.

Do I need to ditch my current memory sticks and source some 'approved' items?

 

For information my current spec is :-

 

Asus P5KC 1333 FSB 1066

Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 2.40Ghz 8mb cache 1066 FSB

Geil 2Gb DDR2 800 CL4-4-4-12 Dual channel Black Dragon

 

Asus ATI Radeon HD3650 PCI-E 2.0 256DDR3

Samsung 250GB HDD

Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit OEM (FV)

 

Thermaltake M9 enclosure

Thermaltake 470w P.S.U.

 

The p.c. was built by me in May 2008, all parts supplied new from the same shop at the same time, cost £500.

 

Thanks in advance.

Rich.

[KenB]

Hi Rich

 

If this is your motherboard then Asus make the following recommendation:

 

When installing total memory of 4GB capacity or more, WindowsR 32-bit operation system may only recognize less than 3GB.

Hence, a total installed memory of less than 3GB is recommended.

 

32 bit systems do not recognise more than 4GB

64 bit systems will recognise much more than this.

 

Qualified Vendors List

I think you have answered your own question regarding this.

No - the RAM you use does not need to come from this list.

This is a list of Asus tested RAM - the fact that your RAM does not appear does not mean that it will not function.

 

Do I need to ditch my current memory sticks and source some 'approved' items?

No - not at all

 

This is a quote from the m/board specs ( assuming that this is your board ) :

The chipset officially supports the memory frequency up to DDR3 1066MHz/DDR2 800.

Due to the tuning by ASUS exclusive technology, this motherboard natively supports up to DDR3 1333/DDR2 1066MHz.

[brikhead]

Thanks for the reply, Ken.

 

The motherboard that you have linked to is the same as the one that I am using and I have 64-bit Vista so no issues there.

 

Two more questions, if you don't mind...

 

1. Is it o.k. to mix different manufacturers of memory stick? eg. could I pop a couple of Corsair sticks in along side the Geil ones, or should I use the same brand/model?

2. Should I keep the specs the same or are there any advantages to changing some of the 'numbers'? The cards I have are 1 Gb PC2-6400, DDR2-800, CL=4-4-4-12, 2.0v

 

Even though I have assembled this p.c. from scratch I know very little about such things, the last computer I had before this was a Commodore 64, so I appreciate the help given...

 

Cheers,

Rich.

[KenB]

Hi Rich

 

Is it o.k. to mix different manufacturers of memory stick?

This should be OK.

 

Should I keep the specs the same

I would be inclined to say "yes" to this.

 

Whilst the m/board specs suggests that it supports DDR3 and DDR2 the modules are actually different. ??

The notch is in a different place - so unless you have DDR3 slots and DDR2 slots then the answer is NO.

 

The timings and voltages are different too.

 

If you have DDR2 installed at the moment - and these modules fit all slots - then you need DDR2 RAM.

[brikhead]

Whilst the m/board specs suggests that it supports DDR3 and DDR2 the modules are actually different. ??

 

Hiya Ken.

 

The motherboard has 2 DDR3 DIMM sockets and 4 DDR2 sockets although you can only use either DDR2 or DDR3, you can't mix them.

 

I have managed to source another pair of the Black Dragon sticks with matching specification to those already installed in my system so hopefully alls good.

 

Once again, thanks for your help.

[KenB]

You are welcome.

 

Let us know how you get on with the new RAM.