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Overclocked RAM??
David_Wolfpa
Member Posts: 273
in Hardware
I'm thinking about upgrading to 4gb of RAM, at the moment i've got 2gb and I think they might be overclocked, I bought the PC overclocked already a while ago and can't really remember if it mentioned the RAM being overclocked or not..
What i'm wondering about is if I buy some more memory can I just stick it in there if the 2x1gb sticks thats in there already are overclocked? will it be alright running 2 sticks as overclocked and 2 as not or would I need to overclock my new memory I bought too?
Any help would be vm appreciated 
Comments
The new sticks will run overclocked as well. Overclocking happens through the motherboard not the ram sticks. All overclocking to the memory dimms will be universal, you can't really say these will overclock and these won't.
Thanks, didn't know that
Also, is it worth putting 6gb in my PC when I have windows XP 32bit? I hear it only supports 4gb max of ram.. is there any point in putting 6 in it or should I just put 4gb?
I got 3 gigs and its enough to run 2 EVE clients on high detail no problem while running Vista.
nope addressing limitation of a 32bit OS. Also you want to have PC components in powers of 2. 2gigs, 4 gigs, 8gigs. Skip the 6 gigs.
^^^^What Cleffy said. no point in 4gigs unless you have a 64bit OS.
Also, keep the overclocking thing in mind when you put different RAM in. If you start having all kinds of crazy issues, chances are your new ram doesn't like the overclocked settings your old ram used. It is most likely not bad ram, just bad settings for that particular ram.
Not saying you will have those issues, just something to keep in mind.
I've put 4GB in it now and it seems to be running a bit better, though in My Computer properties its only showing up as having 3GB is it meant to be doing this?
the limitations of a 32bit system is that you can only have 3gigs total memory in your system. If you buy 4+ and you have a 32 bit windows, it will not recognize anything over 3, so yes, it is working correctly
The true limitation is 3.2 Gb (windows should see 3070 Mb) of ram on a 32 bit os (it has to do with basiclly being able to find the ram).
That being said 2,4, 8 GB only is not true at all.
However only if you have a 64 bit os, in this case 2,4,6,8 + is fine.
The difference is you need to keep your dual (linked) channel sticks the same size, so however, you mebo works , you can do this
Slots
1 - 2 gb (linked with 3)
2 - 1 gb (linked with 4)
3 - 2 gb (linked with 1)
4 - 1 gb (linked with 2)
and you will have 6 gb that runs just as well as 8 minus the fact you lack 2 more gb of ram (no big deal atm)
However, if you are running a 64-bit os why not go 8 gb and not 6. The end key is the linked ram sticks must (should) be the same size.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
No, it's not. Chanses are that one of the ram sticks isn't correctly inserted. Check if you have all in the Bios. If not then take both out and put them in again.
In can also be other problems but it's not very likely. There is quite a lot good benchmark programs to test your system, check tucows.com, they have a lot for free.
/ Has no clue ignore this OP.
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
The true limitation is 3.2 Gb (windows should see 3070 Mb) of ram on a 32 bit os (it has to do with basiclly being able to find the ram).
That being said 2,4, 8 GB only is not true at all.
However only if you have a 64 bit os, in this case 2,4,6,8 + is fine.
The difference is you need to keep your dual (linked) channel sticks the same size, so however, you mebo works , you can do this
Slots
1 - 2 gb (linked with 3)
2 - 1 gb (linked with 4)
3 - 2 gb (linked with 1)
4 - 1 gb (linked with 2)
and you will have 6 gb that runs just as well as 8 minus the fact you lack 2 more gb of ram (no big deal atm)
However, if you are running a 64-bit os why not go 8 gb and not 6. The end key is the linked ram sticks must (should) be the same size.
Ahh, yeah it is seeing 3070mb.. just checked in dxdiag. Would you advise leaving the other 2GB i've got out of my system then if I have a 32bit OS? At the moment i've got 2x 2GB in there and i've got 2x 1GB spare I could put in there.
Also, does it matter what slots you put the ram into? I've got 4 slots on my motherboard, 2 next to eachother then a space and another 2 next to eachother.
Id leave them all in. It doesn't hurt you , windows just doesn't know how to use 1 gb of it.
however if you wanted to get rid of soem remove two sticks, one from 2nd slot and 1 from the 4th slot. (check ur mebo manual, or pull from the same colored slots)
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Some sticks oc better than others. I had 2gb of xms2 DDR2-800 ram at 490mhz for 2 weeks. That would be like DDR2-980. I clocked it back down however.. but regardless it really depends on the ram.
Generally you never want to add something on a oc'ed system. You want to have everything reverted to stock and then do it to help with any potential errors you might have.
Also, you should check to make sure that the NEW ram is rated at the same voltages you got your current set at. Most times people will add voltages to their ram to get a OC and keep the timings tighter.
It is possible, and most chances are you wont have a issue. However nothing is certain, and it is best to do it right when adding more ram if you got your current set oc'ed.
One other factor with 4 gigs of ram and all oc'ed is the strain on your MCH. The northbridge can become hot if you put too much strain on it, or the ram might become unstable and give you instability. 4 sticks is harder to oc and keep the timings tight and not strain the northbridge than 2 sticks. Often adding +1 to the mch can help this, depending on high much the oc is.
However.. generally.. SPEED is higher priority than timings. So having to loosen timings to achieve a higher stable oc on the ram will benefit you more. Well.. generally..
Hey, as someone mentioned earlier Windows XP 32-bit OS only recognize 3GB Ram, correct. Having over 2GB is a waste. You should consider the speed on the ram, using AMD Athlon Dual-Core only supports up to 800MHz, while the Phenom Quad Core easily supports 1066MHz up to 1200MHz. Also looking at the CL5, CL4, CL3 or whatever they say it's the fastest, it doesn't matter at all, nothing you will notice anyway. Overclocking I'd say I do not recommend as it decreased the lifetime of your computer components. Buying components that is built for higher speed though, I'd say that's ace. You have your guarantee left if you skip the overclocking, if any part would break. I'm not sure about buying an already oc'd computer about the guarantee but if I'd take a guess I'd say it would be half of the normal guarantee time.
And back to your question, if you have a partioned hd or at least two you could install two OS's, one vista for example that support 4GB, and one regular 32-bit XP on the other. Then you should just throw in all the ram you want :-)
Also, look for the same, exact RAM and put in the two remaining slots if you wan't to avoid conflicts between the RAM's :-)
Some sticks oc better than others. I had 2gb of xms2 DDR2-800 ram at 490mhz for 2 weeks. That would be like DDR2-980. I clocked it back down however.. but regardless it really depends on the ram.
Generally you never want to add something on a oc'ed system. You want to have everything reverted to stock and then do it to help with any potential errors you might have.
Also, you should check to make sure that the NEW ram is rated at the same voltages you got your current set at. Most times people will add voltages to their ram to get a OC and keep the timings tighter.
It is possible, and most chances are you wont have a issue. However nothing is certain, and it is best to do it right when adding more ram if you got your current set oc'ed.
One other factor with 4 gigs of ram and all oc'ed is the strain on your MCH. The northbridge can become hot if you put too much strain on it, or the ram might become unstable and give you instability. 4 sticks is harder to oc and keep the timings tight and not strain the northbridge than 2 sticks. Often adding +1 to the mch can help this, depending on high much the oc is.
However.. generally.. SPEED is higher priority than timings. So having to loosen timings to achieve a higher stable oc on the ram will benefit you more. Well.. generally..
QFT
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
If you have a 32bit OS like me, just stick to 3GB of RAM (btw all ram is still counted in powers of 2^n not powers of two, so you can have 3GB if it's rounded to the nearest 2^nth).
-- Brede