Is this the correct RAM please?

[mikehende]

Hey guys, UI need to order 4gb ram for a Compaq sr1810nx desktop pc. I ran the Crucial scanner which shows:

 

1GB DDR PC32OO Unbuffered NON-ECC 2.6V 128Meg x 64 CT536750

 

Can anyone tell me please if this is the same ram?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Technology-103486-400Mhz-PC3200/dp/B0006TTDEO/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1422048025&sr=8-7&keywords=pc3200u+memory

[AWS]

It looks correct to me. As long as the RAM is PC 3200 then it will work. Most RAM is non-ecc and unbuffered so those don't matter unless you're running a server in which case you'll need ecc.

[mikehende]

Ok, thanks!

[Rich-M]

Yeah Crucial has been changing numbers on its own for what it sells to make them different from the ones they wholesale out to resellers but that does look the same. It is not so important with ddr ram to have the exact model as it is today with Ddr3 and 4 which is getting fussier an fussier with ram for compatibility anyway. On new systems if I cannot match the exact models I either change the board if I can't find it exact or the ram.

[mikehende]

This pc which came with a beeping noise immediately suggested ram issues to me so first thing I did was to reseat the 2 modules one at a time then tested with one of mine, strange thing though, one of the ram sticks was pc3200 and the other was pc2700, I am sure this machine did not come from Compaq this way so whoever did the ram work on this had to have known they were using mismatched sticks, is this ever wise to do?

[allheart55 Cindy E]

It's not usually the smartest thing to do. Dell and HP are actually known for pulling this. They will sell the RAM to unsuspecting customers as "backwards compatible". Many times it will work for a period of time until all of a sudden, it doesn't. :D

[mikehende]

So to confirm, this mismatching may have caused this problem?

[allheart55 Cindy E]

Absolutely.

[Rich-M]

Now wait a minute. Today this would never fly though technically there is nothing wrong with it shame on a mfgr for doing that when they have the resources to not. The only thing this means is that both sticks will work at the lower speed technically and all boards worked within the range of 1 speed down or up as was standard practice. If the ram is mismatched it is because the cas latency is wrong, Ecc wrong or density wrong which has nothing to do with the speed of the ram.

Another reason why it is tough to do this today is newer hardware is way more demanding and often will reject new ram that is even the same model number but from a different batch( because there may be a different mfgr of one or the other) but in the era of your desktop there this could easily have worked, and I had been known to do that when resources were short to me, but I would correct it later if I had the opportunity.

[IceMan37]

Mismatched sticks of that era is a bad idea as Cindy said, but let me give you a builders perspective. It depends on the chipset used (NV-VIA-AMD-SIS). I built with them all, and under any circumstances the same rules that apply today were there at that time also although the memory controller is differnet. Meaning, if you added a second stick of memory that might be a different brand you may introduce several unstable variables. One is that one stick is DDR3 2700 and the other DDR3 400, and possibly different default voltages-timings-cas latency. Most mobos of that era will try to dial in the lowest stick's speed. In any account you may have different original memory suppliers (EG Micron vs Samsung), or different default timings. Not good. If you are very lucky and your motherboard is very forgiving you might get both sticks running at DDR 333 stably but usually this is not the case with mixed memory. Edited January 27, 2015 by Rich-M

[DSTM]

I make a habit of buying one Ram stick the size Gigs and speed I require and what the Mobo accepts and never had these mismatch issues. I have had less memory issues since changing to one stick and DDR3 ram is pretty cheap.

I stick to Kingston or Corsair.

[Rich-M]

Well yes its true you won't mismatch Dougie but most boards today have dual channel ram and you are missing the opportunity for a bit of speed there my friend.

 

I used to have issue after issue with memory until I realized there is no reason to buy a "pig'n a poke" so to speak and catch22 just phrased it better than I have: "Meaning, if you added a second stick of memory that might be a different brand you may introduce several unstable variables. One is that one stick is DDR3 2700 and the other DDR3 400, and possibly different default voltages-timings-cas latency. Most mobos of that era will try to dial in the lowest stick's speed." Ram is matched by cas latency, density and Ecc factor and not all memory lists all those ratings. Speed is really the least important factor having to do with compatibility.

 

I let everyone else do the work for me. When I pick a motherboard I go to the mfgr site and find the list of compatible tested ram and if I cannot buy one of those, I change the board, it is very simple. Since I started doing that I have never had an issue with memory. Often times I note that new boards have very little ram tested for them and when I see that I also move on. There are enough other problems that we have in building. Why take such a simple thing and make it complex?

 

I must admit I also have noted HP particularly shipping out desktops with mismatched ram quite often a while back, and was astonished with their resources they would stoop to such a stupid thing.