Which ram type to use?
August 2nd, 2016
I have planned to buy : Acer Aspire L5100 Athlon 64 X2 4400 2GB, 320GB,DVD-RW,WLAN, VHP
It says : RAM – DDR2 SDRAM
But there are several types of the DDR2, and am confused between:
DDR2 PC5300
DDR2 PC5400
DDR2 PC6400
DDR2 PC8500
Does it matter which one I choose?
Thank you.!!!
It matters you cant just stick in random RAM stick just cuz its DDR2, where you plan to buy that computer? You need to read its FULL SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS. It should say what type of RAM it got.
It says it has a DDR2-SDRAM
I want to buy a RAM with the computer, so i can upgrade it as soon as i get.
2 gb installed, 4 max. so i want to buy 2 more
To be on the safe side..Go to Acer website..Download the user guide to make sure what memory speeds does it support…
Just checked ACER website:
http://www.acer.it/public/page9.do?sp=page4&dau34.oid=32379&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=17&CountryISOCtxParam=UK&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&ctx3=-1&ctx4=United+Kingdom&crc=1077028580
System memoryDual channel to support 2 x SODIMM DDR2 667/800 up to 2GB each
The memory frequency used by the computer will be as high, as the lowest frequency from your worst memory stick.
For example, if the machine already has a memory stick that runs at 800Mhz (PC6400), if you add a new stick that runs at 667Mhz (PC5300), both sticks will be used at 667Mhz.
So, if you are not sure which type of memory the machine has (667/800Mhz, according to ACER), just buy PC6400 memories.
EDIT – To use the dual-channel capacity of your motherboard, you must have two equal memory stick, either on quantity (same amount of MB\GB) and frequency (667Mhz\667Mhz or 800Mhz\800Mhz).
So, I would recommend just asking on the store precisely what type of memory the machine already has.
Worst case scenario, if the stick that already is on the machine runs at 667Mhz, the new stick will run at 667Mhz also.
If not (in case the memory already present on the computer is also PC6400), the machine will use all the 800Mhz bandwith of both memories.