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- HP Community
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- Upgrading Memory
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10-16-2009 01:31 PM
I've just gotten a Paviliion a1710n, 4200+, and a paltry 2-sticks of 512MB RAM! Various sites (HP, Asus) say the NobusM3/Asus A8M2N-LA mobo will take up to 4-GB of RAM at 667Mhz and a 6000+ Athlon x2 proc. There is some difficulty determining if I can go to the more accessible PC-6400 RAM (with higher latency) or stick with 533Mhz (at 4 or 5 latency). Since Asus won't give out details on the mobo, the questioo becomes whether I stick with HP's word that
5000+ is the fastest proc allowed, or go with proc stats that indicate the mobo will support up to 6400+ (if I can match the wattage, SQI and other specs.) Any chance of some inside information, since I'd like to stay with this mobo, if possible??
As for RAM, I'm partial to Crucial and I know the mobo needs matched sets of sticks. (In my case, two sets of 1G sticks for dual channel.) I run Vista-32 Home Prem, and if my upgrades work, I'll upgrade to W7-64 Home Prem.
10-16-2009 01:50 PM - last edited on 02-20-2017 01:59 PM by OscarFuentes
When HP released the specification for your NodusM3 motherboard those were the known specs at the time - probably why HP lists 5000+ (PLUS) as the max known (at that time). You should be safe installing PC2 5300 (667 MHz) upgraded memory as long as they are matched pairs from the same manufacter.
BTW - Your main performance inhibitor for your system is not 1GB memory. It's the GPU. Your system comes with onboard GeForce 6150 LE. If it were me, I would toss in a newer decent PCIEx1 graphic card. If you install a new video card, the system will reallocate the memory it is assigning to onboard back to the system and the bus will be free'd up since your card will do a lot more of the work.
Please post rather than send me a message. It's good for the community and I might not be able to get back quickly. - Thank you.
10-16-2009 02:01 PM
Re: the RAM.. my local tech is pushing PC6400 RAM, the next faster level, which the mobo doesn't claim to support. Since both 533 & 667Mhz cost
the same, is there any advantage/disadvantage to going with 667Mhz (4- 1G sticks)?? The other worry is the latency. The PC4200 ram installed operates
at 4... the newer, faster stuff at 5 & 6. The mobo doesnt allow adjustments.
Video is adequate with the onboard G6150... but a video card is the next step after the RAM issue. Then a proc upgrade.. then a second 1.5T hard drive, so I can unload data from the primary HD.
Back to RAM... should I stick with 533MHz sticks to be safe? And would they work well with the upgraded proc?
10-16-2009 02:22 PM
If I were you, I would not try to install PC6400. It probably will not work. If you want, search around the Internet and this forum to see if anyone else has tried and succeeded.
Downside to 4 sticks @ 1 GB... 32-bit operating systems can only use about ~3.3 - 3.6. In your case, since you are using onboard video ... it should be on the lower side.
I doubt you'd notice any difference in speed if you upgraded from 4 to 6 CAS latency. You'll get much more from the 4200 to 5300 jump. CAS is basically about when the data from memory is ready to be piped over the bus. An example is this... think of a memory system with CAS4 sending data to the bus. Out of 20 times... say 10 pieces of data have to sit and wait (for the next *bus cycle* to arrive). CAS6 might have only 5 that wait. These examples are just example - I do not know the exact figures and these would be different anyway depending on the components in the system. Regardless we are talking about extremely small amounts of time and there are other things you can do to free up the BUS ... which is more beneficial to thesystem as a whole - your video card for one example. Another might be removing a card that you do not use... uninstalling software that runs in the background, using powered USB hubs, etc...
Your onboard video enters into your RAM equation - it is stealing RAM and clock cycles from your system. You really don't *have* 1 GB of *system* memory.. it's more like like you have 1 GB system memory minus 256MB (or whatever the card is using).
Yes... you should stick to 533 exactly paired. If you successfully upgrade the processor, the memory should work well... if not a little better.
Please post rather than send me a message. It's good for the community and I might not be able to get back quickly. - Thank you.
10-16-2009 03:14 PM
RAM won't completely work with Vista32, but I'm looking forward to W7-64. While you were pondering, I was over at NewEgg picking out some RAM,
so I'll be getting the 5300 stuff. While I was at it, I "saved" picks for a video card (9500-512mb) , a 500 watt PSU, and I'l replacing all the ribbon cables
with the nice wrapped ones for better ventilation! The next big issue will be how big a proc I can use on this mobo and adding the big HD! Thanks!
10-16-2009 07:27 PM
RAD45,
My pleasure. Enjoy your *new* PC.
gohokies,
Thanks a ton for taking the time to come back and fill us in. I'll remember what you and SR went through when I respond in the future.
Please post rather than send me a message. It's good for the community and I might not be able to get back quickly. - Thank you.
10-23-2009 12:43 AM
I acquired 2 new sticks of 3200/512 ram for this PC. I -know- they work, im using them right now. When I try to install 3 sticks into my mobo It goes to post and freezes right before/as its doing the memory test forcing a hard reboot. If I install ram into all 4 slots It fails to boot and instead gives me a long repeating post beep indicating a memory problem. But I know all 4 sticks work, they just wont work TOGETHER for some reason. The only thing I haven't done is update the bios. The latest version available for this PC has nothing but bad reviews nor does it mention any possible fixes for my problems. I've reseated the RAM and tried every possible combination.
Current system specs as as follows.
Compaq Presario SR1650NX
PSU: Thermaltake Purepower 500
CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 Dualcore 3800+
Video: GeForce 8600GT
RAM: Currently bouncing back and force between the RAM that came with it(2x 3200/512,generic) and some more generic(Hynix) 2x 3200/512 with the same speed(400Mhz) and CL rating.(CL:3)
MoBo: A8AE-LE (AmberineM)
They work independently, not together. I've worked on computers my entire life and the reasoning behind this problem escapes me. I'm starting to think maybe that slots 2 and 4 may just be bad. All documentation seems to say I should have an easy and clean install, but that isn't the case. Please help.
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