Memory upgrade

[Teds]

I have a Pavilion a1677c, with 2gb of memory and wish to add 1gb more. My pc uses 240 pin sdram ddr2 Pc2-4200. My queston is, can I upgrade using Pc2-5300 memory - is it compatable with the Pc2-4200 currently in my computer?

[necrophyte]

Memory

Component AttributesMemory Installed 2 GB

Component AttributesMaximum allowed 4 GB* (4 x 1 GB)
Speed supported PC2-4200 MB/sec Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM

*Actual available memory may be less

in fact, you can install any 240 pin ddr2 memory, but it will only run at effective 533mhz, if any memory above pc2-4200 is installed, since it will be downclocked due to the motherboard not supporting higher clocked memory than pc2-4200 (effective 533mhz).

however, there should be some bios options to "overclock" the ram (eg. SFS - stepless frequency control), with which you could make pc2-5300 memory run at (nearly) its stock frequency of effective 667mhz, instead of running downclocked to 533mhz (the same with higher clocked memory as well).

if dual channel is supported, i would recommend installing 4x1gb pc2-4200 (or higher, if overclocking is possible) of same ram modules (ie. the exact same ram models), since dual channel mode yields more performance than using just a bit higher clocked memory. the same with the latency (memory timings) - tweaking these (inside the bios) for your current ram (or any) can yield better performance than upgrading ram "just a bit" - and the step from pc2-4200 to pc2-5300 is "just a small" step up, especially if the motherboard only supports pc2-4200.

EDIT: this is the consumer-line notebooks forum. the right forum for your pc is http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg?category.id=DesktopPC

Message Edited by necrophyte on 09-03-2009 03:46 PM

[erico]

@Necrophyte

FYI

Unfortunately, just "any" RAM modules will not work in an HP PC.

 If you don't want to waste $$$, it is wise to purchase RAM from a major memory manufacturer and go to their website to find out which memory modules the company guarantees to work in a particular HP pc. 

HP BIOS chips are custom coded. Tweaking of either primary or secondary memory timings and VDIMM or CPU or bus voltages cannot be done within the OEM BIOS.

regards,

erico

[necrophyte]

ok thanks, didnt know that this also is the case on desktop pcs, thought they have stock phoenix bioses etc.

[erico]

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necrophyte wrote:
ok thanks, didnt know that this also is the case on desktop pcs, thought they have stock phoenix bioses etc.

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Hi Necrophyte,

Nope. Hp BIOS are custom coded ROM files on  laptops/notebooks/netbooks and desktops.

 regards,

erico