PC RAM upgrade?

DownSouth
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DownSouth
Edited Date/Time 4/9/2012 10:48pm
I am thinking of upgrading RAM in a HP pavilion a1720n desktop PC.

It came with 1 gig of RAM, (2 x 512mb) PC2-4200 DDR2-SDRAM modules.

I have 2 x 256mb PC2-3200 DDR2-SDRAM modules from an old Dell machine and am wondering if I can install those into the 2 open slots on the motherboard.

I have read that RAM is backwards compatible, ie the PC2-4200 will work on a PC that came with PC2-3200, but can't find if the 3200 will work on a machine that came with 4200.
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supr_fly_tnt
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supr_fly_tnt 4/7/2012 11:45am
4/7/2012 11:45am
as far as i know dell ram will only work in dell machines. but dont quote me on that. but the motherboard is setup to utilize the high memory on the fastest module in whatever first slot it is in. so you would never really see a difference anyway as the 3200 would probably not be utilized for much of anything. best bet is to go to ebay or craigslist and buy 2 more 1gig modules. also, there is no reason to upgrade to too much ram if your frontside bus is below 1gig. your best bet then would be to upgrade your video card as your motherboard will subsidize that memory ...you can also increase the size of your page file.
Ish
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Ish 4/7/2012 5:16pm
4/7/2012 5:16pm
They should throttle down to the lowest speed, but it always depends on the motherboard. 512mb ram isn't much of an upgrade.
ocscottie
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ocscottie 4/8/2012 10:28am
4/8/2012 10:28am
DS, RAM is so cheap right now just order 2 x 2gb sticks and be done with it.
SteveS
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SteveS 4/8/2012 10:41am
4/8/2012 10:41am
Actually 2x1GB. Max RAM addressing in 32 bit Vista is just over 3GB.

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nwrider82
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nwrider82 4/9/2012 2:32am
4/9/2012 2:32am
The other thing to keep in mind is that your motherboard uses a dual-channel memory architecture (almost all do) which effectively doubles the data transfer rate if you're using two identical memory sticks. If you have more/less than this, the sticks aren't identical, or aren't in the correct slots then it won't utilize the dual-channel memory architecture.

To answer your original question, yes you can use those two sticks but it will cause a few issues:
1) it will drop the memory speed from 533MHz to 400MHz
2) won't allow the system to utilize the dual-channel memory architecture

My advice is to buy 2GB ( 2 x 1GB ) PC2 5300 and be done with it, seriously it's only $32 bucks. This will also bump your memory speed up to 667MHz.

Also, for your reference here are your motherboard specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00864946&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3340228
DownSouth
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DownSouth 4/9/2012 6:52am
4/9/2012 6:52am
nwrider82 wrote:
The other thing to keep in mind is that your motherboard uses a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-channel_memory_architecture]dual-channel memory architecture[/url] (almost all do) which effectively doubles the data transfer rate...
The other thing to keep in mind is that your motherboard uses a dual-channel memory architecture (almost all do) which effectively doubles the data transfer rate if you're using two identical memory sticks. If you have more/less than this, the sticks aren't identical, or aren't in the correct slots then it won't utilize the dual-channel memory architecture.

To answer your original question, yes you can use those two sticks but it will cause a few issues:
1) it will drop the memory speed from 533MHz to 400MHz
2) won't allow the system to utilize the dual-channel memory architecture

My advice is to buy 2GB ( 2 x 1GB ) PC2 5300 and be done with it, seriously it's only $32 bucks. This will also bump your memory speed up to 667MHz.

Also, for your reference here are your motherboard specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00864946&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3340228
Are you saying to replace the 2 original 512 sticks (in the blue slots) with 2 x 1 gig sticks or to use the 1 gigs in the open slots (black) in addition to the originals?

When I first posted this I did not realize RAM was that cheap these days, I was just wondering if I could utilize some spare parts.
SteveS
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SteveS 4/9/2012 11:47am
4/9/2012 11:47am
I would put the 2x1GB in the two free slots. Most motherboards will continue to use dual channel memory architecture if the RAM is in matched pairs. Then you'd have the practical maximum of 3GB of addressable RAM.
nwrider82
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nwrider82 4/9/2012 3:53pm
4/9/2012 3:53pm Edited Date/Time 4/9/2012 3:54pm
DownSouth wrote:
Are you saying to replace the 2 original 512 sticks (in the blue slots) with 2 x 1 gig sticks or to use the 1 gigs...
Are you saying to replace the 2 original 512 sticks (in the blue slots) with 2 x 1 gig sticks or to use the 1 gigs in the open slots (black) in addition to the originals?

When I first posted this I did not realize RAM was that cheap these days, I was just wondering if I could utilize some spare parts.
Yeah I was saying to replace the 2 original 512 sticks with 2 x 1 gig sticks, but you could also do what SteveS suggested.
nwrider82
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nwrider82 4/9/2012 10:48pm
4/9/2012 10:48pm
I knew what you meant I was just giving you a bad time Tongue .

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