just another RAM question

[TeLeMuNdO!]

i have some questions about different types of RAM. what do the numbers like 2700 and 3200 mean? if i have one stick of 2700, can i also put in a 3200? sorry for the noob question.

 

[bad-dog]

OK yes you can put them together usually BUT PC2700 means it runs at 333Mhz and PC3200 means it runs on 400Mhz if you put them together which i did once if i am not wrong both will run on 333Mhz.

 

[CrucialLabs]

Well, PC2700 means you will get a data transfer of 2700 megabytes per sesond and PC3200 transfers data at 3200 megabytes per second theoretically. You are correct bad-dog, when both modules are installed the faster module will run at the speed of the slowest module. Example: PC2700 and PC3200 together means both modules will work at PC2700 speeds. The sysem will run with both modules installed but you will not benefit from the faster module.

Hope this helps.

 

[TeLeMuNdO!]

yeah, it helped a lot, thanks. i am building my first comp, which i'll used mostly for gaming, do you think the 2700 will do okay with new age games? (vietnam, unreal 2004, etc.)

*i plan to have about a gig of RAM running on it*

 

[CrucialLabs]

Oh yes, PC2700 will run all the new games out there. I am using PC2700 in one of my computers now and it handles UT2004 and FarCry just fine. Just make sure your processor's FSB(Front Side Bus) speed is equal to the memory speed. If you get a processor with a FSB of 400MHz, you will need to get PC3200 memory and the same for a FSB of 333MHz get PC2700. One of the areas to pay close attention to is the video card. I have a Crucial Radeon 9800 128MB video card and it does not skip a beat on these games with all settings on ultra high. I have 768MBs of PC2700, so get at least 512MBs of memory and all games will rock!!

Hoe this helps.

 

[TeLeMuNdO!]

hmmm, i checked what frequency my memory was running at, and it was only like 165 hz. i have one 256 DDR-SDRAM 2700 and a 512 with the same specs. is there anyway i can change how fast they are running?