Ram upgrade How do I know how much RAM the motherboard will support? I have CPUz, so I have information, but I don't know what it all means (obviously!) What should I be looking for to know what size of RAM to use? DDR PC2700? DDR PC3200? I am guessing that I am unable to use a DDR2/PC2-5300 2 Gig stick. Thanks again for helping someone who is just starting to learn this tech stuff! :-)

Hi,
For details about your CPU, Motherboard, RAM etc, I suggest that you download CPUz. Click here to download CPUz
This useful utility will provide you all the details like bus speed, RAM installed, slots etc.

Good Luck!
CreativeTECH

You can use CPUZ, and see mainboard tab, to get motherboard model...

The Kingston memory web site is an excellent source of memory spec information even if you don't buy their memory.

For the SK8N motherboard, they provide information on restrictions here: (click here)

Read the System Information tab to make sure that you're using the proper memory speed for the processor that you are using.

Hello and welcome to fixya.

First of all you need to mention why you have to buy only one motherboard and not any other parts of a computer.
Questions that need to be answered on this matter are as below:

(A) Are you replacing an old/broken motherboard on your computer? -> If so please replace with the same model or one from a similar range of models as this would eliminate any further hardware compatibility issues, especially for old motherboard brands or discontinued brands.

(B) Are you upgrading your hardware of your computer to support more RAM, more hard disk drives, better graphics card or RAID? -> If so please check according to the other peripherals you intend to install (GFX card or amount of RAM or Hard Disks that you have in mind installing) and based on that information order the most appropriate motherboard model.
If you intend to do RAID, many higher Gigabyte motherboard models or ASUS will do the trick. Same goes for graphics cards or if you intend to install dual graphics cards (via SLi technology).
Also, RAM and CPU types are important to buying a new motherboard, please see more for Motherboard CPU sockets, chipsets. As for memory check if it is dual or single channel and check what type is your RAM DDR2 or DDR3 and at what frequency (MHz) they operate.

(C) Do you have some spare parts only and looking to just change a motherboard to setup a new pc from the beginning? -> If that is the case, then you should be looking for lower-end brands like Foxconn, Superchip, Acer etc. These might be also compatible with older hardware and do what you need them to do, but of medium quality.


Overall there are couple of software that can help you gather information about your current system configuration:

1 - CPUZ RAM, CPU, Chipset information etc..
2 - HWMonitor RAM Detailed information (Voltage types etc..)

Please let me know if this is enough to get you started or need more information.

**PLEASE RATE THIS SOLUTION ACCORDINGLY!**

Regards, FixYa.

Thanks.

a good program to use is called CPUZ, if you install and run it, it will tell you the model of your motherboard, the cpu you have installed and the ram type and speed you are using.
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php go there and download the latest version (top left of the page), that being CPU-Z 1.53 Setup at the time of writing this solution.

Download a cpuz software from cpuz.com. It will give important details about the motherboard,memory and graphics card in your system.

Standard Memory 256 (256MB x1 Removable) Maximum Memory 1 GB The standard memory of your system is 256 Mbytes and the maximum memory it supports is 1 Gbytes.
So you can either upgrade the RAM by adding 1 stick of 256 Mbytes (for a total of 512 MB) or buy two sticks of 512 Mbytes each (for a total and maximum memory of 1 Gbytes).
You are looking for PC2700 DDR Memory.
In any case, check the memory you have installed.
You can download a free utility like CPUZ that will give your information about your system, including the number of memory slots available and used and the memory (amount and type) installed: http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz/cpuz_152_setup.exe

You can use CPU-Z to find the details on your northbridge
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Make sure you remove the battery before removing or inserting the ram :)

No worries about it not being dual channel as most laptop arent.

DDr (double data rate) ram runs at 200MHz but is actually 400 one the double data rate is applied so they are one and the same :)

I hope its a sodimm stick of ram that you bought? They are about 3i inches long rather than 6 like desktop ram?

Ah you have found out one of the great things about confusing naming standards. Often times, 200Mhz memory is called 400Mhz if it is DDR because DDR stands for "Double Data Rate".

It still operates at 200Mhz speed, but since it doubles the data it is sometimes refered to (wrongly) as 400Mhz.

On the upside, all DDR-I ram is backwards compatible. So there should be no problems. However sometimes different memory sticks dont play well together.

What I would do is this:

1) Shutdown computer, UNPLUG computer - wait 5 minutes
2) Open computer
3) Remove old Ram stick and replace with the new stick
4) Replace cover, plug in and boot to windows.

If everything works fine, then do step 1-2 again, but this time add the old stick you removed before, and place it in the unused slot.

Again check that the computer functions properly. If it does not, remove the old stick.