Page 2 - Memory running slower than it should?

what options did it remove/grey out?

Can't remember. It was quite a while ago. Something to do with overclocking.

So is 1.5GB at 100MHz worth it? Not much slower than the 133 I'm currently getting.

i would honestly say that its not really worth it... i'd still overclock the system to see if you can get a little more mhz out of the ram.

such a pity you cant get dual channel working...

A different motherboard will probably do the trick. Can you recommend some good older ones? Might just get a used one if it's cheap.

Also thanks for your time. You're being very helpful.

it would honestly probably be very hard to find a s478 in this day and age.

my best recommendation would be to get a really cheap core2 duo/motherboard and ram combo and it will probably beat whatever you have now. only thing you would be lacking with that is a video card, but you can probably go integrated for that.

Also, not necessarily a different motherboard, but the mere fact that you are playing with different branded ram, most motherboards dont like that. different sizes doesn't help that much either.

How RAM and CPU processing work to determine if you have a problem with your computer running very slow.

So what's the difference between RAM and CPU? First of all, RAM stands for Random Access Memory and can be thought of as the holding tank for running processes. The more RAM you have, the more programs you can run. I might also add that RAM works with Virtual Memory where a section on the hard drive is reserved to act as secondary RAM. Also, RAM is accessed much faster than a hard drive. CPU stands for Central Processing Units and this is where many mathematical computations occur. The computations are processed by the CPU which fuels the applications running on your system. The faster your CPU, the faster your applications can run.

If you look at RAM vs CPU, they do two different tasks. The CPU will run the application and store the processed results in the RAM. However, for most computer users, multitasking is a popular activity on the computer. Therefore, running several programs need to be held in RAM. On a visual perspective, CPU will be demonstrated most by how fast a program will initiate where RAM will demonstrate it's ability to handle several programs at once. If you notice that it takes a long time for a program to start when you have a sufficient amount of RAM, then you may need to upgrade your CPU. If you have a decent CPU speed, but notice that you are experiencing your computer running very slow with only 3-4 programs running, you may need to upgrade your RAM.

To reiterate, CPU handles how fast a program will start or perform and the RAM handles the load of the programs currently running. By understanding the difference between the CPU and the RAM, you can determine what type of hardware upgrade you may need. If you still experience your computer running very slow despite having sufficient RAM vs CPU, then you may have a software or operating system issue.

uhm... what?

speed of ram also dictates how fast a program can run/operate. its not all cpu-based. ram is, yes, a sort of "tank" - but if you cant fill the tank up fast enough - slow ram - you still experience slow programs. same thing happens if you cant "empty" the "tank" fast enough.

you also forgot to mention the biggest slow down of the computer world as well as the last hurdle to insane computing performance: the hard drive. Hard drives are what store the applications in the first place. when you start up an applicatio, you have to read the data off the hard drive - and that is what slows down the computer most. Ram is mainly for modifications done in applications - such as photoshopping and processing an effect on an image. this process will be affected mainly by cpu - yes, but believe me, Ram speed does play a role in it. Ever tried doing single channel tests versus dual channel? i have - and it wasnt pleasant. first boot on my pc i was runing ddr400 1gb single chanel on my A64. once windows was installed - it felt slow - too slow for a brand new system, about the same performance as my old p3 866 mhz if not just a tad faster. shoving the ram into dual chanel significantly sped up the system. same goes with tightening timings on ram as well as clocking it up. Superpi the benchmarking app will show you that ram speeds have a huge impact on calculations done by applications such as superpi.

Of course, in this case, we are talking about something already slow going to even slower - ddr266 is hardly speedy - especially single chanel - going to ddr200 single channel. honestly, that sounds really really slow. i would not want to try such a system myself.

As well, one thing that i have not mentioned is that the memory's speed/dual chanel is determined by the VIA northbridge chip on your motherboard - unlike the A64s which have the memory controller integrated into the processor. older pentium 3s, athlon xps as well as newer intel core 2 duos and intel based laptops still have ram access through the northbridge chip. - this will change when intel releases Nehalem. so yes, indeed, in this case, the motherboard is the problem when it comes to this dual chanel problem as well as "slow ram". Via chipsets also dont tend to overclock very well and IIRC, p4 boards werent all that great either - thus my recomendation to simply save up and buy a new pc when the time comes. - its much more worth it than trying to fix a system that will never see the day of 2 gb ram dual channel anyways - ddr2 is really chap these days, i can easily snap up 2gb ddr2 800mhz from ocz 4-4-4-12 timings for only 30$ and i can get 4gb kit from ocz for a mere 85$. Compared to DDR400 for which i can only find 2gb kits for already 118$ - insanely pricey.

Plus, that board means you will be stuck on an AGP based Board - which is quite honestly prety much dead right now.

Sure, I'm planning to buy a new high-end machine. But till then, I want to fix this one up.

fix - but at what price?

i'd honestly say stick with 1 gb and learn to overclock. its a great asset for the future.

I have a kn9 abit mother board . can I speed up my memory, If so any directions would be appreciated