Question Ram Upgrade DDR3

[matricom86]

Hey there!

I have an old Gateway Desktop and looking to upgrade the 4GB of ram lol, specs:

Processor - Intel i3-540

Motherboard - H57H-AM2 V2.0

Ram present - 2x2GB 1333MHz

I found this old forum thread that interests me:

Using DDR3 1600MHz on intel i3 540

Hello everybody, yesterday i bought hyperX fury DDR3 4GB 1600MHz RAM, and i have intel i3 540 (3.06GHz), and motherboard MSI H55M-E23. But there is problem, today i found out that intel i3 540 supports 1333MHz RAM, what do i do now? I tried putting it in it show up screen with windows logo and...

forums.anandtech.com

I purchased 2x8GB 1333MHz DDR3 ram unknowingly and tried booting the computer but it stays at the gateway screen and also tried using 1 stick of 8gb ram but it threw system errors of "Thread exception not handled" and just loops.

Upon reading that old thread, it appears that with my processor and MB combo, i can only run 2gb single rank or 4gb dual rank memory.

So I have a couple questions:

1) The i3-540 processor says it can support up to 16gb, so does that mean i can run 4x4gb dual rank for a max of 16gb? Or am I limited to 4x4GB dual rank ram?

2) How would one know or find out that the combo of an i3-540 processor & my H57H-AM2 v2.0 MB, only be limited to 2GB single rank or 4GB dual rank, i can't find a thing but i did find that old forum thread on here?

Thanks in Advance!

 

[winr]

Not sure if this will help

MSI mobo, AM3 with Phenom X4 running at 3000 ghz... 16gig memory max

I bought DDR3 1600 memory here and the kind seller threw in more memory

I installed 4 sticks of DDR3 1333 on the mobo and it booted and runs fine
....
Intel mobo with core i7 2600 at 3.4 mhz, added 4 sticks of DDR3 1600 for 32 gig

The mobo defaults to 1333 and the 1600 memory dropped down to 1333

Runs fine
.....

Perhaps you need 4 sticks of 4 gig to work ??


Ricky.

 

[matricom86]

Not sure if this will help

MSI mobo, AM3 with Phenom X4 running at 3000 ghz... 16gig memory max

I bought DDR3 1600 memory here and the kind seller threw in more memory

I installed 4 sticks of DDR3 1333 on the mobo and it booted and runs fine
....
Intel mobo with core i7 2600 at 3.4 mhz, added 4 sticks of DDR3 1600 for 32 gig

The mobo defaults to 1333 and the 1600 memory dropped down to 1333

Runs fine
.....

Perhaps you need 4 sticks of 4 gig to work ??


Ricky.

Interesting! Thanks for that.

I guess my question is, based on that old forum thread, how would I know that I would only need 2GB Single rank or 4GB Dual Rank max per slot with my processor and mb set up.

I know my processor can run at 1066/1333 MHz.

The ram currently is 1333MHz so I bought 2x4GB 2Rx8 sticks and will try that.

I think my issue is that I bought 2x8GB 2Rx8 sticks and the desktop doesn't boot and it throw blue screens at me. But how would one know I am limited to 2GB SR or 4GB DR max? Trial and error lol?

 

[winr]

Ahhh, got it

EDIT: what brand memory did you buy ??

What operating system and is it 32 or 64 bit ??

When you install2 sticks of memory, are you using 1and 3 slot or 2 and 4 slot ??

I am curious now and going to search some for an answer to your question

Sometimes trial and error if that is all you have to go on, I will look and see if I have 4 x 4 gig DDR3 1333 sticks if you wish


Manual if you have none

User manual ECS H57H-M (English - 68 pages)

Manual ECS H57H-M. View the ECS H57H-M manual for free or ask your question to other ECS H57H-M owners.

www.manua.ls

Ricky.

 

[zir_blazer]

I'l just leave this here: https://www.downtowndougbrown.com/2...-ram-in-a-motherboard-that-doesnt-support-it/

 

[matricom86]

I'l just leave this here: https://www.downtowndougbrown.com/2...-ram-in-a-motherboard-that-doesnt-support-it/

Interesting Thanks!

 

[matricom86]

Ahhh, got it

EDIT: what brand memory did you buy ??

What operating system and is it 32 or 64 bit ??

When you install2 sticks of memory, are you using 1and 3 slot or 2 and 4 slot ??

I am curious now and going to search some for an answer to your question

Sometimes trial and error if that is all you have to go on, I will look and see if I have 4 x 4 gig DDR3 1333 sticks if you wish


Manual if you have none

User manual ECS H57H-M (English - 68 pages)

Manual ECS H57H-M. View the ECS H57H-M manual for free or ask your question to other ECS H57H-M owners.

www.manua.ls

Ricky.

I just bought this brand off of amazon: Royemai

PC3-10600U 8GB Kit (2X4GB) DDR3 10600 1333MHz PC3-10600 4GB 2Rx8 240-pin Dimm CL9 1.5V Desktop RAM Memory Module​

I am waiting on the 4GB sticks to come in!

The 8GB 2Rx8 sticks that I got in last week, I tried both slots 2+4/1+3 as well as just trying 1-8GB stick per slot to no avail.

The I came across this thread:

Using DDR3 1600MHz on intel i3 540

Hello everybody, yesterday i bought hyperX fury DDR3 4GB 1600MHz RAM, and i have intel i3 540 (3.06GHz), and motherboard MSI H55M-E23. But there is problem, today i found out that intel i3 540 supports 1333MHz RAM, what do i do now? I tried putting it in it show up screen with windows logo and...

forums.anandtech.com

User Blastman stated:

"1600Mhz ram will run no problem with an i3-540. The 1600 ram will just run at a slower 1333Mhz which is the default memory speed settings for that CPU/MB H55 combo.

The problem you are likely having is with the higher memory chip density on newer modules -- SS (single-sided = one rank) versus DS (double-sided = dual rank) modules. H55 is listed to only officially support 2GB SS or 4GB DS modules. It turns out that H55 can support 4GB SS or 8GB DS modules but you need an i5/i7 to run them. They're not officially supported AFAIK, but all user reports that I have seen say they have no problem running them on i5/i7.

i3 on the other hand, can only run with 2GB SS or 4GB DS modules on H55 chipsets. Your 4GB memory modules only have 1 side populated with chips = SS so they won't work.

This wasn't a problem 4-5 years when Clarkdale came out ago as all the modules on the market then were using the lower density ram chips, so a 4GB memory module then was always DS. The problem is that almost all newer 4GB modules use the newer higher density memory chips and are SS modules, which won't run with an i3 on H55.

There are still some DS (2 rank) 4GB memory modules available, but they're relatively scarce."

Now, my current ram is 2x2GB dual rank 1333MHz, so i am assuming the max the MB can support is 4GB per slot?

So I will wait for the 4GB 2Rx8 1333MHz to come in and try those in slots 2+4!

 

[matricom86]

Ahhh, got it

EDIT: what brand memory did you buy ??

What operating system and is it 32 or 64 bit ??

When you install2 sticks of memory, are you using 1and 3 slot or 2 and 4 slot ??

I am curious now and going to search some for an answer to your question

Sometimes trial and error if that is all you have to go on, I will look and see if I have 4 x 4 gig DDR3 1333 sticks if you wish


Manual if you have none

User manual ECS H57H-M (English - 68 pages)

Manual ECS H57H-M. View the ECS H57H-M manual for free or ask your question to other ECS H57H-M owners.

www.manua.ls

Ricky.

Okay, so 4GB 2Rx8 per slot works! So I am running 4GB 2Rx8 1333MHz sticks in slots 2&4.

So I guess it true that my processor & mb combo can only support 2GB single rank or 4GB dual rank per channel!

Now I am interested to almost try another 4GB 2Rx8 in slots 1&3 to make 16GB total? Would only be another $20?

I have read though that having 4GB of dual rank memory in all 4 channels can actually hinder the speed to some degree and not necessarily make the desktop snappier. Any thoughts on this?

I have also read that 4GB of single rank ram in all 4 channels may be more beneficial but single rank ram is hard to find this old.

So, all in all....what decides that I can only have 2GB single rank or 4GB dual rank ram max per channel on my setup? The processor or motherboard, or the combo?

Again, if I hadn't come across that thread mentioned above, I would have had no clue scouring the web?

Although upgrading my HD to a snappier SSD would be my biggest gain for speed etc, i'm not sure i want to invest the money with this hardware.

I am just glad to have doubled the ram to 8GB, and the desktop being well 15 years old, it does basic tasks and I am fine with that and it is even fine for the kids for now!

Thanks!

 

[Seba]

If you run out of RAM on that PC, the performance drop is much greater than what you would lose with four sticks of RAM instead of two sticks. So monitor your RAM usage and decide based on that.

 

[mindless1]

Now I am interested to almost try another 4GB 2Rx8 in slots 1&3 to make 16GB total? Would only be another $20?

I have read though that having 4GB of dual rank memory in all 4 channels can actually hinder the speed to some degree and not necessarily make the desktop snappier. Any thoughts on this?

Although upgrading my HD to a snappier SSD would be my biggest gain for speed etc, i'm not sure i want to invest the money with this hardware.

I am just glad to have doubled the ram to 8GB, and the desktop being well 15 years old, it does basic tasks and I am fine with that and it is even fine for the kids for now!

The gain of moving from 8GB to 16GB is much more than the small potential drop in performance if any, but only if your use needs more than, say 6GB of memory. 6GB not 8GB because having plenty free to do file caching, makes a more significant difference when running from a HDD instead of SSD.

However you might find that you need to do tweaks to get certain boards stable with 4 modules installed, for example raising memory voltage slightly, which may not be possible on an OEM board's bios. This is where it can be useful to buy from a seller that guarantees compatibility like direct from Crucial, though I can appreciate not doing that today, with the inevitably higher prices they would charge. Today I would just get used modules to further decrease upgrade costs IF I were to jump from 8GB to 16GB which I wouldn't do yet because....

Before even considering investing another $20, I would take that $20 and get an SSD, even a small capacity one near that $20 price point, will make a more substantial difference in performance for everyday tasks. However what I usually do instead, is I will get a larger SSD for my primary use systems, then pull out the SSD that replaces, and put that into the older system that has no SSD yet.

I don't actually have any older systems not running off an SSD due to this. Even a very old laptop I don't want to part with just yet (runs Windows based automotive diagnostic software for the garage just fine) that doesn't have SATA, I added a PATA to SATA adapter to in order to run an SSD and even at 133MB/s peak speed, still much snappier to use.

Not having an old system running off a HDD, makes quite a difference in performance but also, nice not to have to factor for one going out of service due to an old HDD crashing so it won't even boot. You can get ~128GB used SSD now for about $10 delivered, maybe even free if you pay shipping, if you ask nicely and say it's for the kids, in a FS/FT forum.

 

[matricom86]

If you run out of RAM on that PC, the performance drop is much greater than what you would lose with four sticks of RAM instead of two sticks. So monitor your RAM usage and decide based on that.

Will do, thanks!

 

[matricom86]

The gain of moving from 8GB to 16GB is much more than the small potential drop in performance if any, but only if your use needs more than, say 6GB of memory. 6GB not 8GB because having plenty free to do file caching, makes a more significant difference when running from a HDD instead of SSD.

However you might find that you need to do tweaks to get certain boards stable with 4 modules installed, for example raising memory voltage slightly, which may not be possible on an OEM board's bios. This is where it can be useful to buy from a seller that guarantees compatibility like direct from Crucial, though I can appreciate not doing that today, with the inevitably higher prices they would charge. Today I would just get used modules to further decrease upgrade costs IF I were to jump from 8GB to 16GB which I wouldn't do yet because....

Before even considering investing another $20, I would take that $20 and get an SSD, even a small capacity one near that $20 price point, will make a more substantial difference in performance for everyday tasks. However what I usually do instead, is I will get a larger SSD for my primary use systems, then pull out the SSD that replaces, and put that into the older system that has no SSD yet.

I don't actually have any older systems not running off an SSD due to this. Even a very old laptop I don't want to part with just yet (runs Windows based automotive diagnostic software for the garage just fine) that doesn't have SATA, I added a PATA to SATA adapter to in order to run an SSD and even at 133MB/s peak speed, still much snappier to use.

Not having an old system running off a HDD, makes quite a difference in performance but also, nice not to have to factor for one going out of service due to an old HDD crashing so it won't even boot. You can get ~128GB used SSD now for about $10 delivered, maybe even free if you pay shipping, if you ask nicely and say it's for the kids, in a FS/FT forum.

Thanks for the detailed response! I will definitely try and get a small SSD! Always Learning!

 

[tcsenter]

Plain Jane JEDEC standard "OEM" modules organized as 2Rx8 should work fine in any of these OEM systems. The problem people are having is buying the "ov3rclok3rz" gimmick memory modules with flashy heatsinks and require over-volting to work at their advertised specs.

This is an example of what you need (the same stuff used by the major PC manufacturers in their prebuilt systems):