PC2100 and PC3200 mix not good?

[97tbird]

Guys, Thanks for educationg me in a lot of computer stuff in the past few days/weeks.

My PC normally runs on PC2100 (DDR266) memory.
I have a PC2100 512MB module and an OEM 128MB module in my desktop right now, and want to replace the 128MB with another 512MB.

However, as PC2100 is now old, they're so expensive, and I was wondering if I can buy a PC3200 (much cheaper) 512MB instead and add it to the PC.
With the other 512MB module being PC2100, will it cause problems if I add a new PC3200 module? I knwo there are no benefits because the PC will run at PC2100 anyway, but the price is much lower for PC3200...

should I or not...??

 

[klaymon]

You should see no ill effects. Like you already said, it will run at the speed of the slowest module. Some motherboards are finicky about the brand of RAM installed (I've run into this before). There is a slim chance that you may install the new RAM and the system will not boot. If that is the case, you'll have to try a different brand. If in doubt go to www.crucial.com. They have a scanning program that can determine which memory you may need.

 

[97tbird]

thanks, that's where I got the first 512MB, and it worked fine.
However, I just chatted with their online "expert" and he says not to mix 2100 and 3200 (said I can have stability issues)...I really would like to get the PC3200, though...due to lower price. (not low price at crucial by the way...they're not cheap at all, even for PC3200; but I checked the price on Newegg from other brands, PC3200, same clock latency, same 512MB: they're about 50% cheaper than Crucial)...

so you think that the "expert" at Crucial is worried for no reason? I hope so.

 

[97tbird]

another thing that confuses me is:
I have a Compaq Presario 6400NX with an AMD Athlon CPU; when I got to the HP/Compag website it lists the max amt of memory that can be had as 1GB; However the Crucial scanner tells me I can go up to 2GB! I asked them about this, and they didn't have a clear answer for this.
I found the manual for my motherboard (AM-27), and that also lists max as 2GB...I wonder which source I should trust...

 

[JeepZJ4.0]

If its a high quality chip, the PC3200 will downgrade itself. Now I'm not sure if it will downgrade itself to 266 but it will to 333 (PC2700).

 

[Rand]

They will run at the speed the motherboard is set to
(the slow memory)

The timing is provided by the motherboard.. the chip wont be
slowing itself down.. the motherboard runs everything.

You could use 2(1gig) chips for a capacity of 2gig.

Finally. The mix will either work or it wont.. no exact way to tell.
Try it if the computer works fine for a couple days its fine.
You get wierd rebooting, bluescreens, random wacko errors..
its not working.