I would like to increase the memory in my computer. I have at this moment got 512mb and would like to increase it by putting in a further 1gb.
As you will see I'm not the sharpest knife in the box when it comes to computers.
This is the make and discription of my motherboard.
MSI. MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL. MSI K7 Mainboard.
Via KT400A Chipset Based.
KT4AV. Designed for AMD Athlon XP processors.
MSI 333 edition
Dual DDT400. 3GB memory bandwith.
Support AGP8X
10/100 Ethernet LAN.
5.1 Channel audio.
I have typed out everything I can see.
SyS Sandra. reads. MSI MS-6712. Version 07-00T. 512 DDR SDRAM.
Would someone be kind enough to advise me which 1gb card I have to buy that will be the right one for this motherboard.
Will it be alright to put the 1gb in and leave the 512mb in place or does that have to be taken out.
Sorry for being so long winded. But I dont want to buy the wrong thing.
Cheers.
Dave.

The problem is that your memory won't run in Dual-Channel mode if you stick a separate 1GB DIMM in there.

If you want 1.5GB, I'd suggest 1x512MB DIMM and 2x256MB DIMMs, BUT that board only has 3 slots for RAM.

I suspect that 2x512MB of RAM in dual channel will perform better than 1.5GB in single channel. You may also want to consider 2x1GB DIMMs instead.

You are right there are only 3 slots.
So it seems that by buying one more 512mb would at least improve the memory and would be for the moment a less expensive upgrade answer.

What would be the specification needed for the 512mb? There seems to be a multitude of types to choose from.
I will look at the your idea to put in 2 x 1gb as well though, so could you tell me what the specification would be for those as well.
The reason I ask this is I have not the foggiest idea which to buy
I see all sorts of models and types, 128 pins and such mentioned but I do not know which type I need. Also 266MHZ 333MHZ. I seem to remember from somewhere that anything higher than 333 would not work on this motherboard. ( but I may be wrong )
Cheers.
Dave.

Well, DDR400 will work with your motherboard, but it'll run at DDR333.

Something like this should work fine in your system.

Basically, for either 512MB or 1GB sticks, you want 184 pin DDR SDRAM DDR333 (also known as PC2700) which runs at 2.5v, as that's the industry standard for DDR RAM. Avoid any DDR2 RAM, as it won't work!

There's not really a great deal more to consider, except that some older motherboards can be very picky about mixing RAM brands, or even different lines from the same manufacturer's product range. Generally speaking, though, it isn't a major issue - I never had any problems with my old Socket-A motherboard and mixed brands. Do pay attention though to the CAS latencies, as different RAM performs at different speeds, and the system BIOS may get confused by different CAS latencies on the RAM, and set the latencies too low for one of the sticks. If there is a problem, it will manifest itself through random freezes and restarts, usually, but may also lead to application errors. If this happens, setting the latencies manually in the BIOS to match the slowest RAM module can fix the problem.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask

Dear 100thmonkey.
Thank you for your advice. I shall now upgrade and if I have problems I now know who to call on for help. If the BIOS plays up I may need some more help.
Cheers
Dave.

No worries

Just a quicky.
I have now looked at a number of sticks that tick all the boxes you set out except the one thing that often does not always appear, the "SDRAM" discription. All the other things are mentioned.
Is this important that it must be included in the products discription?

I have also spotted a 1gb stick that fits the bill but it says its "HIGH DENSITY", as you did not mention this I wondered if his means it would not function on my old motherboard.

Cheers.
Dave.

Oh and that doesnt mention SDRAM either.
Cheers.
Dave

Damn miss a bit.
It says it works with KT400 and KT400A but not with ASUS boards.
As usual I'm in the dark.
Cheers
Dave

High density will probably refer to the fact that the RAM has 512MB per side on the stick.

SDRAM is Synchronous Dynamic RAM - AFAIK, all the RAM that fits into a standard desktop PC is SDRAM. Mine certainly is.

As far as the compatibility goes, if it says it works with the Via KT400 chipset, it will work with that chipset regardless of board manufacturer. I think that pretty much any DDR333 (PC2700) RAM will work with the board.

Why not have 512 x 512 x 1Gb then?

Computwiz

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I am always about if you need a quick answer to how to fix a problem

It won't run in interleaved mode with 3 DIMMs.