Another computer nerd question - The Drunken stepFORUM - A place to discuss your worthless opinions

gallow737 · #1 04-12-2010, 09:56 PM

My computer is not in shambles this time, don't worry... at least not yet, I'm about ot try and reboot Windows again because I need the Adobe suite.

Regardless, that's not my point. I'm interested in upgrading my computer's RAM, but a friend told me that if my processor can't handle it it's a waste of money, so I'm basically asking folks on here how much RAM my processor will be able to handle?

I have a AMD Athlon 64x Dual Core 4200+ and I think they're running at 2.4ghz. I currently have 2GB of RAM and I'd like to upgrade to 4GB, primarily because I do enjoy Ubuntu a lot, and if I had more RAM I'd use VirtualBox to run a virtual machine so I can do my work on Windows, but I don't have nearly enough RAM to delegate to running Windows smoothly.

So basically I would like to know if this processor will be able to handle a RAM upgrade double what I currently have? I'm not even sure if this is an issue or not, I just want to make sure before I take a plunge into buying some RAM. If it isn't, is it possible that it could process more than 4GB? My computer was built about 5 years ago back when this dual core was the best you could get on the market and 2GB of RAM was top of the line for a consumer PC.

Striker · #2 04-12-2010, 10:04 PM

Your CPU can support 4GB. 64bit CPUs can even go way higher than that. It's more a question of what the motherboard can handle. See how many ram slots you have. If you have 4, then I'd recommend getting 4x1GB sticks. If you have less than four, then you will have to make sure that your motherboard can support a stick larger than 1GB in a single slot. Some motherboards even have it set up so you have to use certain slots before others. If you have different colored slots then that is an indication of this. Always start from the left slot (the one closest to the CPU).

MrGoutHimself · #3 04-12-2010, 10:04 PM

It's not the processor alone you need to be worried about. The motherboard plays a big part in how much RAM and what type you can install (processor too). With the age of the processor I would guess that you would top out at 3 or 3.25GB of RAM. The question then is what type of motherboard do you have and how many slots?

gallow737 · #4 04-12-2010, 10:11 PM

can't tell right off the bat, I'll have to unpluig and take it apart.

I know it's an Asus A8N-SLI motherboard

MrGoutHimself · #5 04-12-2010, 10:16 PM

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Yeah, that board can take 4GB of DDR(1) at 400/333/256 (I'd suggest 400 if you're buying all of them).

TheSNakE · #6 04-12-2010, 10:17 PM

Got an Intel mb with 4 one gig ram chips but windows only recognizes 3 gigs. Apparently this has something to do with my AGP card. My mb shows all 4 chips.

gallow737 · #7 04-12-2010, 10:19 PM

Thanks, SRD. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

Though, I just found a message board thread that apparently claims that Windows XP Pro (which is what I'd be installing) isn't configured to handle more than 3GB of RAM.

Is that true?

EDIT: Guess so, according to Snake. Damn that sucks.

MrGoutHimself · #8 04-12-2010, 10:23 PM

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It it true, I have the same problem. Got an older Dell 8400 with 4 Gigs of DDR2 in it, but it only sees 3 of them.

gallow737 · #9 04-12-2010, 10:25 PM

just looking at the basics I've learend over the past few minutes... wouldn't a Windows XP Pro x64 edition be able to handle more than 3GB. On the wiki page it says something about it being able to handle up to 128GB or some crazy shit?

Striker · #10 04-12-2010, 10:25 PM

Yeah, the OS is more of a limitation then the proc. Just do yourself a favor and upgrade to 7 now. 7 is pretty awesome once you get used to the UI changes.