Too Much RAM

[paulselhi]

i mentioned in an ealier topic that some computers can actually take a perfomance hit from too much RAM

here's some more on this subject

Some say you can never have too much RAM--within the limits of your system, anyway. However, there are a couple rules of thumb. First, know thy motherboard. Be aware of which chipset you have in your system.

In some cases, adding too much memory can actually slow down your computer. To understand why, you need to know the difference between level 1 and level 2 cache. Level 1 cache (also known as L1 cache) is inside the CPU itself, and you really have no control over it. The level 2 cache (also known as L2 cache) on Pentium, AMD K6, and Cyrix systems is external to the chip. The L2 cache on the Pentium Pro and Pentium II is inside the CPU package (though still external to the CPU chip itself).

Pentium, K6, and Cyrix systems run on motherboards with a variety of core logic chipsets. However, some of them are designed so that the L2 cache only works with the first 64MB of RAM in your system. Two of the most common Pentium-class chipsets available--Intel 430VX and 430TX chipsets--are designed this way.

Pentium-class motherboards that have the 430HX chipset can probably cache up to 512MB of RAM, but a few motherboard makers cut corners and left out a critical TAG RAM chip and--you guessed it--those boards can only cache the first 64MB or RAM. As far as we know, motherboards that use the VIA Apollo or SIS chipsets can cache more than 64MB, but be wary. Pentium II, Pentium III, Celeron, K6-2/3, and Pentium Pro systems don't have this problem; all can cache up to 512MB of RAM.

In all cases with RAM, you need to consult the Motherboard Booklet that cam with your computer or new motherboard for information about the RAM that your motherboard supports. Using the incorrect RAM can seriously damage your motherboard

[paulselhi]

if you are upgrading your RAM memory, a computer using Windows 95 or Windows 98 (first edition) will not recognise more than 256MB. Moreover RAM that Windows cannot cache (recognise) will be accessed as slowly as the virtual memory swap file (win386.swp) that Windows creates on the boot hard disk drive to use when the amount of RAM runs out. Your Operating System must have Windows 98SE and beyond to use more than 256MB of RAM.

Moreover, it has now become known the Windows 98 SE (second edition) has trouble with 512MB of RAM and more. Windows 9.x systems were not designed to use large amounts or RAM. Most home users of Windows 9.x are unlikely to require this much RAM in any case, so, if possible, it is advisable to install less than 512MB. If you need to use more, use Windows 2000, or Windows XP, both of which are based on the Windows NT architecture. Windows 95, 98, and Me are based on Windows 95 architecture.

If you have more than 512MB of RAM installed and this causes problem, you can restrict the amount of RAM used to 512MB (or any other amount) by entering msconfig in the Start => Run box, clicking the Advanced button, and enter the appropriate restriction in the Limit memory to... box - and enable it with a check mark.

Apparently, there is a configuration file fix that can be applied to make Windows 98 function with as much RAM as you are likely to throw at it. If you require the details, ask for them at a newsgroup such as alt.windows98.

You can read more about this in a Knowledge Base (KB) article Q253912 at Microsoft's site -

http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q253/9/12.asp

The moral of the story - if you have an ageing PC, always find out how much RAM your motherboard can cache before upgrading.

Windows 2000

According to received opinion, this is the situation at present.

Windows 2000 needs at least 128MB of RAM to work properly. More RAM comes in handy when multitasking in Windows 2K. The Council on Computing Power has launched a new Windows 2000 info-site, with articles, studies and more...

Windows XP

Windows XP, Microsoft's latest 32-bit series of operating systems for both the home and dedicated server and workstation networking has a recommendation of a minimum system requirement of 128MB of RAM, with 256MB preferred.

[SilkWebs]

Windows XP, Microsoft's latest 32-bit series of operating systems for both the home and dedicated server and workstation networking has a recommendation of a minimum system requirement of 128MB of RAM, with 256MB preferred.

Hi there,

Although I am not running a Pentium, I do have XP H/E and it totally rocks, with the 1024MB DDR I have installed in my AMD Athlon 1.3. The processor has a 128 kilobyte primary memory cache and a 256 kilobyte secondary memory cache.

The MB is an ASUS A7A266; Bus Clock: 133 mHz
I would never install another ASUS MB. This one had some stability issues initially, and from what I read on ASUS boards, in general. A feature I don't use on this board is the dual RAM - SDR/DDR. I prefer DDR. (cheaper too, on the average)

I did find that my Win98SE didn't support more than 512MB on an identical Athlon in the office. At least with XP, I have less lock up and crashes.

There is still something funky going on with some file properties that I have yet to resolve in XP.

Anyone else running Athlon -vs- Pentium chips?

Thanks,

Silk