Yeah i had a look but when i did the wizard thing it didnt show any 512mb sticks as being compatible. and at £77.54 for a stick of PC100 256mb compared to £49 for my PC133 512mb you can see why its not gonna happen

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This sounds like a similar problem that I had not too long ago. I had pc100 sdram and I added a 256 sdram 133. It was only picked up as half-128. It too was Kingston but the value ram and it did say that it may not work on older mobo's. I didn't think that it would be a problem with mine but it was. The stick I had gotten had the chips all on one side of it while the others were on both sides. My old mobo would support 768 total so it would of been 256 in each slot which it had three. No matter what I did I could not get it to come up right. As for taking the stick back to the place that you got it, I don't think too many stores will take it back if it has already been opened. It seems like it is not compatible with your board. And the price is why I tried the pc133 too. <<< What life deals you is not your choice. How you play your hand, is. >>>

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Well, on the website it says the memory is Kingston - but the memory they gave me is Micron. So since they game me different to what was advertised im gonna use that to get them to try a different type in...hopefully that might be compatible with my system.

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I don't know how many times this has been discussed before, but you are trying to install "high density" RAM in a board that is designed for "low density" RAM. High density RAM will NOT work on a board that can not accept 512mb per slot! The usual symptom is either the RAM is recognized at 1/2 it's capacity (ex., 256 seen as 128), or it isn't recognized at all. There's no way around it, the only thing you can do is get the proper RAM for your board... http://home.cfl.rr.com/bjp/Sdram.htm

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That is why I send echobunny to crucial.

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so how can i tell if ram being sold is high density or low density? and dont say "get it from crucial" because it would be cheaper to just buy another of the 512 sticks running at 256 - which would still be much cheaper than one high density 512 stick! on the site i got it from it is descibed as: OEM 512MB SDR133 CL3 16 CHIP 512MB DIMM 168pin 3.3V 133Mhz PC133 SPD which part of that tells me that it isnt low density?

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First off echobunny. If you are buying ram that is half the cost of Crucial, your problems may not be over after you get the ram to be seen. Go see the site that jam gave the address to in his last post. It will explain. Why do you think he placed it in his post?

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All i want to know is, how can i tell before i buy the RAM if it's going work in my system? the infomation gave by the website for the RAM was OEM 512MB SDR133 CL3 16 CHIP 512MB DIMM 168pin 3.3V 133Mhz PC133 SPD Which part of that should of told me that it wasn't going to work in my system? or do i need to physically look at the ram stick - check if its double sided or is 16/32Bit DRAM etc. thanks for all the help by the way ive fixed my floppy drive and im gonna try updating my bios once ive worked out how to make a boot disc in xp...

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ONE MORE TIME: Jam gave you a link to a site that explains how to tell different ram. Go there and read it. Here it is again http://home.cfl.rr.com/bjp/Sdram.htm

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High Density Low Density 32Bit DRAM 16Bit DRAM but this is just infomation about the artitecture of the ram, what i need to know is how to tell if im buying either high 32Bit DRAM density or low density 16Bit either by looking at it physically or in by what questions to ask. You see the only reference to such numbers detailed on the website for the place i bought the ram was 16 (OEM 512MB SDR133 CL3 16 CHIP ) If im right and this is a reference to the density then that would mean i should have high density...and i dont. And as i said - they gave me a different make to the one advertised so maybe if i took it back and got them to change it....

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You need to do some of the work yourself. Look at your motherboard manual ans see how much total memory the board can hold and what is the maximum capacity for each slot. Then look at the next line. Your system's motherboard must accept 512MB in each memory slot in order for 'High Density' modules to work properly. As with the 512MB modules, if your system/motherboard does not support 'High Density' SDRAM these modules will only be read as a smaller size. The 'Low Density' modules are built using 16Mbit DRAM technology, this type of module is generally compatible with a wider range of systems. In any case, you are advised to check your motherboard/system documentation for support information.

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Pulled from the gigabyte site: Memory 1. Up to 512MB memory size 2. 2 x DIMM sockets 3. Supports 32/64/128/256/512 MB SDRAM module I wouldnt of bought it without checking this first. I didnt have any idea about density though, which isnt really suprising since as far as i can tell it isnt listed by sellers as a variable. Which seems utterly ridiculous and thats what i still dont understand - how can i check before i buy? Ive heard inklings that maybe all 512 sticks are high density but if that were the case then why would gigabyte tell me they work for my motherboard....when if everything ive been told is true; high density doesnt even work for my board. neither the kingston nor crucial memory sites show any 512 sticks as working with my system, so does that mean gigabyte are wrong and i can only get 216 sticks? thanks for all your patience by the way, i may go in tommorrow to the store - ask them to try another brand of 512 or maybe just swap it for a 256 stick if that doesnt work (and if they let me

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Are you installing that 512 module in addition to other memory? If so, that is the problem. Your Mboard will only support 512MB total memory. Try running the 512 by itself.

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I'm running it by its self =(

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Try the other slot then.

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This is the only that works for sure: "....take your case and mboard with you, and try different modules until you find one that does show its full size - otherwise you may be making many trips back and forth exchanging memory."

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Echobunny, you know, maybe the solution would be to buy two 256MB modules and be done with it.

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Yeah its looking that way. I'm on a budget though so the extra 30 odd pound ($60?). Plus i have a stick of 128 and i would be tempted to use it...as i understand this woulnt be a good idea though maybe so i just wanted to get that out the mix by getting a big ol' stick of 512.. Sorry if you think ive been wasting your time, its just frustrating. What with gigabyte saying it supports something it seems it doesnt. Also now i dont even know if a 256 stick i buy will be high or low density. I'm still not sure know how to check when i buy it...

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Well to be honest with you, I think the reason that stick of ram won't boot is because it is probably not very good quality ram. How many little chips are on that stick of ram?

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theres 8 little chips on each side ( 16 in total if thats how you count them) Surely if it was bad ram then it wouldnt boot at all? what is it about this ram that could be bad. I thought you were saying it was a density issue... or does hight density = not good quality Also i thought micron was a good company, I will ask at the place tomorrow if they have kingston memory which is the type i understood they would give me - also i understand its one of the better makes.

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A memory stick is a printed circuit board with a control circuit on it and the memory chips you counted. Any or all of those components can be good or bad quality. Micron for instance, makes the chips that go onto Crucial ram. Crucial is a division of micron. Micron also sells memory chips to anyone that wants to buy them. When the chips are manufactured there are impurities in them. If the chips don't meet the standards of crucial or micron to use on thier branded ram, they wholesale them to third party assemblers. That is probably what you have. Kingston is the same. High density ram simply means using less, larger individual memory chips to make the module. For instance 256MB could be made with 16 16MB chips or 8 32MB chips. The problem with older MBs is the memory controller was designed to work with the smaller chip densities (less MBs) When you make the ram with the bigger chips it is cheaper to manufacture. The silicon wafer that is the memory chip is approx the same size in both cases. Therefore the manufacturer can get twice, or even four times the yield from the same size die. This same principle applies to processors and harddrives. Going back to the memory, the denser chips mean the individual transistors are closer together, requiring less voltage. Less voltage equates to less heat, which equates to faster speeds. Harddrives keep increasing the aureal density of the platters. This reduces costs dramatically. A platter that used to be 40MB is now 40 or more GB. Well I hope that give you a heads up on the memory. I know, I still didn't give a definative answer for what exactly constitutes "high density" ram. That is because I am not sure where the breakpoint is today. I would have thought 32MB chips would constitute high density.

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Right! Thanks for the explanation...its the best i've seen. Hopefully people with the same problem will find this post and it will make it a bit clearer. My motherboard isnt that old though but there you go! I'll look out to see if other memory i try in it has the extra chips in and hopefully they'll muster up something that'll work for me. thanks for all your help and time. It's appreciated.

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All 512mb sticks of PC100/133 RAM are high density, simple as that...we don't have to debate what type you have, you definitely have high density RAM. The question is, will your motherboard support it? According to the Gigabyte website, it will: http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-6IEML.htm# MEMORY 1. Up to 512MB memory size 2. 2 x DIMM sockets 3. Supports 32/64/128/256/512 MB SDRAM module However, I had a look at the manual & it states, "Supports up to 512mb SDRAM (max)"...& since you have 2 DIMM slots, each slot can only support 256mb each (512mb/2). Obviously one of them is incorrect, either the website or the manual...seeing as how you're having this problem, my guess would be the website is wrong. So you can either return the 512mb stick & exchange it for 2-256mb sticks, or live with the fact that your 512mb stick is only gonna be recognized as 256mb...then pair it up with the 128mb stick for a total of 384mb

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Right, thanks for checking that out. Well I doubt they'd let me do an exchange for 2 x 256mb sticks since that would cost more so i might just buy a 256 stick and hope it works with my 128mb one. Thats if they let me exchange it since no it seems its more gigabytes fault than them selling me incompatible ram.

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It depends on where you bought it. In the states, places like Bestbuy, Officemax, etc. I doubt you would have any trouble returning it. Assuming you have the packiaging and all.

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