My friend has a older dell computer I forget the model but when I looked last it was a P4 2ghz and had 256mb DDR 2700 ram. 2x128 Quite a few months passed by and he called asking about memory upgrade again so I suggested pc3200 that was backward compatible with his system. He went to Local store I believe best buy and they tried to sell him PC5300 telling him it would be faster so he called me from the store. I told him I don't think it would be compatible and it wouldn't make his computer run faster then pc3200. A P4 will only top out at a certain speed I believe either 533 or 800. Or at least I think his would. After he hung up with me he argued with the guy at the store and ended up getting PC3200 like I suggested and plugged in a pair of 512's and it worked fine. I just wondered if I was wrong suggesting him pc3200. It did cost more as the 5300 was on sale. Also I have a question about my new rebuild. It supports 266/333/400 DDR SRAM http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?In... to be exact. How come I have 1 512 2700 and 1 512 3200 yet my computer runs at 200.9 bus 803.7 HT. How is it slower ram runs at the 200 speed? I understand somewhat ram speeds like old 2100 ran at 133x2 or 266 2700 166x2 or 333 and 3200 200x2 or 400. I figured mine should be 3200 or 200x4 which = 800 HT. Since I have 1 512 2700 and 1 512 3200 how come I still get 200x4 or 800 HT? Not complaining just curious? Thanks for reading Hope I made since in my questions. MSI K8N Neo AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2.21ghz 1GB DDR 3200 nVidia 128mb FX 5200 WD 120gb SE NEC ND-3500AG DVD R/RW

IF your system is actually running the memory at 200x4 then you are fortunate to have a stick of RAM labeled as 2700 but is actually capable of 3200. Not sure about RAM, but with CPUs if the fabrication plant is running good, the yields of top end wafers will exceed the demand (at least with the attached higher cost). The chip makers then simply lock and label chips that are capable of faster speeds with lower clocking. This may occur with RAM too. In answer to your query concerning your phone friend, you were correct that the computer won't run any faster with RAM that is faster than the memory controllers can handle. Furthermore, installing 5300 in a computer designed to run 2700 or 3200 MAY result in a no POST.

Tell your friend to start looking for a different shop. The one he used have no idea what they are talking about. i_XpUser

If your RAM is a mix of PC2700 & PC3200, it's ALL running at the lowest speed...in other words, 166MHz. The CPU is clocked independently of the RAM, so if you have an 800FSB P4, it should be running at 200MHz. For best performance, the CPU & RAM should run at 1:1 ratio, but since your RAM is running at 166MHz, your ratio is 200:166 (6:5). Your setup isn't optimal. Your friend's P4 is either a 400FSB (100MHz) or 533MHz (133MHz) version, so all he would need to be able to run 1:1 ratio would be PC2100. If he has the 400FSB P4, the PC2100 should be underclocked to PC1600 speed (100Hz). He *should* be able to run either PC2700 or PC3200, but they should be underclocked to match the CPU bus speed.

I ran cpu-z and Everest Home here are my reports: http://currentsweb.dyndns.org:81/cpuz/ I really don't quiet understand it unless it's like OtheHill said "you are fortunate to have a stick of RAM labeled as 2700 but is actually capable of 3200" all the reports report 11x205 or 206 As for my friends computer He got the ram I suggested and it works fine. He's worse computer literate then myself. I could have gotten him the same ram online for half the price but he's also impatient sometimes lol. Thanks for all the input I'm absorbing it as much as I can in this ever changing field. MSI K8N Neo AMD Athlon 64 3200+ @ 2.21ghz 1GB DDR 3200 nVidia 128mb FX 5200 WD 120gb SE NEC ND-3500AG DVD R/RW

lude The numbers you are referring to are the processor multiplier and speed. The memory speeds should be listed elsewhere. My comment about the RAM speed was prefixed with a capitol IF.