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RAM modules from different vendors within the same PC?
I have been complaining to the DELL technical support because I found I was installed in my new Workstation four 512MB RAM modules from different vendors: I have 2GB = 4x512M 2x512MB from Hyundai 2x512MB from Samsung Does anyone know for certain if a system could become error prone i.e. potential Windows blue-screens or whatever side-effect like loss of optimal performance because of having disparate RAM modules installed within the same system? Is it possible to find out any effect of this? I thought about doing the following "test case": 1-. Leave all four modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. 2-. Remove the two Samsung RAM modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. 3-. Put back the two Samsung RAM modules and remove the two Hyundai, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. 4-. Finally compare performance results for all the three test fixtures. I would like to argue better my complain to DELL. Thanks in advance, Best Regards, Giovanni Different brands of memory should not conflict with each other. Any memory that is compatible with your BIOS configuration and motherboard chipset should work equally well. There have been reports of cases is this NG and others when various configurations e.g. more than 2 DIMMs will not work properly. Some memory will cause problems because timing is not compatible with motherboard settings, or because the memory is defective.
Giovanni Azua wrote: Show quoteHide quote > > Hello all, > > I have been complaining to the DELL technical support > because I found I was installed in my new Workstation > four 512MB RAM modules from different vendors: > > I have 2GB = 4x512M > > 2x512MB from Hyundai > 2x512MB from Samsung > > Does anyone know for certain if a system could become > error prone i.e. potential Windows blue-screens or > whatever side-effect like loss of optimal performance > because of having disparate RAM modules installed within > the same system? Is it possible to find out any effect > of this? > > I thought about doing the following "test case": > > 1-. Leave all four modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 2-. Remove the two Samsung RAM modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 3-. Put back the two Samsung RAM modules and remove the > two Hyundai, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. > > 4-. Finally compare performance results for all the three test fixtures. > > I would like to argue better my complain to DELL. > > Thanks in advance, > Best Regards, > Giovanni -- Mike Walsh West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
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"Giovanni Azua" <brave***@hotmail.com> wrote in message All will probably be fine, performance is not really the issue, news:37mc7oF5d3qcdU1@individual.net... > Hello all, > > I have been complaining to the DELL technical support > because I found I was installed in my new Workstation > four 512MB RAM modules from different vendors: > > I have 2GB = 4x512M > > 2x512MB from Hyundai > 2x512MB from Samsung > > Does anyone know for certain if a system could become > error prone i.e. potential Windows blue-screens or > whatever side-effect like loss of optimal performance > because of having disparate RAM modules installed within > the same system? Is it possible to find out any effect > of this? > > I thought about doing the following "test case": > > 1-. Leave all four modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 2-. Remove the two Samsung RAM modules, run PassMark > PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 3-. Put back the two Samsung RAM modules and remove the > two Hyundai, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect > results. > > 4-. Finally compare performance results for all the three test > fixtures. > > I would like to argue better my complain to DELL. > stability could be and is very easy to test. Any variance in performance between the two makes will most likely be extremely small. I don't really know what PassMark is, I assume it's some kind of stress test? Memtest86 is what you really want, it quite often shows memory errors where other tests say all is fine. Run memtest86 for a couple of hours minimum, if you get any errors reported then try your options 2 & 3, again running for a couple of hours each. Write down all the errors you get (if any) as you'll want to pass this information onto the Dell techs and ask them what they propose to do about it. As I said, all will most likely be fine, but the first thing I do when taking receipt of a new PC is run memtest, I've seen a few with dodgy memory from new. http://www.memtest86.com/ download the ISO image and plonk it onto a cd, boot from the cd and your off. -- Ian Hi Ian,
I downloaded and left memtest86 running the whole night 8.7 hours and there was not a single error found. I think I will have to start accepting the fact of having different RAM brands :-( but well if it works DELL is right, I should basically not care. Thank you for your help :-) after I had memtest86 checking I feel better about it. Best Regards, Giovanni Show quoteHide quote > Run memtest86 for a couple of hours minimum, if you get any errors > reported then try your options 2 & 3, again running for a couple of hours > each. Write down all the errors you get (if any) as you'll want to pass > this information onto the Dell techs and ask them what they propose to do > about it. > > As I said, all will most likely be fine, but the first thing I do when > taking receipt of a new PC is run memtest, I've seen a few with dodgy > memory from new. http://www.memtest86.com/ download the ISO image and > plonk it onto a cd, boot from the cd and your off. > On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 15:19:24 +0100, "Giovanni Azua"
<brave***@hotmail.com> wrote: Show quoteHide quote >Hello all, You weren't necessarily entitled to all-identical memory and> >I have been complaining to the DELL technical support >because I found I was installed in my new Workstation >four 512MB RAM modules from different vendors: > > I have 2GB = 4x512M > > 2x512MB from Hyundai > 2x512MB from Samsung > >Does anyone know for certain if a system could become >error prone i.e. potential Windows blue-screens or >whatever side-effect like loss of optimal performance >because of having disparate RAM modules installed within >the same system? Is it possible to find out any effect >of this? > >I thought about doing the following "test case": > >1-. Leave all four modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > >2-. Remove the two Samsung RAM modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > >3-. Put back the two Samsung RAM modules and remove the > two Hyundai, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. > >4-. Finally compare performance results for all the three test fixtures. > >I would like to argue better my complain to DELL. > >Thanks in advance, >Best Regards, >Giovanni > have no complain so long as the system works properly. Your tests are not going to reveal anything useful unless machine was VERY instable. Try running a memory test instead, memtest86+ (Google will find it). It is common, perhaps even to be expected, that the memory benchmark scores will go down with all 4 modules, but not necessarily because they're different, rather that there's 4 instead of 2, 3. What I would complain about instead is that they'd used 4 memory slots to end up with 2GB, rather than a 2 x 1GB module configuration which would leave the additional 2 slots available still. That would be MUCH more upsetting to me on a professional level workstation unless you're 100% certain you might never need more memory. Hi,
> What I would complain about instead is that they'd used 4 I requested to have the 4x512MB actually, was part of> memory slots to end up with 2GB, rather than a 2 x 1GB > module configuration which would leave the additional 2 > slots available still. That would be MUCH more upsetting to > me on a professional level workstation unless you're 100% > certain you might never need more memory. > a very hard negotiation to get a big discount ... actually DELL at least Switzerland did not offer the 4x512 when I bought this one, just 2x1GB which would have costed me additional 1000USD :-) Best Regards, Giovanni Memory tests are not very informative if the memory is
intermittent AND you don't put the memory in an environmental extreme. For example, the best extreme to locate intermittent memory is heat. Execute that memory test with the memory heated by a hair drier on high. Even at those temperatures (uncomfortable to touch but does not leave skin), the memory is well within its normal limits. If any intermittent is going to be found by a memory test, it will most likely be found when the memory is heated. BTW numbers provides with system crashes would have suggested which memory is defective. What did the Dell comprehensive hardware diagnostics report? Giovanni Azua wrote: Show quoteHide quote > Hello all, > > I have been complaining to the DELL technical support > because I found I was installed in my new Workstation > four 512MB RAM modules from different vendors: > > I have 2GB = 4x512M > > 2x512MB from Hyundai > 2x512MB from Samsung > > Does anyone know for certain if a system could become > error prone i.e. potential Windows blue-screens or > whatever side-effect like loss of optimal performance > because of having disparate RAM modules installed within > the same system? Is it possible to find out any effect > of this? > > I thought about doing the following "test case": > > 1-. Leave all four modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 2-. Remove the two Samsung RAM modules, run PassMark PerformanceTest > and collect results. > > 3-. Put back the two Samsung RAM modules and remove the > two Hyundai, run PassMark PerformanceTest and collect results. > > 4-. Finally compare performance results for all the three test fixtures. > > I would like to argue better my complain to DELL. > > Thanks in advance, > Best Regards, > Giovanni |
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