EDO Memory question

[gyoung]

I have an old Pentium 166 IBM aptiva that my fiance is using. It has 32MB of memory in it. This machine isn't a screamer and doesn't need to be. She uses it for general surfing and Word processing.

The problem really is that their isn't enough RAM. You can hear the swap file going on and on and on...

I want to upgrade the RAM. According to the manual and the IBM website it uses this RAM


Aptiva 2161 C8E Support
Product Description
P166 MMX(256KB) 32MB 3.1GB HDD IDE PCI/ISA Minitwr(7X6) ATI 16X CD 33.6K Win95

Memory
Soldered 0
Number of Sockets 2 DIMM

Type 168-pin SDRAM DIMM (gold)

Maximum 64 MB
Speed 60 ns
Voltage 3.3V
Wait States n/a
Memory Sizes 16, 32 SDRAM DIMMs

ECC Support n/a
Parity No
RAM on Adapter No
FlexMemory (UMA) No

Is this EDO memory? I think it is. Do I have to buy EDO or will regular PC66 or PC100 DIMMs work?

I want to buy 2 32MB DIMMs to max out the memory. It currently has 2 16MB DIMMS.

[This message has been edited by gyoung (edited 01-31-2001).]

[wyvrn]

Sounds like EDO dimms to me. They are rare but can be found.

I could be wrong though. Have you checked IBM's website?

[phecky]

I bet www.memman.com (http://www.memman.com) has what you need. Looks like standard 60ns sdimm would work as long as it's 3.3v. Check abbove site, I've seen it listed there and not to much $.

[gyoung]

I have been looking around the IBM and Intel sites to find some information. The IBM site says that the chipset is the 430VX. I went to the Intel site and this is so old that they archived the information.

From what I can tell, it can take EDO or SDRAM. Here is some info that I found on SysOpt: http://sysopt.earthweb.com/intelch5.htm#430vx

The manual of the Motherboard says max of 64MB, the info here at sysopt says max of 128MB.

Should I take my chances and get some PC66 or PC100 memory and see if it works?

I have a 64MB PC133 stick that I could check also.

This is from the last known issues page from Intel:


Abstract: This document describes why 430VX does not support x4 SDRAM configuration.


Problem: There have been questions regarding 430VX chipsets working with 4M x4 SDRAMs.


Solution: The SDRAMs, due to their synchronous nature, put extra pressure on meeting timing specifications. Specifically at 66MHz (15ns clock period), the clock skew and Hclk signal integrity become major issues. Consequently, it is purely a loading/timing reason why we cannot support x4 SDRAMs. We do support x8 or x16 SDRAMs because now loading is halved.

Future chipsets are heading for higher speeds and will be even harder to meet the timings. In summary, 430VX can drive 8 loads per row. This sets our lower limit at x8.

[gyoung]

I guess my question is this:

What type of memory would be the best to take a chance on? (eg: PC66, PC100)

And should I look at specific densities? (eg: 4x8, 4x16, 4x64)

OR

Would a 32MB upgrade to a full 64MB really see any performance increase or am I just wasting my time? (I think it would)

The PC is running Windows 98. The primary uses again are: Windows 98, Office 2000, and IE.

[Roy]

W98 benefits greatly from 64MB of memory.

In your situation I would try a 64MB stick of PC133 for $25 or so on PriceWatch (http://www.pricewatch.com) . The slower stuff is no cheaper and the 133 will likely work in your next system.

Maybe you can borrow one for a test. I don't think there's a problem putting faster SDRAM in a system that specs 60ns. It's the 3.3V that matters.

I know someone who put a 256MB stick in a system supposedly limited to 128s ... it worked. Yours might take the pair of 64s.

[gyoung]

I've got a working stick of 64MB of PC133 that I'm going to give a try. I'll let you know later this weekend.