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Correct type of RAM for P3

Hi,

My Pentium III 1138 Mhz computer is in desperate need of a RAM upgrade, I'm just not sure what type to get for it.

My gut says that it should be SDR133. Am I right? If I go for the following, will it be compatible?
256MB SDR133 CL3 DESKTOP INTEL CENTRINO

Regards,
Dave

You could use lshw to see if you can list the information about your system...

Code:

*-memory

          description: System Memory

          physical id: 1000

          slot: System board or motherboard

          size: 256MB

          capacity: 512MB

        *-bank:0

            description: DIMM SDRAM Synchronous 133 MHz (7.5 ns)

            physical id: 0

            slot: DIMM_A

            size: 128MB

            width: 64 bits

            clock: 133MHz (7.5188ns)

        *-bank:1

            description: DIMM SDRAM Synchronous 133 MHz (7.5 ns)

            physical id: 1

            slot: DIMM_B

            size: 128MB

            width: 64 bits

            clock: 133MHz (7.5188ns)

That's pretty specific information about the memory in this PIII 933 system.. certainly enough to determine type and size for replacement memory.. It's even kind enough to let me know the maximum amount of memory this board will support.

What I don't get is why the memory you choose has a Centrino designator.. that's sorta odd..

PC133 SDRAM should be easily obtainable..

One of these Kingston parts would work if you want CL3... or at least be a good reference to use to choose another brand.
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR133X64C3L_256.pdf
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR133X64C3L_512.pdf

Quote:

Originally Posted by farslayer

You could use lshw to see if you can list the information about your system...

Code:

*-memory

          description: System Memory

          physical id: 1000

          slot: System board or motherboard

          size: 256MB

          capacity: 512MB

        *-bank:0

            description: DIMM SDRAM Synchronous 133 MHz (7.5 ns)

            physical id: 0

            slot: DIMM_A

            size: 128MB

            width: 64 bits

            clock: 133MHz (7.5188ns)

        *-bank:1

            description: DIMM SDRAM Synchronous 133 MHz (7.5 ns)

            physical id: 1

            slot: DIMM_B

            size: 128MB

            width: 64 bits

            clock: 133MHz (7.5188ns)

Well, I'm in South Africa and one of the suppliers has this type of RAM on special. Soo... that's why.

*EDIT* Oh, I see what you're asking now. I have no clue. I didn't even know that a centrino designator would be odd.

Thanks for the help, don't seem to have lshw installed, so going to fix that now.

Quote:

PC133 SDRAM should be easily obtainable..

One of these Kingston parts would work if you want CL3... or at least be a good reference to use to choose another brand.
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR133X64C3L_256.pdf
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR133X64C3L_512.pdf

Hi,

Here is the result of running lshw. I didn't get quite the same results as you.

My clock does seem to be 133MHz, although it doesn't say that in the memory section. What's the verdict? Can I buy SDRAM 133?

Code:

*-cpu

          description: CPU

          product: Intel(R) Pentium(R) III CPU            1133MHz

          vendor: Intel Corp.

          physical id: 4

          bus info: cpu@0

          version: 6.11.1

          slot: PGA 370

          size: 1133MHz

          capacity: 1200MHz

          width: 32 bits

          clock: 133MHz

          capabilities: fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 mmx fxsr sse

        *-cache:0

            description: L1 cache

            physical id: a

            slot: L1 Cache

            size: 32KB

            capacity: 32KB

            capabilities: pipeline-burst synchronous internal write-back data

        *-cache:1

            description: L2 cache

            physical id: b

            slot: L2 Cache

            size: 256KB

            capacity: 256KB

            capabilities: pipeline-burst synchronous internal write-back data

    *-memory

          description: System Memory

          physical id: 24

          slot: System board or motherboard

          size: 256MB

          capacity: 1GB

        *-bank:0

            description: DIMM DRAM Synchronous

            physical id: 0

            slot: DIMM 1

            size: 256MB

            width: 64 bits

        *-bank:1

            description: DIMM DRAM Synchronous [empty]

            physical id: 1

            slot: DIMM 2

        *-bank:2

            description: DIMM DRAM Synchronous [empty]

            physical id: 2

            slot: DIMM 3

        *-bank:3

            description: DIMM DRAM Synchronous [empty]

            physical id: 3

            slot: DIMM 4

From the info listed it looks like your system will accept a maximum of 1 GB of RAM. probably by way of 4 - 256MB SDRAM modules. 133Mhz is the bus speed you will want.

Centrino is usually a designator for mobile devices I thought. So memory with the 'Centrino' designation just seemed odd to me. Make sure that's not a SDRAM Module for a laptop.. they are a bit shorter and won't fit in a desktop motherboard.

And yeah I edited the output of my lshw to only show memory. The DMI (Desktop Management Interface) of the motherboard determines how much info on what devices it will return. also if you run lshw as a regular user or a root you will get different results (more info will be returned when lshw is run as root).