LinuxQuestions.org
Visit Jeremy's Blog.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware
User Name
Password
Linux - Hardware This forum is for Hardware issues.
Having trouble installing a piece of hardware? Want to know if that peripheral is compatible with Linux?

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 02-26-2008, 05:54 AM   #1
v@ny@
Member
 
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Moscow
Distribution: Ubuntu 8.1
Posts: 104

Rep: Reputation: 15
Using 800MHz RAM on a laptop which supports only up to 533MHz


Hi
I'm about to buy some more memory for my kubuntu laptop. The user manual says the laptop supports only up to 533MHz. The 800MHz RAM is about $30 cheaper. Would it be ok if I use the 800MHz in my laptop? Will it just downgrade and work on 533 or it just won't work?

The shop will not accept the memory back if it doesn't work...

Any help appreciated
 
Old 02-26-2008, 06:43 AM   #2
ronlau9
Senior Member
 
Registered: Dec 2007
Location: In front of my LINUX OR MAC BOX
Distribution: Mandriva 2009 X86_64 suse 11.3 X86_64 Centos X86_64 Debian X86_64 Linux MInt 86_64 OS X
Posts: 2,369

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
It is not only the MHZ but more important is voltage Normally older computers use a higher voltage
So if the voltage used by the computer is to high The new RAM will be damaged


good luck
 
Old 02-26-2008, 07:25 AM   #3
johnsfine
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Dec 2007
Distribution: Centos
Posts: 5,286

Rep: Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197Reputation: 1197
There are other characteristics that need to match, even more so if you are adding memory to empty slots rather than replacing the memory.

Using 800MHz memory at 533MHz is no problem. In fact the memory will be less picky about voltage when used at a lower frequency. But the voltage still needs to be roughly right. Ronlau9 might be correct that older computers used higher ram voltage. I'm not sure (If we're talking about DDR2 ram, 533MHz isn't that old). I would expect laptops to use lower voltage ram than desktops and cheaper 800MHz ram to use higher voltage than more expensive ram. So I would have been worried the ram needs higher voltage than the laptop provides (but that may be offset by the fact that ram is less picky about especially low voltage when you use it at a lower frequency).
 
Old 02-26-2008, 07:30 AM   #4
onebuck
Moderator
 
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Central Florida 20 minutes from Disney World
Distribution: SlackwareŽ
Posts: 13,922
Blog Entries: 44

Rep: Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158Reputation: 3158
Hi,

Quote:
Originally Posted by v@ny@ View Post
Hi
I'm about to buy some more memory for my kubuntu laptop. The user manual says the laptop supports only up to 533MHz. The 800MHz RAM is about $30 cheaper. Would it be ok if I use the 800MHz in my laptop? Will it just downgrade and work on 533 or it just won't work?

The shop will not accept the memory back if it doesn't work...

Any help appreciated
The speed will not be the problem. The specification DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 are also for footprint, voltage, speed, etc. Check the linked references.

You should spec your memory within the laptops class. Even if you can get a DDR3 and your laptop specs a DDR, it won't fit. If you have DDR2 then get DDR2.
 
Old 02-26-2008, 07:39 AM   #5
v@ny@
Member
 
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Moscow
Distribution: Ubuntu 8.1
Posts: 104

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 15
Thanks for all the info!

The laptop is not really that old. Its a HP NX7400. It uses DDR2, so does the memory I'm looking into buying, so I guess I'll give it a go on the 800MHz. I'll leave a post here after I've tested with the new memory.
 
Old 02-27-2008, 02:19 AM   #6
v@ny@
Member
 
Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Moscow
Distribution: Ubuntu 8.1
Posts: 104

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 15
Works, no problems.
 
  


Reply

Tags
ram


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How many is the maximum of ram that supports Fedora 7 ?? sinyobat Fedora 1 09-10-2007 12:43 PM
Good Distribution for Old Machine (800Mhz Intel Celeron, 64 MB RAM) Lord Minx Linux - Newbie 16 03-05-2007 10:43 AM
Which laptop supports AS? etcetera Linux - Hardware 1 10-08-2006 11:43 PM
Kernel only supports 64 GB of ram .. What do you do if you have more? cereal83 Linux - General 9 08-30-2006 07:52 PM
INTEL chipset 845e 533mhz fsb ...... pleasehelpme Linux - Hardware 0 12-07-2003 02:40 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Hardware

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:07 PM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration