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Bad Memory test preferences?

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by jkaras

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Hey all,
Before I get the you should post in the Q&A section I figured that I would trust the pros. I am not out to offend everyone but I do happen to trust your opinions or expertise then what is generally posted in the Q&A. Also I need input on diagnostic software so I felt that this was an appropriate post.

Recently I started upgrading my old ABIT KD7 (w/AMD ATHLON 2600 333 Barton) mobo with some more memory to enhance my gaming addiction. I have 1 512 stick of Kingston HyperX CAS 2 (actually runs at 2.5.) I listened to others by buying 2 less quality Corsair Value Select 512 SDRAM CAS 2.5. The pc recognizes the RAM but there is no improvement. In fact in gameplay it got worse.

Perplexed I tried Windows memory diagnostic and got passes on most tests except the disable cashe in WMATS+ and Stride-6. (can anyone accurately explain these terms in importance?)The program didnt fully point out which RAM or if the first pass was only on bank 1 vs. bank 2 or 3? The test took forever to run and didnt explain everything well in my book.

I have also downloaded Docmem, and Memtest86+ V1.55 to try when I get home. SO far these are the only utilities that I have found. Do any of you have a preference on which is the most reliable, easy to use, or what have you? Any input is mucho appreciated.
On a side note how come you can post the amount of tech points to be rewarded yet you dont have a total of points earned?

4 replies

by dryflies

there is a small flag next to your alias that shows the amount of points earned. other than that, just sticking in RAM can have varying effects on a system. you need to tune it to the amount and type of RAM you have. ask a tech Q&A for more :-)

by thechas

The member profile page used to include the number of Tech Points you have.

From your tag, you have between 5000 and 10000 Tech Points.

As to the memory problem, adding RAM beyond a certain point does not, in and of itself, improve system performance.

So far, each version of Windows has had an "optimum" memory point.
That is, there is a specific amount of system RAM where performance is maximized.
Adding more RAM results in no improvement, and can even degrade performance.

For Windows 98, the "optimum" amount of RAM was 196MB.
More RAM might help a specific application, but actually reduces benchmark performance scores.

I assume that you are running XP.
If so, and if speed is your goal, create a RAMDisk of between 750MB and 1GB.
Move the page file (virtual memory) to the RAM drive.

A BIOS setting to look at is AGP aperture.
For "optimum" performance, the AGP aperture should be at least 2 time video RAM, but never more than 1/2 of available system RAM.

Chas

by jaqui

you know, the only way I've found for finding out what my points are at is the manage my account link on the top of the page.
where it has the exact number of points on the page after login.

but I can't see any means of finding point levels from the public profile data.

by jkaras

I do know that more RAM wont improve overall performance only when needed. That's why I got more RAM. It seems that only when I play my favorite game ROME TOTAL WAR does the game crash to the desktop or serious lag where you cant run the program. My current specs meet and exceed the game's limitations. I can play DOOM 3 and MOHAA like it was butter. This was my motivation to get more just because this game. I'm rather addicted at being an evil dictator, its great therapy all should try this game to escape if that's your fancy.
Currently I'm running 2K pro. I am getting XP Pro w/SP2 in the mail in a few days and plan to upgrade with a fresh install. This should resolve most of my current issues or at least help me point out certin suspect parts that are possibly going bad.

Out of those three diagnostic softwares I got completely different results during multiple passes on each RAM. The only true to form was my original Kingston that never failed any tests no matter how many times. The cheap Corsair RAM however would fail sporadically on MATS+, WMATS+, and WINVC.(each stick would have their own combination of tests failures) There never was any consistancy during multiple runs of which ever program to the respected suspect ram. I plan on sending it back anyways but it just didnt make sense.

Questions though if you dont mind? If the two different styles of ram slightly differ in voltage would it cause an issue generally? The Kingston is rated at 2.5 and the Corsair is rated at 2.6 In the BIOS the voltage is running at 2.55. I plan on just installing both twin rams in and see what happens. So far alone or coupled with the Kingston nothing seems to change except get worse. Lastly the RAMDISK sounds like a cool idea how do you create one? Thanks, as always Chas.

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