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Is the answer really that obvious

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by andy 1 view

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I was asked the other day to check out a server that was running much slower than anticipated. I checked the OS, the memory usage, whether any services were gobbling up RAM like it was going out of fashion and everything seemed ok. So I opened it up and looked inside.

I found 4 of the six banks filled with RAM, upon closer inspeaction I found 2 x 1Gb sticks of 333MHz 128bit DDR and 2 x 512Mb sticks of 64bit DDR.

I was always told two things about RAM, Install in correct multiples ie 64, 128, 256, 512 etc and dont mix 128bit and 64bit otherwise it'll bring everything down to 64bit performance.

My doubt comes from teh fact that the supplier claimed to have checked the machine a few days ago and found nothing wrong with it and is blaming the lack of performance on the software.

Im not expecting it to be the entire cause of the problem but is this mismatched 3Gb of memory going be enough of a problem to impact performance?

My mind says yes but I cant find any supporting evidence other than common sense.

4 replies

by hal 9000

Your Mind is right remove the 1 GIG of the slower RAM and see if things work faster.

The other thing that you can look at is are the RAM sticks in the right sockets as you haven't mentioned the make of the M'Board it is some times possible that you need to place the RAM into different Slots to retain the Dual Channel RAM to feed the CPU/s . Some M'Boards use Slots 1 & 2 and some use Slots 1 & 3 for the Dual Channel RAM you'll need to consult the Makers Manual for the proper placing of the RAM.

If the RAM was placed in the wrong sockets it will mean that you are only running in Single Channel mode and it will be a lot slower.

Col

by hal 9000

NO it will work fine as the M'Board can only drive it at the lower speed so it should be OK. Other than spending a bit more money than was actually required there is no big deal. Also the other RAM might work if it is the correct speed for the M'Board and not produce any issues.

But I would use the bigger stuff first to see if there are any improvements and then fir the slower RAM and see if that adversely affects the unit.

Lets know how you get on

Col

by andy

As reccommended I checked the mobo manual to see if there were any quirky configurations for the memory in the server.

I found that instead of installing from bank A downwards towards bank C, whoever built the server started at C and worked up. As there were only 4 banks of the 6 in use they stopped at bank B leaving bank A completely empty.

I checked the specks on the memory accoring to the mobo manual and found that nothing matched.

Mobo manual says to use 266MHz PC2100/1600

Original supplier installed 333MHz PC2700

I didnt know whether technology had moved on since the manual was printed so I check the Kingston list for the board and found that they still recommend the 266MHz modules.

Will the apparent over-speed of the memory cause performance problems or just reliability issues?

by andy

Well the server is still running a three legged dog with cramp and athletes foot. The memory changes made no real difference so Im starting to look at the Terminal Services setup to see if there is anything obviously wrong there and yet nothing leaps out. What could I be missing? I'm planning to benchmark the server using some general benchmarking software to make sure that everything is performing in the regions it should. Once we have ruled that out I'm stuck where to start next, any ideas?

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