Can I buy DDR400 ram when only DDR333 is specified? 3

iwease · Jan 30, 2007

I have an HP 8120 laptop with 512mb of DDR333 PC2700 ram in it. I want to add an additional gig but futureshop only sells DDR400 PC3200. I emailed HP and they said that only DDR333 was tested on my machine and that installing this other ram may cause a conflict.

Is this true? Do I have to buy DDR333?

Ploper001 · Jan 30, 2007

Yes it will work fine.

paparazi · Jan 30, 2007

iwease
In most cases it will work fine, in theory it will just underclock to the lower timings.

Is there a possibility of a conflict? Yes! but unlikely.
If you want to be sure then there are online vendors that gaurantee compatibility, like Crucial:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listmfgr.asp?cat=RAM

Martin

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Participate and help others.

cdogg · Jan 30, 2007

iwease,
You will find that some memory doesn't play well with others. A lot of it has to do with all the timing specs such as CAS latency, that the memory controller on the motherboard has to set. It attempts to find the best setting that will work with all DIMMs installed, but of course, it's not always successful.

That's why you should match up the DIMMs when you can. But if you find a good deal, I wouldn't pass that up either. Like Martin said, it's pretty unlikely that you'll have any problems.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

iwease · Jan 30, 2007

well, then if that is the case, I will get this ram

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10078085&catid=

(comstar 1gb ddr400)...mainly because ddr333 is hard to find here.

thanks for all who responded

paparazi · Jan 31, 2007

Hmmmmm? I've never heard of that brand! but the fact that they cannot even be certain of the spec is not a good sign!
Quote:
CAS Latency: 2, 2.5 & 3
Bandwidth (Max.): 2.1GB/s; 2.7GB/s; 3.2GB/s

So which one is it then?
Go with a value line from a recognised brand ie:
Corsair
Kingston
AData
Crucial
PNY

You are always less likely to have compatibility issues.

Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

Freestone · Jan 31, 2007

I've never heard of this brand either, but I think the three CAS latencies and bandwidths correspond with DDR 266, DDR 333, and DDR 400 speeds.

B4db0y · Jan 31, 2007

You could also try MDT as brand.

Best regards
B4db0y

____________________________________________________________
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Sympology · Feb 1, 2007

Of course HP will tell you that. They will tell you that their own is the best and you can have it for a small extra cost (double the price)....

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

wahnula · Feb 1, 2007

Also, from the above website:

website said:
Online Availability: Out of Stock: Will ship when available

I am a born cycnic, but to me that's bait-and-switch tactics. Gets you to their site as "lowest price" then forces you to wait for weeks or the product becomes "discontinued" etc. and you buy their next most expensive product.

Here's a list of discount retailers from around the world I found at:

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Can I buy DDR400 ram when only DDR333 is specified? 3

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