max amount of RAM for a computer?? (1 Viewer)

[JayDerek]

I know for most this might be a really dumb question, but here it is...

Is there a limit to the amount of RAM a certain computer can handle? I forget my exact specs now, but I know i have 2 SDDR slots. One filled w/ 256 RAM, the other a stick of 126. Obviously I want to get a stick of 256 in the second slot to add more RAM, but can I add a stick of 512??

Thanks for your help

Jason

 

[Chad Ellinger]

It depends on your motherboard. Some motherboard chipsets are unable to handle higher density RAM sticks (such as 512MB sticks). Check your motherboard / system documentation. You can also lookup your motherboard / system on Crucial.com; they're usually pretty reliable for reporting what memory upgrades your system can handle (great place to buy RAM anyway).

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Your choice of operating system is a factor too. Windows 98 can't address more than 512mb (and can't really use anything above about 256mb) but with 2000 and XP you can use upto 4gb.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Windows 98 can and will use more than 512MB, although you have to reduce the maximum vcache size to 512MB. The real problems for Windows 98 begin at 1GB.

 

[JayDerek]

Thank You!

~Jason

 

[Kevin P]

The maximum amount of physical memory that a 32-bit processor (386, 486, and all Pentium/Celeron models and its clones) can address is 4 gigabytes. The actual limit is dependent on your motherboard--the maximum density per module times the number of memory slots. A MB that has 2 slots that accept up to 256 MB DIMMs will allow a maximum of 512 MB. Most newer motherboards can accomodate 1 GB or more.