Blog 7 – IT Essentials - Upgrading Memory

Week 7 Assignment Critical thinking problems 1-4 page 298-299

1) If your motherboard supports DIMM memory, will RIMM memory still work on the board?

A. A motherboard that supports RIMM requires that all the memory slots are filled, if not with memory modules, then with continuity modules. Whereas, DIMM modules can be added one at a time and the slots can be empty.

2) If your motherboard supports ECC SDRAM memory, can you substitute SDRAM memory that does not support ECC? If your motherboard supports buffered SDRAM memory, can you substitute un-buffered SDRAM modules?

A. Typically you should use whatever the motherboard supports. However, a rule of thumb to follow is not to mix your memory modules; they should all be buffered, or un-buffered; parity checking or non-parity checking. The motherboard documentations should tell you which modules are supported.

3) You have upgraded memory on a computer from 64 MB to 128 MB by adding one DIMM. When you first turn on the PC, the memory count shows only 64 MB. Which of the following is most likely the source of the problem? What can you do to fix it?

A. Since you only replaced one module with one more module, the module is possibly defective. First, you should reseat the memory module, then check to see if you can tell the BIOS how much memory is installed. You can also check your memory at www.memtest86.com. If the computer continues to see only 64 MB, the memory module is faulty.

4) Your motherboard supports dual channeling and you currently have two slots used in Channel A on the board. You want to install an additional 512 MB of RAM. Will your system run faster if you install two 256 MB DIMM's or one 512 DIMM.

A. If you expect the best performance out of your dual channel memory, you should install even amounts of memory in the slots. So two 256 MB of DIMM would make the computer run faster than just one 512 MB DIMM.