asked on

Mixing RAM (Brand/CAS)

I know "Can I mix ram speeds?" is a common question, but mine is more towards mixing the same speed of ram but with different CAS values. I have 2 sticks of 512 MB Corsair PC2700 CAS2 currently installed on my Abit BH-7 motherboard and it works fine. I recently bought a cheap stick of 512 MB Crucial PC2700 ram but forgot about the CAS... Frankly i dont even know what CAS is, just that a lower number is better. The Crucial ram i bought is CAS 2.5.

Anyways, my computer would re-boot by itself at random times with all 3 sticks installed, so I went into the BIOS and changed my CAS speed to 2.5 instead of 2. It no longer re-boots (so far) but when i go to my computer's properties it says I only have 1.00 GB installed, when I should have 1.5 GB installed. Is this just windows not displaying my total ram properly, or is only 1.0 GB of it working? When I restart my computer, it says i have 1.5 GB during bootup, so im inclinded to think it is just windows... but I'd like to know for sure, or if theres anything I am doing wrong.

Thanks

If the BIOS sees it, it is probably a Windows thing.

If you want to know more about the numbers, this is a good start:
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=377

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

stockhes

membership

This solution is only available to members.

To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.

Start Free Trial

asurada2003

Hi there.

This is not a good idea of doing so.

Imagine you're putting two V6 engine and a normal engine together.

To make them able to run together at the same limit, you tune the V6 down to normal engine power. Do you think this is the practical way? :-)