Home PC smart guys - Help me out please. - F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums

Had a video card die on me overnight couple nights ago (fan fell off and cooked the chip). I got a new video card (Radeon HD 5450 2G DDR3) and while I was there I thought I would up the RAM.
Video card works great so far.

Now for the problem involving the RAM. PC is a eMachines T5212. Originally came w/ 512M RAM x2. Mitch was nice enough to give me a pair of G.Skill 2G cards (they say DDRII2GB PC2-6400). I installed them and discovered one of the 2 was bad (he told me this could be the case when he gave them to me). I was OK w/ it since I was moving from 2 512M cards (1G) to 1 2G card. I was 2 times better off w/ just the one card. So forward to today where I pick up a pair of PNY 2GB cards to populate both slots (to get 4GB total). They are DDR2 PC2-6400's. Neither will work in my PC. I tried both one at a time in slot 0 and the PC would not boot.
So I find a site that says it can scan my PC and tell me what RAM would work. This is what I get:

DDR2 PC2-5300
Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 (non-ECC)
Maximum Memory: 2GB
Currently Installed Memory: 2GB
Total Memory Slots: 2
Available Memory Slots: 1

2GB

DDR PC2-6400 EMPTY

Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.*

It is the last line that has me confused. It says my PC will only take a 1GB card per slot for a max of 2GB total. But I have a 2GB card in slot 0.
Is this just an issue of the G.SKILL card working where it shouldn't? I checked the bios and it see's the G.Skill card as 2048MB in slot 0. Should I seek out a G.Skill card (2 of them)?

GlennCMC70 View Member Profile	Sep 10 2011, 03:11 AM Post #1
Veteran Member Group: Member Posts: 2,688 Joined: 23-December 03 From: Ft Worth, TX Member No.: 8	Had a video card die on me overnight couple nights ago (fan fell off and cooked the chip). I got a new video card (Radeon HD 5450 2G DDR3) and while I was there I thought I would up the RAM. Video card works great so far. Now for the problem involving the RAM. PC is a eMachines T5212. Originally came w/ 512M RAM x2. Mitch was nice enough to give me a pair of G.Skill 2G cards (they say DDRII2GB PC2-6400). I installed them and discovered one of the 2 was bad (he told me this could be the case when he gave them to me). I was OK w/ it since I was moving from 2 512M cards (1G) to 1 2G card. I was 2 times better off w/ just the one card. So forward to today where I pick up a pair of PNY 2GB cards to populate both slots (to get 4GB total). They are DDR2 PC2-6400's. Neither will work in my PC. I tried both one at a time in slot 0 and the PC would not boot. So I find a site that says it can scan my PC and tell me what RAM would work. This is what I get: DDR2 PC2-5300 Memory Type: DDR2 PC2-5300, DDR2 (non-ECC) Maximum Memory: 2GB Currently Installed Memory: 2GB Total Memory Slots: 2 Available Memory Slots: 1 2GB DDR PC2-6400 EMPTY Each memory slot can hold DDR2 PC2-5300 with a maximum of 1GB per slot.* It is the last line that has me confused. It says my PC will only take a 1GB card per slot for a max of 2GB total. But I have a 2GB card in slot 0. Is this just an issue of the G.SKILL card working where it shouldn't? I checked the bios and it see's the G.Skill card as 2048MB in slot 0. Should I seek out a G.Skill card (2 of them)?

mitchntx View Member Profile	Sep 10 2011, 07:54 AM Post #2
Nothing says 'I love you.' like a box of Hydroshoks Group: Moderators Posts: 5,284 Joined: 23-December 03 From: Granbury, TX Member No.: 4	Are you 100% sure the stick used that I gave you (2G) was recognized and running as 2G? I've seen machines only use what it could use, regardless of size installed. I bet if you scanned, it would onl return 1G of usable memory. The Bios may recognize the brand and size, but still only use 1G You can type "Start", "All Programs", "Accessories", "System Tools" and then "System Information" to find out what the system is actually using. As for using both slots ... It sounds like you've run against the wall on bus speed. http://www.crucial.com/kb/answer.aspx?qid=4073 Because its a) an eMachine and (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) only came with 512K from the factory, I bet it's a 333mHz bus and not a 400 (less expensive). Using the first slot and the only slot used, the machine used what it could. The second mem slot is a slave to the first. When trying to make both work, it becomes a LOT more fickle.