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Author Topic: Memory refresh rates  (Read 3448 times)

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Mastodont

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    Memory refresh rates
    « on: September 05, 2007, 01:47:44 PM »
    Hello,
    I am about to add another DIMM to my system.
    The form factor and supported bus frequency are OK, but there is one more thing.
    My old DIMMs have normal (15,625 us) refresh rates while the one I am going to add has a reduced (0.5x) refresh rate. All are PC 133 SDR.
    Can this difference in refresh rates cause any trouble? Does it matter at all?
    I am asking not to have to post a topic like "My computer won't work..."
    Thanks for advice.

    patio

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    • Genius
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    Re: Memory refresh rates
    « Reply #1 on: September 05, 2007, 02:05:30 PM »
    Crucial

    These people speak RAM better than anyone...
    I would also check your MBoard manual for any references on memory timing issues...
    " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

    Mastodont

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      Re: Memory refresh rates
      « Reply #2 on: September 05, 2007, 02:20:38 PM »
      Thanks for a link.
      The problem is I have found a lot of information on latencies, but none on refresh rates.

      patio

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      Re: Memory refresh rates
      « Reply #3 on: September 05, 2007, 07:14:54 PM »
      I can't recall hearing a refresh rate causing a problem...but i've been wrong in the past...best bet would be to have the fastest RAM stic(s) closest to the CPU and go from there...
      The MBoard if a decent one will automatically compensate for different timings.
      Was there any info at your board's site ? ?
      " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

      Mastodont

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        Re: Memory refresh rates
        « Reply #4 on: September 05, 2007, 08:15:04 PM »
        No, any relevant info there. Before I asked my question I had tried to find the answers myself on the Net. From Crucial I have got a reply that DIMMs with different refresh rates can generaly be mixed within one computer but in some systems it can cause some trouble. A bit ambiguous, isn't it? But since You haven't heard of such problems and I couldn't find any information on the subject on the Internet, then I think it's fairly safe to try.
        Thanks for the advice.

        Mastodont

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          Re: Memory refresh rates
          « Reply #5 on: September 06, 2007, 08:32:07 AM »
          I tried and everything works fine. The computer boots up normally. Five passes of Memtest have been completed successfully so far.
          Thanks again.

          contrex

          • Guest
          Re: Memory refresh rates
          « Reply #6 on: September 08, 2007, 04:51:55 AM »
          usually, if memory has a better performance than is needed, it will work fine. A faster refresh rate capability is a better perormance. Your new memory can refresh in half (0.5) the time of the older RAM. But your chipset will not know or care. Therefore no problem.