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Peter Stahl
01-27-2004, 6:52 AM
What I have is a Gateway esentials 500 (Pentium III w/ 500MHz processor) with only 64MB of memory and think this has to be the problem. What I've done so far is: run anti-virus software, delete as many file as possible and then defragged the hard drive. Still just about as slow. Went to PC Memory web site and they say I need (128 MB PC 100 SDRAM). Have 2 empty slots and would like to get 2 128MB chips. I'm guessing it's ok to put in 2 128's with the 64, is this ok? Anyone recommend memory where to/not to buy and a cheep source. If this doesn't correct the problem then I wipe the hard drive and reload (still may do it anyway).

Thanks, Pete

John Miliunas
01-27-2004, 9:32 AM
What I have is a Gateway esentials 500 (Pentium III w/ 500MHz processor) with only 64MB of memory and think this has to be the problem. What I've done so far is: run anti-virus software, delete as many file as possible and then defragged the hard drive. Still just about as slow. Went to PC Memory web site and they say I need (128 MB PC 100 SDRAM). Have 2 empty slots and would like to get 2 128MB chips. I'm guessing it's ok to put in 2 128's with the 64, is this ok? Anyone recommend memory where to/not to buy and a cheep source. If this doesn't correct the problem then I wipe the hard drive and reload (still may do it anyway).

Thanks, Pete

More than likely, you'll be just fine adding the memory in as you indicate. Go to the Gateway site first and look up the specs for your machine (or check the manual), just to be sure. There's a good chance you can use wither, PC100 or PC133, though the 100 might be a bit "safer", as that's an older machine. Check w/Gateway. And for memory, Crucial.com is THE place to go. Good prices, good memory and fast service. :cool:

Ken Garlock
01-27-2004, 12:27 PM
Hi Peter.

Please take a look at Crucial Memory (http://www.crucial.com/) . They have a webpage which will lead you through selecting the memory made for your system.
ALL memory I buy for my PCs, I buy from Crucial. Crucial is a retail division of Micron which is one of the largest memory makers around, and they are headquartered in Idaho, USA. You can't go wrong, and they give you 2nd day shipping on your order.

I highly recommend Crucial.

(Dis)claimer: Micron bought all memory manufacturing from Texas Instruments about 5+ years ago. I am retired from TI.

Chuck Wintle
01-27-2004, 1:10 PM
Yesterday I bought a 128meg pc133 piece of memory for my computer which is now 4 years old.
After installing it my computer saw only 65meg and not 128.
Thinking it was faulty i returned to the store and was told this type of memory has 4 high-density chips (and is not recognized correctly in
older machined)and that I needed the older 8 chip type. I assumed, incorrectly, that all of the memory was quite generic.

John Miliunas
01-27-2004, 4:57 PM
I assumed, incorrectly, that all of the memory was quite generic.

Right you are, Charles! There are more variations of memory than I can ever remember! While *most* PIII and newer machines will run PC133 just fine, there are differences within that class (as you have found). Some machines call for PC100, but "flashing" the BIOS to a newer version can often enable the board to recognize the PC133, as well. There are mulititudes of variables and your best bet is to check with your PC manufacturer to see what will/won't work. Crucial's site has a pretty good configurator on it, which will usually "guide" you to the right stuff, but it doesn't hurt to check with the OEM of your PC. :cool: