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sevag1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 16, 2001
72
0
in my quicksilver 733 tower, i have one 128 MB cl3 ram stick, and a 512 mb cl2 ram stick.. I was wondering, if i take out the 128mb cl3, will i notice a speed boost? since cl2 is faster than cl3...
thnxs in advance
 

Beej

macrumors 68020
Jan 6, 2002
2,139
0
The speed advantage you will get in RAM-intensive apps will be less advantageous than having the extra 128 MB in there.
 

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
The cl rating stands for CAS latency (don't ask me what CAS stands for).

The 2-2-2 CAS rating is primarily important for people with higher front side bus speeds (i.e. overclockers). Lower latency equals increased stability when your system is running faster than it should.

While it's a good idea to have lower latency RAM for general use, you won't "slow down" because of having mixed 2 and 3 rated RAM.
 

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
Originally posted by Hemingray
Just for the record, it stands for Column Address Strobe. ;)

Thanks. :)

Computer acronyms run the whole gamut from archaisms to technical descriptions to humor...my favorite is TWAIN (technology without an interesting name).;)
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,674
1,837
Lard
Originally posted by Choppaface
if you're in OSX, i dont think you ever want to remove RAM :D :D

Unless you were using PC RAM that wasn't Apple-tested and the public beta and early releases wouldn't boot.
 

mc68k

macrumors 68000
Apr 16, 2002
1,996
0
I learned what CUDA stands for!
Capacitive Unit Discharge ASIC
That's the reset switch on the motherboard.

Don't underestimate the acronyms. My old boss said one of the reasons I was considered was that I knew what CMOS stood for. I was asked what CMOS does in a job interview. I was then asked jokingly what it stood for.

Of course! It's Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. That really impressed them. :)

That was right after I got my A+ cert.
 

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
Originally posted by mc68k
I learned what CUDA stands for!
Capacitive Unit Discharge ASIC
That's the reset switch on the motherboard.

Don't underestimate the acronyms. My old boss said one of the reasons I was considered was that I knew what CMOS stood for. I was asked what CMOS does in a job interview. I was then asked jokingly what it stood for.

Of course! It's Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. That really impressed them. :)

That was right after I got my A+ cert.

Heh...you love to tell that story...:p

What other acronyms do people know, that are weird/rare/funny?
 

FattyMembrane

macrumors 6502a
Apr 14, 2002
966
154
bat country
being quite ignorant about ram, i have a question of my own. i just bought a ram chip from otherworldcomputing and on their site it said that my summer 2001 imac needed pc100 ram. when i went to install it, i saw that it looked different from the chip that came standard with my mac and the origional chip had a sticker that said pc133. the sys profiler says that my ram is running at 100 mhz but does anyone know if pc133 will be faster, or if the computer can actually handle it?

edit: i forgot to mention that i ran the sys profiler after the new ram was installed. should i remove the new chip and see if my old ram runs at 133 mhz?
 

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
PC100 vs PC133

Here's the deal with RAM speeds...

Faster RAM can run in a slower machine.
Slower RAM can't run in a faster machine.

Your machine has a 100MHz system bus, so PC100 RAM is all that's required. PC133 RAM will run just fine.

Most times, a RAM chip that's too slow will prevent the computer from even booting.
 

Draft

macrumors 6502
Jun 18, 2002
455
1
Chicago, IL
So, if I buy RAM, should I get the CL2 or the CL3 RAM? CL2 usually costs more, so I'd rather not have to spend more money.

Draft
 

Rower_CPU

Moderator emeritus
Oct 5, 2001
11,219
2
San Diego, CA
Originally posted by Draft
So, if I buy RAM, should I get the CL2 or the CL3 RAM? CL2 usually costs more, so I'd rather not have to spend more money.

Draft

Unless you're overclocking your system or you're someone who has to have the highest end components, CL3 is fine.
 
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