RAM Questions

[Klaatu]

1. I have an old VAIO PC with 3 RAM slots, capable of supporting 512 DDR chips. When I bought this machine, it had only 1, few years later I upgraded to 1.5G RAM with 2 extra 512 DDR chips.
Recently I noticed PC slowdown especially after I downloaded and installed Avast. I checked everything and of course what's my memory is like during Avast operation. For wheatever reason, physical memory was listed as 480Kb (512Kb installed, when checked in F2 setup menu).
When I opened PC, there was no obvious physical damage to chips, so after I cleaned out slots, I inserted them one at a time and tried reinstalling RAM. 1st chip was identified fine (512Mb, even though machine showed it as 480). 2nd was also identified (setup showed 1024Mb installed - 992Mb in Windows). When I inserted 3rd chip, it went back down to 512(480).
I figured it could be the actual slot and tried using the 3rd chip in 2nd slot to no avail. It would only ready 1st chip as 512. I put 3rd chip in 1st slot and it read it just fine as 512 as well. After I put 1st chip in 2nd slot, it would only read as single 512 chip.
Long story short, I'm not sure if the problem is with the slots, chip combination (if it's even possible to have one chip cancel another out or what. Please advise.

2. Might as well ask all my questions here instead of making another thread. How much would hiring someone to thoroughly look over my PC cost. I mean, examine hardware and do a complete system analysis? Should I even look into this considering I can't afford a new PC or should I just save up and buy a new machine?

3. Regarding CPU temperatures. At what average temperature should a CPU be? I don't have a fancy machin with super cooling system. My CPU fan does average of 1800-2000 RPMs and CPU temp is around 90F° (lol)

Thanks in advance and pardon my layman's questions.

[sruon]

1. Didn't really understand but yes, using different RAMs generally does more harm than it helps.

2. Nothing? It's pretty simple to do, though if you bought it with 1 Gb RAM it must be getting really old and you should consider saving up.

3. You didn't give the model but 90°F is more than normal.

[SephYuyX]

Mixing RAM is fine as long as theyre the same pin type and clock speed. Another factor is dual channeling, and if you dont meet those requirements, there will be a slight loss of performance. If youre using different clock speeds (which thats what it sounds like), it'll generally still work, and be fine, it will just perform at the lowest clock speed and end up making you worse off.

Free, and youre better off getting a new PC rather than upgrading.

60~100 is critical for CPUs depending on what type you have.

[Klaatu]

Thing is, I was very careful when buying RAM upgrade. I made sure that, while the manufacturer is different, the model type is identical (512MB DDR - PC266). That's why I would like to have someone look at my machine to see if there's actual adjustment needed to make them work. So when you say free, are you referring to an online diagnostic or an actual tech service that can come to your house and do this? I would prefer to be there and see what the person does and where the problems is, with my PC are. I won't upgrade this machine any further, definitely buying a new one, but until I do, I want to fix it up so it runs better.

[sruon]

Not really sure what you mean by diagnostic but... google : CCleaner, Spybot S&D, Advanced SystemCare and how to clean dust in computers.

Those 4 are good starters lol, don't see the need for a physical person... Past this point you're gonna have to format completly if you want real performances back.

[SubzeroDiabolos]

Hardware check up at my local store is 35$ CAN (micro-byte)

How much is that in celcius? My CPU hovers around 56-57 during gaming and nothing happened to it yet.

[Klaatu]

It's about 38-40°C.

[Cheerios]

90°F isn't critical for a CPU, ~80°C is. ~80°C is usually when your PC will shut down to prevent damage (around 90 to even 100°C for a video card). Your temperature right now is fine.

As for your RAM issue, I didn't read anything about different different speeds of ram (PC 3200 vs PC 2700) so a little more information might be needed. What is the exact model of your Sony Vaio?

[Agito]

Go into your BIOS and check what timings your memory is running at along with the speed. For an example of the timings all three sticks should be running the same timings, example: 3-4-5-6 CAS-tRCD-tRP-tRAS. (Different timings in your case.) If all your ram isn't at the same timings then it can cause problems, i believe.

[Olo401]

Mixing RAM is fine as long as theyre the same pin type and clock speed. Another factor is dual channeling, and if you dont meet those requirements, there will be a slight loss of performance. If youre using different clock speeds (which thats what it sounds like), it'll generally still work, and be fine, it will just perform at the lowest clock speed and end up making you worse off.

Dual channeling isn't a factor here since he's using plain DDR memory. The timings tho are important and should be matched across all the memory banks.

The problem with the third memory slot might be that it's shot. Take all the memory out, and try one of the good sticks in that third socket. If the machine doesn't boot properly, then you know the socket is no good.

(oh and the 512/480 thing is normal.. system resource allocations)