I just bought a PII motherboard yesterday (350mHz) and I was wondering how much RAM I could install maximum. I don't have the motherboard model right now (could get it later though), but it has 3 168-pin RAM slots...is there a general rule to how much a motherboard can hold (based on the processor and the amount of memory slots) or does it just depend on the motherboard manufacturer? It's an NEC system by the way. Thanks so much for your help!
CPUs have a max amount of memory they can address, based on the address bus. P2s have a 36bit address bus which means it can handle up to 64gbs of memory! 36bit address bus was introduced with the Pentium Pro but for some reason the Pentium 4 only had a 32bit address bus!? giving a 4gb max. As 64gbs is a poor answer I should add that it will most likely be down to the northbridge chipset on the motherboard. In the days of Pentium 2s 512mbs was a huge amount, like say 2gb is now.
That depends on the chipset on the motherboard. If it's a 440BX (the most lucrative chipset in the PII/III days) it can hold 256MB maximum per slot. So, in your case, you'd be able to hold 768MB (3x256MB). Find out the chipset, however. Some chipsets require registered RAM and may even require ECC functionality.
Thanks for the response... that's the best info I've gotten yet! I'll do that when I get home...hopefully I can get more than 768mb in there however..
Why would you need more than 768mb of RAM in a Pentium 2 Machine. I have a 350Mhz that runs fine on 128mb RAM. Any more and I don't think you'd notice a difference.
It all depends on how many programs you want in the background. Something that takes up RAM doesnt always take up cpu time.
