Bank Interleaving of RAM sticks

Hi everybody
Over the last month I have been trying to get a 3-y-o no-name computer
running as well as possible. The machine has 224MB RAM (32MB given to
AGP), 1.8GHzCPU, 20GB HD and runs on WinME.
So far it doesn´t look bad at all but I´d like to go further.
However, this will involve getting into areas where I have little
experience.
The computer has two sticks of 128MB PC-133 SDRAM memory and I want to
see if I can get the machine running a little faster by bank
interleaving these two sticks.
The AMIBIOS SetUp lists SDRAM Bank Interleave as one of its options,
but it is grayed out at disabled and this cannot be changed.
Also, the documents that accompanied the computer when delivered do not
provide much information on the memory sticks. Indeed, the
manufaturer/supplier of the sticks is not mentioned so I can´t check a
website to know if Bank Interleaving is supported by these sticks.
To make matters worse, the computer was assembled by a company which
has since gone out of business so there is nobody to advise me on what
is possible and what is not.
The final straw is that I´m temporarily in a country where English is
not spoken so I would really appreciate any advice which can indicate
how I can (or if I can) get the bank interleaving to function.
TIA
Paul

If you have access to an application such as Everest from Lavalys
(regrettably no longer free) this should be able to identify the maker and
model number of your memory sticks. Everest also includes benchmarking
tools that allow you to compare your memory capabilities with other
machines with similar memory.
--
Mike Maltby



PaulFXH wrote:

Hi everybody
Over the last month I have been trying to get a 3-y-o no-name computer
running as well as possible. The machine has 224MB RAM (32MB given to
AGP), 1.8GHzCPU, 20GB HD and runs on WinME.
So far it doesn´t look bad at all but I´d like to go further.
However, this will involve getting into areas where I have little
experience.
The computer has two sticks of 128MB PC-133 SDRAM memory and I want to
see if I can get the machine running a little faster by bank
interleaving these two sticks.
The AMIBIOS SetUp lists SDRAM Bank Interleave as one of its options,
but it is grayed out at disabled and this cannot be changed.
Also, the documents that accompanied the computer when delivered do
not provide much information on the memory sticks. Indeed, the
manufaturer/supplier of the sticks is not mentioned so I can´t check a
website to know if Bank Interleaving is supported by these sticks.
To make matters worse, the computer was assembled by a company which
has since gone out of business so there is nobody to advise me on what
is possible and what is not.
The final straw is that I´m temporarily in a country where English is
not spoken so I would really appreciate any advice which can indicate
how I can (or if I can) get the bank interleaving to function.
TIA
Paul

AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2006, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.crashfixpc.com/millsrpch.htm

http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's
"Mike M" wrote in message
...
If you have access to an application such as Everest from Lavalys
(regrettably no longer free) this should be able to identify the maker and
model number of your memory sticks. Everest also includes benchmarking
tools that allow you to compare your memory capabilities with other
machines with similar memory.
--
Mike Maltby



PaulFXH wrote:

Hi everybody
Over the last month I have been trying to get a 3-y-o no-name computer
running as well as possible. The machine has 224MB RAM (32MB given to
AGP), 1.8GHzCPU, 20GB HD and runs on WinME.
So far it doesn´t look bad at all but I´d like to go further.
However, this will involve getting into areas where I have little
experience.
The computer has two sticks of 128MB PC-133 SDRAM memory and I want to
see if I can get the machine running a little faster by bank
interleaving these two sticks.
The AMIBIOS SetUp lists SDRAM Bank Interleave as one of its options,
but it is grayed out at disabled and this cannot be changed.
Also, the documents that accompanied the computer when delivered do
not provide much information on the memory sticks. Indeed, the
manufaturer/supplier of the sticks is not mentioned so I can´t check a
website to know if Bank Interleaving is supported by these sticks.
To make matters worse, the computer was assembled by a company which
has since gone out of business so there is nobody to advise me on what
is possible and what is not.
The final straw is that I´m temporarily in a country where English is
not spoken so I would really appreciate any advice which can indicate
how I can (or if I can) get the bank interleaving to function.
TIA
Paul

Noel Paton wrote:

AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

I thought that AIDA32 should do this but when I tried it on this box it
failed but that is possibly because much of the hardware on this box post
dates the last release of AIDA32 by some time. Perhaps I should have
tried on my old Win Me box but that is currently taking a long overdue
break and saving me a bit on my electric bill at the same time and I
didn't think to switch it on. :-)
--
Mike M

Doesn't SiSoft Sandra do this?? It is still free, AFAIK.
Heirloom, old and now short 2 cents

"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Noel Paton wrote:

AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

I thought that AIDA32 should do this but when I tried it on this box it
failed but that is possibly because much of the hardware on this box post
dates the last release of AIDA32 by some time. Perhaps I should have
tried on my old Win Me box but that is currently taking a long overdue
break and saving me a bit on my electric bill at the same time and I
didn't think to switch it on. :-)
--
Mike M

Heirloom wrote:

Doesn't SiSoft Sandra do this?? It is still free, AFAIK.

It may well do H. It's a very long time since I used SiSoft Sandra and to
be honest didn't realise that it was free. Ah! I see that they have a
Lite version which I assume is free and a paid for Pro, a bit like Everest
in the old days.
--
Mike Maltby

PaulFXH
you can get Everest V.2.20 from
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181
--
cogito ergo sum


"Mike M" wrote:

Heirloom wrote:

Doesn't SiSoft Sandra do this?? It is still free, AFAIK.

It may well do H. It's a very long time since I used SiSoft Sandra and to
be honest didn't realise that it was free. Ah! I see that they have a
Lite version which I assume is free and a paid for Pro, a bit like Everest
in the old days.
--
Mike Maltby

Thanks to everybody for your interest and help so far.
I´ve actually used PC WIZARD 2006 to ascertain that I have two 128 MB
Ram sticks (DIMM) whose manufacturer is AMD. Each stick has 4 banks and
1 row. Given that the computer was assembled in July 2003, I am
assuming that bank interleaving is supported although I haven´t been
able to absolutely confim this.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that this option is grayed out in the
Bios Setup.
Does anybody have any idea as to how I can overcome this and get the
interleaving option enabled?
TIA
Paul

Assuming it is supported (as opposed to something that was going to be but
was disabled at the last minute) then the first thing you need is a matched
set of modules. Not similar ones, not ones of the same size and type, but a
matched set. They are more expensive than plain old memory modules because
they have been tested and are guaranteed to work with a dual bank memory
configuration.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* My website, such as it is ... http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"PaulFXH" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks to everybody for your interest and help so far.
I´ve actually used PC WIZARD 2006 to ascertain that I have two 128 MB
Ram sticks (DIMM) whose manufacturer is AMD. Each stick has 4 banks and
1 row. Given that the computer was assembled in July 2003, I am
assuming that bank interleaving is supported although I haven´t been
able to absolutely confim this.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that this option is grayed out in the
Bios Setup.
Does anybody have any idea as to how I can overcome this and get the
interleaving option enabled?
TIA
Paul

Hi everyone,
I got Everest downloaded as various people have suggested and it
provided some further information on my memory situation. Here it is
(translated from Portuguese):

Memory Controller Properties:
Error correction method 32-bit ECC
Error correction Single-bit
Interleaving supported 1-Way
Interleaving in place 1-Way
Memory speed supported 70ns, 60ns
Memory type supported SPM, FPM, EDO, Parity,
ECC, SIMM
Memory voltage supported 3.3V
Maxmum size of memory modules 1024 MB
Memory slots 4



Memory modules SPD
DIMM1: AMD 128 MB PC133 SDRAM (3.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) (2.0-2-2-5 @
100 MHz)
DIMM2: AMD 128 MB PC133 SDRAM (3.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) (2.0-2-2-5
@ 100 MHz)


I note with interest that interleaving is already in place even though
this option is disabled (but grayed out) in the BIOS SetUp.
So what should I conclude from this? Is this as good as it gets or can
I do better? There is no indication as to whether the interleaving is
2-bank or 4-bank. Given that PC WIZARD2006 reports that my sticks are
4-bank, does this indicate that an improvement is possible?
As for the point that Richard G Harper made about the modules being
matched, I guess the fact that interleaving is already in place would
suggest that they are indeed matched.
I really would appreciate any comments, or even criticism, as I am very
much venturing into uncharted waters here.
TIA
Paul