RAM/Solid State Memory is one of the most difficult areas to figure out - and even when you use the little online calculators, they can be wrong. Sometimes a system will claim a limit that is far lower than what it can see... other times, it will have a limit far lower than what you expect. Vendors don't want to refund you - and because it is expensive and easy to counterfeit - there are a lot of unscrupulous dealers and scams out there. It is also the component that you're most likely to damage with static discharge - and it will SEEM to work, but you'll get memory errors that will cause system instability that are (or can be) *super* hard to track down.

Beyond that - matching RAM to the system speed and clock cycle is a super important science. Basically, if your RAM isn't fast enough or is not cycle matched to your CPU and memory bus - you get the system *ready* for the next memory fetch but the memory has to wait - or vice versa - and the whole system slows down. People build these super fast ultimate gaming system, and make a mistake on their RAM - and they can't figure out why their system is benchmarking so much slower than other "exactly configured" machines. The different names and types of RAM are confusing, they use esoteric naming and marking conventions that are not always consistent, and there are so many different varieties of RAM - it makes it one of the black holes of DIY computer building. 

And they haven't done anything to make it BETTER in the last 40 years. I've got always got a drawer full of discarded RAM that I'm not sure if I can use or not, and frequently I buy new RAM for something then discover exactly the same thing in my pile O ram and feel like an idiot for buying something I already had. 

And I'm sure that the RAM vendors and manufacturers LIKE it this way. 

Sat Jul 17 2021 20:41:51 MST from Wangiss <wangiss@wallofhate.com>

Dude for real. Both of my RAM purchases this year were ridiculous.

1. Wooden computer. Wanted to go crazy with RAM. Bought two 32GB sticks because the Mini-ITX motherboard only accepts two sticks. Paid hundreds! Jokes on me: the motherboard can take a 32GB stick... But only one of them. It's built for up to two 16GB sticks or one 32GB stick but not two 32GB sticks. Please don't explain; I'm still fuming. But I have an extra 32GB stick for the next motherboard upgrade, I guess. I'll just hold onto it. 

2. The kids' computer. Four 1GB 240-pin sticks. So I can't just use 288-pin stick I bought used. Apparently you can upgrade to 4GB sticks! But which ones work? No one knows! Even Crucial doesn't test that chipset anymore. So I upgraded to 2GB sticks. All for $29 total, which was nice. But... Now I have 8GB of ram, which is nothing. And nobody sells 4GB X 4 sticks in the range I need. Why. Ugh. 

I have 4x8GB sticks, but apparently I can use 4x16GB sticks if I want, so I might upgrade that, but for the most part things are fine with my 32GB.  Do I really need 64GB?  No, but is that ever the point?

I think I can go 16gb on the machine that runs TSBBS. I've been meaning to - just because I think it will make it run faster. We're right near the ceiling right now a lot of the time. There seems to be a memory leak. In Citadel? In Debian? In Proxmox? Who knows. But memory use goes up even when usage goes down. 

I just keep putting it off. 

Wed Sep 22 2021 00:41:17 MST from TheDave

I have 4x8GB sticks, but apparently I can use 4x16GB sticks if I want, so I might upgrade that, but for the most part things are fine with my 32GB.  Do I really need 64GB?  No, but is that ever the point?

Wed Sep 22 2021 00:41:17 MST from TheDave

I have 4x8GB sticks, but apparently I can use 4x16GB sticks if I want, so I might upgrade that, but for the most part things are fine with my 32GB.  Do I really need 64GB?  No, but is that ever the point?

In Jurassic Park they ask the question of can/should. But in Motherboard Park the answer is just always yes.

Well, I ordered the memory sticks. They're backordered. I ordered the $2000 wheels for my BMW (2 wheels, just the rears). Backordered. 

I've been thinking about a '56 Vette, white and red. My luck, it'll be backordered. 

Tue Oct 05 2021 13:02:01 MST from ParanoidDelusions <paranoiddelusions@wallofhate.com>

Well, I ordered the memory sticks. They're backordered. I ordered the $2000 wheels for my BMW (2 wheels, just the rears). Backordered. 

I've been thinking about a '56 Vette, white and red. My luck, it'll be backordered. 

 

Well ain't this place a geographical oddity, two weeks from everywhere!

Everything is two weeks from wherever you're at, right now. :)

Wed Oct 06 2021 15:26:56 MST from TheDave

 

Tue Oct 05 2021 13:02:01 MST from ParanoidDelusions <paranoiddelusions@wallofhate.com>

Well, I ordered the memory sticks. They're backordered. I ordered the $2000 wheels for my BMW (2 wheels, just the rears). Backordered. 

I've been thinking about a '56 Vette, white and red. My luck, it'll be backordered. 

 

Well ain't this place a geographical oddity, two weeks from everywhere!

The global shipping backlog map is horrifying. 

Especially when you've got shit you want. I've got two additional BMW wheels on the way. 

I've got 2 sticks of RAM on the way. 

God knows when they'll arrive. 

Today we bought two things of toilet paper from CostCo. The sign says, "Limit 1 Ea." but they sell Kirkland and Charmin. The guy back there saw what we were doing and said, "They're doing it right..." 

We got up front and they tried to argue... I think they'll be changing their signage. 

Fri Oct 15 2021 22:33:59 MST from Wangiss <wangiss@wallofhate.com>

The global shipping backlog map is horrifying. 

I was posting a lot about my Raspberry Pi a year ago while I was trying to install the optimal Linux distro. I haven't touched it in ten months or so. The thing is, I want to play stupid video games on it. But there's nowhere in my house I can do that without the kids seeing, and then I'll lose all credibility with them on being Responsible™. My best bet is to play guitar in my minuscule downtime, which is actually paying off huge. But I'll talk about that more in the music room. 

Sun Dec 26 2021 04:20:08 MST from Wangiss <wangiss@wallofhate.com>

I was posting a lot about my Raspberry Pi a year ago while I was trying to install the optimal Linux distro. I haven't touched it in ten months or so. The thing is, I want to play stupid video games on it. But there's nowhere in my house I can do that without the kids seeing, and then I'll lose all credibility with them on being Responsible™. My best bet is to play guitar in my minuscule downtime, which is actually paying off huge. But I'll talk about that more in the music room. 

LOL yeah, that's what happens when you build false credibility on something that you're definitely bullshitting.  I won't tell them until they're at least 18, I promise. ;)

On the other hand, if they ever visit me, I'm definitely getting them to play Metroid.

I'm big on going, "because I'm an adult and life isn't fair. Now go do your homework while I eff off..."