I purchased a Stylistic 3500 on EBay with 128MB

[MurrayW]

I purchased a Stylistic 3500 on EBay with 128MB of PC100 memory. I want to upgrade to 256MB and PC133 is about 1/2 the price of PC100. Will PC133 work in the Stylistic 3500 (running at 100MHz)? I am not looking for any speed improvements from faster memory, just trying to save a little money.

Fujitsu support said they were not sure, but that they only COULD recommend PC100 -- sounded like a CYA response to me.
thanks,
Murray

[Steve S]

Murray: Your question is actually better directed to someone who makes RAM, like Crucial, PNY, Kingmax... etc. My suggestion is to e-mail Crucial, and see what they say...

[MurrayW]

Steve, actually I had emailed crucial yesterday and below is the response I got from them today. I just wanted to double-check before purchasing PC133, which should work just fine:

Dear Murray,

Thank you for your email. If the Memory Selector lists both PC133 and PC100 modules as compatible with your system, your computer has 100MHz FSB, and you can use PC100 or PC133 SDRAM. All PCs that accept PC100 SDRAM will also accept PC133 SDRAM; however, your memory will only run as fast as the slowest "link" in your system. If you have a 100MHz FSB or any PC100 modules installed, any PC133 modules that you install will only operate at 100MHz.

PC133 SDRAM doesn't offer any immediate benefit over PC100 SDRAM if you have a 100MHz FSB. However, if you are planning to upgrade to a system with a 133MHz FSB in the future, you can use the PC133 modules.

At Crucial, we are committed to providing high-quality products and reliable service and support. Please contact our customer service or sales department if you have any questions.


Sincerely,
Duey Schroeder
Direct Sales and Support Representative
Tel: (800) 336-8896
Tel: (208) 363-5790 (outside US & Canada)
Fax: (208) 363-5501
mailto:crucial.service@micron.com

Talk to an Expert Online http://www.crucial.com/company/contacts.asp

Crucial Technology -- The Memory Experts(SM)
3475 E. Commercial Ct. Meridian, ID 83642 http://www.crucial.com

[sid6.8]

To decipher the Crucial response:

Yes

the FSB(motherboard) sets the speed, memory rated at 133MHz means it is rated up to 133MHz. when the move to PC133 was new, the pricing was the other way arround, a premium was to be paid for the additional speed, now it is inverted as they produce so little of the PC100 supply is down and price has crept up.

If things were the other way around, it would "F" everything up. If you put PC100 where you needed PC133, the best you could hope for was to lose 25% of overall processor speed, most likely, it just wouldn't boot.

the guy from Crucial was also trying to tell you that you will get no benefit from PC133, I guess you don't care, the benefit that you are looking for is the low price, right?

If it were my PC I would go with the less expensive PC133 without a second thought.