So an old computer has two slows for 184-pin DDR 266 SDRAM

does this one fit into this slot?

PATRIOT DDR 1GB PC3200 400MHz

- Type: DDR
- Capacity: 1024 MB
- Speed: 400 MHz

That is will it work?

Or do i need to find the DDR266 ?

Both are DDR 1, so it should... if the motherboard supports that large RAM modules, that is.

However, you should remember that if you add a PC3200 (DDR 400) module to a present PC2100 (DDR266), you'll end up with both modules operating at the speed of the slower one.

Usually there isn't a problem using DDR memory that can go higher than your motherboard can handle. However in some cases the motherboard thinks that the memory card has half the amount of memory (for example it could think that you just installed 512MB of RAM and not 1024MB). You should better check the appropriate web pages for your motherboard. ^_^

that's what i am afraid of. i know they will probably work on slower speed anyway.

problem is if they will work porpperly at all - i.e. show the right RAM size.

I was chekcing the motherboard manual but it doens't indicate anything too good. mostly because it's older that the 400 RAM version.

well it seems i need to open or at leats check the bios. because the motherboard has 2 slots for DIMM RAM and 2 for DDR. the computer already has 256MB RAM. and if it's DDR then i will probably advise 512MB ram bexause that should be enough for surfing the web noramlly. right now WIN XP SP2 is making it very sloooooow. otherwise it shows 733Mhz porcessor which should also be enough fo rweb browsing, using Skype and the MS Office

You can actually find on the net and download an update to your BIOS which should allow your motherboard to at least recognize, if not support, the newer RAM modules. All you need is Everest Home Edition which is freeware, and there to look up the exact name / model of either your BIOS or your motherboard.

Even simpler, you can just open the computer case and see if the model number and revision of your motherboard is printed on its surface (often they are). Then look it up on the manufacturer's website.

I would say downloading and installing Everest Home Edition would be a little faster than disconnecting all the cables from the computer and removing the screws :P
Besides, the software gives you much more than that. Some components on your PC can't be identified just from a look, without a diagnostics software.

well diagnostic programe Everest said it's DDR. i have the manual for the board, but since the board can have the old 164 pin and newer DDR ram i didnt' know which one was installed. plus i was asking because the manual says you are supposed to install 266 (?) DDR. anyway the thing is they do not sell that kind of RAM modules as there are newer and faster available.

so aside from both working at slower speed is there any other compatibility issue?

and yes i didn't want to remove all the cables, not unless i really had to...

so it seem ram is DDR which means if i added another one 512 MB module it should be enough for that kind of work that is used for...

otherwise i will just take out the old one and get 2 x 512 MB. but it's not like the computer is used for some intense gaming + processor is 733Mhz (or somehting like that) AMD and graphics is 32 or 64 MB.

the only thing i could think of that would eat the ram a lot would be video phone over Skype.