Member Avatar for rcrevolution

My friend has a 3 year old compaq with a Pentium 3 in it, right now its running a 128MB PC100 stick of ram and I let him borrow a PC133 sitck of ram (256MB) I know that both stick s are only running at pc100 right now, but will his pc support pc133 if I take out the 128MB and he puts in two 256MB (pc133)?

I dont have any specs on the pc tho, its a compaq persario, P3, came stock with pc100 I think it will acept pc133 any ideas? ;)

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asked whether a three‑year‑old Compaq Presario (Pentium III, shipped with a PC100 DIMM) will accept two 256MB PC133 sticks. and correctly pointed out that the definitive answer depends on the exact Presario model and its motherboard/BIOS. The safe approach is to verify the board’s supported memory type, per‑slot limits, and whether it requires non‑ECC/unbuffered SDRAM.

Useful, practical checks:

  • Locate the Presario product/model number on the case and pull the memory/spec sheet from the manufacturer (Compaq/HP) to see supported speeds and max module size (HP Support).
  • Read SPD data from the installed module with a utility such as CPU‑Z to confirm DIMM type (unbuffered vs registered, ECC vs non‑ECC) and timings (CPU‑Z).
  • If the manual is unavailable, test hardware safely: power down and unplug, install one PC133 DIMM in the primary slot, power up and check POST/BIOS for recognized size and reported memory speed. If it POSTS and shows the module, try the second stick.

Key compatibility notes and cautions:

  • PC100 and PC133 for desktop SDRAM use the same 168‑pin DIMM form factor and are physically interchangeable, but the motherboard/chipset/BIOS sets the run speed. If the board does not support 133MHz, the module will either run at 100MHz or fail to boot.
  • Match module type: don’t mix ECC/registered sticks with standard desktop (unbuffered, non‑ECC) DIMMs. Many OEM boards of that era also cap per‑slot size (check for a 256MB per‑slot limit).
  • If problems occur, test one stick at a time, try different slots, clear CMOS, and only apply BIOS updates from the official HP site. Take standard ESD precautions when handling memory.

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Member Avatar for shortbus

I had to work on a friends Compaq a little while ago. For your sake I widsh I would hasve kept the info of how I found the specs.

It was brutal to find them and brutal to work on.

The only good thing from the experience was giving it back to him.

Google long enough and you'll find 'em.

Sorry I can't offer more than that.

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