Will PC3200 RAM make a difference?
in [Chips]
|
From: George Macdonald on 17 Aug 2005 15:45 On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:32:39 GMT, dannysdailys(a)aol-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (dannysdailys) wrote: >As you can tell by all the posts, this is the problem with buying a >manufacturers PC. They're simply a mix and matched mess of parts. Well some of them are built to spec - the lowest for the price.:-) >Assuming the MSI is using an Intel chipset: As far as I'm aware, >Intel doesn't even make a dual channel memory bus. That's Nvidias >domain with the Nforce set of northbridge chips. So matching memory >seems silly to me. Maybe I'm misinformed. Just a wee bit out of date.:-) Intel has had DDR dual memory channel chipsets for ~2years now - they need it to keep up with the 4x clocked FSB. IIRC, as far back as the DRDRAM chipsets, they were dual channel too, except for the i820. -- Rgds, George Macdonald
From: dk_ on 18 Aug 2005 01:42 In article <51g9f1dll6ogdtqik72scnuii2il6asfhv(a)4ax.com>, George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks(a)tellurian.com> wrote: > >Regarding the discussion below about x8 and x16... you point out that > >these 2 numbers don't refer to the number of chips on a stick; I > >haven't see any FAQ's, or discussions, using those two numbers, so I > >assumed the numbers were referring to the obvious number of chips on a > >stick and that they should be the same # on each stick. > > For same-size DIMMs, the effect is the same of course. If you look up any > memory chip Data Sheets, you'll see that they commonly come in x8 and x16 > data widths for desktop system DIMMs and x4 and x32 for other applications. Thank you for all the info and details. I have been searching to find how I can identify or recognize 'data widths' for each DRAM stick. How can I tell if the stick is x8 or x16. In order for dual channel mode to work, some sources say the 'data widths' must match, and some sources make no mention of this. I have searched the term 'DRAM bus width', and so far I can find no practical informaltion. Help. Thanks again. -Dennis -- Dennis Kessler http://www.denniskessler.com/acupuncture
From: Jason Gurtz on 18 Aug 2005 09:28 On 8/17/2005 15:45, George Macdonald wrote: > Just a wee bit out of date.:-) Intel has had DDR dual memory channel > chipsets for ~2years now - they need it to keep up with the 4x clocked FSB. > IIRC, as far back as the DRDRAM chipsets, they were dual channel too, > except for the i820. Other than server chipsets (hmm, maybe that was all serverworks anyway), wasn't the 865 the first from Intel to support dual channel? ~Jason --
From: George Macdonald on 18 Aug 2005 14:13 On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:28:45 -0400, Jason Gurtz <ask(a)NOmeSPAM.where> wrote: >On 8/17/2005 15:45, George Macdonald wrote: >> Just a wee bit out of date.:-) Intel has had DDR dual memory channel >> chipsets for ~2years now - they need it to keep up with the 4x clocked FSB. >> IIRC, as far back as the DRDRAM chipsets, they were dual channel too, >> except for the i820. > >Other than server chipsets (hmm, maybe that was all serverworks anyway), >wasn't the 865 the first from Intel to support dual channel? Well, in the strictly "desktop" arena that's probably true... if you figure the i840 & i850 were at least targeted at a higher level. OTOH neither ended up in many servers and they migrated down from even the workstation slot to what I'd call the high-end desktop space. You gotta figure there were a lot of people who did not want the full compromise of i810/i815 and even i845 - Intel dropped the ball there... and DRDRAM *was* intriguing to some. They just had to feel it for themselves.:-) -- Rgds, George Macdonald
From: George Macdonald on 18 Aug 2005 14:13
On Wed, 17 Aug 2005 22:42:54 -0700, dk_ <nobody(a)spamless.com> wrote: >In article <51g9f1dll6ogdtqik72scnuii2il6asfhv(a)4ax.com>, > George Macdonald <fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks(a)tellurian.com> wrote: > >> >Regarding the discussion below about x8 and x16... you point out that >> >these 2 numbers don't refer to the number of chips on a stick; I >> >haven't see any FAQ's, or discussions, using those two numbers, so I >> >assumed the numbers were referring to the obvious number of chips on a >> >stick and that they should be the same # on each stick. >> >> For same-size DIMMs, the effect is the same of course. If you look up any >> memory chip Data Sheets, you'll see that they commonly come in x8 and x16 >> data widths for desktop system DIMMs and x4 and x32 for other applications. > >Thank you for all the info and details. > >I have been searching to find how I can identify or recognize 'data >widths' for each DRAM stick. How can I tell if the stick is x8 or x16. Hmm, I hope I haven't caused more confusion than I wanted here... more detail than you need. By stick, do you mean module?.... i.e. DIMM? They are all 64-bits wide and the only *chips* you can populate them with in Intel's desktop chipset specs are either all x8 or all x16 bits wide on any given module. IOW you can count the chips per DIMM side and know the width of the chips: 8 chips per side means each side (rank) has x8 wide chips.; if there were only four chips on a side they'd have to be x16 wide chips. >In order for dual channel mode to work, some sources say the 'data >widths' must match, and some sources make no mention of this. That makes sense. It's a pity that a few charlatans have dumped odd-ball configurations on the market with all chips, on both sides of a DIMM, being used to make up the 64-bit wide bus - IOW 8 chips on each side grouped as 16 chips which are each x4 bits wide. That's the one to avoid at all costs - sometimes known as a "high density *module*" >I have searched the term 'DRAM bus width', and so far I can find no >practical informaltion. Well, again, the DRAM channel bus width is always 64-bits wide - it's the number of chips used to get there that's important. DRAM chip Data Sheets, which you can download from www.micron.com contain much more info than you need but a quick glance will illustrate the different chips available. Did the extra DIMM you bought not work in dual-channel along with the original DIMM which came with the system? While it's possible that it could, to avoid possibly playing roulette again, the only way to be sure spec-wise is to buy a couple of identically spec'd DIMMs from say www.crucial.com where you can enter the mfr and model number of your system and get a recommendation. -- Rgds, George Macdonald |