"ChNomad" said:
I am looking for A7M266 compatable 1 gig sticks ( i want to put 2 1 gig
sticks in my board)
what ones are available - as in least expensive non-ECC
Thanks
The controller supports unbuffered or registered DIMMs. First
I looked for unbuffered.
Crucial lists some for $250. Kingston has one listed for the
A7M266 for about the same. These companies provide a search
engine, to ensure you get the right ram. Their unbuffered ram
will not be the "stacked kind". "Stacked" memory uses 32 chips
on the DIMM instead of 16 for a double sided DIMM, as the stacked
is cheaper.
One of the Crucial entries is a registered 1GB modules, but
it is $310. Same with Kingston. I was hoping the registered
would be cheaper. The datasheet for the Kingston registered
module is here:
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR266X72RC25_1024.pdf
The section on A7M266 on the Mushkin site (mainboard qualification)
appears to be missing. Sometimes Mushkin warns of memory
bandwidth reduction via the use of 1GB modules, so now we don't
know if that is an issue or not. The A7M266-D uses a different
Northbridge, so cannot necessarily be trusted as a guide, and
has no guidance on 1GB modules in this case anyway.
The datasheet for the AMD761 Northbridge says:
"Supports the following DRAM:
* Up to two unbuffered DIMMs or four registered DIMMs
* 64-Mbit, 128-Mbit, 256-Mbit, and 512-Mbit technology
* 64-bit data width, plus 8-bit ECC paths
* Flexible row and column addressing
Device widths of x4, x8, and x16 are supported
(x4 supported only for registered DIMMs).
The AMD-761 system controller does not allow DIMM types
to be mixed on the same motherboard. All DIMMs on the
motherboard must be either unbuffered or registered."
Now, if you look on Pricewatch, you'll find modules starting
at $87. But, to their credit, at least some of the adverts
now mention they are using 128M x 4 memory chips, or that the
modules are only compatible with a list of Northbridge chips
included in the ad. That means the modules are the stacked
ones, specifically mentioned as not supported in the datasheet
blurb above:
==> (x4 supported _only_ for registered DIMMs)
So, stacked memories are fine if they are buffered by the
address register on a registered memory module. To use
unregistered memory, then you need the $250 modules from
Kingston or Crucial, which have (16) 64M x 8 chips.
If you play roulette with a Pricewatch merchant, check out
what restocking fees they charge if you return the module,
and see whether you can actually get your money back or
end up with store credit. The whole process makes Las
Vegas look like a church bingo hall.
HTH,
Paul
