DDR memory question PC3200

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gabriel Knight
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Gabriel Knight

I got a pc of my video store I cleaned it up it works great of 512mb ram but
I will put 2gig in but the manual doesnt say anything about what type of ram
it needs im talking about ecc or the other one non something or low or high
density, and what CAS latency is needed? The mobo is GA-8S661FXM-775 the
site here has no mention of it:

http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=1842&dl=1#sp

I have win xp pro running on it and later I will have dual boot of win xp
and win 98 then later linux mint run by a P4 3.4GHz CPU.

It also mentions no max AGP card memory I would like a 256mb or 512mb 8x
card in but for now im using the onboard can you tell me about this too?



Thanks, GK
 
Gabriel said:
I got a pc of my video store I cleaned it up it works great of 512mb ram but
I will put 2gig in but the manual doesnt say anything about what type of ram
it needs im talking about ecc or the other one non something or low or high
density, and what CAS latency is needed? The mobo is GA-8S661FXM-775 the
site here has no mention of it:

http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=1842&dl=1#sp

I have win xp pro running on it and later I will have dual boot of win xp
and win 98 then later linux mint run by a P4 3.4GHz CPU.

It also mentions no max AGP card memory I would like a 256mb or 512mb 8x
card in but for now im using the onboard can you tell me about this too?



Thanks, GK
Click to expand...

The good news, is on page 6.

http://cht.sis.com/UD_Data/elibrary/techdoc/intelchipsets/661FXP0627.pdf

"2 DIMM Unbuffered DDR400 Support <--- your mobo has only two slots...
3 DIMM Unbuffered DDR333 Support
Max. 1GB per DIMM"

The max 1GB per DIMM, means a single-sided 512MB DIMM (8 chips total) could
be used. Or, a double-sided 1GB DIMM with 16 chips total (8 per side). Those
would be the same tech level. A 512MB DIMM with 16 chips, is half the
density of the chips in those other two examples, and would not be
a problem.

I don't think 2GB DDR400 DIMMs were really popular at retail, so you
might not run into them. They would only be "half-detected" on your
motherboard, so not a good purchase.

The motherboard web page mentions 512MB per slot max, so on the
release date, 1GB DIMMs probably weren't shipping. You're taking
a chance, by using a 1GB DIMM, based on what the Gigabyte user manual
is telling you. Even the Crucial memory search engine, will not
go out on a limb, and encourage surpassing the original motherboard
manual.

But if you want to try, the SIS documentation says 1GB modules will work.

Kingston doesn't sell DDR400 any more, as your motherboard is in their
"discontinued model" table. They still provided data.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/con...-775+Motherboard&distributor=0&submit1=Search

"Maximum Memory: 2GB
Expansion: 2 Sockets"

This is an example, of the fastest module Kingston sold for that model.
It happens to be CAS3. But DDR400. I had to dig up a link to the datasheet,
which still exists on their site. You can see, it's a 16 chip, double
sided 1GB module. The only thing you might have trouble with, is if
there was such a thing as a single sided 8 chip 1GB module.

KVR400X64C3A/1G

http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR400X64C3A_1G.pdf

There are very few cases, where a faster CAS causes a problem.
Only the BIOS codes that "do something stupid" when computing RAM
parameters, have a problem like that. So if by some miracle,
all you could find was CAS2, just buy it.

Example of double sided 1GB module CAS3.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146575

Slightly cheaper module, but with heat spreaders to hide chip count.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211014

All the modules of this size, still in stock on Newegg, are CAS3.
And CAS3 is the "industry standard" speed for DDR400. While
CAS2.5 and CAS2 were "selected" chips for the enthusiast modules.
It's not surprising, that when enthusiast modules disappear
from the market, that all that remains will be CAS3.

Paul
 
I got a pc of my video store I cleaned it up it works great of 512mb ram but
I will put 2gig in but the manual doesnt say anything about what type of ram
it needs im talking about ecc or the other one non something or low or high
density, and what CAS latency is needed? The mobo is GA-8S661FXM-775 the
site here has no mention of it:

http://www.gigabyte.com.au/products/product-page.aspx?pid=1842&dl=1#sp

I have win xp pro running on it and later I will have dual boot of win xp
and win 98 then later linux mint run by a P4 3.4GHz CPU.

It also mentions no max AGP card memory I would like a 256mb or 512mb 8x
card in but for now im using the onboard can you tell me about this too?

Thanks, GK
Click to expand...

Running almost identical. Though my Gigabyte is a AM2 socket,
somewhat newer, but an Asus is close to that with a P4 3Ghz and as
well 512M, Everest has spec'd for DDR Mushkin PC3200;- whereas without
onboard video, I wouldn't try and duplicate an AGP if you've onboard,
but stick to that unless it's problematic. Good AGP boards aren't the
same as going after than relatively plentiful memory. It's C-Media
audio I looked over is utterly bad reputation trash, missing a
channel, and I'm not so happy with the Gigabyte RealTek audio either,
so I'm upgrading both with two same topnotch laser optical boards.
Also make sure you're cooling is up to snuff. I put in some case fans
for running them hard (only one gets daily treated that way). CPUs
are OK now at 100 idle, 110-115F when pushed, decent, HDs stay 100
always, although MB chipset sensors will still do 120F. Fans are
about loud enough, so M sensors can stew it there if they want. Both
are showing two cores, from either Everest's for a AMD genuine x2
4200, oddly as well dual instances on the Pentium Model 4E, including
SpeedFan's dualcore usage and Microsoft's system and process graphs.
Intel might be triggering it from its dual Hyper Transport rise/fall
strobe signaling. Not sure.
 
Gabriel said:
Hello Paul again I found a shop near me so I can do a pickup can you
reccomend any of these sticks of 1gig sticks?

http://www.insidetech.com.au/memory-ddr1-memory-c-1_4.html

Thanks again, GK
Click to expand...

I've never heard of "A-RAM" brand. There is an A-Data brand, which
I can find on Newegg. I generally try to stay away from generic or
close to generic RAM ("funny name" RAM). I've had too many sticks
fail, which were unbranded.

You could get the Corsair kit of two sticks. If there is a problem
with one of the sticks, you return the whole kit.

Corsair VS2GBKIT400C3 2GB (2x1GB) Value Select PC-3200 DDR RAM,
2x128Mx64 non-ECC, 184-pin DIMMs, Unbuffered, CL3, 64Mx8 DRAMs

The GSkill is probably OK. You could check the customer reviews on Newegg
for it. F1-3200PHU1-1GBNT. 576 people gave it five stars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231036&Tpk=F1-3200PHU1-1GBNT

The JEDEC standard says "2.6V" for DDR400, and "2.5V" for DDR333 or lower.
That was added to the spec, by the parties voting on the spec at the
time, and was intended to improve yields at the factory. It turned out,
that DDR400 wasn't that hard to make after all. But if you see "2.6V"
listed for the voltage, don't panic. It's when the voltage is much higher,
that not all motherboards can set that high a voltage. For example, the
old Winbond stuff, could be run at voltages as high as 3.3V, and there
were even hardware add-ons to get the additional voltage. Those
days are gone for good now, and regular low voltage RAM is good enough.
In this case, the sticks are all CAS3 anyway, so there's really no
reason to go punishing them with more voltage. CAS3 is JEDEC standard
for that RAM, so the RAM is not being asked to do anything out of the
ordinary.

Paul
 
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