"jc" said:
I am going to get a P4P800 deluxe MB but am a bit confused on what memory to
install. I am looking for recommendations based on the best timings,
quality, performance as well as meeting the QVL standards for ASUS. I plan
on little or no OCing. The QVL is where I am having issues. I see posted
on other groups such as Neweggs reviews that many are using memory
configurations not specified in the QVL list for this board. Is it
possible the QVL is not up to date or is this really not that much of an
issue. An example is if I go to Kingstons memory configurator for this
board it doesnt show any hyperX memory at all, but many people are using it
just the same ? Any recommendations and help in this matter would greatly
be appreciated.
If you click the "Proving Ground" link here, you'll see a page like
this:
http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/motherboard/asus_p4c800.asp
So, Kingston does do some representative testing, rather than just
sticking with specs comparisons. Mushkin also lists their test results
for various motherboard on their website.
You have to realize that the Asus QVL is a limited testing of modules
that Asus can get its hands on. In some cases, the modules they test
are "samples" from the major suppliers, which may not be available in
mass production. As far as I can determine, Asus doesn't analyse the
module design to determine whether a module works - they just stick
it in the motherboard like you would. This is unlike Intel for example,
as Intel keeps a QVL based on actually looking at what is in or on the
module, as part of deciding whether a module has merit or not. Similarly,
SIS (chipset maker) keeps a QVL that applies to all SIS based boards,
again implying that DIMMs are considered by their specs, rather than
by limited testing. Both approaches are important - using either
approach in isolation is a waste of time for the purposes of an end
user.
In the end, you end up doing the experiment anyway, by putting what you
bought into the board and trying it. If you visit a site like the
forums at abxzone.com, you can read about what people are using over
there, and perhaps get a feeling for what readily available modules
are working in this board.
PC3200 or higher memory is flaky enough, that even batch to batch
variations could be enough to throw off the results. And, in the cases
of some kinds of ram, there isn't even a one to one mapping of chip type
to product SKU. Kingston will fill a ValueRam order with any of two
or three different kinds of modules. If Kingston is aware you are
buying the module for a particular board, they may actually select only
one of the possible types and ship it. Crucial (being a division of
Micron) chips modules with Micron RAM on it, in all cases except when
they cannot make the memory themselves (then you might find some
Samsung chips on a module - I don't think they are doing this
currently, as they have managed to make all their own RAM now).
Orders for more expensive kinds of RAM are more likely to be filled
with just one product type. But don't believe any baloney about each
module being tested in a motherboard - modules are tested with test
equipment capable of high speed testing, and a motherboard would
severely degrade the rate that modules could be manufactured.
Some motherboards develop a reputation for being "picky" about
RAM, and you'll need to read a lot of posts on abxzone to decide
just which sticks to try. I'm not sure this newsgroup gets enough
traffic to develop the same picture.
HTH,
Paul
