"Dean Slindee" said:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz Prescott FSB800 with Intel 865PE chipset. You are
probably right about a memory mismatch with Intel as the memory was not the
expensive type. However, neither was my old 512MB memory and it does work
on this motherboard. See my other post from 6/1/2004 titled "P4P800 5
beeps" for the complete build picture.
Perhaps getting some Kingston memory would solve both the memory and beeps
problems?
Dean Slindee
The reason most 512MB modules work, is the most economical chips to
do the job, just happen to also be the most likely kind to work.
That is why, the lowest risk purchase you can make, is any ole
512MB double sided DIMM module. They are constructed with 32Mx8
chips, and the x8 part is what makes them work. There are two
banks of chips, 8 chips per bank, and that is more or less a
standard loading.
The 1GB modules can be constructed a number of ways, and whether
they are all used in practice or not, I don't know. One way to
do it, is use 16 devices, each of which is 128Mx4. This makes
a single bank (64 bits wide), but it has twice the loading for
the control signals. I don't remember all the details, but I
think there is some difference in refresh time, due to
the 128M thing, and possibly an additional address bit is
required on the multiplexed memory address bus. Some Northbridges
will fail to work with this, due to a missing address bit,
while others will fail, due to a lack of drive strength to
work with the memory reliably. If the stick you purchased isn't
registered, I'd suspect the former case, a lack of the
necessary address bit.
From the Northbridge datasheet, page 126
ftp://download.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/25252304.pdf
"All standard 128-Mb, 256-Mb and 512-Mb technologies and addressing
are supported for x16 and x8 devices."
AFAIK, for x4 devices to be legal, they have to be put on registered
modules. I don't think an unbuffered module is a valid configuration,
and at least some parts of the memory industry respect the intent
of having standards to design to.
Kingston will sell you a module made with the more expensive
64Mx8 parts. That is what you are paying for, that and the
continued obscurity of 1GB unbuffered modules.
My cynical impression of companies selling DIMMs with x4 chips,
is they make all their money from restocking fees, when customers
return them. The company only has to keep one DIMM on the
premises, and it keeps being shipped back and forth from
customer to customer, earning the company a 15% restocking
fee each time
HTH,
Paul
