"JJY" said:
Will do. 4x512 or 2x1GB. But can you recommend me which exact precise parts
to get from the list I posted? That's what my local dealer has to offer, and
I'd really like to get everything at the same place.
Personally, I like to reward businesses, based on how knowledgeable
they are about the products they sell. Judging by that list, your
computer store owner should be running the produce department at
a local grocery store, and not a computer store. (By the way - I
don't see Corsair even mentioned on that page - the memory looks
too cheap to be Corsair.)
If someone sells Corsair, they should use Corsair part numbers.
That way, they are absolved from any mis-identification of what
is being sold. To simply list memory as "apples" or "oranges",
without indicating who makes them, part numbers, etc., is
just asking for trouble.
This is how my local "mom & pop" computer store sells memory.
Even though everything listed on their web pages, is a single
line description, the info given is much better than what
microbytes is offering you. At least with the part number, I
can go to the Corsair web site, and look up the details.
http://crawfordmicrosystems.com/pro...e&ProductType=RAM&SelectMfr=All Manufacturers
Considering the dollar amount involved in the purchase of premium
memory, no way would I just purchase all the stuff at one store.
Maybe try the prices on ncix.com, as they are in Canada. I've
had good luck with them. Another company you could use, is
directdial.com, as they have presence in both Canada and the US.
But I definitely did not enjoy doing business with them (they are
a middle man, and they front for a bunch of small businesses -
dealing with them is OK, if you buy one item at a time, and you
know exactly what you want).
Here is another example of a local store. You can compare the
prices here, to ncix.com . Note that I don't do business with
them, because they don't list part numbers. If I were to do
business with them, I'd have to phone and ask what the
part number was. This is important in the case of the Corsair,
as there are 1GB modules with CAS2.5 (CAS2 on an Intel board),
and modules with much worse CAS3 timing, and you don't want to
spend that kind of money and buy the CAS3 stuff. Pccyber
could be selling TWINX2048-3200C2 (CAS2.5) or TWINX2048-3200
(CAS3), and you would want the 3200C2 stuff.
http://pccyber.ca/scrMain2.asp?product_types_id=20
It looks like 2x1024 is going to cost $672 CDN at ncix.com .
It is a tough choice, picking memory for a S939 board. If you
go 2x1024, you can use DDR400 1T timing. That is 20% more memory
bandwidth than 4x512MB, which will take DDR333 1T or DDR400 2T
timing (the 2T is called "Command Rate", and the 2 means an
extra cycle is wasted allowing the address to settle on the bus,
so you really want to be using 1T and not 2T). Even though you
may think of the DDR400 rating of those PC3200 sticks to be
limiting, you can always use a "divider" between the FSB and
the memory bus.
(Note - A serious overclocker simply wouldn't use 2GB of main
memory. It would be like owning a race car, and filling the
trunk with bags of cement
)
Corsair products are listed here. If you click the part number,
you will get a PDF datasheet, that tells you what timings the
modules use.
http://corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html
I just noticed that Crucial now lists a 1GB module. This one
is PC4000 3-4-4-8. It is a little more expensive than the Corsair.
And, since I don't know how far a S939 processor can be pushed,
I don't know if this would be better than the Corsair or not.
To a first order approximation, "clock rate is king", and so
DDR500, if it could be run that fast, should be better. I would
want someone else to test it, like one of the private forums,
to find out if it has "better numbers down low", so you have
some options when setting up your system.
http://www.crucial.com/ballistix/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=BL12864Z503&cat=
And over here, Kingston has a PC3700 3-4-4-8 1GB stick. So, max
clock is a little less than the Crucial.
http://kingston.com/hyperx/thelines/default.asp?type=khxu
So now you've got a few choices. All you need now, is some
overclocking results from the private forums, to see whether
DDR500 rates could be profitably used.
My choices above, are prefaced on the fact, that 4 sticks would
require 2T command rate setting, at any decent clock rate.
Therefore, these 1GB modules are a better platform to work with,
as they should be operable with 1T command rate.
Paul
