Re: a7v333/athlon 3000xp/PC2100 ram

In article <t2unh1dfbn21r8tjht7o71j1mmpc4fddch@xxxxxxx>, curiosity <c@.t> wrote:

>
> thanks Paul, I couldn't possibly have asked for a more comprehensive
> answer! I have a mixture of reasonable and indifferent ram here so I
> think - as interesting as it would be to put it collectively through
> its paces - this might end up being a thankless task with
> unsatisfactory results.
>
> I'm a complete beginner on this subject but I see that DDR400 is still
> around at reasonable prices - is it expected then that prices could
> rise soon?
> I'm not one of nature's overclockers - I run a modest audio
> workstation in a small room and noise is ananthema so I prefer to run
> with a quiet fan at low temps.
> Much appreciate the response though - many thanks.

I guess the question would be, what mix of sticks of RAM do you
have, and what would constitute enough RAM for the applications
you use.

First off, if I look at the A7V333 downloadable manual, it doesn't
mention any limits on speed versus number of banks. (Actually,
there is an insert page you can download, and it added some info
to the manual.) RAM is limited by:

1) Memory chip timing (what CAS is advertised, what clock speed)
2) Chipset timing (what clock speed the chipset can handle)
3) Signal integrity (what happens to the shape of the electrical
signals, when more DIMMs are added to the bus)

The A7V8X, the successor to the A7V333, mentions four banks limit
at DDR333, two banks limit at DDR400. That is two double sided DIMMs
at DDR333 or one double sided DIMM at DDR400. That means, the only
way to occupy all three slots with memory, on the A7V8X, is to run
them at 266MHz. It doesn't have as much to do with the actual chip
timing, as it does with the Signal Integrity.

This is one reason dual channel boards are sometimes more useful
than single channel boards. A dual channel board only has two slots
per channel (four slots total). By having fewer slots per channel,
the signal integrity cannot get as bad as having three slots on
the same channel.

Let us say your audio application can live with 512MB. You could,
for example, take a single stick of DDR266 memory, plug it into
slot 3 (furthest from the Northbridge), then try running it at DDR333.
The memory will be most forgiving, in this configuration.

If you use two sticks, place them in slot 1 and slot 3. The
equivalent capacitance per inch is what determines the transmission
line impedance, and by spreading the DIMMs apart, sometimes you
get a slight improvement in signal integrity. Using your DDR266
memory in a DDR333 overclock, and running them at the signal integrity
limit (say it is two double sided sticks at DDR333), is tougher than
the previous configuration.

Using three double sided sticks is just asking for trouble. Even
with DIMMs having good memory timing, no memory controller (at
least the kind with a single address bus and single data bus)
likes running with a load like that. (The reason an Nforce2
board, like an A7N8X can do it, is there are more address busses
to handle the loading.)

Now, it is unfortunate, but the Mushkin web pages, where they
evaluated their memory products with various motherboards, have
been removed. The pages could never be deep linked, because they
used an inline cookie in the URL. From a previous thread of mine,
there were no warnings about using 1GB DIMMs, so I assume, if you
wanted 1GB total memory, you could go out and buy a single 1GB
DDR400 DIMM, stick it in slot 3, and it should run fine.

http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus/browse_frm/thread/931247ca504312c0/87bc8f18d58837c0

If you wanted to go shopping for a 1GB DDR memory, you want one
made with (16) 64Mx8 chips on it. I use this advert as an example.
The stuff on the right (the cheapest product) doesn't use 64Mx8
chips, and I would avoid buying that module. A single stick
of one of the other two, should be OK.

http://www.portatech.com/catalog/memory.asp?ID=285

If you want to experiment with the RAM you currently own, see
if you have a 512MB stick, and test it at DDR333 in slot 3. It
might just work, even though you are running the DDR266 memory
at DDR333.

HTH,
Paul
.

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