[rescue] Ultra 1 newbie q'ns

[Charles Shannon Hendrix]

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 @ 11:28 -0600, Micah R Ledbetter said:

> My understanding is that unless you're overclocking, the cheap RAM  
> from major companies is as good as the expensive stuff. 

That depends.

The faster RAM is also generally more reliable, because it has a higher
test rating, and can tolerate lower latencies.

The fast RAM gets the best chips after all.

In my case, I am overclocking, though not necessarily for the normal
reasons. See below.

> In Kingston's  case, their ValueRAM label has worked great for me when
> I've bought it.

Me too, and I usually use that.

However, the HyperX was only $40 more, which is the cost of 4 good
heatsinks locally, or by the time you pay shipping for a mail order.

HyperX RAM is tested at and rated at higher speeds, lower latencies, and
lower voltages. As a result you can run faster and cooler when you use
it. 

The other issue is my system is a socket 754 AMD machine.

Explanation:

The AMD64 socket 754 CPUs theoretically can only drive 3 ranks of RAM.
Yes, I said ranks, not banks. The motherboards all have 2 or 3 banks
of slots, but the CPU can only drive 3 *ranks* at full speed because
the on-board memory controller has a theoretical drive limit. Since the
memory controller is built into the CPU, motherboard makers couldn't
(easily) get around this problem.

Getting around the issue usually means boosting RAM voltage, and some of
the CPUs can't drive 4 ranks even then.

Therefore they almost always underclock DDR400 to DDR333 or lower if
they detect more than 3 ranks of RAM. That led to a theoretical maximum
of 1.25GB of RAM at full speed on socket 754 systems (1GB DS DIMM, 256MB
SS DIMM).

However...

A lot of CPUs actually have no issue with 4 ranks of memory, so you can
just set your board to DDR400 and not worry about it, boosting voltage
if you really want to be sure.

HyperX runs cooler and at lower voltage, so I figure it would be a
better idea, even though the ValueRAM seemed to work.

-- 
shannon "AT" widomaker.com -- ["All of us get lost in the darkness,
dreamers turn to look at the stars" -- Rush ]