Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H Memory Compatibility
NixDragon
I have 2x4GB DDR2. Unfortunately the memory speed is 533MHz. Will this
adversely affect the performance of the system, or might it not even
work in the motherboard? The manufacturer claims it can support 16GB
(with 4 DIMM slots).
Paul
Does the memory have a brand and model number ? Perhaps
the sticks are registered ?
I see an example here, of pretty ordinary looking 4GB sticks. These
are using 256Mx8 chips. I don't know if they're stacked die, or
real 2gigabit technology. These run at DDR2-800 at a relatively high
CAS, and cost $756 for a pair. Only $1500 to fill your computer.
One of the nicer aspects of this product, is the inclusion of ECC.
At 16GB total, ECC protection is a good idea, and your AMD processor
should support it (ECC is part of the memory interface).
http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/PartsInfo.asp?ktcpartno=KVR800D2E6K2/8G
There are a couple products listed on Newegg, at that capacity level,
but they don't have ECC. They're also cheaper, and are out of stock.
4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 $450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820231183
DDR2 is normally around $25 a gigabyte, so that is a reasonable price,
especially considering the density provided.
The QVL for your board, shows it has not been tested with 4GB sticks.
And with four sticks, you're most likely to top out at DDR2-800 under
the best of circumstances.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-ma78gm-s2h.pdf
Normally, when people seek that kind of memory quantity, they want it
bad enough to accept any slight loss in performance.
The biggest memory quantity I know of in a motherboard now, is a
server board that can hold 256GB of FBDIMMs. In case you seek to
set a record.
Paul
NixDragon
> NixDragon wrote:
> > I am thinking about buying a system with a Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, and
> > I have 2x4GB DDR2. Unfortunately the memory speed is 533MHz. Will this
> > adversely affect the performance of the system, or might it not even
> > work in the motherboard? The manufacturer claims it can support 16GB
> > (with 4 DIMM slots).
>
> Does the memory have a brand and model number ? Perhaps
> the sticks are registered ?
>
> I see an example here, of pretty ordinary looking 4GB sticks. These
> are using 256Mx8 chips. I don't know if they're stacked die, or
> real 2gigabit technology. These run at DDR2-800 at a relatively high
> CAS, and cost $756 for a pair. Only $1500 to fill your computer.
> One of the nicer aspects of this product, is the inclusion of ECC.
> At 16GB total, ECC protection is a good idea, and your AMD processor
> should support it (ECC is part of the memory interface).
>
>
> There are a couple products listed on Newegg, at that capacity level,
> but they don't have ECC. They're also cheaper, and are out of stock.
>
>
> DDR2 is normally around $25 a gigabyte, so that is a reasonable price,
> especially considering the density provided.
>
> The QVL for your board, shows it has not been tested with 4GB sticks.
> And with four sticks, you're most likely to top out at DDR2-800 under
> the best of circumstances.
>
>
> Normally, when people seek that kind of memory quantity, they want it
> bad enough to accept any slight loss in performance.
>
> The biggest memory quantity I know of in a motherboard now, is a
> server board that can hold 256GB of FBDIMMs. In case you seek to
> set a record.
>
> Paul
Thanks for your advice, I'm not looking to set any kind of record.
Those server boards are pretty darn expensive.
I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price and
it's just for a desktop system.
=
NixDragon
CBFalconer
>
... snip ...
>
> I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
> ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price
> and it's just for a desktop system.
No it isn't. In general ECC memory costs about 10% more, and
doesn't have the big sales that inferior memory has. Meanwhile you
KNOW your memory is completely protected at all times.
--
[mail]: Chuck F (cbfalconer at maineline dot net)
[page]: <http://cbfalconer.home.att.net>
Try the download section.
WebWalker
>
> Thanks for your advice, I'm not looking to set any kind of record.
> Those server boards are pretty darn expensive.
>
> I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
> ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price and
> it's just for a desktop system.
Don't waste money on ECC RAM because it only can be used in server
motherboard.
--
WebWalker
Ubuntu-http://www.ubuntu.com
Firefox-http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
Thunderbird-http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Paul
> NixDragon wrote:
>
>>
>> Thanks for your advice, I'm not looking to set any kind of record.
>> Those server boards are pretty darn expensive.
>>
>> I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
>> ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price and
>> it's just for a desktop system.
>
> Don't waste money on ECC RAM because it only can be used in server
> motherboard.
>
Here is another 780G AM2+ board, which lists ECC support. This
is a desktop board. The support for ECC is present on the processor
interface, which is why it doesn't cost any extra to add it. It
just needs to be wired up. ECC does not imply registered RAM -
it is possible to get unbuffered ECC, which is what was being
discussed.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=2270&l1=3&l2=149&l3=639&l4=0
Paul
kony
<cbfal...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>NixDragon wrote:
>>
>... snip ...
>>
>> I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
>> ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price
>> and it's just for a desktop system.
>
>No it isn't. In general ECC memory costs about 10% more, and
>doesn't have the big sales that inferior memory has. Meanwhile you
>KNOW your memory is completely protected at all times.
In theory ECC might only need to cost such a small % more
but in practice there's both lower demand and fewer sale or
rebate discounts resulting in the actual price being quite a
bit higher. For example recently Fry's offered 4GB of
Crucial branded PC2-6400 memory for $55 before a rebate, $30
after rebate. I couldn't even find any of the same ECC on
Fry's site. Going to Newegg.com, 4GB of the ECC equivalent
would cost about $150 or more. Granted it's buffered ECC
but that seems to be what is offered unless one buys slower
DDR2 memory.
If one is willing to drop down to 1GB modules instead of 2GB
(two of them to result in the aforementioned 4GB capacity in
dual channel mode) then 1GB of ECC PC2-6400 can be had for
about $25 per GB, but this is still close to twice as
expensive for two modules as the typical 2 x 1GB pair of
non-ECC modules costs after taking advantage of discounts.
If it were Dell or HP buying enough volume of ECC memory,
they could possibly get it at 10% higher price but the
typical low volume customer can't.
CBFalconer
> NixDragon wrote:
>
>> Thanks for your advice, I'm not looking to set any kind of record.
>> Those server boards are pretty darn expensive.
>>
>> I think I'm going the 4x4GB DDR2-800 CAS6 route right now, if they
>> ever get in stock. I would like ECC, but it's like twice the price
>> and it's just for a desktop system.
>
> Don't waste money on ECC RAM because it only can be used in server
> motherboard.
Nonsense. However, it does require a system with the appropriate
memory hardware, which all good (not ultra cheapened) systems have.