LanParty NF4 SLI-DR question.

[Armadillo]

I'm gonna be building a new pc soon , and I am thinking of using this board , but have a question.

 

Can I use all four dimm slots?.

 

I've searched and can't seem to find a definate answer , some people say yes you can , others say no and some say should be able to , but maybe not with default ram timings.

 

Also I see it depends on the chip , as the A64 have the memory controller on board.

 

So can you use all four. The cpu I will be using , will be either a

 

AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 90nm or AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+

 

I want to run 2GB , 4x512mb. The sticks will all be geil pc3200 Value with timings of

2.5 6-3-3 .

 

Also before anyone says it , getting rid of the two 512 and getting two 1GB sticks , is not an option at the moment.

 

Thanks.

[babyelf]

4 x 512mb = 2T + DDR400 sandiego/venice

4 x 512mb = 2T + DDR333 older CPUs

[cpuz]

you may also wish to consider upgrading the bios to 3/16 or later.

[Armadillo]

K , thanks for the help.

 

I assume the X2 would be ok aswell (better be at £400+).

 

Also the 2T setting , looking at the memory faq I understand it will mean Command Per Clock will be disabled.

 

Will this effect the performance of it much? , as the faq says on will give better memory performance, but turn off if having stablity issues.

 

Will not be overclocking the system , so if it means I can only run the ram at stock speeds and timings , then that is fine.

 

Thanks .

[dsumanik]

Quote from xbit labs review:

 

"Athlon 64 processors based on Venice can work with four single-side DDR400 SDRAM modules without any limitations, and if there are double-side DDR400 SDRAM DIMMs installed, they can work at 400MHz with 2T timing"

 

read the whole review here:

 

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/displ...4-venice_3.html

 

Venice, san diego, and dual core revision cpu's share the same fab process and memory controller, so this rule applies for all these cpu's.

 

1T gives a decent performance increase on AMD cpu's, it is much more important for CPC to be enabled on AMD than INTEL.

 

If you arent aware yet, there is also a potential issue when using the 4v jumper on sli-dr boards, uspecially when configured with UTT type mem modules i.e. VX or redline ram....which is destroying memory and causing a "cold boot" issue.

 

Read this thread

 

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12342

 

and be warned before you buy the board that you will liekely deal with this scenario if you are going to be supplying more than 3.2 v to your mem, and in some cases people have experienced it without using the 4v jumper. (stock voltage settings) Many, many people in many different forums are experiencing the issue, and some arent. Many didnt experience it at first but then did. The defect reared its head in my system within 2 days on two seperate sets of memory, however the cause of the issue is unkown at this time. Could be the board, could be the memory, bottom line is you wind up with a computer you can never turn off or you face alot of monkeyingaround to get it started again...and then eventually it wont post period.

 

Further testing will hopefully reveal the results.

 

so to sum it up:

 

Get 4 single sided 512mb dimms and you can run 1T command rate at ddr 400, however i dont know how far you will be able to overclock in a 4 dimm situation, if you go this route, let us know your results out of curiosity's sake.

 

Also If you want 4 dimms just running at ddr400 with 1T timing rate i would recommend to go with a different board, the sli-dr is for high overclocking, you could save yourself alot of money if you are going to be running at stock ddr 400 (200mhz).

[Armadillo]

Ok , thanks for the help.

 

I won't be supplying more than 3.2 , most I will give to them is 2.8-9 (what it's at now) , as I don't want to kill them as there only designed for max 2.9 (according to the specs). So hopefully I won't have to deal with that.

 

I have no idea wether the ram I'm using is single sided or not , as they are covered in blue heatsink so I can't see .

 

I'm not really gonna be overclocking , was just gonna get the board as the option to do so will be there if I ever wanted to and has alot of features and connectors on it. Also seems to get nothing but good reviews , when I had a look.

 

Although I aint opposed to get another board , if it's easier to run 4x512mb @1T on them (suggestions anyone) , but reading the info on the core that you posted , is it not a limitation of the memory controller? , not the motherboard. So would you not have the same limitations of 4 single sided @1T , but double sided @2T?.

 

 

If trying to run 4 is really gonna cause alot of problems , I can try to get 2x1gb , maybe Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX , but it just may not be possible , so I really would like to be able to fall back on 4x512 , just incase.