You can check at the chipset of the ram itself.It will be stated there.However, sometimes, in high performance ram, you might not be able to check because the heatspreader is blocking it.Therefore, you might need to look for it via online method (aka google) to find out what chips its using..

Example of how to find out the chipset of the ram by looking at the ram chips itself:

okies,
thanks

Wanted to know, what is the difference in Rams in term of those Buffered/Unbuffered, Registered, ECC and etc ? Are they usable on normal motherboards or they are just optimized for server?

ECC is for Error Correction. You can check whether your ram have this function by navigate in memory tab on CPU-Z. It depends on whether you r mobo will able to use or not. Different mobo will have different spec and compatibility.

Does this mean that server based ram can be used on desktop platform?I mean if i get those buffered, ECC, Registered etc, i will still be able to run them on normal desktop computer?

Im not very sure on that. Sorry.

well i got a noob question here..

my proc is p4 2.4B..mobo is ASROCK P4i65G which support dual channel ddr400..

now i got 2 x 512mb ddr400(no same chip) and 2 x 1Gb ddr400(same chip)
i wana run dual channel...

which pair shud i choose ? if use 2 x 1GB, my slow p4 will cant fully utilize it ? if oni a little diff then i rather go for 2x512mb enuf lol

2X1GB. that would be the better choice.

I'm noob to PC.. There is something that I still don't understand. I checked my motherboad's characteristic online and it states that if I would want to add additional RAM (DDR), the preferable speed is PC2100, PC2700. However, what will happen if I couldn't get this type of RAM? Will the new RAM still work? And if it works, will it affect its performance? I heard some people said if encounter problem like this, I can separate an empty slot between two RAMs, which means one old RAM, then one empty, then new RAM. Is it true?

=.= if i try 2 x 512mb, it run as single channel oni but when i try 2 x 1GB it run dual channel...weird...

all 4 ram is kingston brand and all is diff chip...

how come like tis ?

just a reminder , make sure you put in the correct RAM slot .
refer back to the mobo manual

if i got :
>1x512(single side chip)+1x512mb(double side chip)
>1x512(double side)400mhz + 1x512mb(double side)333mhz

will it run dual channel?
thank

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Added on May 10, 2007, 1:58 amthe answer is NO

This post has been edited by chickenducksoup: May 10 2007, 01:58 AM

This really depends on your motherboard. In my oppinion, you can add other rams inside. IIRC, PC2100 and PC2700 should be DDR ram.Therefore, getting DDR ram would be able to function in your system. As in getting PC3200 to run together with the PC2700, it will but will run at a lower speed...

Agree, by the default the frequency clock will follow the lower frequency clock.

YEs, but of course, if you know how to overclock, you can always set it back to the higher speed one..

i asked around uncle akachester
ECC ram for servers are actually usable for desktop pc's
but they said it depends firstly on the motherboard
secondly, the manufacturer
u gotta ask the manufacturer for its compatibility

actually, i have been thinking of it ever since DDR memory was launched years back
but never thought of asking people...i mean ecc rams are expensive kan

Wow..thanks for the info there. I never knew the difference between them. I always have a perception that server based ram are not compatible with desktop PC.Last time out when i was hoping to build a Xeon PC (just for fun), i always got to know that Xeon (server based) need to have a server mobo and rams. But when i got my Opteron (which is also server based), it does not need any of them..Which makes me wonder, what are the difference between those type of ram..Anyway, at least i understand about it now..lol..

P.S. I am no uncle..lol...

I slot 4x512mb kingston(hynix chip) to my A8N-E mobo when i goto bios to check it run at DDR333 instead DDR400. When i pull out 2 of the ram and check again it run at DDR400. I want to ask wht is happening to the ram .

A buffered(a.k.a PARITY) RAM module is very similar to a registered module. Buffers re-drive the signals through the memory chips and allows for the module to be built with more chips. Buffered and unbuffered memory chips cannot be mixed. The design of the computer memory controller dictates whether memory must be buffered or unbuffered

Registered RAM modules contain a register chip that delays all information transferred to the module by 1 clock cycle. This type of memory is primarily used in servers and was designed for modules with 32 or more chips on them to help ensure that data is properly handled.

ECC (error checking and correcting) memory performs double bit detection and single bit correction. This means that if you have a single bit memory error, the chipset and memory will find and repair the error on the fly without you knowing that it happened. If you have a double bit memory error, it will detect and report it. Non-ECC, non-parity memory, on the other hand, has no error detection and correction capabilities.

Using ECC decreases your PC's performance by about 2%. Current technology DRAM is very stable and memory errors are rare, so unless you have a need for ECC, you are better served with non-ECC, non-parity memory

FB-DIMM (Fully Buffered DIMM) is a memory module technology targeted to servers developed recently created in order to increase the memory speed and the maximum memory capacity of a server. In this tutorial we will explain what are the main features of FB-DIMM modules and the difference between DIMM and FB-DIMM modules.

The main difference between FB-DIMM modules and regular DIMM modules is that on FB-DIMM the communication between the memory controller (chipset) and the module is serial, in the same way that occurs with PCI Express, while on standard DIMM modules this communication is parallel.

Using serial communication the number of wires needed to connect the chipset to the memory module is lower and also allows the creating of more memory channels, what increases memory performance. With FB-DIMM technology it is possible to have up to eight modules per channel and up to six memory channels. So this technology increases both memory capacity and speed.

Each extra memory channel that is added to the system increases the memory subsystem transfer rate. For example, if you use a single DDR2-533 channel, the memory transfer rate will be of 4,264 MB/s. If you use two DDR2-533 channels, as it happens on dual channel configuration available today, the memory transfer rate will be of 8,528 MB/s. With four channels, the memory transfer rate jumps to 17,056 MB/s, and so on.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/266

CAN I MIX AND MATCH?

BUFFERED AND UNBUFFERED
The buffered and unbuffered modules are not interchangeable and even use slightly different printed circuit boards (PCB's). If you try to install the wrong type, the first notch on the bottom of the module will be offset. You can determine if the module is buffered by looking at the leads next to the first notch. If the leads are evenly spaced, the module is buffered. If the leads are not evenly spaced (a larger PCB area next to the lead) the module is unbuffered.

ECC AND NON-ECC
Parity modules have an extra chip that detects if data was correctly read or written by the memory module, depending on the type of error. However, a parity module will not correct the error. ECC modules can detect double bit errors and correct single bit errors. Most motherboards that do not have an ECC function within the BIOS are still able to use a module with ECC, but the module will run in non-ECC mode. Keep in mind, there are some cases where the motherboard will not accept an ECC module, depending on the BIOS programming. The only sure-fire way to test this is to place the module in the motherboard and see if the BIOS will recognize the memory addition.

Source: http://www.datamemorysystems.com/faq.asp

HOW CAN IT WORK?
Highly dependant on the chipset of your motherboard and BIOS! If either one of them don't detect that you can use ECC RAM then you cannot use them. Or can use them but it the ECC function would be useless. ECC is much slower than the non-ECC. They are not as fast as the non-ECC ones but I think technology will cut or closer that gap in the near future.

This post has been edited by viqq: May 12 2007, 04:22 PM

Well, this might be a problem putting 2 pair of non identical ram to the system. Non identical means they might be of different revision, timing etc. Many factors are influencing it. Had this problem as well and i was trying different pair of rams last time. All you need to do is to OC the ram back to DDR400 and it should be working fine. Mine was also running at higher timing and lower Mhz last time when i was trying 2 different pair of ram..


Wow..Nice info here.Thanks alot...