ECS board - DRAM slot affinity question

[Randy Brick MacKenna]

Folks, I just bought this ECS motherboard as the basis for a Linux box
I'm building:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813135039

I got it working, but only after a bit of a scare with the DRAM
slots. I'm on the cheap, so I only bought a single 1GB DDR-667 memory
stick for this system. The user's guide for the board said "install a
single SIMM in either of the available sockets" (there are two
sockets).

So, I put the single stick in socket #1 -- and the system would not
boot. Steady beeping, indicating that no memory is present on the
board.

I moved the stick to socket #2, and she runs like a champ.

Now, I don't know if I have a defective board, and that socket #1 has
a problem -- or the user's guide for the board is wrong and it really
does demand that a single memory stick be put in the second slot. I
don't want to RMA the board if there's nothing wrong with it, and I
also would rather not spend more money on a (non-returnable) extra
memory stick, just to test it out. Grrrr....

So, anyone have any experience/opinion about this? Did I miss a BIOS
setting that I should take another look at?

Thanks,
Randy

 

[Paul]

Folks, I just bought this ECS motherboard as the basis for a Linux box
I'm building:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813135039

I got it working, but only after a bit of a scare with the DRAM
slots. I'm on the cheap, so I only bought a single 1GB DDR-667 memory
stick for this system. The user's guide for the board said "install a
single SIMM in either of the available sockets" (there are two
sockets).

So, I put the single stick in socket #1 -- and the system would not
boot. Steady beeping, indicating that no memory is present on the
board.

I moved the stick to socket #2, and she runs like a champ.

Now, I don't know if I have a defective board, and that socket #1 has
a problem -- or the user's guide for the board is wrong and it really
does demand that a single memory stick be put in the second slot. I
don't want to RMA the board if there's nothing wrong with it, and I
also would rather not spend more money on a (non-returnable) extra
memory stick, just to test it out. Grrrr....

So, anyone have any experience/opinion about this? Did I miss a BIOS
setting that I should take another look at?

Thanks,
Randy

There is no reason to suspect that is a "feature". The AM2 processors can
support up to four sticks. The processors support single channel or dual
channel operation, and in single channel modes, "anything goes". You should
be able to install the RAM in either slot or both. I haven't looked at the
manual yet (because the download rate is pretty slow) but I don't expect to
see a limitation stated in there.

When something like this happens, I would first suspect contamination of the
socket pins. Mke sure the motherboard is well supported, to avoid
flexure. Power off and unplug the system (to remove standby power from the
RAM sockets). Insert and remove your single DIMM, into the duff socket,
about five times. That should be enough to scrape any water borne waste
products from the wash cycle, from the socket pins. Then, power up and
check again for beeps.

The memory controller is inside the processor. The only thing the motherboard
contributes, in the case of AM2, is a set of copper tracks and the memory sockets.
So in terms of memory failing, the motherboard maker doesn't do anything high
tech, except get the board transmission line impedance correct.

The BIOS does have to read the SPD EEPROM on each DIMM slot. The SMBUS is a
low speed serial bus, and that bus is connected to each DIMM. If the BIOS
is unable to "see" the SPD chip, then it might decide there is nothing there.
Before the SPD chip was invented, a BIOS might do blind probes (do test writes
and reads), to try to figure out the memory stick size. Since all the current
memory shipping has an SPD on it, I suppose now the BIOS coders can afford
to ignore any socket where they cannot read out an SPD chip on the memory
DIMM.

HTH,
Paul

 

[kony]

Folks, I just bought this ECS motherboard as the basis for a Linux box
I'm building:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813135039

I got it working, but only after a bit of a scare with the DRAM
slots. I'm on the cheap, so I only bought a single 1GB DDR-667 memory
stick for this system. The user's guide for the board said "install a
single SIMM in either of the available sockets" (there are two
sockets).

So, I put the single stick in socket #1 -- and the system would not
boot. Steady beeping, indicating that no memory is present on the
board.

I moved the stick to socket #2, and she runs like a champ.

Now, I don't know if I have a defective board, and that socket #1 has
a problem -- or the user's guide for the board is wrong and it really
does demand that a single memory stick be put in the second slot. I
don't want to RMA the board if there's nothing wrong with it, and I
also would rather not spend more money on a (non-returnable) extra
memory stick, just to test it out. Grrrr....

So, anyone have any experience/opinion about this? Did I miss a BIOS
setting that I should take another look at?

Thanks,
Randy

Consider the board defective and return it for refund. IMO,
you have better odds of getting a good board by avoiding
ECS.

 

[~misfit~]

Consider the board defective and return it for refund. IMO,
you have better odds of getting a good board by avoiding
ECS.

I'll second that. Almost 100% of the time that I'm asked to troubleshoot a
system with an ECS mobo it's the mobo that needs replacing.

You get what you pay for.

 

[manny]

Folks, I just bought this ECS motherboard as the basis for a Linux box
I'm building:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813135039

I only bought a single 1GB DDR-667 memory
stick for this system. The user's guide for the board said "install a
single SIMM in either of the available sockets" (there are two
sockets).

So, I put the single stick in socket #1 -- and the system would not
boot. Steady beeping, indicating that no memory is present on the
board.

I moved the stick to socket #2, and she runs like a champ.

The manual said to install a SIMM, not a DIMM???

I have the same mobo, and it had no problems running just a 1GB
Kingston PC5300 module in either of its sockets. OTOH I've seen
damaged sockets (PCI, not DIMM) and have had memory modules that were
so marginal that they worked only in a certain socket.

 

[Randy Brick MacKenna]

I'll second that. Almost 100% of the time that I'm asked to troubleshoot a
system with an ECS mobo it's the mobo that needs replacing.

You get what you pay for.

Which brand should I look at instead, if I end up returning this ECS
board for a refund? Almost all of them in this price range had mixed
reviews. I'm not building a high performance gaming system...just
want something of good quality and stability for my home Linux server.

Thanks,
Randy

P.S. To the other person who responded: Yes, I should have said
"DIMM", not "SIMM". Still somewhat new to all this...sorry...

 

[Bruce Xia]

Which brand should I look at instead, if I end up returning this ECS
board for a refund? Almost all of them in this price range had mixed
reviews. I'm not building a high performance gaming system...just
want something of good quality and stability for my home Linux server.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130068
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130067
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127016


The Nvidia chipsets are all pretty much the same and should be fine with
most Linux distros. You may need to tune hard drives using hdparm or
atacontrol if using *BSD.

 

[kony]

Which brand should I look at instead, if I end up returning this ECS
board for a refund? Almost all of them in this price range had mixed
reviews. I'm not building a high performance gaming system...just
want something of good quality and stability for my home Linux server.

Thanks,
Randy

P.S. To the other person who responded: Yes, I should have said
"DIMM", not "SIMM". Still somewhat new to all this...sorry...

Well the bottom line is they're cheaper for a reason, people
don't pay more just for the heck of it.

You don't mention the other alternatives, but generally ECS
and PCChips are only better than some obscure generic
brands. Generally Asus, Abit, MSI, Gigabyte, Asrock, and
Biostar are better.

 

[~misfit~]

Well the bottom line is they're cheaper for a reason, people
don't pay more just for the heck of it.

You don't mention the other alternatives, but generally ECS
and PCChips are only better than some obscure generic
brands. Generally Asus, Abit, MSI, Gigabyte, Asrock, and
Biostar are better.

Agreed. If it's stability and longevity that you want then Asus is a good
choice. Gigabyte also. Asrock is, I believe, a cut-down Asus? (and should be
good). Basically avoid ECS, PCChips and anything that doesn't have a big web
presence and/or a searchable track-record.

 

[Randy Brick MacKenna]

There is no reason to suspect that is a "feature". The AM2 processors can
support up to four sticks. The processors support single channel or dual
channel operation, and in single channel modes, "anything goes". You should
be able to install the RAM in either slot or both. I haven't looked at the
manual yet (because the download rate is pretty slow) but I don't expect to
see a limitation stated in there.

When something like this happens, I would first suspect contamination of the
socket pins. Mke sure the motherboard is well supported, to avoid
flexure. Power off and unplug the system (to remove standby power from the
RAM sockets). Insert and remove your single DIMM, into the duff socket,
about five times. That should be enough to scrape any water borne waste
products from the wash cycle, from the socket pins. Then, power up and
check again for beeps.

The memory controller is inside the processor. The only thing the motherboard
contributes, in the case of AM2, is a set of copper tracks and the memory sockets.
So in terms of memory failing, the motherboard maker doesn't do anything high
tech, except get the board transmission line impedance correct.

The BIOS does have to read the SPD EEPROM on each DIMM slot. The SMBUS is a
low speed serial bus, and that bus is connected to each DIMM. If the BIOS
is unable to "see" the SPD chip, then it might decide there is nothing there.
Before the SPD chip was invented, a BIOS might do blind probes (do test writes
and reads), to try to figure out the memory stick size. Since all the current
memory shipping has an SPD on it, I suppose now the BIOS coders can afford
to ignore any socket where they cannot read out an SPD chip on the memory
DIMM.

HTH,
Paul

Well...you were spot on with this suggestion...thanks!

I 'scrubbed' the socket a few times by inserting/removing the DIMM,
and then that errant slot worked fine.

I did learn my lesson about this brand...I guess I can't trust the
reviews at the seller's website as much as I thought I could.
However, I can't complain too much...the board and the AMD Athlon 64
3800+ together was only $90.

So, if it works okay now I'll just run it through some 'stress'
workload for a couple of days and see if it holds up. Hopefully it
doesn't die on me two weeks from now...

Best,
Randy

 

[kony]

Agreed. If it's stability and longevity that you want then Asus is a good
choice. Gigabyte also. Asrock is, I believe, a cut-down Asus?

Yes, though Asus also offers some lower priced versions of
many of their boards so the distinction between them and
Asrock blurs.