Memory for Gigabyte GA-K8N MOBO

[john chapman]

MOBO is for Athlon 64. Specs say it takes 3 184 pin DDR DIMM

Supports DDR400 DIMM
Supports unbuffered DIMMs with 64 bit data bus with optional 8 bits of
Error Correcting Code (ECC)

The ZIPZOOMFLY.COM site lists many 512MB memory modules, and I am
confused. I am going to order the modules and I do not want to make a
mistake. Probably will end up with Corsair or Kingston, but am open to
other recommendations.

Can anyone give me some specific advice regarding memory.
Are the modules with heat shields worthwhile?
What are the CL and CAS designations (e.g., CAS3) that some modules
have?
Are the more expensive modules worth it?
Is ECC worth getting in a chip?
What are HyperX and XMS, and is it a comptibility problem? They seem
to be for gaming boards.

 

[Dave C.]

MOBO is for Athlon 64. Specs say it takes 3 184 pin DDR DIMM

Supports DDR400 DIMM
Supports unbuffered DIMMs with 64 bit data bus with optional 8 bits of
Error Correcting Code (ECC)

The ZIPZOOMFLY.COM site lists many 512MB memory modules, and I am
confused. I am going to order the modules and I do not want to make a
mistake. Probably will end up with Corsair or Kingston, but am open to
other recommendations.

Can anyone give me some specific advice regarding memory.
Are the modules with heat shields worthwhile?
What are the CL and CAS designations (e.g., CAS3) that some modules
have?
Are the more expensive modules worth it?
Is ECC worth getting in a chip?
What are HyperX and XMS, and is it a comptibility problem? They seem
to be for gaming boards.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/partsinfo.asp?ktcpartno=KVR400X64C25/512

CAS is a motherboard timing for accessing information stored in memory.
(that's the simple explanation, anyway) For the Athlon64, the memory is
actually controlled by the CPU, but that's another story. All you need to
know about CAS is that lower numbers are better (so 2.5 is better than 3,
but usually more expensive). You don't need ECC, and you don't need to
worry about HyperX or XMS.

You won't need "expensive" modules or heat shields unless you intend to
overclock, but don't overclock. -Dave

 

[Guillaume Dargaud]

I've been very confused about memories too and couldn't find a page on the
web with a list of all those terms explained (and what kind of motherboards
they go on).
Anyone can recommand a reference site/page/book ?

 

[Fitz]

I'm running Kingston HyperX PC3200 on a GA K8NNXP motherboard. Although the
Kingston website says it is CL 2 memory, my motherboard will not run it at
the 2-2-2-6-1T settings recommended by Kingston. When entering those timing
settings manually, the motherboard resets to Auto, and goes back to CL2.5.
Although Kingston memory is on the list of "recommended" memory for this
board, it does not specify HyperX, and apparently doesn't support the lower
timing settings. I would look at the Gigabyte site on recommended memory for
your board, along with the AMD forums (section devoted to the AMD64) to see
other peoples experience with different RAM. You could save yourself a
significant amount of money. I've heard of people having very good results
with GEIL PC3500 (433 MHz)- it seems to allow the CL2 settings, and the use
of the "Best Performance" BIOS feature of your board (resulting in a slight
OC from 2000 MHz to 2080MHz, with memory running at 416MHz) while
maintaining stability.

Good Luck,
Fitz

 

[Jim a]

Doesn't the Crucial site have a feature that matches the correct memory to
the specific motherboard.

Jim

 

[Dave C.]

Doesn't the Crucial site have a feature that matches the correct memory to
the specific motherboard.

Jim

Yup, and so does Kingston and Mushkin. Probably every good brand
hould. -Dave

 

[john chapman]

Crucial does not list my Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro mobo.

 

[john chapman]

Good advice going to Kingston site. According to the site, this mobo
can only take 4 banks of memory. If two double-sided DIMMs are used,
the 3rd socket is disabled. This is a very significant caveat since I
wanted to populate with 3 512MB Dimms. I will have to find single
sided ones (if they exist) to do this. Anybody else run into this
issue.