Memory woes

[beerspill]

Definitely the cheaper ValueRAM I started on them simply because at
that time, they were the only ones cheap yet with lifetime warranty
and a local policy of no hassle one to one exchange. Since I've very
little problems with them, I've continued using/recommending them. But
bear in mind I come into contact with, including those for friends,
only a small number of Kingston modules over the years.

In comparison, my friend who tried the PNY does something in the order
of hundreds of computers in a year. I asked him after my first post on
this issue and he claims that he has used close to 2000 DIMMs in the
past year including PNY, Patriot (their cheap PDP modules), Twinmos and
Kingston. Kingston has given him the least grief, PDP and Twinmos
while not perfect has been generally ok while nothing quite bit him
like PNY did. Personally I must add that it could just be his luck
with a bad batch.

Take a look at Thaiphoon, an SPD viewer/editor:
http://cbid.amdclub.ru/html/download.html

I've gotten many DIMMs to work reliably by simply using it to reprogram
the tC setting from 1T to 2T, a setting not alterable with every BIOS..

 

[Keith]

Take a look at Thaiphoon, an SPD viewer/editor:
http://cbid.amdclub.ru/html/download.html

I've gotten many DIMMs to work reliably by simply using it to reprogram
the tC setting from 1T to 2T, a setting not alterable with every BIOS..

....and you think this is acceptable? If it doesn't work as advertized,
send it back!

 

[Keith]

Go with socket 940 - they all support ECC. In fact, almost all
registered memory (req'd for 940) comes with ECC.

....and that's a *good* thing! I wouldn't go socket-940 these days though.
The price penalty is far too high for a desktop.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

(The little lost angel) wrote in Message id:


Frankly, I think they suck. You never know whose third tier, gray market
chips they're going to put on them.

The worst Kingston among the ones I recently tried probably had chips
that Kingston themselves had cut out of wafers and put into plastic
packages.

 

[nobody]

...and that's a *good* thing! I wouldn't go socket-940 these days though.
The price penalty is far too high for a desktop.

But this is the only way to get 2+ sockets, if you need or, what the
heck, just _want_ it. Well, these days it just might make sense to
wait for the next gen DDR2 Opterons...
NNN

 

[Keith]

But this is the only way to get 2+ sockets, if you need or, what the
heck, just _want_ it.
;-)

Well, these days it just might make sense to
wait for the next gen DDR2 Opterons...

IMO, it never makes sense to wait. There is *always* something better
coming down the pike. I bought my S/940 a few months before S/939 was
available. I'm not sorry at all.

 

[beerspill]

...and you think this is acceptable? If it doesn't work as advertized,
send it back!

Of course it's not acceptable, but the quality of retail memory is now
like the quality of automobiles back in the 1970s - horrible, and
sending bad memory back often results in nothing but a waste of time
and money and more bad memory. So the most practical solution may be
to simply correct the overly optimistic SPD settings and reduce the
computer's performance by only an inperceptible amount

I've never accepted subpar memory, or at least I've never paid for any.
I do have 2 modules that eventually cost nothing, thanks to credit
card chargebacks, and they work fine when slowed from their rated
PC3200 to PC2700.

 

[nobody]

....snip...

IMO, it never makes sense to wait. There is *always* something better
coming down the pike. I bought my S/940 a few months before S/939 was
available. I'm not sorry at all.

To the contrary, I'd rather hold until the old system starts giving
too much aggravation so the upgrade becomes inevitable. But as long
as the old clunker still gets the job done I wouldn't spend a penny.

 

[Keith]

Of course it's not acceptable, but the quality of retail memory is now
like the quality of automobiles back in the 1970s - horrible, and
sending bad memory back often results in nothing but a waste of time
and money and more bad memory. So the most practical solution may be
to simply correct the overly optimistic SPD settings and reduce the
computer's performance by only an inperceptible amount

No, *demand* the product you were sold! Practicalities have little to do
with it. If you accept this crap you're aiding the manufactures in
their, umm, optimistic testing.

I've never accepted subpar memory,

You just said you did!

or at least I've never paid for any.
I do have 2 modules that eventually cost nothing, thanks to credit
card chargebacks, and they work fine when slowed from their rated
PC3200 to PC2700.

If you charged back the memory, shouldn't you have returned it?

 

[Keith]

...snip...

To the contrary, I'd rather hold until the old system starts giving
too much aggravation so the upgrade becomes inevitable. But as long
as the old clunker still gets the job done I wouldn't spend a penny.

....and your dissagreement is what, exactly?