please explain dimm sockets and memory combinations

[who]

Hi,

I'm reading my mobo manual and I can't get my head around the memory
combinations. Here is the listing for the GA-8SG800 mobo:

Support Unbuffered DDR DIMM Sizes type:
64 Mbit (2Mx8x4 banks) | 64 Mbit (1Mx16x4 banks) | 128 Mbit(4Mx8x4
banks)
128 Mbit (2Mx16x4 banks) | 256 Mbit (8Mx8x4 banks) | 256Mbit(4Mx16x4
banks)
512 Mbit (16Mx8x4 banks) | 512 Mbit (8Mx16x4 banks) |

I have a 512 MB and a 256 MB sticks, and as far as I can see, I can put the
512 MB stick in the first DIMM socket and the 256 MB stick in the second.

512 MB | 256 MB

What if I had another 512 MB stick for example, should they be installed
like

512 MB | 512 MB | 256 MB

What do the numbers in the parenthesis mean? The manual states that the mobo
supports up to 3GB DRAM max, so how does that work out given the table
above. Please forgive my ignorance, if you find my questions irksome.

Regards,

Michael

 

[cowboyz]

Hi,

I'm reading my mobo manual and I can't get my head around the memory
combinations. Here is the listing for the GA-8SG800 mobo:

Support Unbuffered DDR DIMM Sizes type:
64 Mbit (2Mx8x4 banks) | 64 Mbit (1Mx16x4 banks) | 128
Mbit(4Mx8x4 banks)
128 Mbit (2Mx16x4 banks) | 256 Mbit (8Mx8x4 banks) | 256Mbit(4Mx16x4
banks)
512 Mbit (16Mx8x4 banks) | 512 Mbit (8Mx16x4 banks) |

I have a 512 MB and a 256 MB sticks, and as far as I can see, I can
put the 512 MB stick in the first DIMM socket and the 256 MB stick in
the second.

formatting screwed up your table a bit but I think I get you. At the end
of the day it doesn't actually matter what slot you put the RAM in. That
only becomes an issue when trying to run dual channel RAM and then you have
to match up the RAM with certain slots.
As a side note, the Mbit should be Mbytes.

512 MB | 256 MB

What if I had another 512 MB stick for example, should they be
installed like

512 MB | 512 MB | 256 MB

Can if you want. or 256 - 512 -512 or 512-256-512. it won't make any
difference. The R and A in RAM stands for Random access. meaning the
system can access at random. anywhere in the memory.

What do the numbers in the parenthesis mean? The manual states that
the mobo supports up to 3GB DRAM max, so how does that work out given
the table above. Please forgive my ignorance, if you find my
questions irksome.

Those number represent the layout of the RAM on the stick. If you look at
a stick of RAM some will have 4 chips on one side and some will have 4 chips
on both sides and some will have 8 chips on 1 side. This is what people
talk about when they talk about mismatching RAM. 9/10 times you will get
away with it but as with murfys law, if you buy mismatched RAM (have some
with 8 banks and buy some with 4) then you will be one of the 1/10 people.
This is a much more common problem than which slot you stick the RAM into.

Hope it helps.

 

[who]

Thanks for the comments, they cleared up the mystery in my mind. Sorry 'bout
the formatting, I forgot about the line limit.

Both the RAM sticks have 8 banks
- the 512 MB stick has 8 banks on both sides
- the 256 MB stick has 8 banks on one side

So, this should be ok. As a matter of interest, can damage be done to the
mobo if sticks are mismatched?

Regards,

Michael

 

[cowboyz]

Thanks for the comments, they cleared up the mystery in my mind.
Sorry 'bout the formatting, I forgot about the line limit.

Both the RAM sticks have 8 banks
- the 512 MB stick has 8 banks on both sides
- the 256 MB stick has 8 banks on one side

Put them in and find out.

So, this should be ok. As a matter of interest, can damage be done to
the mobo if sticks are mismatched?

No. The worst that will happen is either it will not "see" one side of the
512MB stick making your total available RAM 512. (256 from each stick) or
you will Blue screen at random (which is really irritating). Try it but
for the first few days keep saving your work if you are writing a novel.

 

[who]

There in and working fine. If there is a problem, I'll post again. Thanks
for your help.

Regards,

Michael

 

[cowboyz]

There in and working fine. If there is a problem, I'll post again. Thanks
for your help.

Regards,

Michael

good to hear.