selecting proper RAM for a HP xw4600 Workstation

[g_1]

My machine configuration follows

System Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product HP xw4600 Workstation

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Hewlett-Packard
Version 786F3 v01.06
Release Date 01/29/2008
Size 4096 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, ATAPI ZIP, LS-120
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD, BBS
Supported Standards DMI, ACPI, PnP
Expansion Capabilities PCI, USB

Motherboard Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product 0AA0h

Processor Properties:
Manufacturer Intel
Version Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz
External Clock 1333 MHz
Maximum Clock 6000 MHz
Current Clock 2333 MHz
Type Central Processor
Voltage 1.2 V
Status Enabled
Socket Designation XU1 PROCESSOR

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor DIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 667 MHz
Total Width 72-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator XMM1
Manufacturer JEDEC ID:CE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Serial Number 07082C83
Part Number M3 91T2953EZ3-CE6

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor DIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 667 MHz
Total Width 72-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator XMM3
Manufacturer JEDEC ID:CE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Serial Number 0B082C83
Part Number M3 91T2953EZ3-CE6

Chipset
Northbridge Intel X38 rev. 00
Southbridge Intel 82801IR (ICH9R) rev. 02
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Symmetric)
Memory Frequency 333.4 MHz (1:1)
CAS# latency (CL) 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 5
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15
Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 36
Command Rate (CR) 2T

I guess it should take the RAM at
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/viewscanbyid.aspx?id=CE746B8031D926C3

OR

http://www.amazon.com/1-GB-DDR2-800-PC2-6400-DIMM/dp/tech-data/B000KGYOSS/ref=de_a_smtd

but not sure.

Can someone please clarify if both RAM's will work for my system?
Because if so, I would want to get the RAM from amazon.com which
seems
lot cheaper than crucial.

Also, if someone could explain the reason for
variation of prices between the two. Is it because of quality,
different brands or
some other reason(like crucial has longer warranty than HP)

Thanks a lot.

 

[Paul]

My machine configuration follows

System Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product HP xw4600 Workstation

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Hewlett-Packard
Version 786F3 v01.06
Release Date 01/29/2008
Size 4096 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, ATAPI ZIP, LS-120
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD, BBS
Supported Standards DMI, ACPI, PnP
Expansion Capabilities PCI, USB

Motherboard Properties:
Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
Product 0AA0h

Processor Properties:
Manufacturer Intel
Version Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6550 @ 2.33GHz
External Clock 1333 MHz
Maximum Clock 6000 MHz
Current Clock 2333 MHz
Type Central Processor
Voltage 1.2 V
Status Enabled
Socket Designation XU1 PROCESSOR

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor DIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 667 MHz
Total Width 72-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator XMM1
Manufacturer JEDEC ID:CE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Serial Number 07082C83
Part Number M3 91T2953EZ3-CE6

Memory Device Properties:
Form Factor DIMM
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 667 MHz
Total Width 72-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator XMM3
Manufacturer JEDEC ID:CE 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
Serial Number 0B082C83
Part Number M3 91T2953EZ3-CE6

Chipset
Northbridge Intel X38 rev. 00
Southbridge Intel 82801IR (ICH9R) rev. 02
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Symmetric)
Memory Frequency 333.4 MHz (1:1)
CAS# latency (CL) 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 5
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 15
Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC) 36
Command Rate (CR) 2T

I guess it should take the RAM at
http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/viewscanbyid.aspx?id=CE746B8031D926C3

OR

http://www.amazon.com/1-GB-DDR2-800-PC2-6400-DIMM/dp/tech-data/B000KGYOSS/ref=de_a_smtd

but not sure.

Can someone please clarify if both RAM's will work for my system?
Because if so, I would want to get the RAM from amazon.com which
seems
lot cheaper than crucial.

Also, if someone could explain the reason for
variation of prices between the two. Is it because of quality,
different brands or
some other reason(like crucial has longer warranty than HP)

Thanks a lot.

Doesn't the "total width" of 72 bits, imply the current memory
is unbuffered ECC memory ? The Crucial FAQ items mentions not mixing
ECC and non-ECC memory. If you use non-ECC memory, then ECC protection
would have to be disabled. The entries listed in the Crucial page, all
seem to have ECC, so the "system scanner" picked up on that
issue.

For the item on Amazon, the HP part number is AH058AT. If I look
that up on another site, it is listed as "unbuffered - non-ECC" and
thus doesn't match the current contents of your computer. Your X38
chipset is ECC capable, and it looks like the original RAM was ECC,
based on your XMM1/XMM3 info.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?edc=1112498&enkwrd=ALLPROD:1112498

You don't have to buy from Crucial, but you do have to locate
something with ECC on it. That would be my suggestion. If you
look at your current modules, you should see something like nine
identical memory chips on each side of the module. Eight memory chips
is non-ECC while nine memory chips is ECC (in both cases I'm referring to
unbuffered modules). Registered modules have additional chips, but
generally the additional chips are a different size than the memory
chips. And we're not even talking about registered modules in this
case anyway.

The memory types, roughly speaking are:

1) unbuffered non-ECC (typical desktop memory, no protection from errors)
2) unbuffered ECC (a desktop/workstation memory, with protection from errors)
3) registered ECC (server memory, protection from errors, buffering allows double
the number of modules to sit on the bus, handy for higher total
memory configurations, or the use of quad bank modules)

HTH,
Paul