Memory PCB Selection

[Apoptosis]

Just wanted to let everyone know we just posted up our article about memory PCB selection. This article goes a bit more in depth on the PCB's that companies are using and which one we think is better for overclocking. Let us know your thoughts on the article and/or anything else!

Article Link

[infinitevalence]

Now all we need is the manufactures to list the PCB design so we can check that with PCB performance. The PQI looks like a steal at $250. Wish i had the cash...

[Xerxes]

are you still working on the a64 memory testing? id really like to see nf3 250 tests, hint hint

[Apoptosis]

Xerxes,

The CPU limited all the memory modules on the Athlon 64 side. When checking latencies on these modules they were maxing out at the same frequency. Had to stick with Intel for the PCB article.

[infinitevalence]

you might want to try another amd cpu because it looked like xbit had no problems getting to 250fsb on the memory.

[Apoptosis]

like I said I have a problem with them all maxing out at the same frequency when doing latency testing... since the memory controller is on the CPU it is the limiting factor. My CPU's can hit 250MHz.

[infinitevalence]

i got that, what im saying is that yes your cpu mem controller is the problem if you try a different cpu, with a different mem controller you may have more successes.

[Bio-Hazard]

After reading the article, it looks more and more like the PQI ram will find its way into my A64 939 system. Now if I could keep my truck running long enough to save the money to upgrade (I blew the starter out this week, so now I have to fix that).

My upgrade will be:
Abit AV8
A64 3200 (s939)
PQI Turbo 1 Gig kit (2x512) Might keep my Mushkin if cash is low.
Swiftech 6002-64 Water Block.

[Xerxes]

do you mean theres an issue with tccd and the mem controller? because theres been people on xtremesystems and hardforum that have gotten past 250 1:1 at 2-2-2-10 timings with bh5 and nf3 250 boards.

[helio]

Has anyone tried out the 2x1GB kit(s) of pqi or other ram to see if they're any good at overclocking??

[Apoptosis]

Helio,

First off welcome to the forums. I've had 1 kits of the PQI/PMI high performance memory and it did okay overclocking. You're looking at a 5% loss of overclocking when going to a 1gb module over a 512mb module. Just depends on how good companies screen the IC's before they build the modules.

What are you running 2GB's of memory for -- Work or Gaming?

[helio]

Both. Mine just arrived today (a 2x1Gb kit of the 3-4-4-8 PQI modules) and I'm running memtest on it now to make sure it is okay at stock. If it passes that then maybe I'll try some things on it later to see if it overclocks. I am not a real big gamer; in fact, I will likely not be putting a recent videocard in this box as I don't play FPS games at all. I do more general use and internet usage than anything else, but wanted a box that would be adequate for XP-64 and Longhorn when it comes out, and we all know MS never decreases its ram usage in a new OS.

Interesting you claim only a 5% decrease overclocking versus the TCCD 512meg chips. That implies the quality of the 1 gig chips are close to that. True?

[infinitevalence]

you sound kinda like me, i dont need the power, but i want it any way, all i can get. You might notice that i dont have a vid card im my sig, the reason being that when i need graphics for a game i use my gForce 2 mx, and when i need to work on a video project i use my matrox g450.

[helio]

I wll most likely use my G400 when I finally assemble this new box, it is a holdover from my old one. This is my every-5-years-or-so upgrade - A64 3000+ on MSI K8T800 Neo2-F with 2 Gb PQI. I stick in my 250Gb drive and my CD and DVD burners. I run a lot of Agent and get things like movies in DVD9 format (that I must convert to DVD5 size for burning) and do other video conversions and lately I notice some slowness in my old box. Hence the upgrade. I like my movies in DVD or S/VCD formats only as those play back best on a real DVD player.

The PQI 1G sticks don't overclock much at all, appears to me. I may play with them a bit more, but I am seeing errors at most any setting above stock. Was hoping for better, but at least they were error free at stock.