FINALLY CHEAP DDR!

[zephyrprime]

Can someone tell me what the default spd voltage and timings for this ram are at 400mhz speed?

 

[darkewaffle]

I have a pair of Ballistix (they look different though, at some point the updated to a brighter orange/white scheme it seems) that ran wonderfully for over 2.5 years. They still do I'm sure, I'm just no longer using them.

Thought I should just reflect on an actual positive experience with Ballistix 🙂

 

[CZroe]

I know I shouldn't mention it seeing as how I won't get there until late, but I will say that DDR will finally be cheap at Fry's again today. 😉

Edit: Just an update with more useful information... If you NEED 2GB of PC3200 (Corsair), call your local Frys! I won't say what the price is until my friends and I have ours in hand (the trip is too long to risk it), but I will say that you can't argue with the AR price. It doesn't seem to be available online.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

It's $80 AR. P/N 4700789 at Fry's. Ballistix is a better deal at $31 AR.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
It's $80 AR. P/N 4700789 at Fry's. Ballistix is a better deal at $31 AR.

How dare you! 😉

BTW, you must be confused. You can't find 2x1GB (2GB) PC3200 of any brand for $31 AR (or $62 AR if that's what you imply). 2x1GB kits have been the problem area since they last reached the $79-129 range... they zipped back up to $150-200+ territory and THAT'S where the question of "what happened to cheap DDR?" came from. Using four modules for 2GB means "underclocking" with 2T timings. That's why 2GB paired kits are the sweet-spot. Hell, my brother's 2GB OCZ dual channel pair isn't stable without 2T on a tested motherboard (Abit AN8-SLI), though they seem fine in his Intel board. Even $100 for 2x1GB PC3200 DDR is considered a deal.

Thread made.

Memory manufacturers are learning from the whole SDRAM fiasco. Rather than inflat prices by forming cartels and destroying excess inventory, they are now just cutting back well before the useful lifetime has expired. This helps the adoption of DDR2/3, but it's hell for those that just built a killer DDR gaming rig last year and need 2GB (FX60 + nForce 4 SLI for example... it's a shame without 2x1GB).

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Why split hair (drop of 0.4 sec with Super Pi 1M) with 1T vs 2T on PC3200/939 MB? You're paying inflated price for marginal performance gain. Bandwidth of PC3200 is 2500MB/s. Quality DDR2 is +7000MB/s. I don't pour more $ into yesterday's technology. 1GB is perfectly adequate for WXP. BTW, Microsoft has lowered sale forecast for Vista, and expect XP to take up the slack in 2008!

Feel the need for a big improvement in speed? Step up to C2D. I paid $95 for Abit IP35-E, $64 for E4300, and $65 for 2GB Kingston DDR2 800 (Memtest stable @ 480MHz/4-4-4-12-2T/2.1V). 1M Super Pi time went from 28.4 to 16.3. Now that's a bargain.

A $60 Abit P965 board and $32 HP RAM (2GB DDR2 667) will still blow away your current 939 rig. Easy 3.2GHz with a willing C2D E4x00 CPU.

 

[CZroe]

Firstly, this is a stability issue. Only secondly is this is a performance issue (only runs stable at speeds below rated specs). Most OEM boards don't even give you the option to adjust these timings (but they also auto-adjust to stable timings).

 

[SerpentRoyal]

I've never had any issue with four sticks of RAM and NF4/939...Abit, Epox, and even ECS. Yes, my current ECS KN1 Lite has 1T/2T option in the BIOS. Stability problem is due to some sort of timing issue between RAMs and the additional load on the memory controller.

 

[zephyrprime]

Well, to answer my own question, this ram has spd specs of 2.65V, 2-2-2-8 at 200MHZ clock. No other spd speed grades exist on the chip.

So the default voltage of this dimm is above ddr's nominal voltage of 2.5v but not by a whole lot. It's worrisome that the ram has such a high failure rate when subjected to 2.65v.

When I put it in my motherboard, which already has 2 other dimms in it, my msi motherboard made the timings too aggressive and the system was not stable. I had to manually slow down the timings to make the thing run.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

So how far were you able to overclock?

 

[zephyrprime]

I didn't overclock it and considering the track record other people have had with it, I don't think I ever will.

 

[zephyrprime]

Well, mine died. I had them in a system that ran 24/7 so they died faster than most people's would have.

I noticed that the thermal adhesive is actually pretty easy to pry up which is worrisome. Honestly, why even use thermal tape? You could just use a rubbery thermal glue and the results would have been better.

Also, the chips on the dimm were made by epaida, not micron.

Anyone have any advice on how to rma these?