I want a mb with 4 memory slots??

[rhx852]

I'm looking for a good stable mb for my amd 2400+. I have 3 184 2700 memory I want to use and I want an extra memory slot for future enhancement.


I found these two;
Abit KW7 Via KT880 Athlon XP/Sempron Skt462 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, LAN, RAID/Serial AT Retail ***Free 2nd Day***
266/333/400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 4DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB, Audio, LAN, RAID/SATA $67.50

Asus A7V880 Via KT880 Athlon XP SktA DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail ***Free 2nd Day***
200/266/333/400FSB, ATA/133, AGP 8X, 4DDR DIMM, 5PCI, USB 2.0, Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/SATA $67.99

any opinions?

 

[Slaimus]

The only board with 4 slots are dual channel, so you need to have even number of memory sticks, preferably of the exact same type. Running 3 sticks of RAM in a dual channel board is rather hit or miss when it comes to stability.

 

[Odeen]

All chipsets specced for 4 DIMM slots are "dual channel". Since it's difficult for one controller to drive FOUR slots, there are two controllers, each of which handles two slots, which is a much easier task, electrically speaking.

Most of the 4 DIMM chipsets are created for Athlon64 and Pentium 4 processors and their derivatives. The only Socket A chipset that can handle 4 DIMM slots is the Via KT880 (note: Not even the nForce2 can do 4 DIMM, since the second memory controller can only handle 2 "sides" of RAM)

If I had to pick a board between the KW7 and the A7V880, I'd go with the A7V880. Reasons:
Better LAN chip (Marvell is better than Via)
Better audio chip (Analog Devices SoundMAX will produce better quality audio than Realtek)
Sane ATX connector location (you don't have to thread a bulky cable with a huge connector all the way BEHIND the CPU, where it will obscure airflow to the heatsink)
Sane PATA locations (Up near the midpoint of the motherboard, where they can reach CD-ROM drives near the top of the case, instead of forcing you to install the drives lower, or use out-of-spec extra-long IDE cables)
No ATX12V connector (better compatibility with older PSU's, less of a wiring mess)

Either board will do fine, I just like the Asus better. Also, keep in mind that Via traditionally means lower overclocking potential. There's no AGP/PCI bus lock, and overclocking with 4 DIMMs is a bad idea, as the memory controller is already at its max load.

 

[rhx852]

Thanks for the help.
good advice/observations
I won't be doing any overclocking

so I'm a little confused.
does this mean that i can i use the three dimms I have now and not add another till later
i mean i don't have to fill all four memory slots at once do i

 

[Odeen]

I believe the motherboard will run in lower-performance mode unless the memory configuration on channel 1 matches channel 2. But it will still run.

 

[ChineseDemocracyGNR]

I have the manual for the ASRock K7Upgrade-880 (which is a great board, btw) here, and it says:

"If only one memory module or three memory modules are installed
in the DDR DIMM slots on this motherboard, it is unable to activate
the Dual Channel Memory Technology."

So I assume you can use 3 modules.

 

[mandrake99]

" I have the manual for the ASRock K7Upgrade-880 (which is a great board, btw) here, and it says:
"If only one memory module or three memory modules are installed
in the DDR DIMM slots on this motherboard, it is unable to activate
the Dual Channel Memory Technology."
So I assume you can use 3 modules. "

****************************************
Yes this board is great, I am running on 3 sticks of PC2700 ram as I type this.

mandrake99