PC800-45ns, is it worth building on this memory?

[Slammy1]

My friend has a horribly old and slow computer (PII-300, 128MB, On-board video - Dell) but has this memory that he got from a friend who's a technician. It's PC800 45ns ECC mf'd by NEC, 2X512MB. From my understanding, he'd be limited to 400MHz based processors but considering his current set up it'd be a screamer upgrade. Primarily he uses it for multimedia but would also like to take up more advanced gaming (nothing too advanced in either). Thing is, he really doesn't have much money for the upgrade I just figured he already has the HDD, optical, and memory and thought it'd be a quick fix for his current system problems. I wouldn't have any idea about MoBo, and I'm thinking some cheap video solution. But he can sell the chips on EBay for over $200, so should he use them to build around or sell it and invest in a consumer level system. I'll build it for him, that's not a problem. He's been pretty active with his PC, and he really needs to upgrade soon (lots of PSU and Win98 related issues). TIA for any advice.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

PC 800 came out a few years ago. It was called Rambus. It is the fastest system memory ever available. It was soon taken out of production however for its massive heat production and latency. I wouldn't reccommend building on this as the solutions would be limited to AGP 4x or less and the CPU would be a max of 1.2 Ghz I believe. You'd be better off selling them and getting a consumer level setup.

 

[Big Lar]

My Wifes computer that I built her quite awhile ago, has 768mb's of 40N's in it, its a 2.66 I believe, and is still very fast to this day.

 

[Slammy1]

I think it can go faster than 1.2GHz, but since it's 45ns instead of 40 there's no 533MHz solution. It's amazing how much these sell for on EBay still. Thanks for the advice!

 

[BTA]

I've still got a gig of Samsung rambus memory. I had a P4 1.8A setup on an Abit TH7-II. The machine honestly still screams, have had the same setup since 1998 and I just recently (within the past month) saw a need to upgrade.

It's now being used in an File Server/PVR system I'm building.

A little hot and loud, but I cant bring myself to get rid of it.

And yes rambus sells for double what regular basic DDR memory goes for still on ebay.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Should be compatible with most chips up to 2GHz or so. You'll probably be limited to S423 based systems though.

 

[Ossie]

well if i were you i would save up for a new one. It might not be worth it. But it all does depend on what your doing.



Ossie

 

[RanDum72]

Should be compatible with most chips up to 2GHz or so. You'll probably be limited to S423 based systems though.

Nope, P4 S478 CPU's with 400mhz FSB (Northwood) can be used. However, he's limited to 850 and 850E chipset boards only. If he has a PIII setup, he can use 133mhz FSB CPU's ( Slot 1 or Socket 370) on boards having the Intel 820 chipset.