A8N-SLI system under construction

[JamCraft]

Greetings,

 

I am new here and dropped by for a little specific help.

 

The Corsair site is well-designed and very helpful and yet I could still use a little more help from The Ram Guy!

 

:biggrin: :biggrin: ,s

 

I am looking at starting with 1 Gig. of the best memory I can find. Came to the right place, right?

 

I will be using an FX55 CPU.

 

I see the Twinx 1024 3200XL or XLPRO as a good choice, for this fine new MoBo.

 

I would like to be able to go to 2 Gig. at some point in the future.

 

The A8N-SLI Deluxe supports unregistered and registered ECC RAM.

 

If I have read the info available correctly, Corsair recommends using the ECC RAM only if one intends to use all four slots?

 

So . . .

 

Here are my questions:

 

1. If I do go with unregistered DDR400 RAM rated for 2-2-2-5 for the matched pair, what happens if I buy another such pair in the future?

 

a) Will I get good results with high-end Corsair 4X512 unregistered DIMMS purchased in pairs?

 

2. If I go with the ECC modules, will I be trading future upgradability for performance?

 

This particular system will be used primarily for playing at wwiiol, which as a very CPU and MEM intensive game.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Joe

[JamCraft]

Well . . .

 

I haven't been able to answer myself yet completely.

 

:laughing: :laughing: ,s

 

From the reading I did today and from "taking the course" - a very fine audio-visual presentation on the Corsair site concerning theory, practice and why Corsair is the greatest, allow me to test my understanding for possible verification by The RAM Guy or other knowledgable community member here.

 

1. Using four DIMM slots on the A8N-SLI - or any MoBo, for that matter, and getting top-level performance may be mutually exclusive? Much over one Gig. capacity and things start to break down as far as the state-of-the-art goes.

 

2. If I am hell-bent on wanting good performance with 2 Gig. of memory, with this MoBo, I ought to go with the registered ECC TWINX2048RE-3200 at 3-3-3-8.

 

3. If I am satisfied with 1 Gig. of RAM, I could hardly do better than the TWINX1024-3200XL or XLPRO, but I ought to forget about using those other two slots effectively. I could use aggressive timings of 2-2-2-5.

 

4. If I have time and money to burn and I do not ever want to go above 1 Gig. and I want to OC "up the wazoo," go with the TWINX1024-4400C25.

 

Have I summed it up correctly?

 

If the above is all true, I'll probably go with 2 Gig of RE.

 

Cheers,

 

Joe

[CMC_SAVAGE]

If the above is all true, I'll probably go with 2 Gig of RE.

Not true.

The socket 939 does'nt support "Registered" RAM.

For best performance the TWINX1024-3200XL.

Best OC'ing the TWINX1024-4400C25.

http://compatible.corsairmemory.com/memorysearch.aspx?modelid=1163

[JamCraft]

Not true.

The socket 939 does'nt support "Registered" RAM.

For best performance the TWINX1024-3200XL.

Best OC'ing the TWINX1024-4400C25.

http://compatible.corsairmemory.com/memorysearch.aspx?modelid=1163

 

 

Thanks for my first reply!

 

It looks like you are correct. My A8N-SLI manual indicates that: "You may install 256 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB unbuffered ECC or non-ECC DDR DIMMs . . . "

 

The "ECC" bit threw me off.

 

It does not mention "registered" RAM, but most folks use "unbuffered" to refer to RAM that is not registered.

 

Since most ECC RAM is registered, I see where I made my mistake.

 

On the other hand, to lend to the confusion, the Corsair website mentions that the registered RAM is suitable especially for AMD 64 systems. The site does not mention whether Socket 939 or 940?

 

I will be using an FX-55 CPU.

 

So you've helped me narrow it down a bit.

 

I don't suppose Corsair makes XMS unregistered ECC RAM?

 

I am beginning to think some manufacturer's make this subject unnecessarily complicated on purpose - sort of like accountants, lol.

 

:laughing: :laughing: ,s

 

Where is The RAM Guy when you need him, lol.

 

Cheers,

 

Joe

 

PS, So what options does one have if one wants to either:

 

a) Have 2 GB of RAM, or

 

b) Use all four DIMM slots?

[CMC_SAVAGE]

Registed and Buffered are the same.

ECC is different. RAM can be Registered ECC or Unbuffered ECC.

All Corsair's ECC modules are Registered.

The socket 940 would support Registerd RAM.

[Wired]

PS, So what options does one have if one wants to either:

 

a) Have 2 GB of RAM, or

 

b) Use all four DIMM slots?

 

a) TwinX2048-3200C2

 

b) PC2700 memory

[JamCraft]

Thanks again . . .

 

I see that I won't be using unbuffered ECC RAM with a Corsair label on it. It probably isn't made this way by anyone else either for performance or gaming purposes.

 

It's down to unbuffered non-ECC RAM.

 

I assume that the "PC2700" response for utilizing four slots was for better stability? Asus indicates I can put in four sticks of PC3200. I assume here that the timing would have to be slowed though.

 

* * * * * *

 

Based upon good input here coupled with what I have read, I have abandoned the notion of ever using more than two DIMM slots.

 

I started with a handful of questions and it is now down to a simple choice. Thanks.

 

So it's either:

 

TwinX 1024 3200XL {or even TwinX 1024 4400C25}

 

or

 

TwinX 2048 3200C2

 

Cheers,

 

Joe

[Wired]

PC2700 for 4 slots because A64s automatically underclock 4 sticks of 3200 to 2700.

[JamCraft]

Thanks Wired . . .

 

I went with a TwinX 1024 3200XLPRO set.

 

If I decide in future that I must have 2 GB, by then there will be newer and better choices from which to select.

 

Cheers,

 

Joe :):