nForce2 (Ultra) 400 and DDR module compatibility

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Since the nForce2 (Ultra) 400 memory controller is known to be a bit picky
about the modules it will properly deal with, are there any first hand
experiences available here, about how well it can do with 512MB DDR400(+)
modules, which are built with either:

- 8× 512Mb-chips 64M (8k×2k×4bnk) × 8bit, single sided/banked or
- 8× 512Mb-chips 32M (8k×1k×4bnk) ×16bit, double sided/banked or
- 16× 256Mb-chips 64M (8k×2k×4bnk) × 4bit, single sided/banked or
- 16× 256Mb-chips 32M (8k×1k×4bnk) × 8bit, double sided/banked

What I understand so far, the first 2 variants are still very rare (those
chips by now are usually only used for 1 and 2GB modules), while the last
variant seems to be the most commonly offered one for the higher quality
6-layer no-names and brands, but apparently for cheap, 4-layer modules the
last but one version seems to be quite common.

Is this observation correct so far?

So how well then is it dealing in real life with 4-layer and 6-layer CL2,
CL2.5 and CL3 no-name modules, made with any those different chip
combinations and are there any significant differences in this respect
between the single and dual channel modes/versions and additionally also
with a mix of same sized but differently organised modules, according to the
above listing (which shouldn't, since there are two independent memory
controllers, one for each channel) for that controller?

Wolfi

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Conor wrote:
> In article <c6mio7$dvj59$1@ID-196275.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> wolfi@despammed.com says...
>
>>Since the nForce2 (Ultra) 400 memory controller is known to be a bit picky
>>about the modules it will properly deal with, are there any first hand
>>experiences available here, about how well it can do with 512MB DDR400(+)
>>modules, which are built with either:
>>
>
> Why bother with the hassle?
>
> www.crucial.com.
> Use their memory selector and buy something it suggests as compatible.
> For me its not failed yet and if it does there's a no quibble refund
> policy.

I am/was just a bit reluctant to pay those additional 25% for the big brands
compared to (6-layer) bulkware.
This especially since I recently read reports in a web forum, that
apparently a few people had good experiences with those modules and the
nForce2, so I was interested in a wider real life experience.

Wolfi