VCM (Virtual Channel Memory)

[Guest]

Has anybody purchased VCM (virtual channel memory) and have you noticed a dramatic performance boost? I have not seen any reviews on this technology but have seen claims of 75%+ performance increase (but compared to what?). I am trying to decide between Generic CL? 128MB VC133 SDRAM ($110), Micron 128MB PC133 CL2 ($95), Kingmax PC150 CL3($80), or Mushkin PC150 HSDRAM CL2 ECC 4.5ns wow!($170). Price probably will not be my deciding factor.

Thanks,
scooter

 

[murrcat67]

Hi, I've been looking for VC 133 myself. I wouldn't know what to recommend compared to the other memory you are considering, but to find out more about VC 133 just go to google.com and type in "virtual channel memory". There are tons of articles about it. Also, if you want to buy Kingston VC 133 instead of generic, the last price I saw for it a couple of days ago was $142 directly from Kingston.

hope that helps.

 

[Toejam31]

I have 256MBs of NEC CAS3 Virtual Channel memory, paired with a Socket A 1GHz Thunderbird on a MicroStar mainboard in my home machine. To be honest, I have not seen a dramatic performance difference in regards to "regular" SDRAM. In fact, I can't tell the difference, at all, despite extensive testing. Out of the memory types you listed, I would recommend that you go with Micron (or Crucial ... same difference) CAS2 133 SDRAM, especially if you intend to overclock your system. I have also had good results using the newer Mushkin 150Mhz memory sticks for my customers who are heavy gamers, but it's more expensive. ECC memory is not necessary for a desktop computer, and is generally used in servers, so I'd advise that you skip that expensive Kingston, even if the nanosecond rate looks good. If you intend to play games, or applications like this ... ECC is not the best idea.

See ya ... Toejam31

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info Toejam31. So your "video performance" did seem to improve? But that can't be the specs say they do (lol). I am building a PC for my parents and am going to trade my Corsair CL3 PC133 for something better. I will probably get the Mushkin HSDRAM (PC150) or the Kingmax PC150 ($75 www.mwave.com). By the way, I am an avid gamer & OCer. Just picked up Hercules GF2 Pro 64MB and Klipsh Promedia 4.0. Game-o-rama.
Later
Scooter

 

[Guest]

oops! correction on line #1 of post above. Meant to say, "did NOT seem to improve" (as compared to regular PC133).

Later,
Scooter

 

[Toejam31]

Hey, Scooter!

I may have gotten a "slight" performance increase when using VC133 in comparison to PC133 memory ... but the difference was negligable in ratio to the higher price. I had difficulty locating the memory last August, and that's why I have NEC CAS3. Perhaps a module with a lower latency might make more of a difference. I've considered upgrading ... but I'll probably go with PC2100 DDR and a new mainboard in the Spring, and I think I can wait if I try really hard!

I agree with your decision ... memory from either of these companies should do the job (and you'll be glad of it when you starting overclocking.)

I'd love to get my hands on the Hercules GeForce2 GTS Pro. I'd have the memory on that card up around 460MHz, and be looking at some serious Megatexel fill rates. And it's the only GeForce card I've seen that comes with heatsinks on the memory chips! You should enjoy it! (I know I would!) LOL!

I'm currently using the Klipsh Promedia speakers. I love 'em. These are the first computer speakers that have ever impressed me. That's not an easy thing to do ... I was a professional musician for 15 years, and I have a pretty damn good ear. They are magnificent for games!

Note: Get some wall brackets if you really want to take advantage of the 4.1 separation.

Write anytime, I'm always willing to help, or to learn something new.

See ya ... Toejam31

 

[Guest]

Apacer VCM is cheaper than Kingston and all of them are using NEC chips. I bought the Apacer 128 Meg VCM for about USD105.

 

[Hasse]

I couldn't help to notice.. I've got 2 128 APACER CAS2 VCM sticks.. and I havn't seen any exceptional scores anywhere. Still all pages writing anything at all about VCM ram says it's up to 33% faster or more.. Never seen 75% tho.. .. Anyway CAS2 is pretty fast, but it costs a fortune..

-Hasse

 

[Guest]

I have seen similar performance "enhancement" claims of 30%-40% in internet articles. But at memman.com their opening page says..."Customers have been seeing a 50%-75% increase in visual graphics." I guess I did embellish a bit when I said 75%+ on my original post. But what do you suppose "visual graphics means"--Photoshop, streaming video, video editing or what?? Admittedly all that I really care about (at least now) is gaming performance. I ended up buying the PC133 CL2 (Mosel Vitalic chips) @ memman.com for $85 so I can get my P3-750 (hopefully) over the 1GHz mark. Acctually, seems to be a pretty sweet deal. I guess I will just have to wait to buy a DDR MOBO later this year to get the most out of the memory. I hope they make some in the Slot 1 flavor.

Thanks for the input.
-Scooter-