64x4 or 32x8 ??

[jrichter73]

I'm getting ready to buy some ram and there are 2 sticks of DDR that I'm looking at.. same brand but one says 64x4 and the other says 32x8 .. what is the difference and will it matter to me?

Also, do I want Registered or Unbuffered ram?? I'll be using amd xp 1700.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by jrichter73 on 12/07/02 05:48 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[HolyShiznit]

I think it has something to do with high vs low density RAM. Low density (32x8) is for systems with lower overall possible RAM capacity.

Then again, I may be talking out of my @$$. I'd get a second opinion from a more knowledgeable poster.

 

[vagabond]

In your case check the MOBO's manual. If not then you have to go to your MOBO's site and look there. More than likely it'll say (max. 1.5GB unbuffered or registered)

To find out if you have ECC, parity, or non-parity memory, count the number of chips on the module. If you can evenly divide the number of chips by three or five, the module is ECC or parity, if not, then it is a non-parity module.

So what if your system does have ECC or parity memory (the chips are evenly divisible by three), how do you know which one you have? One way is to look at the part numbers on the chips of your module. If each chip has the same part number, you have ECC. If one chip is different, you have parity.

If you plan to use your system as a server or a similar mission critical type machine, it is to your advantage to use ECC. If you plan to use your PC for regular home, office, or gaming applications, you are better off with non-parity.

Using ECC decreases your PC's performance by about 2%. Current technology DRAM is very stable and memory errors are rare, so unless you have a need for ECC, you are better served with non-parity SDRAM.

If I'm not mistaken, 64x4 means a stick of RAM with 64MBx4chips; ditto with 32x8 = 32MBx8chips. More than likely arranged single-sided.

<font color=red> Die Menschheit ist gewohnt zu verhoehnen was sie nicht verstehen...<font color=red><b>GOETHE</b>
<font color=blue>People are wont to mock what they don't understand...<font color=blue><b>GOETHE</b><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by vagabond on 12/08/02 03:47 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[DrJeckyl]

The lower density modules will be more stable and will overclock more if you're interested in doing that.
And yes, 32x8 means eight, thirty two mb chips on the module. And yes, do check your mobo's manual to see how many mem banks are available. You will limit yourself if your mobo is short ended on banks, and you end up getting double sided mem modules.

Happy hunting...