Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

January 3, 2008

I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a Soyo

KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there is

the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a workstation

to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience with

a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

January 3, 2008

Re: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

Other than the memory speed what is not as you think it

should be? If you're using the 32-bit win XP it cannot read

the full 4GB, you need Win x64 for that.

Richard Giliberti wrote:

> I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

> XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a Soyo

> KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

> motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

> rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

> that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

> rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there is

> the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a workstation

> to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience with

> a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

January 3, 2008

Re: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

You could certainly find a motherboard and CPU combination that supports

that RAM - there were hundreds, if not thousands, made. None of them would

be a current model -- the OEMs have moved on to DDR2 and even DDR3 in some

cases. An AMD64 bit processor with a 937 socket and a mobo that supports it,

or a 754 socket and mobo that supports it, would work just fine with that

RAM. Of course, it doesn't matter WHAT mobo/CPU combination you choose - if

you're running 32-bit Windows you won't get the full 4 GB value out of it.

The limitation is that Windows uses a 32-bit flat memory address space,

which is limited to a maximum of 4 GB of memory address space. Some of the

memory address space has to be reserved for use by graphics cards, network

cards, and other peripherals and built in components of the motherboard, so

you'd likely not see more than ~3 GB of your RAM.

Now, you could run Windows XP x64 Edition, and if your new mobo supported

it, you'd be able to remap memory in BIOS and see the full 4 GB of RAM. But

you'd want to be VERY sure there were drivers available for your other

hardware, and that your applications would all run in XP x64. And when you

were all done, you'd still only have a system that was about 2 years behind

the current technology. All to recycle 4 DIMMs of memory at a time when

memory prices have dropped significantly and seem to be continuing to go

down.

Honestly, I think you'd be far better served for running multiple VMs to

look at starting from scratch. You could easily build a system today that

supported a dual or quad core processor and held 4-8 GB of DDR2 RAM for not

much different than you'd spend looking for a mobo to recycle your current

RAM. You'd still have to make the switch to 64-bit Windows (Vista or XP) to

take full advantage of 4GB or more of memory - that won't change. But in

return you'd have a far more responsive and satisfactory solution.

--

Charlie.

http://msmvps.com/xperts64

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

"Richard Giliberti" <Richard Giliberti@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in

message news:D5A6AF28-AA91-4C44-8999-E8294CA211F9@microsoft.com...

>I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

> XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a

> Soyo

> KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

> motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

> rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

> that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

> rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there

> is

> the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a

> workstation

> to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience

> with

> a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

January 3, 2008

Re: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

On Jan 3, 7:36 am, Richard Giliberti <Richard

Gilibe...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

> XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a Soyo

> KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

> motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

> rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

> that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

> rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there is

> the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a workstation

> to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience with

> a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

Gigabyte socket 939 nforce4 mobos. There is a secret memory remap in

the bios. Either control-f1 or alt-f1. Just google 4G limit on this

newsgroup since I have posted this information a few times. I've built

two PCs out of

http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=1868

but this mobo is hard to find. However, a friend found one of the SLI

vesions and just build a system. The mobo was maybe $70.

January 4, 2008

Re: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

On Jan 3, 11:53 am, m...@sushi.com wrote:

> On Jan 3, 7:36 am, Richard Giliberti <Richard

>

> Gilibe...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> > I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

> > XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a Soyo

> > KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

> > motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

> > rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

> > that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

> > rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there is

> > the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a workstation

> > to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience with

> > a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

>

> Gigabyte socket 939 nforce4 mobos. There is a secret memory remap in

> the bios. Either control-f1 or alt-f1. Just google 4G limit on this

> newsgroup since I have posted this information a few times. I've built

> two PCs out ofhttp://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?Prod...

> but this mobo is hard to find. However, a friend found one of the SLI

> vesions and just build a system. The mobo was maybe $70.

I booted the PC. You enter control-f1 at the first bios screen to

activate the advanced options. The next step is to go to "advanced

chipset features", then "DRAM configuration", then "H/W MEM Remap".

January 13, 2008

RE: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

Thank you all for your replies!! The situation has been rectified.

There are no more NForce 4 boards for sale with the requisite CMOS option.

It definitely was not easy to find a chipset that was still available with

the 32-bit memory hole remap. The only one left was the RD580 Xpress 3200.

I am purchasing a DFI LanParty UT CFX 3200-DR/G Motherboard Socket 939 ATX

ATI CrossFire Chipset and Processor AMD Athlon™ 64 Model 4000+ OPN Tray

ADA4000DKA5CF. I can not get the full DDR400 speed due to my memory being

double sided and/or dual ranked. I will be able to make use of the full 4

GIG due to the memory remapping feature in the BIOS, however, there is no

indication in the manual of whether it would be preferable to use software or

hardware remapping. The issues of drivers for XP64/Vista64 & newer

components, although comparably priced, is not important for my needs. I am

not discarding my present 32-bit XP Pro computer with it's myriad peripherals.

"Richard Giliberti" wrote:

> I have 2 TwinX2048-3200C2 Matched memory pairs from Corsair with identical

> XMS3202v1.1 versions. I was misinformed with my initial purchase of a Soyo

> KT880 Dragon2 V2.0 motherboard. I am now seeking a 64-bit

> motherboard/chipset combination that supports the full 4GB of RAM at the

> rated DDR400. After thoroughly reaearching the matter, I have discovered

> that AMD processors with their embedded memory controller do not support 4

> rows of DIMM's at DDR400. I am unable to definitively discover if there is

> the same limitation with Intel's 915 chipset. I need this for a workstation

> to run multiple VM's for testing. Does anyone have hands-on experience with

> a hardware combination that would fit my needs?

January 13, 2008

Re: Motherboard/Chipset to support 4x1 GB DDR400 RAM

On Jan 12, 8:22 pm, Richard Giliberti

<RichardGilibe...@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> Thank you all for your replies!! The situation has been rectified.

> There are no more NForce 4 boards for sale with the requisite CMOS option.

> It definitely was not easy to find a chipset that was still available with

> the 32-bit memory hole remap. The only one left was the RD580 Xpress 3200.

> I am purchasing a DFI LanParty UT CFX 3200-DR/G Motherboard Socket 939 ATX

> ATI CrossFire Chipset and Processor AMD Athlon 64 Model 4000+ OPN Tray

> ADA4000DKA5CF. I can not get the full DDR400 speed due to my memory being

> double sided and/or dual ranked. I will be able to make use of the full 4

> GIG due to the memory remapping feature in the BIOS, however, there is no

> indication in the manual of whether it would be preferable to use software or

> hardware remapping. The issues of drivers for XP64/Vista64 & newer

> components, although comparably priced, is not important for my needs. I am

> not discarding my present 32-bit XP Pro computer with it's myriad peripherals.

>

> "Richard Giliberti" wrote: