[vcf-midatlantic] Non-vintage PC Question

W2HX w2hx at w2hx.com
Sat Mar 4 18:12:31 EST 2017


Small update with more info. I found the documentation to my motherboard:

Intel® Desktop Board D845GERG2

https://downloadmirror.intel.com/15324/eng/D845GERG2_D845GEBV2_ProductGuide_English.pdf



It says the following on page 12:


Main Memory
✏ NOTE
To be fully compliant with all applicable Intel® SDRAM memory specifications, the board should
be populated with DIMMs that support the Serial Presence Detect (SPD) data structure. If your
memory modules do not support SPD, you will see a notification to this effect on the screen at
power up. The BIOS will attempt to configure the memory controller for normal operation.
The desktop board supports system memory as defined below:
• Up to two 184-pin Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Modules (DIMMs)
with gold-plated contacts. Supported memory configuration are:
— DDR333: to run DDR333 memory at full speed requires an Intel Pentium 4 processor
with 533 MHz front side bus frequency (FSB). DDR333 memory will run only at
DDR266 speeds when using a processor with 400 MHz FSB.
— DDR266: requires an Intel Pentium 4 processor with 533/400 MHz FSB, or Intel
Celeron processor with 400 MHz FSB.
• Unbuffered and non-registered single or double-sided DIMMs
• Serial Presence Detect (SPD) memory only
• Non-ECC RAM (ECC memory will run in non-ECC mode)
• 2.5 V memory
✏ NOTE
Desktop Board D845GERG2/D845GEBV2 has been designed to support DIMMs based on
512 Mbit technology up to 2 GB, but this technology has not been validated on these Intel desktop

boards.



So whatever I get, it should probably be DR333 so I can also eventually upgrade to the P4 533.  Any suggestions? I hear crucial is another good website, but again, some help figuring out precisely what I need would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks

Eugene





-----Original Message-----
From: vcf-midatlantic [mailto:vcf-midatlantic-bounces at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org] On Behalf Of W2HX via vcf-midatlantic
Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2017 5:36 PM
To: vcf-midatlantic (vcf-midatlantic at lists.vintagecomputerfederation.org)
Cc: W2HX
Subject: [vcf-midatlantic] Non-vintage PC Question



Hi friends,



Sorry for the bandwidth.  I have an oscilloscope that I am upgrading (LeCroy WaveRunner 6100) which has a PC within it and runs window 2000.  I have not played with the inside of a PC since the days of the 486 so I am quite rusty here, guys!



First step is to upgrade the ram. It currently has 1 RAM module with 512MB. I would like to put as much ram into this baby as possible. Probably the max would be 2G as two 1G modules. Here is a picture of the label on the one module...



http://w2hx.com/x/LeCroy/WR6K/0304171610.jpg



I've been reading up as much as I could on this. It appears to be DDR RAM (PC-2100) Probably DDR-266.

I read the following on Wikipedia...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM



Size of the chip is measured in megabits<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megabits>. Most motherboards recognize only 1 GB modules if they contain 64M×8 chips (low density). If 128M×4 (high density) 1 GB modules are used, they most likely will not work. The JEDEC<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JEDEC> standard allows 128M×4 only for slower buffered/registered modules designed specifically for some servers, but some generic manufacturers do not comply.[7]<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR_SDRAM#cite_note-7>[verification needed<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability>]



It seems 2GB might be achievable as long as I use 64MB x 8 low density?



So friends, can someone help me find a product on newegg, or amazon for two modules that might work for me?



The next steps for this scope will be to replace the slow IDE hard drive with a PATA SSD hard drive and then upgrade the CPU (1.70 MHz Celeron) with whatever I can upgrade it to.



Much appreciated!

Eugene W2HX




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