Here is another little experiment, memory modules related.
What I did was pull the 2x2 GB DDR2 PC8500 OCZ Reaper modules out of my other computer,
then replace the Transcend's with the OCZ's.
Consecutively, I've got one good news and one bad news.
The good news is that the 4Core supports PC2-8500 DDR2 out of the box.
Of course, it probably won't be able to run them @ 400+ MHz.
Just as PC2-6400, it's safer to make them fall back @ 533 MHz (as if they were PC-5300).
Prior to boot up, I merely took the precaution to switch DRAM voltage to Low.
Timings were : 3-3-3-8 - Command Rate : 1T, just as doubleOseven suggested.
Using AIDA64 memory benchmark, I get an amazingly good latency score : 62.7 ns
The bad news is that this board doesn't seem to handle more than 2 GB of DRAM.
I am not talking about the limitation which prevents the full 4 GB to be used by the system.
What suprised me first were the lower Benchmarks results.
About 2% inferior 3D Mark '01SE scores, despite the additional memory and tightened timings.
It appears there are at least two ways to find out about this :
Using AIDA64
Browse to Motherboard / Memory / Physical Memory
Here are a few excerpts of the hardware report :
Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 63-220-0000010-00101111-093009-VIA$4CDS2220_4COREDUAL-SATA2 BIOS L2.20 REV:A
Motherboard Name ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2
Motherboard:
CPU Type DualCore Intel Core 2 Duo E7300, 2733 MHz (9.5 x 288)
Motherboard Name ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 (4 PCI, 1 PCI-E x16, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, 2 DDR2 DIMM, Audio, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset VIA Apollo PT880 Pro/Ultra
System Memory 2048 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)*
DIMM1: OCZ Reaper HPC OCZ2RPR10662G 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 400 MHz) (4-5-5-13 @ 333 MHz) (3-4-4-10 @ 266 MHz)
DIMM3: OCZ Reaper HPC OCZ2RPR10662G 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM (5-5-5-15 @ 400 MHz) (4-5-5-13 @ 333 MHz) (3-4-4-10 @ 266 MHz)
BIOS Type AMI (09/30/09)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
[ Memory Modules / DIMM0 ]
Memory Module Properties:
Socket Designation DIMM0
Type SDRAM
Installed Size 2048 MB
Enabled Size 2048 MB
[ Memory Modules / DIMM1 ]
Memory Module Properties:
Socket Designation DIMM1
Type SDRAM
Installed Size 2048 MB
Enabled Size 2048 MB
* Should read 3328 MB (DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM)
or Via msconfig
Start menu / execute / msconfig
Start up (second tab), Advanced Options
Now tick max memory
It should read 512 (512 MB), 1024 (1 GB), 2048 (2 GB) depending on the amount of DRAM you equipped the mobo with.
However, anyone with more than 2 GB installed won't be able to change that value (2048).
Change it to 3328 or 4096, it will reset to 2048 upon the next boot up.
So basically, I wonder if PCTreiber managed to unlock 3 and 3.25 / 4 GB support, if it is indeed a system wide enhancement.
Again, this is completely unrelated to the presence or not of PAE.
On a x86 system, there is no way the "unmanaged memory" (the difference between the physical memory and what 32-bit OSes can handle) can be put to some use. While continuing reading the AIDA64 report :
Physical Address Extension (PAE):
Supported by Operating System Yes
Supported by CPU Yes
Active Yes
PAE is indeed active with the 4Core.
In this case, the 'supports 2 GB maximum' mentioned as a feature in the manual is a limitation of the chipset, which unfortunately cannot be reprogrammed in the BIOS, whether you're running a x86 OS or a x64 one, not a Memory remapping issue.
@Sparkion
Thanks so much for the compliment.
About the OCZ's voltage, you shouldn't worry too much, I run mine @1000 MHz stable, slightly above 2v (@ 2.05v), with the following timings : 5-5-5-13 - CR 2T.
I would suggest to get the Sapphire, and start things off with the AMD system.
If you're worried about the noise, get one of these special foam covered cases. I use a black NZXT one myself.
Also, a flawed GPU cooler (these things aren't very sturdy usually) can be replaced with a VGA cooling kit, equipped with one or two detachable fan(s); The only downside being those devices take up quite some room once attached to the card.
Try to sketch out your future systems on a sheet of paper e.q. on this one, I would put this component, on the other one the DVD-RW and so on.
I made such a sketch a few years ago, here it is
- DVDBOX is the host name of my main computer, p45 Neo 3 / e8600 based, TOSERVE the host name of the 4Core / e7300 based one
- 'merci à Paragon' means thanks to Paragon (Paragon software)
- 9box was the Internet Box my previous ISP was providing me with
Take into account the destination, HTPC needs a decent GPU preferably AMD (the AIW comes to mind), files repository needs the biggest HDDs and a backup solution...