Granite Bay

[Toymaker]

Thanks Intelconvert. I was searching for info on that board. I'd read somewhere that it was 32 bit Rambus but apparently it's not. Maybe Epox has another model that's 32 bit.

 

[senior guy]

Heh, Epox wasn't very careful in proof-reading those specs (I'm sure that even IntelConvert didn't notice that goof)! According to their press release, the 4T4A+ has 2 32bit RIMM slots (why else would it only have 2 RIMM slots?).

Btw, am I the only one experiencing difficulties with this (AT) site?

 

[TheCoz]

Originally posted by: senior guy
Heh, Epox wasn't very careful in proof-reading those specs (I'm sure that even IntelConvert didn't notice that goof)! According to their press release, the 4T4A+ has 2 32bit RIMM slots (why else would it only have 2 RIMM slots?).

You're right, the Epox UK site shows the proper specs - 2 x 32bit RIMM slots.

http://www.epox.org/products/mainboards/4t4a/

 

[senior guy]

Coz... thanks for the confirmation (from the specs, it looks like the best i850E board out there! Btw, do you know if the board is in the retail chain yet, and are RIMM4200 512MB modules available yet???

 

[IntelConvert]

Senior guy~ The answer is 'YES' to both questions... The EP-4T4A+ is now in the retail channels, selling in the $148 - $160 range, and Samsung 512MB RIMM4200 is also now available (although not abundantly so) selling in the $300 - $340 range.

And (as The Coz confirmed) the Epox board definetely uses 32bit RIMMs!

 

[senior guy]

Thanks IntelConvert. I just found the EP-4T4A+ at newegg.com for under $150, which seems like an exc. price for a fully featured i850E board. They don't have 512mb RIMM4200 sticks but Googlegear has them for $300 (kinda steep)!

Anyhow, if the GB boards are way overpriced, this EPoX may be worth considering!

 

[mrman3k]

So should we be seeing GB board reviews soon if I am not mistaken?

 

[bmg]

Originally posted by: mrman3k
So should we be seeing GB board reviews soon if I am not mistaken?

Sounds like Monday's the day.

 

[Johnnychangs]

Yea there have been issues with 32-bit RIMM 4200. Kingston recalled all their products out. Samsung does appear to work withthe Asus i850e board but it still sounds like new technology headaches. I was seriously considering the EPox 4T4A+ instead of waiting for GB, but I decided to stick it out for a few months (or however much longer it takes for GB mobos release).

Don't mean to stray from the GB thread, as my suggestion was to compare the GB to an i850 RIMM 4200 setup. However, there's a good amount of info about the Epox 4T4A and its memory issues HERE.

Can't wait to see the GB reviews Evan. Are you going to test it out with a wide range of processors? I just picked up a P4 2.66 and am hoping for good things in the future with GB.

Thanks

 

[kiratas]

Hey, just wondering if you could confirm or deny this from a thread here: gb benchmarks

Yeah- you cannot mix and match memory. Both modules have to be the same size. The manual also states that you can only use single sided modules- meaning if you have 16 chips on your module then dont look this way!

I wonder if it's impossible to use double sided dimms, or just not recommended, or what.

 

[Johnnychangs]

Umm...that would be so dumb if you could only use single sided DDR in the GB. If its true A LOT of people are gonna be pissed, including myself who just bought another 512MB stick of Corsair XMS3200 (already have another).

Say it ain't so!!!

 

[bmg]

The P4G8X manual just showed up on ASUS's (global) site: manual link. I think there's some confusion about double sided dimms. What the manual really means to say is that no double sided dimms using X16 rams are supported. It's really not stated well, but I'm sure this is what's actually meant. X4, X8 or X16 refer to the data width of the actual ram chips when we're talking about ddr dimms. Most (all?) double sided 512mb ddr dimms use X8 parts, so they're ok. The X16 doesn't mean 16 ram chips, it means that each ram chip is 16 bits wide rather than the usual 8 bits per part. My corsair 512mb dual bank dimms use eight X8 ram chips per bank, so they should be fine (hopefully!).

 

[kiratas]

Maybe I'm way wrong here, but shouldn't pretty much any double sided dimm have 4 bit width per chip? Since the memory bus is 64 bits, then 4 bits per chip times 16 chips (8 per side) equals 64 bits, right? The only times you should have 8 bit is on a single sided dimm which has 8 chips (8 x 8 = 64). So when would you have 16 bit width chips? Seems like that'd only work with 4 chips total (do any dimms even have this?)

 

[bmg]

Most double sided dimms are actually two separate banks, the ram parts are just put on one PCB rather than needing two. Each bank normally consists of eight X8 parts. Think of a double sided dimm as two separate single sided dimms that have been put together on a single PC board to save space and cost.

 

[kiratas]

Ah ok that makes sense. Hopefully then this shouldn't affect hardly anybody.

 

[bmg]

Hopefully Evan can give us a definitive answer about this. Not supporting normal doublesided dimms would be a huge issue.

 

[jaybee]

Originally posted by: kiratas
Hey, just wondering if you could confirm or deny this from a thread here: gb benchmarks

Yeah- you cannot mix and match memory. Both modules have to be the same size. The manual also states that you can only use single sided modules- meaning if you have 16 chips on your module then dont look this way!

I wonder if it's impossible to use double sided dimms, or just not recommended, or what.

Good link! 4500 Sandra memory, wow... It looks like the boards will be avail. around the end of the month. Now the question is: how much?

jaybee

 

[TheCoz]

Originally posted by: bmg
Hopefully Evan can give us a definitive answer about this. Not supporting normal doublesided dimms would be a huge issue.

I have the answer from *foo..........

Originally posted by: *foo
They're talking about X16 DRAM components.

They're saying you can't use a DS DIMM bases on X16 components. I'll go one step farther and say you can't even buy a DS DIMM based on X16 components -- everyone just makes SS X8 DIMMs because it's cheaper, and you get the same net capacity.

Your DS DIMMs are X8's -- each side of the DIMM makes 64 bits, for a full bank.

The reason GB doesn't support DS X16's is the same reason no Intel chipsets support DS X16 -- you can't physically get them to validate them.

Conclusion: you are all overreacting. Your RAM will work fine.

Panic over.

Looks like the GB MCH may be a very capable overclocker. Kyle at HardOCP got his Asus P4G8X to 188MHz FSB and Abbas at T-Break got his P4G8X to 190MHz FSB. I'm dreaming of a C1 2.26 and an Asus P4G8X............

 

[ALstonLoong]

my god ! 188 fsb !!! What kind of ram i gonna need ????

 

[TheCoz]

Originally posted by: ALstonLoong
my god ! 188 fsb !!! What kind of ram i gonna need ????

Well, GB only supports a 1:1 memory ratio so anything capable of DDR376 speed will do for 188MHz FSB. Even Crucial PC2100 has been known to hit DDR360-ish speeds so you don't need fantastic DDR. I would go for some good quality PC2700 - Samsung would be ideal.

 

[ALstonLoong]

emm.. right now the only worried about GB mobo is the price. I really dont wanna spend 250 US dollar for one mobo which maybe unable to use future cpu like prescott.

 

[dajo]

Really interesting. Still don't understand about the RAM in pairs, though.

Install only identical (the same type and size) DDR DIMM pairs...

The kicker here is "type". Haven't read the manual closely yet - does that mean ram will be read by SPD for compatibility.

I want one...

136 pages for the manual - that's pretty beefy. Hope it doesn't cost too terribly much because I know I'll get one - or a GB board.

Does that AGP/PCI freqeuncy set function mean that is a AGP/PCI bus lock so that high FSBs won't stress the PCI bus?

Thanks for the heads up on the manual - ftp'd it down so I can read more easily.

 

[jaybee]

Originally posted by: dajo
Really interesting. Still don't understand about the RAM in pairs, though.

Install only identical (the same type and size) DDR DIMM pairs...

The kicker here is "type". Haven't read the manual closely yet - does that mean ram will be read by SPD for compatibility.

I want one...

136 pages for the manual - that's pretty beefy. Hope it doesn't cost too terribly much because I know I'll get one - or a GB board.

Does that AGP/PCI freqeuncy set function mean that is a AGP/PCI bus lock so that high FSBs won't stress the PCI bus?

Thanks for the heads up on the manual - ftp'd it down so I can read more easily.

All GB boards: ram will have to be installed in pairs because it's dual channel. I assume it has to be the same type because the timing is senstive and different modules have different signal characteristics. Sort of like how installing different ram sticks inhibits overclocking a single-channel board, only more so because the second channel & first channel work in sync. (non-technical answer btw )

Referring to the Asus board here:
ram can be set manually or by spd
AGP/PCI lock is available

jaybee

 

[gmoss]

Hi All:

I am wondering if the new GB Boards will be able to support the upcoming Prescott .09 micron P4 with it's lower (or so I have read) voltage requirements.

Gary

 

[IntelConvert]

Originally posted by: gmoss
Hi All:

I am wondering if the new GB Boards will be able to support the upcoming Prescott .09 micron P4 with it's lower (or so I have read) voltage requirements.

Gary

Nope -- Intel has said Prescott would first be supported by SpringDale + ICH5 (DCDDR333), not Granite Bay + ICH4.