What is Digg?47 Comments
- venom8599, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23And the 64-bit support to take advantage of it to catch on. With 32-bit processors you top out at 4GB.
- ruz322, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Now all we need is a common consumer motherboard to put two of these bad boys in. 8GB baby.
- VeganG, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Since when is 2 GB of RAM $600?
- georgethompson, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Im pretty sure the ASUS Striker Extreme can hold 4GB in each of its 4 dimm slots.
- blapierre, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Yes.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10So if you're putting that in a machine to run XP, will it still only see 3 GB? :P
- Hardcase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Yes, there are technical limitations. The first is that the more modules that are in a system, the heavier the electrical loading is on the memory controller. Beyond four banks of memory (two two-rank modules), the memory controller cannot drive the address receivers on the modules. Registered modules get around this problem by having the memory controller drive a single load - the register - which then drives a single rank of memory on the module. But there is a performance penalty of an extra address cycle of latency.
The other limitation is physical. Each DIMM has 240 pins, 64 of which are for data. Each channel has its own set of 64 data bits, a total of 128 for a dual channel system. There isn't room to route another 128 bits for a quad channel system on an ATX motherboard.
There is also the issue of trace length matching between the channels. More channels means more difficulty in matching trace length by meandering traces around on the motherboard, which gets back to that physical problem. - venom8599, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@nyx210
Only for applications that specifically request PAE. And Windows won't use it for the system. It's kind of a kludgey solution compared to 64-bit support.. - rune420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Unless you're running XP Professional x64.
- scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7From what I can tell, you can only use 3 gb of the 4 for apps in 32bit windows, but I'm usually wrong.
- BlackAle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@felixdaahack
Considering the article was about standard size DIMM's, it's not really our fault you failed to understand the article and that you were referring to SO-DIMM's, though even so...
another 10 second search, $220... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231124 - scabbers, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Costs more to make, then.
- Andareed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Anything based on the Intel 965x chipset will only support 8 GiB of RAM. The 8 GiB maximum is based on total not on per-slot capacities.
- Blackforge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Laptop memory is much more expensive? Hmm..
2x1GB DDR2 SO-DIMM from $95-$119 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170381+1052910525+1309121117&name=2GB+(2+x+1GB)
or
From 194.99 - $299
1x 2GB DDR2 SO-DIMM http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170381+1052910525+1309121116&name=2GB
Hey wait a minute! Thats pretty close to the price range of Desktop Memory. What in tarnation?! - Hardcase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Fellas, these are registered DIMMs. They're made for servers.
- EBFoxbat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I need Leopard to support this. Mmmm 8 gigs in a laptop.
- HsoKinees, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5i thought 32-bit OS' could only use 3.3(3.5?)gigs off RAM?
- mitrovarr, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The reason those old computers had 4-8 slots is because they required RAM to be installed in either identical pairs (pentiums with 72-pin SIMMs) or identical quartets (386/486 with 30-pin SIMMs.) Modern memory does not require this, although high-performance motherboards can operate RAM in a dual channel configuration, using matched pairs, to improve performance (such motherboards almost always have 4+ slots.) So, those old motherboards didn't really have room for more memory banks than new ones do, their banks just take up 2-4x the number of slots.
Personally, I think 2-4 slots is a reasonable number. It is easy to get memory modules up to about the 2gb range. If a 2-slot computer is sold with only one filled (sometimes they are sold with both filled, which I think is unacceptable) and it is compatible with 2gb modules, you can add 2gb, which should bring it up to the ~3gb mark. That's about as much memory as a budget motherboard can handle, and about as much as you can have without running into 32-bit operating system issues. Computers with dual channel configurations are usually sold with two slots filled out of four, which means you can usually put 2x2gb of memory into them (assuming they can handle 2gb modules and they can handle >4gb memory.) That brings them up to the 5-8 gb range, which should be enough for anything except serious server or workstation tasks (in which case you should have thought ahead and bought a server motherboard.) There really isn't any need for more than four slots unless you use the computer for extreme computing tasks, in which case you shouldn't buy a normal motherboard in the first place, or unless you're heavily into scavenging old modules. That motherboard real estate can be better used for other things. - UNL1M1T3D, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@venom8599
Took the words right out of my mouth. - BlackAle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4lol @felixdaahack
just a 10 second search, $110... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134384 - InsaneMachine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5It might see more. All depends on the hardware. Very well explained in the engadget comments. In a nutshell:
"32bit OS has maximum support for 4GB of memory, but out of the 4GB maximum you need to take out reserved memory space for PCI devices and other items that require reserved memory space. As an example, if you had 4GB installed on a PCI-E based motherboard and you installed a 512MB video card, 512MB of your RAM would be ignored so the video RAM could be utilised by the system"
http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/23/samsung-builds-a-better-smaller-4gb-dimm/comments/4623000/ - SuperJason, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Why don't they just put more slots in computers? I've seen some machines with 4 or 8 slots. Many today have 2 slots, which is crazy. Anyone know if there is a technical limitation or something?
I'd love to see computers with 8 slots, so that you can pick up cheap memory as you need it instead of replacing it. - BlackAle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4The people wanting to put a few of these in desktop computer, are akin to those that have go faster stripes on their car.
- CAPSLOCKISCOOL, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4more like $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010170147%201052108080%201052307859&bop=And&Order=PRICE - BlackAle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@sirspocksalot
because he fails to understand the intended market for these, i.e servers, usually in rackmount systems, where space is limited. Also more slots = more power consumption = more cooling = more power consumption. - Hardcase, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3No doubt it's interesting and new technology, I definitely agree with you. However, existing packaging technology can actually package up to eight die in the space of a single TSSOP DRAM. I've designed memory modules using four-high stacks like this. It's a slightly thicker package than a monolithic BGA, but much less expensive than Samsung's and it has the virtue of allowing any die to fit on any layer, something that's especially important in new technology when yields are low.
However, I'm sure that the direct metal connections will be the technology of the future. - cyssero, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2Pretty sure it's max. 2GB each slot..
EDIT: Beaten by.. 12 hours. Silly me. - Reno582, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Just what i've been waiting for, my motherboard supports up to 16GB in 4 slots
- corvairkid, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Someone correct me if the following is wrong.
Normally, 32 bit can only address about 3 gigs for the system. PAE allows it to address more but anything over 3 GB is addressed as the first part of the swap space and won't show up in the system properties. The other limitation is that it can only address a maximum of 2 GB per running application or process. - BlackAle, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3wrong thread, oops
- wonkavsn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Wow I remember when it was 50$ a meg.
- rune420, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm not so sure.
From http://rog.asus.com/product_striker_spec.html
"4 x DIMM, max. 8GB, DDR2-800/667/533, non-ECC and un-buffered memory"
Is that 8GB max per DIMM slot or in total? If it's total I guess that means 2GB is max per slot. - lateralus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Just some tweaking that needs to be done."
If by tweaking you mean formatting, installing xp-64 - nudgeee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Nonetheless, the real news is about the technology used to achieve the memory density. Stacked dies already exist, but Samsung have used direct metal connections between the dies (dubbed wafer scale package), where existing die stack technology use wire bonding techniques which takes much more space both horizontally and vertically. The only other company that does direct metal connect is IBM, which was only recently announced also.
- SupermanX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2People seem to forget things often. I was using 16G back when I was running Windows NT. I did the same thing with Windows 2k (which has an even higher limit). I havent moved to Win2k3 yet, but when I do, the same thing will apply. There are registry tweaks that allow for the OS recognition of larger memory space. You just need a board that will support it. Do people really think that (large) SQL Server installs are on machines with 4G of memory?
- aminorex, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0The prices on 4GB DIMMs are just plain rape. You can get a 2GB 667MHz DDR2 DIMM For about $75, but twice the bits will cost you 10x the cash. I guess the manufacturers are just plain lying about being able to produce these modules, since they can't price them low enough to make a profit by breaking the pain threshold of the mass-market.
- DyceFreak, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Windows 32bit can address a TOTAL of 4gB INCLUDING virtual memory. Thats why even with 4gB's windows may see somewhere in between 3-4.
Just some tweaking that needs to be done. - themastersb, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1We will never need any more than 16 kb ram.
- Nobiting, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3My best guess would be speed, unless your running a dual channel setup, each stick of RAM you add, the slower the data transfer-rate becomes.
- tucsonwc, on 10/12/2007, -6/+5What about the MacPro Dual Quad Core?
That can address 16Gig of RAM as it is 64 bit system. - streak, on 10/12/2007, -9/+7Try an eight-core Mac Pro. Or a 1-1/2 year old quad-core PowerMac G5. Both run 64-bit command line applications under Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger".
- nyx210, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4With PAE enabled, you can actually go up to 64 GB
- FelixdaaHack, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=us&LinkBack=http://www.kingston.com&ktcpartno=KTD-INSP6000B/2G
- Dunkelzahn, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Windows Vista released...
Several months later, 4GB DIMMs unveiled.
Sense a pattern? Oh yeah, same once since Windows 95. Nevermind. :p - FelixdaaHack, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Those are all desktop memory prices retards...DDR2 for laptops is much more expensive
- FelixdaaHack, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1so with 2 Gigs running at around $600 how much is 4 Gigs going to cost! :S
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