2*256 old BH5 - does it still have any value?

[Atheus]

I'm finally upgrading from my old skool NF7-S rig, so I figured I'd push the old beast to it's limits one last time, and maybe do a few things I didn't dare do back when I built it.

First on the list was to finally take the heatspreders off my OCZ gold memory to see what I was dealing with. I got the sticks nice and warm with memtest, carefully pulled off the clips, separated the copper plates from the ICs with a screwdriver - and...

http://213.78.133.35/bh-5.jpg

Behold the legend! The last numbers are a bit faded but that definately says bh-5. I never realised what I had, I might have done the mods to give it the voltage it needs if I'd known, but it's too late now.

So is this stuff still valuable? Or does everyone want at least 1GB these days? Should I just keep it for benchmarking runs on the new A64?

[PWatterson]

I would personally keep it for benchmarking runs and stuff. Man, I wish I had some of that stuff. I would go nuts.

[Fronic]

It's still the best out there... New memory while capable of the same clock speeds at lower voltage cannot even come close to the same timings.

[microfire]

Yes it still has value, it is the original BH-5 and sort after.
You will find original BH-5 will work excellent on both AMD and Intel platforms (with extra voltage of course). Where as the newer UTT chips prefer AMD and perform poorly on Intel.
Original BH-5 chips were made between ~mid 2002 - mid 2003.
From the number printed on your chips, you can work out the production date.
Yours is 338WF, therefore made in 2003 week 38.
What I gather is your chips were made 4 weeks before all production of BH-5 stopped. As with everything, chances of overclocking increase with newer batches.
All the 2x 256MB sticks I have owned have been wicked overclockers.

[Atheus]

What I gather is your chips were made 4 weeks before all production of BH-5 stopped. As with everything, chances of overclocking increase with newer batches.

Wow, maybe I should keep them then... I was planning on getting the Epox board for my A64 system, but I'll need the DFI to give these sticks thier voltage right?

[Reefa_Madness]

There is a little something extra about your sticks that you may not be aware of...

To the best of my knowledge only OCZ, and no other, produced Winbond BH-5 based sticks using the Brainpower (BP) PCB. Check the edges of your sticks to see if yours have the B6U808 imprinted on them. While not conclusive, there have been some tests done which seem to indicate that the A64s perform better with modules based on the BP PCB, which would give your sticks even more performance potential.

Good luck with them.

[squads]

I have 2*256 BH-5 chillin in my closet right now...its the Kingston HyperX PC3000 stuff. My old NF7-S board could only give it 2.9V so I never got to see its full potential. The board only went up to about 230fsb anyway. I might pop them into my new system and provide the voltage loving they require :)

[Atheus]

LOL, brainpower:

http://213.78.133.35/brainpower.jpg

:) Looks like I have teh uber-memory and I didn't even know.

My old NF7-S board could only give it 2.9V so I never got to see its full potential. The board only went up to about 230fsb anyway.

Yea same here, couldn't get much past 220 while maintaining stability. How did people get this stuff up to full speed back in 2003? Voltmods and phase change on the chipset?

What benchmarks/applications would favour a small ammount of very fast memory like this? I'm gonna get some TCCD for the new box as I want to run 300*9 (don't burst my bubble), so is there any point in keeping this stuff? Except for the fun factor of course.

[Reefa_Madness]

The KHX PC3000 has at times been stellar. One thing that guys are doing with it is reprogramming the SPD with that of the KHX PC3200, effectively turning it into KHX PC3200, because on some mobos like the MSI K8N Neo2 Plat, the PC3000 modules will not run 1:1 at 200, but are forced into using the 166 divider. With the reprogrammed SPD that is no longer an issue. I don't know how they're read by the DFI NF4 board (as 166 or 200).

The thread over at XS about how to reprogram the SPD is linked below for anyone interested. It has been used to bring back to life previously "dead" sticks, so if you are not aware of this topic, then by all means read it as it might come in handy some day.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85533

The link below shows what good BH-5 can get you...under the right circumstances. :D

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=434884&page=1&pp=30

You could say that it still performs relatively "OK", don't you think?

edit:
See? What did I tell you...Brainpower PCB. Rare stuff and given that you could probably not get much more than $50 or $60 if sold, I would keep it for when the mood strikes you to hit maybe 270 and beyond at 2-2-2-x timings...just for grins, if nothing else.

[NinjaZX6R]

Here's a screenie of a suicide run I was able to achieve with KHX3000...I'm sure your ram is comparable...

http://www.collinsacks.com/images/hosting/venice8.JPG

-Collin-

[squads]

sweet I'm gonna mess around with it a bit...this DFI board will let me put waaaay too much voltage into the memory :)

[NinjaZX6R]

sweet I'm gonna mess around with it a bit...this DFI board will let me put waaaay too much voltage into the memory :)

Nah....I stopped at 3.8v :)

-Collin-