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RDRAM Question plz help

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Darryl_D

Darryl_D

Member
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Joined
Apr 25, 2002
guys i got an rdram question... as you all know it must be inserted in pairs.. i was wondering if i was to buy one stick of ram, and a c-rimm module (continutiy ram module) could i insert the one stick of ram and the c-rimm as the pair? (meaning instead of 256mb +256mb for 512mb ram can i use 256mb+c-rimm for just 256 mb ram and then later i can add another stick to get the 512?)
 
I'm thinkin' no. I've never seen an RDRAM system without the sticks in pairs. It may work, but I wouldn't risk it.
 
I'm not too sure about the i850 chipset, but if it's like the i820, then yes you can insert one memory module and one c-rimm and you will have a fully functional system. There is a lot of confusion about "must be installed in pairs", I think a better description is "slots must be filled in pairs" or "both slots of a pair must be filled".
 
No, you must use two actual sticks of RDRam. The c-rimms are used in the case where your board (most i850's do) has 4 memory slots, and you only use two. The reason you need two is because of the way the circuit is laid out and the way RDRam works. In basic terms, RDRam has a small but extremely fast data width, and using two sticks allows the memory controller to use double the data width (I believe the data width is 16 bit, and the 850 doubles the data width to 32 bit).

Long answer made short- Use two sticks of RDRam w/ the i850.
 
I'm not familiar with the i850 boards, so if I only have one stick of RDRAM, I'm pretty much screwed, right? I know the i820 boards only had two memory slots so I can use one RDRAM stick and a C-rimm. On the i850's, I'll need two RDRAM sticks and two C-rimm's too then , right?

Kinda happy that I went DDR at this point.
 
I am not at all familiar w/ the i820 board, but yes, for the i850 you need at least two sticks of preferably the same size and make of RDRam. You would also need to use the two c-rimms that are included w/ the mobo (I think all 850 manufacturers include them, I know Asus does) to complete the memory circuit.

As far as being screwed if you only have one...well, Rambus is really dropping in price and is cheaper than some DDR. If you have a 128 meg stick you can pick up another for like 37 dollars from googlegear. The 256 stick is only 75. That is not a lot of money for the ram, considering what prices used to be and the performance increase you'll get by the i850.

If you look here (Yes, I know its THG, the BS King of the world...) you'll see a little info on the newer Rambus boards along w/ whats to come.
 
I might look further at a P4/RDRAM setup in the future. I have two sticks of RDRAM now, but it's PC700 so it'll only run like PC600 on an i850 setup.

I bought all my DDR last year when it bottomed out. I remember buying (4) sticks of Mushkin 512MB PC2100 at $57.00 each on a weekend special, and Crucial 256MB PC2100 at $26.00 each.
 
Ok, n00bie question: Do I have to have 2 sticks of DDR RAM to run my PC?

Second question: Those prices mentioned above for the DDR RAM are NUTS! Anyone have a line on current prices somewhere like that?
 
You only need one stick of DDR for your PC to run.

I don't know if RAM prices will ever be that low again, so I sacrificed a little back then for enough memory to carry me over for awhile.
 
Nope, you only need two sticks if you are using the Rambus i850 chip set. If you are using DDR, you only need one stick of ram.

As far as price goes, check out pricewatch.com for prices on most computer parts. Just be careful who you buy from. Check out resellerratings.com first to make sure you have a good distributor. Usually googlegear.com has good prices on all types of ram.

Hope this helps! :beer:

*EDIT* Lyle beat me to the punch!
 
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