Hi All,
Some information & observations after reading most of the 400 posts.
General RAM Info:
Standard RAM....No error detection, no error correction
Parity RAM.........Single bit error detection, no correction
ECC RAM...........Single bit error detect/correct, Multi bit detect
Cautions:
IBM RAM used to (probably still does?), use a standard RAM pinout
but adds a ground to one normally unused pin. This means IBM RAM
only works in an IBM computer and normal RAM only works on
standard mobos.
A socket 7 mobo with DIMM sockets may/may not support SDRAM,
make sure to check the mobo specs.
Many mobos do NOT support ECC, check specs before purchase.
Do NOT mix EDO RAM and SDRAM. IF it works (most mobos don't
support), you will be clocking ALL RAM at the slower EDO RAM rate.
More is not always better. Installing more than 64MB RAM on a mobo
with Tag that only supports up to 64MB, will SLOW all your memory
access ~ 15%!!!
Packard Bell mobos & components used to be non standard and are
not interchangeable with standard systems/components. Believe even the monitor had a unique connector. Someone correct if wrong.
RAM Recommendations:
Do not let concerns, over what tomorrows RAM will be, confuse your
purchase for todays purchase/build. The faster bus speeds of future
mobos and a certain chip designer possibly locking in or out future
RAM design ensure that todays RAM won't migrate gracefully. So
with todays cheap price, buy what you need before the Asia situation
or the several dumping lawsuits push prices up.
Recommend 128MB of ECC in either 4 sticks of 32 for those who know they won't upgrade or 2 sticks of 64 for those who might upgrade. Both are cheaper than one 128MB stick AND should one fail allows you to continue to run while waiting for a replacement.
Note that SDRAM, unlike other forms, can be installed as single sticks. So with 4 32MB sticks, if one fails, remove one; send for replacement; and continue to run with 96MB.
An interesting footnote to RAMs possible future and its impact on all
storage media, read the c't magazine English translation of their 03/98
article, Terabytes: Shrink Wrapped. Address listed at note end.
General Mobo Recommendations:
Most recent mobos score within a few tenths of each other on bench
marks, so the primary selection criteria should be on stability, quality
and features.
Select one that supports ECC, supports SDRAM, 4 DIMM sockets,
has flashable BIOS, vendor provides frequent BIOS upgrades and has SoftMenu. No need to fool with all those hard to reach jumpers on installation or worst yet troubleshooting a full up operational system.
Also ensure the mobo supports caching at least 512MB RAM and has
the Tag RAM installed to provide this support.
Sound Card Recommendation:
Check out the Home Studio Pro 64. Major consideration is that is has a DSP onboard that offloads all that processing from the CPU. Comes with true full SB compatability, 4MB standard upgradable to 8 or 20MB with standard 4 or 16MB stick (how's that for recycling), 64 HW voices (not 32 HW & 32 SW like most), a full up pkt for the composer, constant new free DLs for presets for new game titles & more instruments for the composer. Price $199, see address below.
Hard Drive Subsystem:
Stability, speed and reliability with economy. You're right if you
guessed it isn't SCSI. Why not take the IBM deskstars 512KB buffer
(one of the largest) and couple it with the ~$110 Promise trakker.
Use 2 Deskstars for ~25% speed increase using RAID 0 stripping, or
add another for stripping and mirroring (RAID 0+1). This gives back-
ground correction with the speed increase without the high SCSI cost. See Promise address below for specs.
I am not affiliated with any of these firms. Guess I've gotten wordy
but hope something in this post helps some of you.
ix.de
guillemot.com
promise.com
Networm |
