ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules?

Dubious or not - we might be rigth both of us:
A fact: SDRAM modules can be registered or unbuffered (the term unregistered
is sometimes used too).

In the manual chapter 3.5 one can read:
"This motherboard uses only ...DIMMs. Sockets are available for 3.3Volts
(..) UNBUFFERED ...SDRAM.".
And further the Note:
"At the time this User's manual was written, 256MB DIMMs are only available
as double-sided REGISTERED memory".

Why mention "unbuffered... SDRAM" if both registered and unbuffered modules
will work?
Why bother the note when registered modules will work?

Possibly something like an ASUS-apology for at that time the extra price of
registered modules ??
These obvious questions made me uncertain and might be the source of a
semantic battle

/Torben Birk



"Roy Coorne" <roy.spam.coorne.TakeThisOut@gmx.net> skrev i en meddelelse
news:2grv13F65h22U1@uni-berlin.de...
 > Torben Birk wrote:
 >
 > ...
  > > the i440BX chipset generally support registered memory but advices to
check
  > > the manaul - and the P3B-F manual (1.04) is more dubious.
 > ...
 >
 > The manual -
 > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.asuscom.de/pub/ASUS/mb/slot1/440bx/p3b-f/p3bf-104.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.asuscom.de/pub/ASUS/mb/slot1/440bx/p3b-f/p3bf-104.pdf</a> -
 > is not dubious at all - well, they don't list Kingston;-)
 >
 > You may wish to check <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.crucial.com" target="_blank">www.crucial.com</a> > Memory Upgrade... they offer
 > ECC modules which are suitable for the P3B-F.
 >
 > HTH - Roy
 >
 >
 > --
 > This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties
 > and confers no rights.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

AFAIR many BX boards will run registered DIMMs just fine, even if only
spec'd for unbuffered. What I find interesting is that registered
modules with 16Mx8 chips exist - x4 chips seems to be much more popular
on those, IIRC because Chipkill only works with them.

Stephan
--
Meine Andere Seite: http://stephan.win31.de/
PC#6: i440BX, 1xP3-500E, 512 MiB, 18+80 GB, R9k AGP 64 MiB, 110W
This is a SCSI-inside, Legacy-plus, TCPA-free computer
Mail to From: not read, see homepg. | Real gelesene Mailadr. s. Homep.
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

Torben Birk wrote:
 > Dubious or not - we might be rigth both of us:
 > A fact: SDRAM modules can be registered or unbuffered (the term unregistered
 > is sometimes used too).

Right.

 > In the manual chapter 3.5 one can read:
 > "This motherboard uses only ...DIMMs. Sockets are available for 3.3Volts
 > (..) UNBUFFERED ...SDRAM.".
 > And further the Note:
 > "At the time this User's manual was written, 256MB DIMMs are only available
 > as double-sided REGISTERED memory".

= At the time the User's manual was written, unbuffered (unregistered)
256 MB DIMMs were not yet available.
 >
 > Why mention "unbuffered... SDRAM" if both registered and unbuffered modules
 > will work?

Registered modules won't work.

 > Why bother the note when registered modules will work?

Registered modules won't work. I read the note as a warning to the
user to be cautious when buying DIMMs for the P3B-F.

 > Possibly something like an ASUS-apology for at that time the extra price of
 > registered modules ??
 > These obvious questions made me uncertain and might be the source of a
 > semantic battle

Yes, the note is not as clearly written as possible;-)


Roy


--
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties
and confers no rights.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

On Tue, 18 May 2004 00:55:53 +0200, Roy Coorne
<roy.spam.coorne RemoveThis @gmx.net> wrote:

 >Registered modules won't work.
 >
  >> Why bother the note when registered modules will work?
 >
 >Registered modules won't work. I read the note as a warning to the
 >user to be cautious when buying DIMMs for the P3B-F.


It's odd that Registered DIMMS are supported on the P2B-F, but not the
P3B-F.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

soupy wrote:
 > On Tue, 18 May 2004 00:55:53 +0200, Roy Coorne
 > <roy.spam.coorne.RemoveThis@gmx.net> wrote:
 >
 >
  >>Registered modules won't work.
  >>
  >>
   >>>Why bother the note when registered modules will work?
  >>
  >>Registered modules won't work. I read the note as a warning to the
  >>user to be cautious when buying DIMMs for the P3B-F.
 >
 >
 >
 > It's odd that Registered DIMMS are supported on the P2B-F, but not the
 > P3B-F.

Maybe it's because some of the p2b series board are considered more or
less "professional" boards, also used in small servers (p2b-ds at
least), in these applications usually registered ecc ram is used.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure registered ram will work just fine on the p3b-f,
as always you just can't mix registered and unbuffered. Asus tells you
you NEED to use registered ram if you have more than 2 modules on ALL
boards with bx chipset, regardless the board model (that is, of course,
not exactly true neither).
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq094_MBIT.htm" target="_blank">http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq094_MBIT.htm</a>
groups.google.com will tell you the same.

Roland<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

Roland Scheidegger wrote:
 > soupy wrote:
 >
  >> On Tue, 18 May 2004 00:55:53 +0200, Roy Coorne
  >> <roy.spam.coorne.RemoveThis@gmx.net> wrote:
  >>
  >>
   >>> Registered modules won't work.
   >>>
   >>>
   >>>> Why bother the note when registered modules will work?
   >>>
   >>>
   >>> Registered modules won't work. I read the note as a warning to the
   >>> user to be cautious when buying DIMMs for the P3B-F.
  >>
  >>
  >>
  >>
  >> It's odd that Registered DIMMS are supported on the P2B-F, but not the
  >> P3B-F.
 >
 >
 > Maybe it's because some of the p2b series board are considered more or
 > less "professional" boards, also used in small servers (p2b-ds at
 > least), in these applications usually registered ecc ram is used.
 > Anyway, I'm pretty sure registered ram will work just fine on the p3b-f,
 > as always you just can't mix registered and unbuffered. Asus tells you
 > you NEED to use registered ram if you have more than 2 modules on ALL
 > boards with bx chipset, regardless the board model (that is, of course,
 > not exactly true neither).
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq094_MBIT.htm</font" target="_blank">http://www.asuscom.de/support/FAQ/faq094_MBIT.htm</font</a>>

It's funny: This Asus page links to Crucial for an explanation of
'registered', and Crucial informs on the P3B-F: "Module Types
Supported: Unbuffered only".

 > groups.google.com will tell you the same.

Yes, there are postings about P3B-F boards run with registered DIMMs.
Very strange all that, indeed; didn't Crucial do their homework?

Roy<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

Hi Torben!

Torben Birk wrote:
 > I have a P3B-F rev1.04. I am running P3B-F ACPI BIOS 1008 beta 04.
 > I can't figure out wheter this MB support the Registered Kingston module:
 > KVR100X72RC2L/256 or not.
 > I'm almost sure that if it wasn't registered it would be compatible - since
 > it consists of 18 RAM-chips organised as 16Mx8.
 > According to:
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://homepage.hispeed.ch/rscheidegger/ram_bx_faq.html</font" target="_blank">http://homepage.hispeed.ch/rscheidegger/ram_bx_faq.html</font</a>>
 > the i440BX chipset generally support registered memory but advices to check
 > the manaul - and the P3B-F manual (1.04) is more dubious.
 >
 > And why I choose this ECC memory module? - it is cheap: 40$!. And the only
 > 256MB module I can get at present that possibly would work.
 >
 > Thanks
 >
 > Torben Birk Christensen
 > (Remove fruit to email)

I don't know all the ins and outs of this RAM-jungle.
But I can happily report that my P3B-F rev.1.04 (BIOS 1008 IIRC) runs
just great with 2x 256MB ECC RAM (32x64 chip-config, as with all BX-boards)

HTH /Ola J<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:28:52 +0200, in <alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus>,
"Torben Birk" <tbirk.RemoveThis@post6.tele.banana.dk> wrote:
  >
  > I have a P3B-F rev1.04. I am running P3B-F ACPI BIOS 1008 beta 04.
  > I can't figure out wheter this MB support the Registered Kingston module:
  > KVR100X72RC2L/256 or not.
  > I'm almost sure that if it wasn't registered it would be compatible - since
  > it consists of 18 RAM-chips organised as 16Mx8.
[snip]

ITYM "32Mx72"; but beyond that, I think your subsequent suspicion is correct.
Alas, I don't have a P3B-F manual handy at the moment, so I'm unable to
confirm this definitively; but I strongly suspect that it will not properly
support buffered ("registered") memory. ECC os OK -- recommended, even -- but
many BX-chipset mobos require unbuffered DIMMs, even tho' _in_theory_ the
underlying chipset does not.

That said, have you tried setting *all* timings and similar to their
slowest/default values? Note, you may need to install the old DIMMs in order
to access the BIOS SETUP facility, in order to make these changes; then shut
down, reinstall the new DIMMs, and try again.

  > And why I choose this ECC memory module? - it is cheap: 40$!. And the only
  > 256MB module I can get at present that possibly would work.
  >
[snip]

Not all *that* cheap; and by no means the only suitable module. See:

<http://castle.pricewatch.com/search/searchmc.idq?cr=PC100+256MB+ECC&qc=%22PC100%22*+AND+%22256MB%22*+AND+%22ECC%22*+AND+%40ctd+33&i=33&ct=Computer&c=System+Memory&mi=N&m=N>


--

Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

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 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

On Thu, 20 May 2004 09:56:18 GMT, in <alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus>, Ola A
Johansson <wheel1.TakeThisOut@telia.com> wrote:
  >
  > Hi Torben!
  >
[snip]
  >
  > I don't know all the ins and outs of this RAM-jungle.
  > But I can happily report that my P3B-F rev.1.04 (BIOS 1008 IIRC) runs
  > just great with 2x 256MB ECC RAM (32x64 chip-config, as with all BX-boards)
  >
[snip]

If those DIMMs are really 32x64, then they are *NOT* ECC.

And either way, ECC is near-certainly not the issue that's giving Torben
problems. Rather, it is the fact that the DIMMs he's trying to use are
buffered "registered" types.

--

Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unsolicited advertising sent to this E-Mail address is expressly prohibited
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

On Fri, 28 May 2004 16:39:12 -0400, Jay T. Blocksom wrote:

 > On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:28:52 +0200, in
 > <alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus>, "Torben Birk"
 > <tbirk.TakeThisOut@post6.tele.banana.dk> wrote:
  > >
  > > I have a P3B-F rev1.04. I am running P3B-F ACPI BIOS 1008 beta 04. I
  > > can't figure out wheter this MB support the Registered Kingston
  > > module: KVR100X72RC2L/256 or not.
  > > I'm almost sure that if it wasn't registered it would be compatible -
  > > since it consists of 18 RAM-chips organised as 16Mx8.
 > [snip]
 >
 > ITYM "32Mx72"; but beyond that, I think your subsequent suspicion is
 > correct. Alas, I don't have a P3B-F manual handy at the moment, so I'm
 > unable to confirm this definitively; but I strongly suspect that it will
 > not properly support buffered ("registered") memory. ECC os OK --
 > recommended, even -- but many BX-chipset mobos require unbuffered DIMMs,
 > even tho' _in_theory_ the underlying chipset does not.

I was under the impression that "buffered" DIMMs have the notch/key in a
different location, so that it is physically next to impossible to insert
them into an "unbuffered" socket.

 > That said, have you tried setting *all* timings and similar to their
 > slowest/default values? Note, you may need to install the old DIMMs in
 > order to access the BIOS SETUP facility, in order to make these changes;
 > then shut down, reinstall the new DIMMs, and try again.

From the way I read his original and followup posts on this thread, it
sounds like he hasn't purchased them yet, as he's not sure _if_ they will
work or not.

FWIW, I've used two Viking PE32722R4SN3-CL3 (256MB PC100 ECC Registered)
on a P2B v1.10, and they worked just fine - passed memtest86, cpuburn,
win2k video benches, etc, etc. But, is the P3B similar enough to its'
predecessor?!...

--
We HAVE been at war with Iraq for 13 years now, bombing their
country on at least a weekly basis.
"U.S.-led sanctions have killed over a million Iraqi citizens,
according to UN studies" - James Jennings
3,000+ innocent Iraqi civilian casualties can't be "wrong"...<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

[REPOST: Apparently, the original copy of this article did not propagate.
Apologies if duplicate.]

On Mon, 17 May 2004 14:28:52 +0200, in <alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus>,
"Torben Birk" <tbirk.DeleteThis@post6.tele.banana.dk> wrote:
  >
  > I have a P3B-F rev1.04. I am running P3B-F ACPI BIOS 1008 beta 04.
  > I can't figure out wheter this MB support the Registered Kingston module:
  > KVR100X72RC2L/256 or not.
  > I'm almost sure that if it wasn't registered it would be compatible - since
  > it consists of 18 RAM-chips organised as 16Mx8.
[snip]

ITYM "32Mx72"; but beyond that, I think your subsequent suspicion is correct.
Alas, I don't have a P3B-F manual handy at the moment, so I'm unable to
confirm this definitively; but I strongly suspect that it will not properly
support buffered ("registered") memory. ECC os OK -- recommended, even -- but
many BX-chipset mobos require unbuffered DIMMs, even tho' _in_theory_ the
underlying chipset does not.

That said, have you tried setting *all* timings and similar to their
slowest/default values? Note, you may need to install the old DIMMs in order
to access the BIOS SETUP facility, in order to make these changes; then shut
down, reinstall the new DIMMs, and try again.

  > And why I choose this ECC memory module? - it is cheap: 40$!. And the only
  > 256MB module I can get at present that possibly would work.
  >
[snip]

Not all *that* cheap; and by no means the only suitable module. See:

<http://castle.pricewatch.com/search/searchmc.idq?cr=PC100+256MB+ECC&qc=%22PC100%22*+AND+%22256MB%22*+AND+%22ECC%22*+AND+%40ctd+33&i=33&ct=Computer&c=System+Memory&mi=N&m=N>


--

Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Unsolicited advertising sent to this E-Mail address is expressly prohibited
under USC Title 47, Section 227. Violators are subject to charge of up to
$1,500 per incident or treble actual costs, whichever is greater.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

[REPOST: Apparently, the original copy of this article did not propagate.
Apologies if duplicate.]

On Thu, 20 May 2004 09:56:18 GMT, in <alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus>, Ola A
Johansson <wheel1 DeleteThis @telia.com> wrote:
  >
  > Hi Torben!
  >
[snip]
  >
  > I don't know all the ins and outs of this RAM-jungle.
  > But I can happily report that my P3B-F rev.1.04 (BIOS 1008 IIRC) runs
  > just great with 2x 256MB ECC RAM (32x64 chip-config, as with all BX-boards)
  >
[snip]

If those DIMMs are really 32x64, then they are *NOT* ECC.

And either way, ECC is near-certainly not the issue that's giving Torben
problems. Rather, it is the fact that the DIMMs he's trying to use are
buffered "registered" types.

--

Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net


"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.

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Unsolicited advertising sent to this E-Mail address is expressly prohibited
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules? 

Jay T. Blocksom wrote:
....
 > Alas, I don't have a P3B-F manual handy at the moment,...

You may download the manual at

<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="ftp://ftp.asuscom.de/pub/asuscom/HANDBUCH/Motherboard/Slot_I/INTEL_Chipset/" target="_blank">ftp://ftp.asuscom.de/pub/asuscom/HANDBUCH/Motherboard/Slot_I/INTEL_Chipset/</a>

Roy<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: ASUS P3B-F - Does it support REGISTERED RAM-modules?