In article <CvOdnZa1V4nwDezcRVn-tA.DeleteThis@speakeasy.net>, "NuTCrAcKeR"
<nutcracker.DeleteThis@internationalhacker.org> wrote:
> Hello People,
>
> I am wondering if there is a board out there that meets the following
> criteria:
>
> Socket A (with Barton 333 support)
> 4 DDR slots
> Supports Dual Channel (not essential, but preferrable)
> Supprts Reg ECC PC2100/PC2700 Dimms.
>
> Anything else is gravy (NIC, ATA/SATA Raid, sound, etc) ...
>
> Thanks,
>
> - NuTs
I don't think you'll find all those features on one board.
To meet your DIMM slot requirement, look for a KT880 chipset.
Asus A7V880 has it. Apparently MSI and Gigabyte have a
board as well. Check Google for comments on problems before
buying. (I see one post about MSI and slow video updates...)
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.via.com.tw/en/downloads/presentations/chipsets/k7-series/k7-series_comparison.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.via.com.tw/en/downloads/presentations/chipsets/k7-series/k7...ries_co</a>
That chipset supports ECC (but I wouldn't expect to see too many
motherboard makers wire it up). Registered RAM is not mentioned,
so the reason I suggest this chipset, is it allows four slots, if
you really want that many unbuffered memory slots. There really
isn't a performance reason for dual channel, and the main benefit
of dual channel on a KT880 board, is the ability to use four DIMMs
with it, for a large amount of memory.
Registered RAM is pretty obscure on the AMD side - something like
an older dual board A7M266D (AMD762 chipset) could hold four of
those, and I think KT266 and KT333 boards have a poorly documented
ability to use registered RAM as well. You'll find only a couple
of posts from people who have experimented with registered RAM on
those older Via chipsets.
I would sell the RAM you've got, get what you can for it, and
buy some unbuffered non-ECC RAM. That will make it much easier
to build a computer, or at least a computer with enough
performance that you'd want to use it. Memory bandwidth
holds back the AMD processor, so any recent Bartons would
be starved if connected to a batch of older RAM.
I realize RAM can be the most expensive part of building a
computer, if you want a decent amount of RAM. (I know as
I just bought some, and the credit card bill will be here
soon.) But, if you focus on building a computer around the
reg ecc ram you've got in your hand, I think in the long
run you'll regret your choice.
If you insist on using the RAM, there is another direction
you can take. The Athlon64 Socket 940 uses registered RAM,
and an Asus SK8N or SK8V ($172) could reuse your DDR memory.
Buy the cheapest Opteron you can find ($158) and you've
got a computer. This is not a very practical solution,
or cheap for that matter, so selling the RAM you've got
remains the best option.
Paul<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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