Does single sided RAM alwas = high density?
Posted: Aug 14 2014, 20:06
In researching, I have found that double sided RAM is generally associated with low density, while single sided is associated with high density RAM. My ASUS K8N is currently running (1) 512 double sided stick, and (2) 256 single sided sticks, and the PC is showing roughly 1 Gb at 333Hz.
Furthermore, my MB manual does not indicate the density required for this board, however there is a chart showing "memory configurations" for double sided and single sided chips. I have double, single, single, and it is running 333 just as the manual states. The "DDR Qualified Vendors List" shows about a 50/50 mix of SS and DS chips, with 100% of 512MB being DS.
Is it possible that an older DESKTOP MB was intended to run high density RAM? Does density only become an issue over 1Gb/stick?
This is with Linux Mint 17 Xfce
-- Thursday, 14 August 2014, 18:21 PM --
Nevermind, I found this;
Furthermore, my MB manual does not indicate the density required for this board, however there is a chart showing "memory configurations" for double sided and single sided chips. I have double, single, single, and it is running 333 just as the manual states. The "DDR Qualified Vendors List" shows about a 50/50 mix of SS and DS chips, with 100% of 512MB being DS.
Is it possible that an older DESKTOP MB was intended to run high density RAM? Does density only become an issue over 1Gb/stick?
This is with Linux Mint 17 Xfce
Code: Select all
aaron@aaron-K8N ~ $ vmstat -s
1025820 K total memory
939812 K used memory
380656 K active memory
440244 K inactive memory
86008 K free memory
26136 K buffer memory
386452 K swap cache
1046524 K total swap
13920 K used swap
1032604 K free swap
281682 non-nice user cpu ticks
21776 nice user cpu ticks
79591 system cpu ticks
988362 idle cpu ticks
33131 IO-wait cpu ticks
1 IRQ cpu ticks
4500 softirq cpu ticks
0 stolen cpu ticks
1046079 pages paged in
1412568 pages paged out
843 pages swapped in
3575 pages swapped out
4103556 interrupts
15915643 CPU context switches
1408052833 boot time
4183 forks
Code: Select all
aaron@aaron-K8N ~ $ sudo dmidecode --type 17
[sudo] password for aaron:
# dmidecode 2.12
SMBIOS 2.3 present.
Handle 0x003C, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x003A
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 72 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: DDR
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz
Manufacturer: Manufacturer0
Serial Number: SerNum0
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum0
Part Number: PartNum0
Handle 0x003E, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x003A
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 72 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 256 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK1
Type: DDR
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz
Manufacturer: Manufacturer1
Serial Number: SerNum1
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum1
Part Number: PartNum1
Handle 0x0040, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x003A
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 72 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 256 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM2
Bank Locator: BANK2
Type: DDR
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 333 MHz
Manufacturer: Manufacturer2
Serial Number: SerNum2
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum2
Part Number: PartNum2
Nevermind, I found this;
High density RAM
In the context of the 1 GB non-ECC PC3200 SDRAM module, there is very little visually to differentiate low density from high density RAM. High density DDR RAM modules will, like their low density counterparts, usually be double-sided with eight 512 Mbit chips per side. The difference is that for each chip, instead of being organized in a 64M×8 configuration, it is organized with 128 Mbits and a data width of 4 bits, or 128M×4.
High density memory modules are assembled using chips from multiple manufacturers. These chips come in both the familiar 22 × 10 mm (approx.) TSOP2 and smaller squarer 12 × 9 mm (approx.) FBGA package sizes. High density chips can be identified by the numbers on each chip.
High density RAM devices were designed to be used in registered memory modules for servers. JEDEC standards do not apply to high-density DDR RAM in desktop implementations.[citation needed] JEDEC's technical documentation, however, supports 128M×4 semiconductors as such that contradicts 128×4 being classified as high density. As such, high density is a relative term, which can be used to describe memory which is not supported by a particular motherboard's memory controller.