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DDR Mainboard
Qualification
At PNR Computer Systems we take performance and quality seriously. In the
current environment it is impossible to qualify every single DDR mainboard with
our memory products. However, we have proceeded to qualify a selected number DDR
of mainboards. As the number of mainboards available increases, we will continue
to qualify additional mainboards to be guaranteed compatible with our line of
DDR memory.
Our Criteria:
All stability tests were performed at room temperature with 2 DIMM slots
populated with 128 MB DIMMs for a total system memory of 256 MB running
Windows98 in a fully loaded system, including sound and network. Only boards
that ran 5 loops of ContentCreation Winstone 2001, Sysmark2000, Rage
"Expendable timedemo" and Quake 3 Arena Demo001 without crashes are
considered.
At a glance:
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BRAND
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MODEL
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CHIPSET
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MAX FREQUENCY
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PASSED?
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A7M266
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AMD761
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148 MHz
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yes
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CUV266
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VIA Apollo Pro266
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166 MHz
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yes
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8K7A+
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AMD761 / VIA 686b
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153 MHz
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yes
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8KHA
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VIA KT266
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160 MHz
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yes
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KA266
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ALi MAGiK1
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142 MHz
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yes CAS 2
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VIA Apollo Pro266
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145MHz
119MHz (157 MHz
FSB)
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yes CAS 2.5
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AK31 Rev.2
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VIA KT266
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160 MHz
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yes
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ASUS A7M266
ASUS A7M266: AMD760 chipset (AMD 761 North Bridge) (AMD
website)
We have qualified the ASUS A7M266
as a representative board of the AMD 761-based mainboards currently available.
All PC2100 DDR DIMMs offered by PNR Computer Systems are running 100% reliable
and stable on the A7M266 using 2 x 128 MB DDR DIMMs
USER TIPS: On the A7M266, the VIO1 jumper
should be completely removed to lower the memory voltage to the specified 2.5V.
Under Windows98 in a fully configured system, The PC2100 DIMMs were running 100%
reliable up to 148 MHz front side bus (DRAM bus) frequency.
ASUS CUV266
- ASUS CUV266: VIA Apollo Pro266 chipset (VIA
website)
We have qualified the ASUS CUV266
as a representative board of the VIA Apollo-Pro266-based mainboards
currently available. All PC2100 DDR DIMMs offered by PNR
Computer Systems are running 100% reliable and stable on the CUV266
using 2 x 128 MB DDR DIMMs
USER TIPS: We demo'd the CUV266 at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), running 166 MHz FSB / memory bus for 3
days straight without a single glitch using two PC2100 DIMMs at 333 MHz data
rate at 2.5:3:3:6 timing settings. For home or office use we do not
recommend these extreme settings since the PCI and AGP buses are running out
of spec which can result in instablity and hardware damage unrelated to the
memory.
EPoX 8K7A+
- EPoX 8K7A+: AMD760 chipset (AMD 761 North Bridge, VIA 686b South
Bridge) (AMD website)
We have qualified the EPoX 8K7A+
as another example of the AMD 761-based mainboards currently available. All
PC2100 DDR DIMMs offered by PNR
Computer Systems are running 100% reliable and stable on the 8K7A+
using 2 x 128 MB DDR DIMMs.
Recommended BIOS settings for optimal stability:
- PH Limit: 16
- Idle Limit: 8
- tRC: 8
- tRAS: 6
Up to 142 MHZ, CAS, tRCD and tRP= 2, above 142 MHz: 2,5:3:3. 256 MB modules
may not overclock as high.
USER TIPS: For overclocking the 8K7A+,
the V DDR jumper should be set to 2.7V instead of the factory default of
2.6V. Under Windows98 in a fully configured system, The PC2100 DIMMs were
running 100% reliable up to 152 MHz front side bus (304 MHz data rate)
frequency. Overclocking of the 8K7A when running more than 128 MB system
memory appears to be limited to around 150 MHz depending on the BIOS
revision.
EPoX 8KHA
- EPoX 8KHA:VIA KT266 DDR chipset with VLink fast interconnect (VIA
website)
We have qualified the EPoX 8KHA
as one example of the VIA KT266-based mainboards currently available. All
PC2100 DDR DIMMs offered by PNR
Computer Systems are running 100% reliable and stable on the 8KHA+
using 2 x 128 MB DDR DIMMs.
Recommended BIOS settings for optimal stability:
- Fast
- 4 bank interleave
- CMD rate: 1T
- ACT-to-Prechrg time 6T
For 256 MB modules or multiple DIMMs CMD rate may have to be set to 2T.
USER TIPS: For overclocking the 8K7A+,
the V DDR setting in the BIOS should not exceed 2.7V. The 8KHA offers VDD
settings of up to 3.2V. !!! VDDR voltages of 2.8 and
beyond are almost guaranteed to destroy the memory module!!! Under
Windows98 in a fully configured system, The PC2100 DIMMs were running 100%
reliable up to 152 MHz front side bus (304 MHz data rate) frequency.
Iwill KA266
- Iwill KA266: ALi MAGiK1 chipset (ALi
website)
The Iwill
KA266 as representative mainboard for the ALi MAGiK1 chipset has been
qualified as 100 % compatible with the PNR
Computer Systems PC2100 DDR DIMMs.
USER TIPS: The Iwill KA266 offers DRAM
performance settings from Failsafe to Ultra II, which set different memory
timing parameters as bank cycle time etc. The Ultra and Ultra II setting
should be used only in PC1600 (100 MHz FSB) mode since the extremely short
RAS pulse width (tRAS) can lead to data corruption. Best stability and
performance can be obtained by using the following settings:
- Refresh Queue Depth to 8 Level
- Refresh frequency to Normal
- Enhance Page Life timer to 128 cycles
Under these conditions the PC2100 DDR DIMMs are capable of running on the
Iwill KA266 in excess of 142 MHz and CAS-2 without problems.
Shuttle AV30 / 32
- Shuttle AV30 / AV32: VIA Apollo Pro266 chipset (VIA
Website)
The Shuttle
AV30 and AV32 were qualified as fully compatible with the PNR
Computer Systems PC2100 DDR DIMMs
USER TIPS: Because of the limitation of the
single data rate front side bus, DDR memory is providing more bandwidth than
the front side bus itself can transfer to the CPU. Therefore, running the
DRAM bus in - PCI mode (PC1600 mode at 133 MHz FSB) will
allow overclocking of the FSB to around 155 MHz which results in memory bus
frequency of 118 MHz in PC1600 (low memory and controller latency) mode. The
PNR Computer Systems PC2100
DIMMs were running stable up to 145 MHz (PC2100 mode, CAS-2) and 119 MHz (in
PC1600 mode, FSB 157 MHz)
Shuttle
- Shuttle AK31: VIA KT266 chipset (VIA
Website)
The Shuttle
AK31 Rev.2 was qualified as fully compatible with the PNR
Computer Systems PC2100 DDR DIMMs
USER TIPS: Based on the VIA KT266 chipset,
the second revision of the AK31 is not ECC compatible. Rev.1 is fully ECC
compatible albeit slower than Rev.2. Check the
Shuttle website for BIOS updates. The first shipping BIOS had set tRAS
to 5T which can cause errors.
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