Old TH7 RAID 423 socket

[hayz]

hello

i have an old th7 raid. 423 socket. ( from around 2001) one of the first p4 boards, if I remember..

it uses expensive Rdram RAMBUS. rimms.

There is pc-800-40 (i can get cheaper) and pc-800-45.(more expensive)

please can someone tell me if the th7 raid can accept pc-800-40 ram?

Thanks.

[Bambooz]

The -40 and -45 are timings in nanoseconds. The -40 is slightly faster (not that it would be noticeable).
Think of it like the CL ratings on DDR2/3/4. Like having to pick between DDR3-1600 CL11 vs. CL9. The CL9 would technically be faster, but you wouldn't notice in any real world application, only by slightly varying results in benchmarks.

So yeah.. grab the -40 if it's cheaper. It'll run in the ever so slightly slower 45ns mode if either the board doesn't support 40ns or if you pair it with other 45ns RDRAM.

PS: RAMBUS isn't that expensive anymore. 2x tested 512MB PC800 sticks go for 15gbp with free shipping on ebay, or 1gbp more for 4x 256MB sticks (ebay link). It's only when you get to the large single modules (1GB per stick for example) where things get quite pricey.

PPS: Check the capacitors on the motherboard. Socket 423 stuff is right around the time frame where SHTF with the capacitor plague (mobo manufacturers using junk caps to save a few cents and reputable cap manufacturers having issues with problematic series that failed prematurely)