GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
May 8, 2003
GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Agenda – May 8, 2003
7:00 – 7:05 Administration
 7:05 – 8:15 Featured Topic – System RAM plus
Motherboard Features Beyond Core Logic
(Chipsets): 2003 Update
 8:15 – 8:30 Hardware News
 8:30 – 8:55 Random Access (Q&A)
 8:55 – 9:00 Recap, Preview, and Close

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Administration
Welcome! Please Sign In.
 What the SIG is…and is not.

Is – an information resource for computer users and
potential computer users
 Is NOT – a way to get your computer built or repaired
(contact the GSBUG Daytime Hardware SIG)


Log – Random Access/Q&A (First Come…)
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Administration (continued):

Presentation materials will be posted at:
http://gsbug.apcug.org/hwinfosig.htm

Prior presentation materials are also posted.
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update
“System RAM” – the off-processor (off-processormodule), random access memory (RAM) used to
store instructions and data.
 “DRAM” – dynamic RAM (only retains data when
power is applied/refreshed)
 Primary types:

SDRAM (synchronous DRAM)
 RDRAM (Rambus DRAM) or DRDRAM (Direct Rambus
DRAM)

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

CAS Latency (CL) – definition per Crucial
Technology (division of Micron):
“The amount of time in nanoseconds (often measured in
clock cycles) between a request to read the memory, and
when it is actually output. SDRAMs are typically referred
to as CL 2 or CL 3, with CL 2 parts being faster.”
 Today, frequently also CL 2.5


Unbuffered vs Registered vs Registered ECC –
consult your motherboard manual for what you need.
For the curious, see
http://www.crucial.com/library/glossary.asp
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

SDRAM
All types have a 64-bit wide data path
 SDR (single data rate) SDRAM
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May 8, 2003
PC100 (seldom seen today) - 100MHz
PC133 (used with older desktops & servers) - 133MHz
Supported by all the current SDR SDRAM chipsets
168-pin DIMM (dual in-line memory module)
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

SDRAM (continued)
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DDR (double data rate) SDRAM
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May 8, 2003
PC1600 (DDR200) - 100/200MHz
PC2100 (DDR266) - 133/266MHz
PC2700 (DDR333) - 166/333MHz
PC3200 (DDR400) - 200/400MHz
Requires corresponding chipset support – see last presentation
(on Core Logic/Chipsets); varies by chipset
184-pin DIMM
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

RDRAM
16-bit wide data path
 Two speed grades (current):



PC800 - 800MHz
PC1066 - 1066MHz
PC1200 (1200MHz) announced
 184-pin RIMMs (Rambus In-Line Memory Modules)
 Requires “Continuity RIMM (CRIMM)” in empty sockets

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

RDRAM (continued)
Compatible chipsets – currently only Intel 850, 850E and
860, SiS R658 (SiS R659 announced)
 Installed in pairs (dual channel)
 NOW priced at roughly 2x the cost of quality DDR400
 Performance – depending on the configuration and
application, may be faster than other forms of DRAM

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

Memory bandwidth:
pipe width (in bytes) x speed (in MHz) x
number of channels =
memory bandwidth (in GB/sec)
“speed” is “effective speed”; e.g., 100MHz SDR, 200MHz
DDR (both on a 100MHz clock)

Example:
PC2100 DDR SDRAM
8 bytes x 266MHz (133MHz DDR) x 1 channel
= 2128MB/sec (2.1GB/sec)
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

Memory bandwidth (continued):

Current system memory product implementations:
PC100 SDR SDRAM
0.8GB/sec
 PC133 SDR SDRAM
1.06GB/sec
 PC1600 DDR SDRAM (DDR200)
1.6GB/sec
 PC2100 DDR SDRAM (DDR266)
2.1GB/sec
 PC2700 DDR SDRAM (DDR333)
2.7GB/sec
 PC3200 DDR SDRAM (DDR400)
3.2GB/sec
 PC800 RDRAM (dual channel)
3.2GB/sec
[PC800 RDRAM = 2 bytes x 800MHz x 2 channels]

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

Memory bandwidth (continued):

Current system memory product implementations (cont.):




4.3GB/sec
4.3GB/sec
6.4GB/sec
Coming system memory product implementations:

May 8, 2003
PC2100 DDR SDRAM (DDR266, dual channel)
PC1066 RDRAM (dual channel)
PC3200 DDR SDRAM (DDR400, dual channel)
“Quad channel” PC1200 RDRAM (Fall ’03)
9.6GB/sec
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
System RAM: 2003 Update (continued)

Major Memory (Chip) Manufacturers
Elpida (Japan)
 Hynix (Korea)
 Infineon (Germany)
 Micron (USA)
 Mosel Vitelic/ProMOS (Taiwan)
 Nanya (Taiwan)
 Samsung (Korea)
 Winbond (Taiwan)
All www.companyname.com

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Update

Processor Sockets

AMD
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Intel
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Socket 370 – supports Celeron (P3 core) and Pentium III S
Socket 423 – supports 423-pin Pentium 4 (earliest)
Socket 478 – supports 478-pin Celeron (P4 core) & P4 (latest)
Socket 603/604 – supports Xeon and Xeon MP
VIA

May 8, 2003
Socket A (462-pin) – supports Athlon, Athlon XP, Duron, and
Athlon MP
Socket 940 – supports Opteron
Socket 370 – supports C3
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)
 “Slots”
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AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)
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May 8, 2003
32-bits wide, capable (depending on the AGP spec) of
66MHz(1X) to 533MHz(8X)
264MB/sec (1X) to 2.1GB/sec (8X) transfer rate
Video cards only
Signaling voltage varies by spec – 1.5V (AGP 2.0, AGP 1X-4X),
0.8V (AGP 3.0, AGP 4X-8X); both use same physical socket
Also AGP Pro50 and Pro110 (higher wattage for workstations)
Brown connector
www.agpforum.org
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

“Slots” (continued)
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PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - typical


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
May 8, 2003
32-bits wide, capable of 33MHz (desktop)
132MB/sec transfer rate (desktop)
Used for HDCs, sound cards, modems, NICs, and older video
cards; various specialty adapters (USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, second
parallel, etc.)
White connector
www.pcisig.org
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

“Slots” (continued)
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PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - other
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PCI-X (some workstations and most servers)
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Spec 1.0 - 64-bit wide, up to 133MHz (up to 1.06GB/sec)
Spec 2.0 - 64-bit wide, up to 533MHz (up to 4.3GB/sec)
PCI Express – coming in 2004 (possibly late 2003)

May 8, 2003
32-bits wide, 66MHz (desktop/server); 64-bit wide, 33 or 66MHz
(workstations and servers)
Up to 528MB/sec
Used for HDCs, NICs, and some specialty adapters
0.8V, 2.5GHz, up to 16GB/sec transfer – to replace AGP 8X +
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

“Ports”
Serial (1 or 2 ports typ)
 Parallel (ECP/EPP; 1 port typ)
 PS/2 (2 ports – keyboard and mouse)

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)
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“Ports” (continued)
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USB (Universal Serial Bus) – chipset dependant

Three speeds:
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
May 8, 2003
Low speed = 1.5Mb/sec (.187MB/sec) – USB 1.1
Full speed = 12Mb/sec (1.5MB/sec) – USB 1.1
High speed = 480 Mb/sec (60MB/sec) – USB 2.0
Attach up to 127 devices – including mice, keyboards, cameras,
printers, ZIPs, some HDDs, etc.
Number of ports varies – min 2. Combos of USB 1.1 and 2.0.
For “outside the box” devices
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

“Ports” (continued)
Audio (sound “card”, down) – line in, line out, mic, joy
stick (MIDI port), plus
 Video (for video “card”, down)
 NIC (network interface “card”, down)



IEEE 1394a (“FireWire”/Apple, “iLink”/Sony)


May 8, 2003
Typically “10/100” (Mb/sec)
Today provides a maximum 400Mb/sec (50MB/sec) transfer rate
(1394-1995). For “outside the box” devices.
Typically used to connect digital video cameras, HDDs.
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

Other Interfaces, Misc.
Internal data cable connectors – floppy, IDE, SCSI
 USB and IEEE-1394 header(s)
 IrDA (infrared) header
 CD-ROM (audio interface) – 1 or 2
 Wake-on-LAN
 Modem (audio for voice modem)
 Fan headers

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Other Motherboard Features: 2003 Upd (cont.)

Other Interfaces, Misc. (continued)
Panel lights (power, HDD activity, sleep) & switches
(power, reset, sleep)
 Jumpers and/or DIP switches (CMOS clear/flash, CPU
multiplier, CPU voltage, bus speeds, keyboard power-on,
suspend-to-RAM, etc.)
 Power (ATX, ATX12V, WTX, proprietary)


Show-and-Tell
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News

Processors

May 8, 2003
AMD formally released the AMD Opteron – first x86-64
(AMD64) processor; models 240 (1.4GHz), 242 (1.6GHz),
and 244 (1.8GHz) for 1-way and 2-way servers and
workstations; 128K L1 cache; 1MB exclusive L2 cache;
integrated dual-channel memory controller
(5.3GB/sec/CPU using PC2700/DDR333 SDRAM); able
to directly address up to 1 terabyte of RAM; FSB =
processor clock speed; three 16x16-bit HyperTransport
links (6.4GB/sec per link); .13 micron SOI (silicon on
insulator) technology; supports SSE2; 940-pin package
with heat spreader
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)

Processors (continued)


AMD released the Athlon MP 2800+ – 2.133GHz, Barton
core, 512K L2, 266MHz FSB (no faster chipset support)
Core Logic (chipsets)
AMD formally released the AMD-8131 PCI-X Tunnel,
AMD-8151 AGP Graphics Tunnel (AGP 8X), and the
AMD-8111 I/O Hub support chipset for its just-released
AMD Opteron processor
 NVIDIA announced the nForce3 Pro chipset for AMD
Opteron workstations – single chip; AGP 8X; IDE RAID
support (both PATA and SATA); integrated NIC

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)

Core Logic (chipsets) (continued)
SiS announced the SiS655 for Intel Pentium 4 – a dual
channel memory controller version of the SiS648;
supports up to DDR333
 VIA announced the UniChrome KM400 chipset (VT8378
Northbridge w/ VT8235CE or VT8237 Southbridge) for
AMD Athlon – includes integrated UniChrome 2D/3D
graphics processor (AGP 8X); supports DDR400 SDRAM;
SATA RAID support w/ VT8237
 VIA announced the K8T400M chipset for AMD Opteron –
AGP 8X “Northbridge” with high-speed interface to the
VT8237 Southbridge

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)
System RAM – nothing new
 Motherboards

MSI released the K8D Master (MS-9131) server
motherboard for dual AMD Opteron processors.
 ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and several others introduce Intel
875P-chipset-based Pentium 4 motherboards.


Graphics Processors & Cards

May 8, 2003
3Dlabs announced the Wildcat VP880 Pro workstation
video card – 256MB RAM, AGP 8X, ESP of $499.
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)

Graphics Processors & Cards (continued)


Matrox announced the Millennium P-series of video cards
based on the Parhelia-LX processor – initially released
the Millennium P650 ( 2 head) and Millennium P750 (3
head) cards. Both have 64MB RAM and are AGP 8X.
Intended for video editing. These are low priced
derivatives of the Parhelia.
Hard Drives – nothing new
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)

Hard Drive Controllers


Promise released the “FastTrak S150 TX4” SATA RAID
card – supports 4 drives, RAID 0, 1, and 0+1.
Other Drives

May 8, 2003
Plextor released the PlexWriter Premium 52x32x52 CDRW (ATAPI) w/ GigaRec (store up to 1GB data on 700MB
media – not readable on other drives).
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Hardware News (continued)
Sound processors & cards – nothing new
 Modems & NICs – nothing new
 Chassis & power supplies – nothing new

May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Random Access
May 8, 2003
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GSBUG Hardware Info SIG
Recap, Preview, and Close
Recap
 Preview

Featured Topic for June 12, 2003 – Hard Drives and
“Floppies”: 2003 Update
 Close (please police up the area)

May 8, 2003
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