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Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 15th 07, 07:48 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
Jonathan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 23
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?

In my Medion 8083, there are 2 sticks of Samsung and 2 of Elixir
memory, 256Mb each. 1Gb simply isn't enough these days, so I did lots
of research, found various configurators and read this page:
http://md8083.hertsinternet.com/memory.shtml which led me to believe
that this product should suit:
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/63128 - bought 2x1GB DDR PC3200
400MHz 184pin non-ECC ram, exactly as should work, and as you can see
from the other page, 1Gb sticks should work.

However, what arrived in the envelope was non only unbranded (which I
expected - when 2Gb of RAM is £66 inc postage with the google
discount, I wasn't worried at first!). On the back of the RAM is
"Middle East Memory Ltd" and the email address

On the front is a sticker with just the number 178873 and there are 8
chips marked 128xDDR, also the numbers 0710 400 on each chip. So, I'm
guessing that'll be 400Mhz and 128*8 is 1024, so it looks sort of
right.

But when I put them in, it doesn't matter if I go for pairs in 1,3 or
2,4 or 1,2 or 2,3, mixing it as 1:1gb,2:256,3:1Gb,4:256 or even singly
(which shouldn't work, even though putting in one 256 stick seemed to
work). If there's a combination, I've tried it.
All I get is a 5 second beep, 3 second silence, 5 second beep. No
bios, nothing. Won't boot a floppy so I can't run memtest.

I checked in the bios - the memory speed option is set to auto, and
the current memory I have in there is PC3200 400Mhz (no, I didn't
leave the old memory in when fitting the new sticks!)

ebuyer are happy to take them back as faulty, but is it something I'm
doing wrong? Is there a setting or something?
I've googled myself silly and read the Medion forum, but maybe it's
just this type of memory?

  #2  
Old June 15th 07, 08:35 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
News Reader
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 25
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?


"Jonathan" wrote in message
ups.com...


SNIP


Hi,

It is anything but unknown for ebuyer own brand memory to have a high DOA
(dead on arrival rate). Often one or more sticks will be duff.

I am not sure if you system demands matched pairs or pairs at all.

But I would suggest just trying one 1gb stick at a time (i.e. literally just
one of your new 1 GB ebuyer memory sticks). Try this with each stick to see
if you can identify one as faulty. (Likewise, if you system does require
matched pairs you can always see if you can borrow a known good stick form a
friend and try one of yours with that, etc. - or vice versa [if the system
requires matched pairs the likelihood of this working is going to be very
low - also if your system does require matched pairs I would be surprised if
that is what you are getting from ebuyer - they never used to do own brand
matched pairs).

Anyhow - hope that helps and good luck.


Best wishes,



News Reader


P.s. Their is every likelihood that one or more of the sticks is faulty but
it would be a shame if it turns out that they are not.



  #3  
Old June 15th 07, 08:36 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
John Jordan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 75
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I havethe right stick?

Jonathan wrote:
In my Medion 8083, there are 2 sticks of Samsung and 2 of Elixir
memory, 256Mb each. 1Gb simply isn't enough these days, so I did lots
of research, found various configurators and read this page:
http://md8083.hertsinternet.com/memory.shtml which led me to believe
that this product should suit:
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/63128 - bought 2x1GB DDR PC3200
400MHz 184pin non-ECC ram, exactly as should work, and as you can see
from the other page, 1Gb sticks should work.

[snip]

On the front is a sticker with just the number 178873 and there are 8
chips marked 128xDDR, also the numbers 0710 400 on each chip. So, I'm
guessing that'll be 400Mhz and 128*8 is 1024, so it looks sort of
right.


Apparently the motherboard in that PC has the Intel 865PE chipset. These
only support chip densities up to 512mbit, so 8-chip 1GB sticks will not
work. Those cheap 16-chip "high density" sticks they sell on eBay won't
work either, but for a different reason.

Branded 16-chip 1GB sticks should work fine, but these will be more
expensive.


--
John Jordan
  #4  
Old June 15th 07, 09:16 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
Jonathan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 23
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?

On 15 Jun, 20:36, John Jordan wrote:

Apparently the motherboard in that PC has the Intel 865PE chipset. These
only support chip densities up to 512mbit, so 8-chip 1GB sticks will not
work. Those cheap 16-chip "high density" sticks they sell on eBay won't
work either, but for a different reason.

Branded 16-chip 1GB sticks should work fine, but these will be more
expensive.


Ah - now that's a good answer, just not one I wanted to hear! OK - how
do I find out whether a stick has 8 or 16 chips?
All the crucial sticks say 128x64, so if each chip is 128Mb, then
there can only be 1024Mb.

I found the Crucial Scanner thing http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.asp
but it only wanted to recommend Ballistix sticks, or kits with parts
that ebuyer didn't have.
Bearing in mind the memory is going to have to go back to ebuyer, can
you please let me know what to search on?
I used the memory finder tool at http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...x?model=MD8083
which recommended a CT434183 stick, but ebuyer don't have that part.
There's this, though: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/65719/rb/0 -
but again, it doesn't say how many chips, just that it's called
CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory

Sigh.

This business with 8-chip and high-density non-working chips is a
whole new world to me. I foolishly thought that one thing called a 1GB
DDR PC3200
400MHz 184pin non-ECC stick of RAM would be the same as another stick
of RAM with the same name.

  #5  
Old June 15th 07, 09:52 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
R D S
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?


"Jonathan" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 15 Jun, 20:36, John Jordan wrote:

Apparently the motherboard in that PC has the Intel 865PE chipset. These
only support chip densities up to 512mbit, so 8-chip 1GB sticks will not
work. Those cheap 16-chip "high density" sticks they sell on eBay won't
work either, but for a different reason.

Branded 16-chip 1GB sticks should work fine, but these will be more
expensive.


Ah - now that's a good answer, just not one I wanted to hear! OK - how
do I find out whether a stick has 8 or 16 chips?
All the crucial sticks say 128x64, so if each chip is 128Mb, then
there can only be 1024Mb.

I found the Crucial Scanner thing
http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.asp
but it only wanted to recommend Ballistix sticks, or kits with parts
that ebuyer didn't have.
Bearing in mind the memory is going to have to go back to ebuyer, can
you please let me know what to search on?
I used the memory finder tool at
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...x?model=MD8083
which recommended a CT434183 stick, but ebuyer don't have that part.


I may be oversimplifying things here, but can't you just buy the Crucial
stuff?


  #6  
Old June 15th 07, 10:01 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
Conor
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 562
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?

In article .com,
Jonathan says...

I found the Crucial Scanner thing http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.asp
but it only wanted to recommend Ballistix sticks, or kits with parts
that ebuyer didn't have.
Bearing in mind the memory is going to have to go back to ebuyer, can
you please let me know what to search on?
I used the memory finder tool at http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...x?model=MD8083
which recommended a CT434183 stick, but ebuyer don't have that part.
There's this, though: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/65719/rb/0 -
but again, it doesn't say how many chips, just that it's called
CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory

Buy your memory from Crucial. Get the stuff the scanner recommends. It
is a no quibble money back guarantee if it doesn't work and it also has
a lifetime guarantee.

As an example of Crucials excellent service, I had cause to suspect a 5
year old DIMM was defective. Even though I didn't have a receipt, they
traced the order from the e-mail address I used and the serial number
of the DIMM and gave me a RMA number on the spot saying they'd ship new
RAM as soon as they got the old, even before testing.

--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........
  #7  
Old June 15th 07, 10:12 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
John Jordan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 75
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I havethe right stick?

Jonathan wrote:

Ah - now that's a good answer, just not one I wanted to hear! OK -
how do I find out whether a stick has 8 or 16 chips?


Unfortunately, this is one thing that Crucial are very bad at. Unless
you buy through their memory advisor, there's no guarantee that the
sticks will have the right chip density. I'd be surprised if any of
their 1GB DDR sticks weren't 16-chip as they tend to use low-density
chips for compatibility, but it's not definite.

There's a related issue where memory controllers will often run better
with 8-chip (single sided) sticks, but with Crucial you have no way of
knowing what you're going to get.

Some other manufacturers such as Kingston will specify more precise
details for sticks if you know what you're looking for.


--
John Jordan
  #8  
Old June 15th 07, 10:16 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
GSV Three Minds in a Can
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 24
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?

Bitstring , from the
wonderful person Conor said
In article .com,
Jonathan says...

I found the Crucial Scanner thing
http://www.crucial.com/uk/systemscanner/index.asp
but it only wanted to recommend Ballistix sticks, or kits with parts
that ebuyer didn't have.
Bearing in mind the memory is going to have to go back to ebuyer, can
you please let me know what to search on?
I used the memory finder tool at
http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...x?model=MD8083
which recommended a CT434183 stick, but ebuyer don't have that part.
There's this, though: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/65719/rb/0 -
but again, it doesn't say how many chips, just that it's called
CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory

Buy your memory from Crucial. Get the stuff the scanner recommends. It
is a no quibble money back guarantee if it doesn't work and it also has
a lifetime guarantee.

As an example of Crucials excellent service, I had cause to suspect a 5
year old DIMM was defective. Even though I didn't have a receipt, they
traced the order from the e-mail address I used and the serial number
of the DIMM and gave me a RMA number on the spot saying they'd ship new
RAM as soon as they got the old, even before testing.


They must have hated you, often they (used to?) cross ship (i.e. the new
goes out before the old gets back), although they may need a CC number
for that.

But yeah, for the benefit of the OP, buy RAM from Crucial. Not sure
exactly WHAT I'd recommend buying from ebuyer - something that can't go
wrong, I guess .. carpet tiles, maybe.

--
GSV Three Minds in a Can
8,963 Km walked. 1,746Km PROWs surveyed. 31.7% complete.
  #9  
Old June 15th 07, 10:31 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
Conor
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 562
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I have the right stick?

In article , John Jordan says...
but with Crucial you have no way of
knowing what you're going to get.

Pick up the phone and ring the 0800 number...



--
Conor

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright
until you hear them speak.........
  #10  
Old June 15th 07, 10:43 PM posted to uk.comp.vendors,uk.comp.homebuilt
John Jordan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 75
Default Ebuyer unbranded memory doesn't work - how do I even know I havethe right stick?

Conor wrote:
In article , John Jordan says...

but with Crucial you have no way of
knowing what you're going to get.


Pick up the phone and ring the 0800 number...


I guess that might be useful if you were trying to get single-sided
sticks in preference to double sided, but it's still ridiculous that
they don't put the information on their online specs.

Doesn't help if you're not buying through their site, because they give
sticks with different chip counts exactly the same ID code.


--
John Jordan
 




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