F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ power specs?

[jimcpl]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone might know what the power specs are for the G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ (2x1GB DDR2-800) memory modules? I know that they are spec'ed for 1.8-2.0 volts, but I would like to know what typical, minimum, and maximum current draw or wattage would be for these modules.

The reason for the question is that I am upgrading my system, which had G.Skill 2x2GB + the F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ (2x1GB) to total 8GB, and I had problems with the system spontaneously rebooting from Windows, and was able to eliminate the spontaneous reboots by switching from an Antec 500 power supply to an Ultra 750 power supply. However, even with the larger power supply, the system is marginal, in that if I attach all the hard drives that were in the system when I had the 6GB memory, I get the spontaneous reboots again.

The specifications for the Antec vs. Ultra power supply show a 3 amp difference (25 amps vs. 28 amps), so I'm curious what kind of current/power requirements were for the F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ.

Thanks,
Jim

[jimcpl]

Hi,

Sorry. A clarification... When I said:

"The specifications for the Antec vs. Ultra power supply show a 3 amp difference (25 amps vs. 28 amps), so I'm curious what kind of current/power requirements were for the F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ."

I should have also said:

"The specifications for the Antec vs. Ultra power supply show a 3 amp difference (25 amps vs. 28 amps) on the 3.3V rail (and I'm assuming that my mobo derives the power for memory from the 3.3V rail), so I'm curious what kind of current/power requirements were for the F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ."

Jim

[jimcpl]

Sorry again - just read the sticky.

Motherboard: MSI K9NBPM2-FID
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200

Jim

[jimcpl]

Does anybody have this info?

Jim

[GSKILL TECH]

You will need to shoot an email to albert@gskill.com

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[jimcpl]

Hi,

Thanks. I'll do that.

Later,
Jim

[jimcpl]

GSKILL TECH,

I've noticed that the F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ (2x2GB) is still available. This is the memory that I originally/currently have for the 1st 4GB in my system, but I've hesitated going and buying another 4GB F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ because I was worried that the problem that I'm having trying to get the 2nd 4GB (non-G.Skill, Transcend) I have working would be the same even with another F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ.

I've been working on getting the full 8GB configuration working for awhile now, so rather than keep fighting that battle, can you tell me: If I get another F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ, to give me a full 8GB in my MSI K9NBPM2-FID mobo, is that, like, GUARANTEED to work ok?

Pls advise.

Thanks,
Jim

[G.SKILL]

your power supply is surely enough for the memory
in fact, one single stick of DDR2 memory takes only about 5-8w at most
so, we don't think your power supply would be insufficient

and since we always test our memory in pairs, we only guarantee for 2 dimms in dual channel would reach our rated spec
if you would like to install total 4 sticks with 8GB memory, you could choose our F2-6400CL5Q-8GBPQ, which is tested with 4 sticks together
thanks


G.S

[jimcpl]

your power supply is surely enough for the memory
in fact, one single stick of DDR2 memory takes only about 5-8w at most
so, we don't think your power supply would be insufficient

Ok, thanks for that info. So, assuming 5-8 watts per stick, and assuming 1.8V, that would be be ~2.8 - 4.5 amps per stick, of ~5.6 - 9.0 amps for the 2x1GB sticks?

That doesn't sound like much by itself, but given that the Antec PSU can only supply 25 amps @ 3.3V, and that the larger Ultra 750 PSU can only supply 28 amps @ 3.3V, 9 amps, that sounds like a lot.

Assuming that the VDIMM is derived from the 3.3V rail, that would mean that the 2x1GB memory would be accounting for ~36% of the Antec 3.3V output, and ~32% of the Ultra 3.3V output.

Am I making any sense?

and since we always test our memory in pairs, we only guarantee for 2 dimms in dual channel would reach our rated spec
if you would like to install total 4 sticks with 8GB memory, you could choose our F2-6400CL5Q-8GBPQ, which is tested with 4 sticks together
thanks


G.S

The problem with your suggestion is that I already have the 2x2GB sticks, so I have a hard time justifying going out and buying a full 8GB of new memory, and basically trashing the 8GB that I already have (2x2GB G.Skill + 2x2GB Transcend).

So, are you saying if I buy 2x2GB of G.Skill memory now, with the same part # as the original 2x2GB G.Skill memory I already have, that G.Skill won't guarantee that all 8GB (2x2GB + 2x2GB) will work together ??

Jim


GSKILL,

[G.SKILL]

Ok, thanks for that info. So, assuming 5-8 watts per stick, and assuming 1.8V, that would be be ~2.8 - 4.5 amps per stick, of ~5.6 - 9.0 amps for the 2x1GB sticks?

That doesn't sound like much by itself, but given that the Antec PSU can only supply 25 amps @ 3.3V, and that the larger Ultra 750 PSU can only supply 28 amps @ 3.3V, 9 amps, that sounds like a lot.

Assuming that the VDIMM is derived from the 3.3V rail, that would mean that the 2x1GB memory would be accounting for ~36% of the Antec 3.3V output, and ~32% of the Ultra 3.3V output.

Am I making any sense?

Sorry, for more power supply problem in detail, you may need to ask the manufacturer of your power supply
we're not good at it

The problem with your suggestion is that I already have the 2x2GB sticks, so I have a hard time justifying going out and buying a full 8GB of new memory, and basically trashing the 8GB that I already have (2x2GB G.Skill + 2x2GB Transcend).

So, are you saying if I buy 2x2GB of G.Skill memory now, with the same part # as the original 2x2GB G.Skill memory I already have, that G.Skill won't guarantee that all 8GB (2x2GB + 2x2GB) will work together ??

Jim


GSKILL,

simply saying, you're correct
the more memory sticks you installed, the heavier the memory controller loading is
when the memory controller loads heavily, it would become difficult to run with high frequency or tight timings
and we always test our dual channel products with 2 dimms, so we could only guarantee the 2 dimms would reach our rated spec
When you install 4 sticks, even the same spec, we still can't guarantee they could work fine at our rated spec
if you insist on installing 4 sticks, please downgrade the memory frequency or loosen the timing
thanks


G.S

[jimcpl]

Sorry, for more power supply problem in detail, you may need to ask the manufacturer of your power supply
we're not good at it

I think that you're being too modest. You probably know a lot more about power and power supplies than I do at this point !!

simply saying, you're correct
the more memory sticks you installed, the heavier the memory controller loading is
when the memory controller loads heavily, it would become difficult to run with high frequency or tight timings
and we always test our dual channel products with 2 dimms, so we could only guarantee the 2 dimms would reach our rated spec
When you install 4 sticks, even the same spec, we still can't guarantee they could work fine at our rated spec
if you insist on installing 4 sticks, please downgrade the memory frequency or loosen the timing
thanks


G.S

I understand exactly what you're saying, technically. However, don't you think that this policy kind of puts the "typical" customer in a kind of bind?

In my case, I bought a mobo that was capable of supporting 8GB, but I only bought 6GB of memory, thinking that would give me some "growing room" later. I got the 6GB initially because I run a lot of VM guests for development and testing, but I'd guess that, more typically, a user would've bought just 4GB (2x2GB) [DDR2 memory was relatively expensive back then, even compared to today], thinking to upgrade to 6GB or 8GB later.

With the policy that you're describing, anyone who expects to add more memory is/will be in a kind of kind of untenable situation, even if they wanted to stick with one manufacturer, e.g., G.Skill.

I don't think that I'm unique... I can't imagine everybody out there who's expecting to increase RAM is also expecting to throw away all of the memory that they already bought, and buy a completely new, larger, memory kit ...

Anyway, as I said, I understand, and thanks for the explanations.

Jim

[jimcpl]

Hi,

Sorry. I forgot to mention that with this mobo, there is no possibility to downgrade frequency in the BIOS. There are almost no settings in the BIOS, except for memory voltage, so even if I wanted to, I could reduce frequency.

Jim

[G.SKILL]

thanks for your advice

what we stated is to clearify the warranty policy since we can never know what platform users will use to install total 4 or even 6 sticks of memory module
as for your case, since it is only rated at DDR2 800 5-5-5-15, which is the same as JEDEC standard, it would be easier to make any two sets of them to run together than other overclocking spec memory
thanks


G.S

[Dumaine]

hate to but in yalls post yet I got the sticks you are talking about and Man I just gotta say that these things fly....I got them at 2 separate times so its not a match set for 8gb yet they seem to love eachother.

currently set at 5-4-4-12 2T 1.86v (852 mhz)and lovin it....played with them for a few weeks at different speeds and timings and even had them stable at 1020.

[jimcpl]

Dumaine,

Thanks for that info... It's encouraging...

I actually got my system running now, with the full 8GB, with my original G.Skill 2x2GB and a 2x2GB Transcend kit that my son gave me. It's stable, except for one 'gotcha', where it'll do the spontaneous reboot if I happen to have one specific drive powered, an old Seagate 200GB. So, for the moment, I'm just not plugging the 200GB drive in, and it's running well.

I'm debating (with myself ), whether it'd be wiser to (a) go buy another 2x2GB G.Skill (to get a full 8GB G.Skill, like you have), or (b) get a new, larger SATA drive to replace the old 200GB Seagate.

Both (a) and (b) have risks.

"(a)" because I would be getting the 2nd 2x2GB separately, instead of in a 2x4GB kit.

"(b)" because I might get the same rebooting problem with a new SATA that I have as when I plug the old 200GB Seagate into the system.

But, I'm kind of leaning towards (b)....

Thanks,
Jim