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June 2nd, 2005 17:00

Inspiron 6000 IS Dual-Channel 533MHz DDR2 - and I have the screenshots to prove it!

Well, I received my Inspiron 6000 Tuesday. I bought it with only 256MB of RAM since I knew that Dell only put in 400MHz DDR2 RAM, and I replaced the single 256 MB 400MHz chip with TWO Micron MT8HTF6464HDY-53EA3 512MB 533MHz DDR2 chips that I bought from I guy on eBay for $100. The chips were originally factory installed in a Dell Inspiron 9300, and the original owner put in two 1GB chips. You can check out the auction here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6771086834

Well, I've installed the chips. The BIOS says:

Memory Installed = 1024MB
Memory Speed = 533 MHz
Memory Channel Mode = Dual
Memory Technology = DDR2 SDRAM

So in the BIOS everything seems ok.

So I run Everest Home 2.01 from www.lavalys.com. I run the 3 memory benchmarks.

Memory Latency: 104.7ns Memory: Dual DDR2-533 CL-RCD-RP-RAS: 4-4-4-12
Memory Read: 3127MB/s Memory: Dual DDR2-533
Memory Write: 808MB/s Memory: Dual DDR2-533

So everything from the benchmarks tells me this is running dual-channel 533MHz.

So I go to the Motherboard Section, and under
Memory Bus Properties is:
Bus Type: Dual DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width: 128-bit
Real Clock: 267 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock: 533 MHz
Bandwidth: 8533 MB/s

So I go to the SPD section, and under
Memory Module Properties is:
Module Name Micron Tech. 8HTF6464HDY-53A3
Serial Number 40063A76h
Manufacture Date Week 6 / 2005
Module Size 512 MB (2 rows, 4 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered
Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed DDR2-533 (266 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 1.8
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings
@ 266 MHz 4.0-4-4-12 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)
@ 200 MHz 3.0-3-3-9 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

So I go check the Overclock section, and under

CPU Speed is:
Memory Bus 265.98Mhz

Under SPD Memory modules is:
DIMM1: Micron Tech. 8HTF6464HDY-53A3 5412 MB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4.0-4-4-12 @ 266MHz) (3.0-3-3-9 @ 200MHz)
DIMM3: Micron Tech. 8HTF6464HDY-53A3 5412 MB DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM (4.0-4-4-12 @ 266MHz) (3.0-3-3-9 @ 200MHz)

Everything says this machine is running Dual-Channel DDR2 533MHz. So I check CPU-Z. Under Memory it says:
Type DDR2-SDRAM
Size 1024MB
Channels # Dual
Frequency 199.5MHz
FSB: DRAM 2:3
CAS# Latency 4.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Delay 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge 4 clocks
Cycle Time (Tras) 12 clocks

So CPU-Z says the correct memory timings for 533MHz, but says the speed is 199.5 MHz - someone posted that this is a flaw in the program, and everything else points to the fact that the Inspiron 6000 is indeed Dual-Channel DDR2 533 MHz. I don't know how to post pics on this message board, and although I may find the time later tonight to read up on it, I will provide by email all the screenshots of Everest Home 2.01, CPU-Z, and a few pics from my digital camera of the BIOS screen. So if anyone wants to post the pics, email me at wonka187@hotmail.com and I will send all the pics to you. 13 Pics - 4.43MB in JPEGs. I really encourage someone who can post pictures with ease to email me, so we can end this discussion about the 6000 only having a 400MHz memory controller.

14.4K Posts

June 2nd, 2005 17:00

bahh, I rather have my memory running at 3:3:3:8 timings using the 400MHz DDR2 ram than your looser timings!

June 2nd, 2005 18:00

thats awesome! as far as CPU-Z showing 199.5MHz, its kind of a program flaw. On my dual-channel desktop it gave the exact same reading. As I understand it, each chip runs at 200MHz but since there are two seperate channels they total up to 400MHz, providing the same bus speed but with twice the bandwidth.

33 Posts

June 2nd, 2005 18:00

The point of the message was not "My RAM is faster then your RAM" The point is that people said that the Inspiron 6000 only had a 400MHz memory controller, and that is not the case. Well, with your 400MHz RAM have you run Everest Home benchmarks to see how fast your RAM is: reads, write, and latency. I would be very interested in the results. Then we can really decide if high-speed/higher-latency or lower-speed/lower-latency is better.

18 Posts

June 2nd, 2005 18:00

Hey Guys,

The discussion about memory seems to be pretty interesting.

The inspiron 6000 uses intel 915gm /915pm chipset. If you look at the specification for these chipset on the intel website, you will see that the chipset supports DDR2 Ram at 400 Mhz as well as 533 Mhz. So inspiron 6000 will support both.

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/915gm/index.htm

http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/915pm/index.htm

If anyone had problems using the 533 Mhz ram with inspiron 6000, maybe its because its a few months older and maybe back then dell used an older chipset.

As for bacillus comments, i think the improvement in latency he is getting is very minor, compared to the lower bandwidth 6400 MBps (i.e 2 x 8 x 400 ) compared to wonka187's 8500 MBps (i.e 2 x 8 x 533)

If anyone else has anything to add, please do. Hopefully i'll learn something new.

 

33 Posts

June 2nd, 2005 18:00



@drew-and-not-u wrote:
thats awesome! as far as CPU-Z showing 199.5MHz, its kind of a program flaw. On my dual-channel desktop it gave the exact same reading. As I understand it, each chip runs at 200MHz but since there are two seperate channels they total up to 400MHz, providing the same bus speed but with twice the bandwidth.





Actually CPU-Z should be showing 266.5MHz for 533MHz DDR and 199.5MHz for 400MHz DDR - so it is a program flaw.

Message Edited by wonka187 on 06-02-2005 02:12 PM

18 Posts

June 2nd, 2005 18:00

Hey Wonka,

Can i ask you one thing? In the 3 memory benchmarks that you ran, are you sure that your memory latency is 104.7ns? Cos thats odd. Memory latency is not supposed to be that high for DDR2 4-4-4-12 .

 

Thanks

33 Posts

June 2nd, 2005 19:00

104.7 ns was correct. I just ran Everest again and it clocked at 105.1 ns. There is a table of other system benchmarks, and it seems that 104.7 ns is high - but most of the other systems tested are 2-2-2-5 or 2.5-3-3-8 or 3-3-3-8. There is one system listed that is 4-4-4-11, but that is Dual DDR2-667 on a P4EE 840 system, and the memory latency is 85.6 ns.

If you want the screenshots of all of the Everest benchmarks and stats, email me at wonka187@hotmail.com and I'll send them right over.

18 Posts

June 3rd, 2005 00:00

actually 105ns is pretty good. i miscalculated........ my bad.....

33 Posts

June 3rd, 2005 00:00

Rick from RickMktg has hosted the pics of the RAM benchmarks and pics from my BIOS. You can check it out here: http://www.rickmktg.com/i6000_memory.htm

Thanks so much to Rick for hosting these. I think the argument about the Inspiron 6000's memory controller is over.

4.4K Posts

June 3rd, 2005 01:00

Hey wonka187.  Would you mind if I included those pictures that you took on my site?
 
 
 
I like to keep things up to date when possible.
 
 

33 Posts

June 3rd, 2005 01:00



@Bay Wolf wrote:
Hey wonka187. Would you mind if I included those pictures that you took on my site?
I like to keep things up to date when possible.





I would not mind in the least. I am happy to help clear up the confusion about the Inspiron 6000s memory controller.

It seems that people have a tendancy to call the i6000 a "bargain" notebook or whatever, just because it is not a 9300 or an XPS. I think some people, like me, buy the 6000 because it is a good combination of size - I really enjoy the 15.4" widescreen display and its not gigantic like the 17" widescreen 9300 or the XPS, it has good battery life - >5 hours or so with the 9-cell battery, and a decent video card - although not the "best" gaming card, it fills my needs. The i6000 has all of the new technologies I was looking for, from the 2.0GHz Pentium-M, the 533MHz FSB, and of course the 1.8v 533MHz DDR2 Dual-Channel memory. The i6000 isn't just a "bargain" notebook, it is a great combination of technology and features at a great price without being as big as a suitcase.

I have to admit, the idea that the i6000 wouldn't support 533MHz DDR2 RAM bothered me before I bought it. I was just hoping that I could prove some of the other posts wrong, and I did. Hopefully when people see that the memory controller in the Inspiron 6000 is as good as any of Dells other laptops, it will help them choose the right notebook for their needs.

4.4K Posts

June 3rd, 2005 02:00

Thank you wonka187 for permission to use your graphics.
 
 
 

33 Posts

June 3rd, 2005 02:00



@ex.treme wrote:
Its great report for me.
I wanna use 533 DDR II memory in this laptop. But in some threads i have reading , that in this book working only 400 ddr or 533 ddr but running on 400 ddr.
If i good understand , if i buy 533 DDR they run at full speed= 533 DDR .
Its right?

Wonka > can you make a some benchmarks with 400 and with 533 ddr? Im interesting how much it's difference between both.



I have else one question> Try anyone overclock cpu with cpufsb or clockgen?

thx




Unfortunately, I can't benchmark DDR2 400MHz because I don't have the RAM, but I am sure that someone else out there has 2x512MB DDR2-400 that they can benchmark with Everest so we can compare numbers...

1 Message

June 3rd, 2005 02:00

Its great report for me.
I wanna use 533 DDR II memory in this laptop. But in some threads i have reading , that in this book working only 400 ddr or 533 ddr but running on 400 ddr.
If i good understand , if i buy 533 DDR they run at full speed= 533 DDR .
Its right?

Wonka > can you make a some benchmarks with 400 and with 533 ddr? Im interesting how much it's difference between both.



I have else one question> Try anyone overclock cpu with cpufsb or clockgen?

thx

18 Posts

June 3rd, 2005 05:00

Hey
 
I think all the ppl who call the inspiron 6000d a "bargain" notebook are way off.
 
Inspiron 6000d has got support for dual channel 533 Mhz  DDR2 - Ram. This is the fastest memory available for notebooks as of this day. And inspiron 9300 & XPS have the same  dual channel ddr2 533 Mhz ram.
 
(For some reason dell ships inspiron 6000d with 400 Mhz ddr 2 ram....... not sure why dell does this as there is very little cost difference between the two.... but it makes very little  difference in laptops... I won't go into the details.. its too long and technical.. but if anyone wants to know why i'll explain why 533 Mhz doesn't offer much improvement over 400 Mhz in laptops, as long as they are both dual channel. )
 
Inspiron 6000d has support for the intel pentium m 2.0 ghz with 533 Mhz FSB, which is the fastest intel processor for notebooks.  inspiron 9300 & xps have the same.
 
Inspiron 6000d, 9300 & XPS use the same chipset, intel 915 pm, which is the latest chipset for notebooks from intel and which basically decides what memory, processor etc the notebook can support. For some reason, nobody advertises, or checks which chipset the computer has. In many ways, the chipset is the most important component in your computer (personally i think more imp than processors).  If anyone wants to check up which chipset they have, go to your owners manual --> appendix --> chipset. You'll find the info buried in that corner........ A sad state of affairs........
 
The integrated video card that comes with inspiron 6000 is more than sufficient for watching high speed streaming videos from the internet or watching dvd's. It only gets better with the ati x300 graphics  pci express card that inspiron 6000d is coming with.  
 
The only advantage inspiron 9300 & xps have over inspiron 6000d is in graphics card. and a bigger display. Basically they are targetted towards gamers. 
 
Also, its funny how dell advertises the notebooks. In 9300 & XPS it boldly highlights the dual channel memory, the pci express graphics card, while doesn't mention it in inspiron 6000d. Its probably their marketing ppl at work.................... Trying to sell more of 9300 & XPS i guess........Can't blame them........
 
Well, thats my two bit about inpsiron 6000d , 9300 & XPS.
 
Select 6000d over 9300 & XPS unless
. you are a hardcore gamer
. prefer huge screen size
. have enough money in the bank to buy the most expensive system just for the sake of buying the most expensive system.
 
If anyone disagrees with my assessment, please do give your reasons and i'll be more than happy to discuss it with you.
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