Well, 667 should work, but the problem may lie in the 4R part. This means it is quad-ranked, and while the 2950 does support 4R DIMM's, its support may be limited:
BIOS v.2.3.1 adds the following fix/enhancement:
Added support for Quad-Rank 8GB DIMMs
This may mean several things, but what is unclear is whether 1. previously only Dual-Rank 8GB DIMM's were supported and support was added for Quad-Rank 8GB DIMM's, or 2. previously Quad-Rank DIMM's were supported for sizes up to and including 4GB and support was added for the 8GB size.
The reason this ambiguity is important is that with number 1, there is a good chance that only the 2950 II and/or III ever supported Quad-Rank DIMM's, so your DIMM's aren't working because the original 2950 does not/cannot support Quad-Rank DIMM's; and with number 2, even the original 2950 may have supported Quad-Rank DIMM's (just not 8GB ... of any rank), so the memory should, in theory, be working - or you should at least expect that it should work.
My feeling is that only the 2950 II and/or III support Quad-Rank DIMM's, and that is the reason your memory is not working. There are many things in the BIOS release notes that, without explanation or clarification, does not apply to all 2950 revisions (Xeon 5600-series processor support, 8GB DIMM's, etc.), that are simply limitations of the board itself.
shaitan667
3 Posts
0
May 3rd, 2011 06:00
The Ram it had is Hynix 2rx4 PC2-4200F-444-11
The RAM I got is Micron 4RX8 PC2-5300F-555-11-ZZ
As far as I know the RAM should be compatible
theflash1932
9 Legend
•
16.3K Posts
0
May 3rd, 2011 09:00
Well, 667 should work, but the problem may lie in the 4R part. This means it is quad-ranked, and while the 2950 does support 4R DIMM's, its support may be limited:
BIOS v.2.3.1 adds the following fix/enhancement:
Added support for Quad-Rank 8GB DIMMs
This may mean several things, but what is unclear is whether 1. previously only Dual-Rank 8GB DIMM's were supported and support was added for Quad-Rank 8GB DIMM's, or 2. previously Quad-Rank DIMM's were supported for sizes up to and including 4GB and support was added for the 8GB size.
The reason this ambiguity is important is that with number 1, there is a good chance that only the 2950 II and/or III ever supported Quad-Rank DIMM's, so your DIMM's aren't working because the original 2950 does not/cannot support Quad-Rank DIMM's; and with number 2, even the original 2950 may have supported Quad-Rank DIMM's (just not 8GB ... of any rank), so the memory should, in theory, be working - or you should at least expect that it should work.
My feeling is that only the 2950 II and/or III support Quad-Rank DIMM's, and that is the reason your memory is not working. There are many things in the BIOS release notes that, without explanation or clarification, does not apply to all 2950 revisions (Xeon 5600-series processor support, 8GB DIMM's, etc.), that are simply limitations of the board itself.
shaitan667
3 Posts
0
May 3rd, 2011 17:00
Oh man. So I have just wasted my money on the wrong ram? :(
Can anyone else confirm?