Rays Systems

DDR2 SDRAM By early 2003, the original DDR-SDRAM technology was fast approaching its limits. As AMD and Intel transitioned to higher FSB speeds, DDR-SDRAM has been hard pressed to keep pace. Mainstream DDR-SDRAM tops out at PC3200. Dual-channel DDR chipsets (which combine the bandwidth of paired memory modules) using PC3200 memory limit peak bandwidth to 6,400 MB/s. That matches the bandwidth requirements of a processor with a 64-bit (8-byte) wide memory channel operating with an 800 MHz FSB, such as mainstream Pentium 4 models, but as new processors are introduced, even dual-channel DDR-SDRAM will be unable to keep up with increases in processor bandwidth. The long-term solution is DDR2 SDRAM . DDR2 incorporates a series of evolutionary improvements on standard DDR technology, including increased bandwidth, lower voltage (1.8V versus the 2.5V of DDR), lower power consumption, and improved packaging. Just as DDR-SDRAM doubled bandwidth over SDR-SDRAM when running at the ...

Replacing a Motherboard The exact steps required to replace a motherboard depend on the specifics of the motherboard and case, the peripheral components to be connected, and so on. In general terms, the process is quite simple, if time-consuming: Disconnect all cables and remove all expansion cards from the current motherboard. Remove the screws that secure the old motherboard and remove the motherboard. If you are reusing the CPU and/or memory, remove them from the old motherboard and install them on the new one. Replace the old back-panel I/O template with the template supplied with the new motherboard. Remove and install motherboard mounting posts as necessary to match the mounting holes on the new motherboard. Install the new motherboard and secure it with screws in all mounting hole positions. Reinstall all of the expansion cards and reconnect the cables. The devil is in the details. In the rest of this section, we'll illustrate the process of install...