Bank Interleaving of RAM sticks

Have to agree with you, Noel.
Aida32 will show your pc's position in the benchmark, while EverestHome will
not.

Harry.


"Noel Paton" wrote in message
...
AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2006, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.crashfixpc.com/millsrpch.htm

http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's
"Mike M" wrote in message
...
If you have access to an application such as Everest from Lavalys
(regrettably no longer free) this should be able to identify the maker
and
model number of your memory sticks. Everest also includes benchmarking
tools that allow you to compare your memory capabilities with other
machines with similar memory.
--
Mike Maltby



PaulFXH wrote:

Hi everybody
Over the last month I have been trying to get a 3-y-o no-name computer
running as well as possible. The machine has 224MB RAM (32MB given to
AGP), 1.8GHzCPU, 20GB HD and runs on WinME.
So far it doesn´t look bad at all but I´d like to go further.
However, this will involve getting into areas where I have little
experience.
The computer has two sticks of 128MB PC-133 SDRAM memory and I want to
see if I can get the machine running a little faster by bank
interleaving these two sticks.
The AMIBIOS SetUp lists SDRAM Bank Interleave as one of its options,
but it is grayed out at disabled and this cannot be changed.
Also, the documents that accompanied the computer when delivered do
not provide much information on the memory sticks. Indeed, the
manufaturer/supplier of the sticks is not mentioned so I can´t check a
website to know if Bank Interleaving is supported by these sticks.
To make matters worse, the computer was assembled by a company which
has since gone out of business so there is nobody to advise me on what
is possible and what is not.
The final straw is that I´m temporarily in a country where English is
not spoken so I would really appreciate any advice which can indicate
how I can (or if I can) get the bank interleaving to function.
TIA
Paul

I would be interested in the actual performance gains that you may have.
Not to burst your bubble, but, I suspect the actual gain will be rather
slight from a percentage standpoint and almost, if not, imperceivable in
use. I am basing this thought on an article at Tom's Hardware Guide
comparing memory. Basically, unless you don't have enough, memory ain't the
bottleneck.
Heirloom, old and I could be
wrong


"PaulFXH" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi everyone,
I got Everest downloaded as various people have suggested and it
provided some further information on my memory situation. Here it is
(translated from Portuguese):

Memory Controller Properties:
Error correction method 32-bit ECC
Error correction Single-bit
Interleaving supported 1-Way
Interleaving in place 1-Way
Memory speed supported 70ns, 60ns
Memory type supported SPM, FPM, EDO, Parity,
ECC, SIMM
Memory voltage supported 3.3V
Maxmum size of memory modules 1024 MB
Memory slots 4



Memory modules SPD
DIMM1: AMD 128 MB PC133 SDRAM (3.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) (2.0-2-2-5 @
100 MHz)
DIMM2: AMD 128 MB PC133 SDRAM (3.0-3-3-6 @ 133 MHz) (2.0-2-2-5
@ 100 MHz)


I note with interest that interleaving is already in place even though
this option is disabled (but grayed out) in the BIOS SetUp.
So what should I conclude from this? Is this as good as it gets or can
I do better? There is no indication as to whether the interleaving is
2-bank or 4-bank. Given that PC WIZARD2006 reports that my sticks are
4-bank, does this indicate that an improvement is possible?
As for the point that Richard G Harper made about the modules being
matched, I guess the fact that interleaving is already in place would
suggest that they are indeed matched.
I really would appreciate any comments, or even criticism, as I am very
much venturing into uncharted waters here.
TIA
Paul

Hi everyone
I ran the benchmark tests on Everest (thanks for pointing this out to
me---this is a great tool) and it seems that I have a serious memory
underperformance problem.
In comparing my computer´s memory with that of a similarly equipped
machine, my read speed was 343 Mb/s (compared to 950 Mb/s expected),
write was 150 Mb/s (as against 343 Mb/s) and CAS latency was 469.3 ns
(compared to 182.6 ns).
This suggests to me that memory is a very major problem on my machine
which seems to contradict Heirloom's view that memory is unlikely to be
a bottleneck.
Nevertheless, I have absolutely no idea how to go about getting its
performance back to where it should be given that interleaving already
seems to be in operation (or is it?).
Any ideas where I should start?
TIA
Paul

webster72n wrote:

Have to agree with you, Noel.
Aida32 will show your pc's position in the benchmark, while
EverestHome will not.

I'm sorry but that is incorrect. Everest shows more information and the
basic Everest Home benchmarks memory Read, Write and Latency and compares
the results with others systems. Aida32 benchmarks just memory Read and
Write.

As for Everest Ultimate that's something else again, since in addition to
the three memory benchmarks included in Everest Home it also includes
three cpu benchmarks, three fpu benchmarks and a utility to benchmark disk
drives.
--
Mike Maltby

Paul,

If you have more than one stick installed try pulling them all and then
running with just one stick at a time and benchmark the various
combinations, This might help identify a stick that is dragging down
performance.
--
Mike Maltby



PaulFXH wrote:

Hi everyone
I ran the benchmark tests on Everest (thanks for pointing this out to
me---this is a great tool) and it seems that I have a serious memory
underperformance problem.
In comparing my computer´s memory with that of a similarly equipped
machine, my read speed was 343 Mb/s (compared to 950 Mb/s expected),
write was 150 Mb/s (as against 343 Mb/s) and CAS latency was 469.3 ns
(compared to 182.6 ns).
This suggests to me that memory is a very major problem on my machine
which seems to contradict Heirloom's view that memory is unlikely to
be a bottleneck.
Nevertheless, I have absolutely no idea how to go about getting its
performance back to where it should be given that interleaving already
seems to be in operation (or is it?).
Any ideas where I should start?
TIA
Paul

Hi Mike
Thanks for your advice.
I have two RAM sticks and I've now done what you suggested and here are
the results:

First, these are the Read Speeds with the first stick out (DIMM 0),
then with the second stick out (DIMM 1) and then with both sticks in
(Mb/s): 354, 350, 366.
Second, these are the Write Speeds in the same order (Mb/s): 165, 166,
165.
Finally, here are the latencies in the same order again (ns): 441, 442,
483.

So, it doesn't seem to me that I have one bad stick but I would welcome
the views of anybody who knows more than me about this.
I also downloaded SiSoft Sandra and checked what it had to say about my
memory situation. Additional information it provided was that my bank
interleaving is, in fact, 4-way and that my (estimated) memory
bandwidth efficiency is 34%.

For those of you who may not have noticed, I am a little lost here and
am anxious to hear comments from anybody who can help.
TIA
Paul

Paul,
I should have qualified my remark with "properly running" memory. I
ran the tests you did, using Everest on my cheapo Mushkin PC3200, 2.5-3-3-8
( 1 G total, on two sticks).
Everest results: 5215 Mb/Read
1948 Mb/Write
105.2 ns Latency
Heirloom, old and memory is
okay


"PaulFXH" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi everyone
I ran the benchmark tests on Everest (thanks for pointing this out to
me---this is a great tool) and it seems that I have a serious memory
underperformance problem.
In comparing my computer´s memory with that of a similarly equipped
machine, my read speed was 343 Mb/s (compared to 950 Mb/s expected),
write was 150 Mb/s (as against 343 Mb/s) and CAS latency was 469.3 ns
(compared to 182.6 ns).
This suggests to me that memory is a very major problem on my machine
which seems to contradict Heirloom's view that memory is unlikely to be
a bottleneck.
Nevertheless, I have absolutely no idea how to go about getting its
performance back to where it should be given that interleaving already
seems to be in operation (or is it?).
Any ideas where I should start?
TIA
Paul

Heirloom:
When I tried to download this utility, it turned out to be for Win2000 and
XP. What a *bummer*.

Harry.


"Heirloom" wrote in message
...
Doesn't SiSoft Sandra do this?? It is still free, AFAIK.
Heirloom, old and now short 2 cents

"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Noel Paton wrote:

AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

I thought that AIDA32 should do this but when I tried it on this box it
failed but that is possibly because much of the hardware on this box
post
dates the last release of AIDA32 by some time. Perhaps I should have
tried on my old Win Me box but that is currently taking a long overdue
break and saving me a bit on my electric bill at the same time and I
didn't think to switch it on. :-)
--
Mike M

Hi Heirloom
Thanks for your reply and it's great to see that your memory is
performing so much better than mine.
Now where were we......
Apparently, I do have 4-way bank interleaving of my RAM chips but
nevertheless, read and write speeds are very considerably (2-3 times)
slower than similarly equipped machines, in addition to CAS latency
being more than twice as long as it should be.
So, is this situation resolvable? If so, how? What overall system
performance improvement can I expect if I do manage to achieve this
level of memory performance improvement?
Webster72n commented that SiSoft Sandra only works on Win2000 ands XP.
I'm running the 2002 version of Sandra which runs fine on my WinME. The
"bummer" status referred to is applicable only to later incarnations of
this program.
Paul

Are you referring to SiSoft Sandra, Harry?? I remember having it with
Me.....I think......search around for an older version and I'll do some
checking. Yep, the SiSoft Sandra 2001 will work with Me, maybe some of
the later versions, as well:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...01&btnG=Search
Heirloom, old and 'tis a good one

"webster72n" wrote in message
...

Heirloom:
When I tried to download this utility, it turned out to be for Win2000 and
XP. What a *bummer*.

Harry.


"Heirloom" wrote in message
...
Doesn't SiSoft Sandra do this?? It is still free, AFAIK.
Heirloom, old and now short 2 cents

"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Noel Paton wrote:

AIDA32 should still work - and can be downloaded from here
http://www.aumha.org/freeware/freeware.php#aida32

I thought that AIDA32 should do this but when I tried it on this box it
failed but that is possibly because much of the hardware on this box
post
dates the last release of AIDA32 by some time. Perhaps I should have
tried on my old Win Me box but that is currently taking a long overdue
break and saving me a bit on my electric bill at the same time and I
didn't think to switch it on. :-)
--
Mike M