[CentOS] Re: segfaults with 8 gig of ram

[John R Pierce]

Scott Silva wrote:
> I bet the bios of the board is either not honoring the SPD settings of the
> memory, or the memory just isn't a good match for the board. 

or, the SPD data is bogus or overly optimistic, often a issue with 
offbrand memory.


re: motherboard recommended memory, the taiwanese mobo makers (asus, 
gigabyte, abit, etc etc) rarely even have any such recommendations 
published.  I usually only find that sort of data on the US brands 
(Intel, SuperMicro, Tyan, and so forth), and, of course, the major 
server makers like IBM, HP, Dell, etc. only 'recommend' their own 
memory, which while expensive, is covered by factory service and 
warranty, and will almost certainly meet the systems specifications and 
requirements.

Things like motherboards are sold as OEM components, and it is assumed 
that the OEM will do the testing and qualification.

That all said, with AMD Athlon 64 and Opteron CPUs, the memory 
controller is in the CPU chip, not the chipset, so all the motherboard 
contributes is the board layout and DIMM sockets, and the BIOS 
configured memory timings...    So, going with memory thats been 
certified by AMD is probably a good idea.  

Unluckily, it doesn't appear AMD has much of a memory compatability 
program....  From their website, 
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_9460%5E9513,00.html


*    AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor Family Memory Guidelines*

    In our ongoing efforts to support industry standards, AMD Athlon™ 64 
processor-based
    platforms may be designed to leverage industry standard DDR 
unbuffered DIMMs. An
    independent testing company, Computer Memory Test Labs (CMTL), has 
conducted memory
    compatibility testing. CMTL is an independent test facility and is 
able to test RAM modules
    from different module suppliers. System builders should access the 
CMTL web site a
    www.cmtlabs.com <http://www.cmtlabs.com> and view the recommended 
memory module list for the specific motherboard
    manufacturer and motherboard model.

*    Note*: The CMTL website is provided for informational purposes 
only, and AMD recommends
    that a system builder conduct its own testing and validation to 
confirm that the memory modules
    are suitable for its systems.