mobo spec questions

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I have a (sadly)mcro ATX motherboard put out by AZZA,a motherboard I've never seen referrence to on this site. It is a socket A for mostly AMD applications. I went to the manufacturers website and (gladly) found out that I can ga all the way up to an AMD XP 2gig processor from my current 850 Duron (as long as I update the BIOS). But my first question is about my memory (no not the wrinkled one in my head http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif ). The site mentions the following:

"Two 168-pin DIMM Sockets support PC100, PC133 and VCM SDRAM"

My question to anyone is, what is the VCM memory? I've yet to ever hear any mention of it unless it is commonly called something else. Some other questions pertaining to my board will follow as I dig further into it. (So much of this is still all Greek (don't understand yet) to me) Is this the faster RAM's like pc2100 and the likes I read about here and there?

Thanks all for sharing.

FTT


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This space for George Carlin quotes:

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

(He should broaden that to pc's.)

[kfh]

Hi Fruss Tray Ted

I found this http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&q=vcm+memory

kfh.


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Sequitur Patrem Non Passibus Aequis

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Now Why didn't I think of that?

Thanks KFH.

I went to the link and read one of the articles and it appears that VCM is just slightly faster than pc133 RAM but significantly more expensive. Especially seeing that I can get 128 meg sticks of pc133 for one green sheet of Jackson's ($20). The VCM is way behind pc2100 and up so it's nothing I see that I will need in the very near future and since it was obsolete before it was even popular, it probably will never glut the market to ever come down in price. Effectively it is a dinosaur the day it came out. It is approximately a pc150 with another like it memory another slight step above it but neither is as good as pc 2100.

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This space for George Carlin quotes:

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

(He should broaden that to pc's.)

[ranchdog]

PC2100 is DDR and that's a Horse of a different color.

You are the proud owner of a SDRAM Mboard. See a lot of
the AZZA brand on the European market. UK BBS websites, etc.

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I spent a lot of money on women... liquor... motorcycles.
The rest I just wasted.

[charlie noob]

http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif I am responding only because this is the first post I've seen on Azza mobo. I recently purchased a pc from gentech that came with a KT266a version Azza mobo, 512meg pc2100, Athlon xp2100. Anyhoo, I am not at the stage of building yet and will do so while I use this system so as not to be reliant on any mistakes made.

The system I bought had a 32/12/48 cd/rw, dvd, 60gig 7200rpm hdd and 320watt psu with a coupla extra fans for around $900. same site selling today with pc2700 and compatible mobo (azza???) for about $50 less. I threw in a Radeon 8500 (128meg) and although this system is no top end performer, it is a MAJOR upgrade from my asus k7m 600 Athlon with 256 meg pc100.

What's the deal with these boards (besides being cheapo's!)? Anybody else ever use one?

[saphalline]

Originally posted by charlie noob:
What's the deal with these boards (besides being cheapo's!)? Anybody else ever use one?

AZZA is a motherboard company that is not entirely unknown, but yes they typically do produce cheapo mobos - usually used in low-end OEM rigs and "house brand" systems on several PC websites. I would think they are a very small company, perhaps even a spin-off of one of the bigger contendors. I don't see their name very often, and I don't hear much about them (good or bad).

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"No, we do not gnaw on our kitty." - Dr. Evil

[charlie noob]

Thanks saphalline.

I am happy with the performance of this pc, but in hindsight, wonder if I would have gotten better performance with a top line mobo. Oh well, live and learn.

Is there noticable difference in mobo performane of the same chipsets (all other perippherals and specs being the same)?

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I had no idea what I was getting when I purchased my Azza board and the rest of the kaboodle, but since signing up here (http://pcguide.com) it's like night and day.

But it hasn't let me down yet, only a couple little quirks like when I turn my speakers on or turn my desklamp off, it will sometimes shut off cold. I guess it is really sensitive to spikes and maybe it is a built in safety feature. I hate losing all those open app.s though. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif

It has nothing to do with the mobo but I got a new burner and Nero 5.5 installed and instead of 2x, I can now burn at 16x plus play the cd's in my truck because the old burner/software was weak and wouldn't. I also rearranged the cables per tutoring from here (http://www.pcguide.com) so that also came into play.

'AZZA' first new purchase I can't complain... much. The next one will be right though. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/wink.gif

[saphalline]

Originally posted by charlie noob:

Is there noticable difference in mobo performane of the same chipsets (all other perippherals and specs being the same)?

Yes there is, but it's usually negligible as long as you stick with the big names. And I would definitely say that stability is more important than pure speed when it comes to a mobo. And let's face it - a slower mobo with a faster CPU is going to perform better than a faster mobo with a slower CPU, so it's all relative.

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"No, we do not gnaw on our kitty." - Dr. Evil

[mjc]

FTT, that shut off problem is probably either the outlet your machine is plugged into is borderline overload or you have a very weak power supply.

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mjc
Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Thanks Mjc,
I put the halogen desklamp directly to the wall outlet and there's no shutoff going on with that now but I will try the speakers again when off line and not much in the taskbar. I find if I pull the signal lead out, turn them on and reinsert the mini plug, it doesn't happen. I use an illuminated switch panel beneath my monitor for a switchboard which is, in turn, plugged into a combo phone and AC surge protector which then goes to the wall.

The PS is 300 watt powering a duron 850 running now at 900 (but did it also at 850) 256 pc133RAM, 52x CD-ROM and was a small 8x4x12 burner but now a 16x12x40 CD-RW and an old printer that I leave the power off to most of the time (which has never made the pc power off when turning on or off). Everything manufactured this year or no older than 1 year.

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"One disadvantage of staying sober is that you know exactly how you feel."

Hawkeye, M.A.S.H 4077