Tuesday 18 January 2011

8GB Intel Validated Kingston Memory For S3420GP(RX) – Finally!

When it comes to supporting Intel’s server products, one of the first questions we get from the support technician when we start troubleshooting a problem is, “What type of memory is in the system?”

If that memory is not on the tested memory products list for that particular server board then we will be asked to install Intel Validated memory products.

Up to now there have been two 8GB sticks available for the Intel Server Board S3420GP(RX), one by Hynix and the other by Samsung (though not listed now), listed as validated for this series of server boards and the server systems based on them.

That has finally changed!

We now have two new Intel Validated Kingston parts:

  • KVR1333D3D4R9S/8Gi
    • Cost: ~$350/Stick
  • KVR1066D3Q8R7S/8Gi
    • Cost: ~$200/Stick

The catch for us here in Canada is that there is lots of stock for the 1333 MHz part while the 1066 MHz parts are in short supply at the moment. There are also kits of 2 (16GB) for each part number as well.

Why is this so important?

Because the Hynix and Micron parts have only been available via resellers in the US. So, any warranty issues were questionable since that list of resellers is very small and they are relatively unknown to us. RMA processes can be painful with some manufacturers and their resellers so we are cautious when it comes to new points of product supply.

We have had a lot of success with Kingston’s memory parts and when there have been times where we have needed to call them they have always been very helpful.

So, this news is a definite plus for us!

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

*Our original iMac was stolen (previous blog post). We now have a new MacBook Pro courtesy of Vlad Mazek, owner of OWN.

Windows Live Writer

5 comments:

Josh Gay said...

Not seeing the 1333 part listed at Kingston or Intel, take it that was a temporary victory?

Philip Elder Cluster MVP said...

Josh,

Yeah, the 8GB parts have been floating in and out of the approved list since the product released.

I am not surprised that the Kingston part is doing the same. Our supplier has lots of the 8i part numbers listed.

A call into Intel may be the best approach to find out what is happening.

Philip

Philip Elder Cluster MVP said...

Josh,

Update: I called Intel to find out what is going on and they are going to follow up with me.

TPS says that the part number does not fall out of the scope of what should work according to my first contact Andrew's digging at IPD Support.

He has escalated to engineering to get a clearer answer.

Philip

Josh Gay said...

I know I have at least 1 production box running a pair of 8's but I do think they predated the ones with and i at the end.

Philip Elder Cluster MVP said...

Josh,

We have a need for 32GB in some of our upcoming SR1695GPRX based configurations.

Since we can get the Kingston 8Gi parts here in Canada for a lot less than the Hynix parts out of the US we will be taking the risk on 4 sticks to test whether they break the system.

A 72 hour burn-in using Burn-In Test Pro with the memory tests pushed to max ought to bring out the problems PDQ.

Philip