Memory; Introduction To Sdram - MSI MS-6378 ATX User Manual

Memory

The mainboard supports a maximum memory size of 1GB. It provides
two 168-pin unbuffered SDRAM DIMM (Double In-Line Memory Module)
sockets and supports 256MB technology.

Introduction to SDRAM

Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) is a type of dynamic RAM memory
chip that has been widely used starting in the latter part of the 1990s. SDRAMs
are based on standard dynamic RAM chips, but have sophisticated features
that make them considerably faster. First, SDRAM chips are fast enough to be
synchronized with the CPU's clock, which eliminates wait states. Second, the
SDRAM chip is divided into two cell blocks, and data is interleaved between
the two so that while a bit in one block is being accessed, the bit in the other is
being prepared for access. This allows SDRAM to burst the second and
subsequent, contiguous characters at a rate of 10ns, compared to 60ns for the
first character.
SDRAM provides 800 MBps or 1 GBps data transfer depending on
whether the bus is 100MHz or 133MHz.
2-5
Hardware Setup