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Support FAQ |
| A. About Hexon |
| B. Placing Orders |
| C. Basic Installation Knowledge You Need to Know |
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| A. About Hexon |
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Who is Hexon Technology? |
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Hexon Technology is a Singapore company
with an annual revenue of more than S$300 million.
Hexon is a leading memory module manufacturer
in Singapore as well as in the Asia Pacific region.
Hexon Technology is the largest semiconductor
memory component customer of Infineon Technologies
in Asia Pacific, as well as the award-winning
customer of Infineon Technologies for the past
4 years.
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When was Hexon established? |
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Hexon Technology was established in
1989 and since then, it has been one of the industry-leading
memory module manufacturer.
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What are the products
that Hexon Technology offers? |
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Hexon offers original Infineon memory modules as well
as its own OEM memory modules under the trademarks
of NCP¿, HTLÌ, IProcÌ. In addition, Hexon
offers most of the popular major brands such as
NEC, Hitachi, Hyundai, and Samsung.
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Note : OEM
stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer".
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| B. Placing Orders |
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| C. Basic Installation Knowledge You Need to Know |
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Is it difficult to install memory? |
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Simply remove the computer casing and install the memory
module by inserting or plugging into the memory
slots or socket provided on the computer motherboard.
Cover back the casing and power up the computer.
The computers will automatically recognise the
increased memory when you see on screen the booting
up of the system memory during the power up.
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After installation,
what are the steps that I need to observe? |
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Boot
your system and watch the extended memory count
on the startup screen. For every MB of memory
you have, the number shown will equal approximately
1000. If your system does not automatically recognize
the new memory, the computer should give you a
memory mismatch error and ask if you want to enter
setup. Enter setup and then simply exit setup,
saving all changes.
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Is my computer able
to recognize more memory automatically? |
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Yes.
At the time of the system booting up. |
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Some Memory Module
Installation Guides |
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Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
Information Electrostatic discharge can harm the
memory modules through the release of static electricity
when you touch it at a different electrical potential
than you are. To protect your memory module from
ESD, do not touch the memory device directly.
Procedures for Installation
of Memory Module |
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| 1. |
Ensure that the working environment is static safe.
Make sure your computer is plugged in but
with the power turned off. Keeping your
PC plugged in will keep the case grounded,
thus reducing the chance of damaging the
module or system from ESD.
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| 2. |
Locate your computer's memory expansion slots (consult
your owners manual).
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| 3. |
Insert your memory upgrade according to the illustrations
in this guide. Note how the modules are
keyed to the socket. This insures that the
module will be aligned correctly.
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| 4. |
Once the module(s) have been installed, the computer's
cover can be replaced. The installation
is now complete.
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Memory Information |
Memory in a computer system is a place to store data and
programs for the CPU to process. Computer system storage
can be RAM( Random Access Memory), hard disk, floppy disk
or CD drive, etc. Memory is usually distinguished from
storage as RAM. Nowadays RAM always comes in module form
of DIMM(Dual In-line Memory Module) and SIMM(Single In-line
Memory Module) for convenient upgrading.
RAM ( Random
Acess Memory )
Ram is where the operating system,application programs,and
data in current use are kept so that they can be quickly
accessed by the processor. RAM is much faster to access
than the other kinds of storage in a computer, such
as hard disk, floppy disk, and CD-ROM. However, the
data in RAM is volatile. When the computer is off, RAM
losses all data.
DRAM ( Dynamic
RAM )
DRAM is the most common type of computer memories. It
is called Dynamic RAM because it must be refreshed,
or re-generized, in order to retain data in its memory
cells. It has to be refreshed because its memory cells
are designed around very small capacitors that store
electrical charges. These capacitors work like very
tiny batteries and will lose their stored charges gradually
if they are not re-charged.
A bank of memory modules using DRAM chips usually forms
the center of a computer's main memory. The system uses
this memory to temporarily store programs, data, and
processes information that moves to and from the processor,
video card, and other peripherals.
Static RAM uses memory cells laid in rows and columns
to store data. SRAM runs five times faster than DRAM.
SRAM is volatile ( it must have power in order to retain
data ) but it does not need to refresh constantly like
DRAM. SRAM's design uses specific circuits(pretzel-like
flip-flop circuits)that allow electricity to flow through
one side or the other depending on which transistors are
activated.
This "flow through" design is faster than the "store charge"
design of DRAM. Because of its lower cost and smaller
size, DRAM is recommended to be used in computer main
memory; while SRAM is for cache memory because of its
faster speed.
Cache is a small block of high-speed memory (usually SRAM)
located between the CPU and the main memory that used
to store regularly requested data and instructions. When
the processor needs data, it checks its high-speed cache
to see if the data is there. Otherwise, the processor
retrieves the data from the main memory, thus taking more
time.
VRAM is commonly know as the graphic memory. Graphic memory
works very fast to update, or refresh. It must respond
very quickly to the CPU or graphic controller in order
to change the graphic on the computer screen. VRAM is
' dual-ported' using two separate data ports. One port
is dedicated to the monitor for refreshing and updating
the image of the screen. The other port is connected to
the CPU for updating the image data stored in the memory.
ROM is a memory chip like SRAM, but with pre-written nonvolatile
data which cannot be over-written. All the computers come
with small amount of ROM holding just enough programs
to run before the operation system can be loaded into
the RAM each time the computer is on.
There are different types of ROM. They are PROM ( Programmable
Read-Only Memory ), EPROM ( Erasable Programmable Read-Only
Memory ) and EEPROM ( Electrically Erasable Programmable
Read-Only Memory ).
EEPROM is a user-modifiable ROM that can be erased and
programmed repeatedly. When used in SDRAM module, it is
to store the configuration of the module to be read by
the motherboard to indicate the kind of memory being used
on the system.
The earliest type of RAM modules used in computer was
30 pins FPM SIMM. Then 72 pins FPM and EDO SIMM evolved
in the market. Nowadays, most computers use 168 pins SDRAM
DIMM.
A general DRAM chip is designed like 1 3-dimensional matrix:
a specific location in a chip is shown by a row and column
address. Each location consists of a number of cells representing
the bits size of the chip. When a memory is accessed to
read / write data, the memory controller gives the row
address first, followed by the column address. It can
make the computer run faster and more accurate to get
data. After data are entered into or restored, the column
deactivates and gets ready for the next cycle. The computer
processor must wait it to deactivate and get ready before
it can read / write the next piece of data from / to the
next memory location
FPM Memory
( Fast-Page Mode )
Fast-Page Mode chip assumes that next piece of data
needed is in the memory lying in next location, and
it allows the memory controller to access all the columns
in a given row before deactivating and recycling. As
the row address is set up only once, and that only the
column address will be changed, time is saved when data
is written to or read from the memory.
EDO allows the memory controller to process data faster
than by using Fast-Page Mode chips.
EDO memory keeps output buffer for preparing operation
and eliminates waiting states. It can be 10% faster than
FPM memory.There are currently two different voltages
for EDO and FPM memory.
They are 5V and 3.3V, and they are not interchangeable.
SDRAM is a new DRAM technology using clock signal to synchronize
input and output signals on a memory chip with the CPU.
It is totally different from FPM or EDO DRAM. By using
this technology and an on-chip burst counter, it is able
to increase the overall system performance by 25% to 30%
under a 100Mhz bus frequency.
The bus frequency used is 133 Mhz, providing another 33%
increase in speed performance over the 100 Mhz bus.
Original SDRAM modules need 12ns or 10ns chips. However
these are only rated for 66MHz bus operation. There is
also the PC100 specification for SDRAM modules to work
on Intel BX motherboards. It enables RAM manufacturers
to make chips that would work with Intel BX processor
chip-set with an over 100MHz system bus speed. Ideally,
PC100 SDRAM would work at the 100 MHz speed, using a 4-1-1-1
access cycle. It is reported that PC100 SDRAM would improve
performance by 10-15% in an Intel Socket 7 compared with
that of PC 66.
SGRAM is an extension of SDRAM that provide graphic- specific
read / write features. It uses " masked write " and "
block write" to handle updating more efficiently in video
application.
The DDR SDRAM uses both leading and trailing edge to activate
data in/out, resulting in an increased speed of operation.
SLDRAM is a memory technology that appears after SDRAM
with DDR technology has become mature. It is likely to
be a computer standard to Rambus DRAM
RDRAM
( Rambus DRAM )
RDRAM is a new type of memory developed by Rambus, Inc..The
data transfer rate is about ten times higher than that
of a standard DRAM. Nevertheless, it requires significant
changes in the motherboard design to adopt such technology.
Refresh is the process of recharging the cells in a memory
chip. Cells are refreshed one row per refresh cycle. Refresh
rate is the number of rows that have to be refreshed.
There are two common refresh retes-2K and 4K. The 2K components
are capable of refreshing more cells at time and they
complete the process faster; therefore, 2K components
use more power than 4K components.
SPD is the information stored in EEPROM on SDRAM module
to optimize the performance when operating on motherboard.
For SDRAM modules, there are two designs in the composition:
2-clock and 4-clock. They differ in the way they are laid
out and accessed. A 2-clock SDRAM is designed so that
each clock signal controls 2 different DRAM chips on the
module. A 4-clock SDRAM, as it name tells, each clock
signal controls 4 different chips. Nowadays, the trend
is to use 4-clock SDRAMs.
CAS ( Column Address Strobe ) is a controller signal that
activates the memory to read the information in column
address. CAS Latency is one of the performance related
timing for SDRAM chips. It is the waiting time for the
system to read the first data from the main memory. CL2
needs 2 system clocks; while CL3 needs 3 system clocks
Parity is an extra bit for every 8 bits ( one byte ) of
data to store the checksum generated by a parity circuit.
It is used to detect errors occurred in memory. It can
only detect errors but not correct errors. It also has
problem in handling multiple bits error in a single byte
of data.
ECC
ECC memory can detect multiple bits errors, and correct
single bit errors While the system is running. ECC uses
7 or 8 extra bit in 32 bits memory And 8 extra bits
in 64 bits memory.
Buffer
and Register
Buffer isused on Fast Page Mode or EDO modules, while
register is used on SDRAM modules. Both are used to
amplify and re-drive signals when they enter the memory
modules.
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Required Memory |
The type of software
applications you’re using has a direct correlation
to how much memory you need on your system to run them
effectively. Today’s recommended minimum for running
most applications is 64MB and, if you are a Windows
2000 user, 128MB. Couple this with the fact that you
may be running several programs at one time or are running
software that is extremely graphics intensive and you
may need much more!
Here are some general guidelines
we have developed which correspond with today’s
typical applications and the amount of memory recommended
for each. Remember, the more you do, the more you
need!
| Here's what I do |
Here's what
I need |
Minor Administrative
Slight word processing, occasional e-mail |
128MB |
Fair Administrative
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax &
comm. software, small graphics programs, 2 applications
open at once |
128MB-192MB |
Intense Administrative/Student
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax &
comm. software, business graphics, general gaming
software, 3 or more applications open at once. |
128MB-256MB |
Executive/Management
Word processing and e-mail, spreadsheets, fax &
comm. software, presentation software, illustration
software, photo editing, web browser |
192MB-384MB |
Professional
Word processing and e-mail, photo editing, font
packages and multimedia software, CAD software,
CAM software |
256MB-512MB |
Heavy Graphics Design
3D CAD software, modeling software |
2GB and up |
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