I finally got myself a ReadyNAS 'Ultra 4 Plus' after what seems like an eternity.Got it for what I thought at the time was a decent price around two weeks ago for £418 and no it's dropped again to £375. Bummer!Anyway I'm thinking about upgrading the memory to 4GB, but what do I get?I come accross several branded 4GB modules which are as follows:Corsair 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz) - (VS4GSDS800D2) - £63.76Crucial 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz) - (CT51264AC800) - £80-39Crucial 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300 (667MHz) - (CT51264AC667) - £82.30Patriot 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz) - (PSD24G8002S) - £66.24G.Skill 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300 (667MHz) - (F2-5300CL5S-4GBSQ) £71.54The prices listed above are from independant retailers as opposed to the manufacturers store price.Also found on a certain auction site:Hynix 4GB, 200-Pin DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz) - (HMP351S6AFR8C-S6) - £44.00Still a bit more expensive than across the pond in the US I guess, but these seem to be the best delivered prices I can find for branded modules from known online retailers in the UK.I did find some "KomputerBay" branded modules which were cheaper, but seem to get mixed reviews.I understand that some of the above are in fact "PC2-6400 (800MHz)", but can I assume this won't impact on performance and the module will just operate at the lower speed?Also, if anyone knows of a different reliable brand and model # available in the UK, feel free to add them here.--Thanks guys

as a follow-up, in case anyone's interested...My Ultra 4 seems happy with the G.Skill 2GB module (F2-6400CL5-2GBSQ), CL5, 800MHz, not sure if it's rank 1 or 2 (dmidecode reports the 'Memory Total Width' as 64bit which I suspect means its single rank, even though the chips are physically on both sides of the SODIMM... also note the Ultra 4 only runs it at 667 MHz according to 'dmidecode', even though both RAM and CPU support 800 MHz)Oddly, dmidecode also reports that my maximum memory capacity is 2GB, despite others saying they've used 4GB in the Ultra 4. Not sure if this is perhaps a BIOS version issue (which is reported variously as Version: 080016, Release Date: 05/19/2010, BIOS Revision: 8.16, System Version: 05/19/2010 ReadyNAS-NVX-V2 V1.8 ) or if there's actually different hardware configurations with only some supporting 4GB, or if dmidecode is just wrong. For now though, 2GB was a lot cheaper, was actually available, and seems to have resolved my swapping-to-disk issues.Other possibly useful info, CPU is "Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU D410 @ 1.66GHz", which according to the specs and/or datasheet, has the memory controller built-in (no northbridge) and ought to support 4GB total RAM at 800 MHz (it looks like it supports 2 or maybe 4 ranks each up to 2GB, which is probably why no one's reported issues with any particular RAM modules not working). So I suspect dmidecode is wrong or I'm misunderstanding it.

Although many folks have upgraded the RAM in their devices without issue, it should be mentioned that this is something that is no longer supported by Netgear. If you decide to upgrade, you should keep the old memory module to swap back in the event of problems. Having said that, TecknoJnky had success with PC2-5300:TeknoJnky wrote:working so farModel: ReadyNAS Ultra 4 [X-RAID2]Firmware: RAIDiator 4.2.16-T25 Memory: 3968 MB [DDR2]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220495Patriot 4GB 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Laptop Memory Model PSD24G6672S69.99

Thanks for that dbott67How does Patriot measure up in the world of RAM though?I can't say I've heard of them. That being said, they may be one of the better module manufacturers.Anyone know the preferred order of RAM manufaturers?CRUCIALKINGSTONCORSAIRPATRIOTHYNIXSAMSUNG

They seem to be pretty prevalent on this side of the pond and likely fall within the same group as Kingston Crucial & Corsair. You should feel pretty safe going with the Crucial PC2-5300.

Well, I ended up taking a chance on the Corsair 4GB module on Amazon:Corsair 4GB, 200-Pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800MHz) - (VS4GSDS800D2)The above module is currently £63.76 (RRP £161.55 apparently). :shock: Installed within minutes and ran 3 memory tests on it over about 15 hours with no errors.Is that good or should more tests be ran before putting faith in the memory?Advice welcomed.

Ultra 4 Plus Memory Upgrade Advice Needed

36 Replies

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jdh500
Aspirant
Jun 29, 2013
Recently installed a 4gb corsair ddr2 memory into a readynas ultra 4 which had 6 memory passes without issue, I also have a new Readynas Pro 4 which s pretty much the same unit but dual core atom, is there any reason to do such an extensive memory test again if I'm looking at transferring the same memory from the Ultra 4 to the Pro 4. Will 1 or 2 passes of the memory test be ok and I'm wasting my time doing say another 5 to 6 paths on the same memory ?

JDH
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Jun 29, 2013
I would think a few passes should be sufficient.
samculi
Aspirant
Nov 30, 2013
which memory's speed for DDR2 for the ReadyNAS Ultra 4 Plus ?

My unit came default 1 GB memory. I would like to upgrade to the max.

Thanks,
Sam
ewickham
Aspirant
Feb 14, 2014
I've tried upgrading my Ultra Plus 2 to 2GB using the module that fastfwd references for his Ultra 2 Plus, CT25664BC1067. which CPU specs the same as mine. Them memory lists as a Crucial 2GB DDR3 1066 MT/s (PC3-8500) CL7 SODIMM 204-Pin Notebook Memory Module. I've tried the same part number from two different vendors (receiving the same Micron equivalent) and neither appears to even make it past POST. The fan just comes on and continues at a high RPM. The system reboots normally after reinserting the stock 1GB module. Am I missing something here? Maybe some BIOS pre-configuration change prior to installing the new memory?
fastfwd
Virtuoso
Feb 14, 2014
ewickham wrote:
receiving the same Micron equivalent

That may be why it isn't working. What's the Micron part number?
ewickham
Aspirant
Feb 14, 2014
fastfwd, the Micron part number is MT16JSF25664HZ-1G1F1 1012. There is another number referenced on the label, I doubt it's relevant, but it's listed on the line "Product of China DPAA7E5013". The memory on the Micron chips is mounted on both sides of the PCB, while the memory that ships with the unit only has chips on one side. I found a one-sided 2GB module from Corsair that' may be applicable. CM3X2GSD1066.
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Feb 14, 2014
If you download your logs (Status > Logs > Download all Logs), what are the contents of bios_ver.log ?
ewickham
Aspirant
Feb 14, 2014
bios_ver.log 09/08/2010 ReadyNAS-ProUltra2 V1.4
mdgm-ntgr
NETGEAR Employee Retired
Feb 14, 2014
There is a newer BIOS for your NAS: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=387035#p387035
fastfwd
Virtuoso
Feb 14, 2014
ewickham wrote:
fastfwd, the Micron part number is MT16JSF25664HZ-1G1F1

Yeah, that's a dual-rank module, so it won't work. http://www.micron.com/parts/modules/ddr3-sdram/mt16jsf25664hz-1g1

It isn't "equivalent" to the Corsair module. Return it, if you can, and demand either the Corsair part you ordered or your money back.

ewickham wrote:
I found a one-sided 2GB module from Corsair that' may be applicable. CM3X2GSD1066.

I can't find any detailed specs on that module, but the one-sidedness is a good indication that the memory organization is single-rank and that it would therefore work.

The necessary specs for compatibility with your Ultra 2 Plus are in this post: http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=110&t=52557&start=15#p379994

Good luck...

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Ultra 4 Plus Memory Upgrade Advice Needed

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