Samsung 16 GB DDR3-1600 Registered ECC RDIMM (M393B2G70DB0-YK0 / M393B2G70BH0-YK0)
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Form Factor: 240-pin Registered DIMM (RDIMM) • Standard Height (30.0 mm PCB)
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Standard & Density: DDR3L / DDR3 SDRAM • 16 GB (16,384 MB) • Dual-Rank (2Rx4)
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Bandwidth & Timings: PC3L-12800R (12.80 GB/s per channel) • CL11-11-11 @ 1.35V / 1.5V
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Register & Telemetry: JEDEC SSTE32882 28-bit Register PLL • Integrated SPD Digital Thermal Sensor (TSE2002av)
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Museum Inventory: 16 Physical Units (8x D-die M393B2G70DB0-YK0 + 8x B-die M393B2G70BH0-YK0 • Samsung Korea)
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Active Host Pairing: Dell Precision T7610 Workstation (Dual NUMA Sockets • 16 Slots Symmetrically Populated • 256.0 GB Aggregate Pool)
1. Technical Overview & Key Specifications Table
| Category | Property | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Module Identity | Manufacturer | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon / Hwaseong, Republic of Korea) |
| Product Part Numbers | M393B2G70DB0-YK0 (D-die) & M393B2G70BH0-YK0 (B-die) |
|
| Module Capacity | 16 GB (16,384 MBytes / 17,179,869,184 Bytes) per module | |
| JEDEC Raw Card Reference | PC3L-12800R-11-12-E2 (JEDEC Raw Card E, Revision 2) |
|
| Form Factor & Pin Count | 240-pin Registered Dual In-Line Memory Module (RDIMM) | |
| Target Market Segment | High-Performance Enterprise Servers, Dual-Socket Workstations, Virtualization Hypervisors | |
| Commercial Era / Production | 2013-2015 Mature DDR3L Generation (Samsung 30nm-class Lithography) | |
| DRAM Silicon & Packaging | DRAM Die Density | 4 Gb (1G × 4-bit configuration / 512M × 8-bit internal array) |
| DRAM Die Generation | Samsung 30nm-class (D-die for DB0 SKU, B-die for BH0 SKU) | |
| Internal Bank Architecture | 8 Independent Internal Banks per DRAM Die | |
| Total DRAM Silicon Dies | 36 Silicon Packages (18 packages per rank × 2 ranks) | |
| Package Form Factor | 78-ball Fine-Pitch Ball Grid Array (FBGA, Halogen-Free & Lead-Free RoHS) | |
| Rank Organization | Dual-Rank (2Rx4) • 2 Logical Ranks of 18 x4 DRAM devices each | |
| Bit-Slice Width | x4 Data Bus per DRAM Device (Enables Chipkill / SDDC Multi-Bit Reliability) | |
| Bus Width Composition | 72-bit Bus (64-bit Data Payload + 8-bit Dedicated Sideband ECC) | |
| Timing & Performance | Standard JEDEC Speed | DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800 / PC3L-12800) |
| Data Transfer Rate | 1,600 MT/s (MegaTransfers per second per pin) | |
| Clock Frequencies | 800 MHz I/O Bus Clock • 200 MHz Internal DRAM Core Clock (8n-Prefetch) | |
| Clock Cycle Time (tCK) | 1.25 ns (Nanoseconds per clock cycle) | |
| Primary Timings (CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS) | CL11 – tRCD 11 – tRP 11 – tRAS 28 cycles (11-11-11-28) | |
| Absolute Word Access Latency (tAA) | tAA = 11 × 1.25 ns = 13.75 ns |
|
| Row Cycle Time (tRC) | 48.75 ns (39 clock cycles) | |
| Register, Buffer & Telemetry | Registering Clock Driver (RCD) | JEDEC SSTE32882 28-bit Registering Clock Driver with Parity Checking |
| Command / Address Buffering | Fully Registered Address and Control Lines (Isolates Host Memory Controller) | |
| Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) | Integrated Zero-Delay Differential Clock Buffer (Reduces Clock Jitter & Skew) | |
| Serial Presence Detect (SPD) | 256-Byte EEPROM via I2C / System Management Bus (SMBus) | |
| Integrated Thermal Sensor | JEDEC TSE2002av Digital Temperature Sensor (±1.0 deg C Accuracy) | |
| Electrical & Power | Operating Voltage (VDD / VDDQ) | 1.35V Low Voltage (PC3L standard, 1.283V to 1.45V) • 1.50V Standard Backward-Compatible |
| I/O Signaling Standard | SSTL_135 (Stub Series Terminated Logic @ 1.35V) / SSTL_15 (@ 1.5V) | |
| Termination Voltage (VTT) | 0.5 × VDDQ (0.675V @ 1.35V / 0.750V @ 1.50V) Tracking Rail | |
| Nominal Module Power Draw | ~4.6 Watts per module (Active Read/Write) • ~0.8 Watts (Self-Refresh Idle) | |
| Physical & Mechanical | PCB Dimensions | Length: 133.35 mm • Height: 30.0 mm (Standard JEDEC Low-Profile Profile) |
| PCB Layer Construction | High-Density Multi-Layer FR4 Glass-Epoxy with Internal Ground Planes | |
| Contact Plating | 30 Micro-Inch Hard Electrolytic Gold over Nickel Plating | |
| Keying Notch Alignment | Standard DDR3 Notch (70.87 mm from Pin 1) to Prevent Mechanical Cross-Insertion | |
| Reliability & ECC | Error Detection & Correction | 72-bit Single Error Correction & Double Error Detection (SECDED Hamming Code) |
| Advanced ECC Capability | Chipkill / SDDC (Single Device Data Correction) Supported with x4 DRAM Topology | |
| Command / Address Parity | Hardware Parity Checking on Address and Command Lines via SSTE32882 RCD | |
| Patrol Scrubbing Support | Hardware Memory Controller Background Patrol & Demand Scrubbing Enabled |
2. Memory Rank Architecture & Dual-Rank (2Rx4) Subsystem Topology
The Samsung 16 GB RDIMM employs a Dual-Rank (2Rx4) architecture built from 36 discrete 4-Gigabit DRAM silicon packages. Understanding this internal topology reveals why the 2Rx4 organization was the absolute performance and density sweet spot for enterprise Intel Xeon E5-2600 v1/v2 platforms:
Two Physical Ranks (2R)
A memory rank is an independently selectable 64-bit data block (plus 8-bit ECC for 72 bits total). In a 2Rx4 module, the 36 physical chips are partitioned into two electrical groups of 18 chips each. The host memory controller alternates access between Rank 0 and Rank 1 using independent Chip Select (CS0# and CS1#) signals, enabling rank interleaving to conceal DRAM bank precharge latency.
x4 Bit-Slice Device Width
Each 4Gb DRAM component outputs 4 data bits per clock cycle. To populate a full 72-bit ECC channel (64-bit data + 8-bit ECC), exactly 18 devices are accessed simultaneously (18 × 4 = 72 bits). Because each DRAM package contributes only 4 bits to the codeword, a catastrophic hardware failure of an entire DRAM package can be mathematically reconstructed by enterprise Chipkill / SDDC error-correction algorithms.
Central Register PLL Buffering
Without a registering clock driver (RCD), driving command and address lines to 36 discrete FBGA packages across 16 DIMM slots would present an overwhelming capacitive load (over 576 chip inputs), degrading signal integrity and forcing severe clock frequency throttling. The onboard SSTE32882 buffer receives the host command/address bus, retimes it with an integrated PLL, and distributes clean, isolated signals to all 36 local dies.
3. Monospace ASCII Silicon Architecture & Bus Schematic
The following schematic details the signal and clock routing of the Samsung 16 GB Registered ECC RDIMM, mapping the interconnect between the host Intel Ivy Bridge-EP integrated memory controller (iMC), the SSTE32882 register/PLL, the two 18-chip DRAM ranks, and the onboard I2C/SMBus thermal sensor:
+======================================================================================================================+
| SAMSUNG 16 GB PC3L-12800R REGISTERED ECC RDIMM SILICON BUS TOPOLOGY |
+======================================================================================================================+
INTEL XEON E5-2600 v2 INTEGRATED MEMORY CONTROLLER (iMC)
[ 64-bit Data + 8-bit ECC | Command / Address Bus | Differential Clock Pair | I2C / SMBus ]
| | | |
| | | |
+--------|------------------------------|--------------------------------|---------------|-----------------------------+
| 240-PIN GOLD EDGE CONNECTOR | | | |
| | v v v |
| | +-----------------------+ +------------+ +-------------------------------+ |
| | | JEDEC SSTE32882 RCD | | ZERO-DELAY | | AT24C04 / TSE2002av | |
| | | 28-bit Register & PLL |<-------------| DIFFEREN- | | SPD EEPROM & Digital | |
| | | Parity Inversion Log. | CLK_IN / # | TIAL PLL | | Thermal Sensor (±1.0 deg C) | |
| | +-----------------------+ +------------+ +-------------------------------+ |
| | | | |
| | Buffered Address | RAS#, CAS#, WE#, ODT, CKE | SMBus SDA/SCL |
| | & Bank Address | Retimed / Phase-Aligned | Telemetry Link |
| | +-----------------------+ v |
| | | | Host Management |
| | v v Thermal Interrupts |
| | +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ |
| | | RANK 0 (18 x4 DIES) | | RANK 1 (18 x4 DIES) | |
| | | CS0# Active | | CS1# Active | |
| | +-----------------------+ +-----------------------+ |
| | | | |
| | +----------------------+-----------------------+ |
| | | 36 Silicon Dies: Samsung 30nm 4Gb DDR3L SDRAM (D-die M393B2G70DB0 / B-die M393B2G70BH0) |
| v v |
| +----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | D00..D03 : DRAM Die 00 (DQ00..03) | D09..D12 : DRAM Die 09 (DQ36..39) | D18..D21 : DRAM Die 18 (DQ00..03) R1 | |
| | D04..D07 : DRAM Die 01 (DQ04..07) | D13..D16 : DRAM Die 10 (DQ40..43) | D22..D25 : DRAM Die 19 (DQ04..07) R1 | |
| | D08..D11 : DRAM Die 02 (DQ08..11) | D17..D20 : DRAM Die 11 (DQ44..47) | D26..D29 : DRAM Die 20 (DQ08..11) R1 | |
| | D12..D15 : DRAM Die 03 (DQ12..15) | D21..D24 : DRAM Die 12 (DQ48..51) | D30..D33 : DRAM Die 21 (DQ12..15) R1 | |
| | D16..D19 : DRAM Die 04 (DQ16..19) | D25..D28 : DRAM Die 13 (DQ52..55) | D34..D37 : DRAM Die 22 (DQ16..19) R1 | |
| | D20..D23 : DRAM Die 05 (DQ20..23) | D29..D32 : DRAM Die 14 (DQ56..59) | D38..D41 : DRAM Die 23 (DQ20..23) R1 | |
| | D24..D27 : DRAM Die 06 (DQ24..27) | D33..D36 : DRAM Die 15 (DQ60..63) | D42..D45 : DRAM Die 24 (DQ24..27) R1 | |
| | D28..D31 : DRAM Die 07 (DQ28..31) | ECC0..03 : DRAM Die 16 (CB00..03) | ECC0..03 : DRAM Die 25 (CB00..03) R1 | |
| | D32..D35 : DRAM Die 08 (DQ32..35) | ECC4..07 : DRAM Die 17 (CB04..07) | ECC4..07 : DRAM Die 26 (CB04..07) R1 | |
| +----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |
| ^ |
| | Direct Bidirectional 72-bit Data Bus (64 Data + 8 ECC) with On-Die Termination (ODT) |
+--------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
v
64-BIT DATA PAYLOAD + 8-BIT ECC HAMMING CODE • DIRECT HIGH-SPEED SSTL_135/SSTL_15 INTERCONNECT
4. DRAM Cell Dynamics, Refresh Physics & Low-Voltage Operation
Each Samsung 4Gb DRAM die incorporates over 4.29 billion individual 1T-1C (One-Transistor, One-Capacitor) memory storage cells. Managing the quantum leakage and electrical integrity of these microscopic capacitors at DDR3-1600 speeds requires sophisticated analog and digital physical-layer mechanisms:
1T-1C Charge Physics
A bit is stored as a minute electrostatic charge (~25-30 femtofarads) inside a vertical cylindrical trench capacitor. Because silicon is a semiconductor with finite leakage resistance, the stored charge dissipates over time. The cell state is sensed by precharging the bitline to VDD/2, opening the access transistor wordline, and evaluating the infinitesimal voltage shift using cross-coupled differential sense amplifiers.
Refresh Timing (tREFI & tRFC)
To prevent data corruption from capacitor charge leakage, every row must be refreshed within a 64 ms retention window. Under standard operating temperatures (up to 85 deg C), the memory controller issues Auto-Refresh commands at an average periodic interval of tREFI = 7.8 μs. For 4Gb density dies, each refresh cycle requires a recovery duration of tRFC = 260 ns, momentarily locking out read/write operations on the bank.
1.35V DDR3L Power Reduction
Operating at 1.35V (PC3L standard) instead of legacy 1.50V (PC3 standard) reduces dynamic I/O power dissipation quadratically: P ∝ V^2 × f × C. Across a fully populated 16-slot enterprise workstation such as the Dell Precision T7610, the 1.35V standard saves over 20-30 Watts of continuous heat output, maintaining stable DRAM junction temperatures below 50 deg C even under sustained multi-threaded compilation workloads.
5. Enterprise Data Integrity: Single-Bit Correction & Chipkill SDDC
In mission-critical enterprise environments, atmospheric cosmic rays and alpha particle radiation from package impurities induce soft errors (single event upsets) by flipping capacitor charges. Unregistered, non-ECC consumer memory silently corrupts application data and operating system kernel state. The Samsung 16 GB RDIMM employs an exhaustive multi-tiered data integrity architecture:
| Integrity Layer | Hardware Mechanism | System Impact |
|---|---|---|
| 72-bit SECDED ECC | Hamming code parity generating 8 check bits for every 64-bit word. | Corrects 100% of single-bit errors on-the-fly with zero CPU overhead; detects 100% of double-bit errors and generates a non-maskable interrupt (NMI). |
| Chipkill / SDDC | Symbol-based Reed-Solomon code mapping across x4 DRAM packages. | Tolerates the complete physical failure or detachment of an entire 4-bit DRAM chip without bringing down the operating system or corrupting memory pools. |
| Hardware Patrol Scrubbing | iMC background hardware state machine reading every physical memory address. | Detects latent single-bit errors in rarely accessed memory pages and writes back corrected data before a second bit flip can occur on the same word. |
| Thermal Throttling | Onboard TSE2002av digital thermal sensor reporting over I2C/SMBus. | Triggers hardware double-refresh rates (tREFI = 3.9 μs) at 85 deg C and throttles memory bus transactions if temperatures approach 95 deg C to prevent data loss. |
6. Multi-Channel Bandwidth Scaling & Workstation Throughput
DDR3-1600 provides a peak theoretical transfer rate of 12.80 GB/s per 64-bit memory channel. When deployed across the multi-channel memory controllers of modern enterprise server and workstation platforms, the aggregate memory bandwidth scales linearly:
| Memory Configuration | Bus Width | Theoretical Bandwidth | Platform Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-Channel (1 DIMM) | 64-bit (+8-bit ECC) | 12.80 GB/s (12,800 MB/s) | Baseline single-module throughput |
| Dual-Channel (2 DIMMs) | 128-bit (+16-bit ECC) | 25.60 GB/s (25,600 MB/s) | Standard single-socket workstation / entry server |
| Triple-Channel (3 DIMMs) | 192-bit (+24-bit ECC) | 38.40 GB/s (38,400 MB/s) | Legacy LGA 1366 architectures (Intel 5500/5520) |
| Quad-Channel (4 DIMMs, 1 Socket) | 256-bit (+32-bit ECC) | 51.20 GB/s (51,200 MB/s) | Full saturation per LGA 2011 CPU socket |
| Dual-Socket Quad-Channel (16 DIMMs) | 512-bit Aggregate | 102.40 GB/s (102,400 MB/s) | Dell Precision T7610 verified aggregate memory throughput across both NUMA nodes |
11 × 1.25 ns = 13.75 ns. Operating in a 2-DIMM-per-channel (2 DPC) configuration across all 16 slots on the T7610’s Intel C602 motherboard, the memory bus maintains full 1600 MT/s speed without downclocking, delivering an astonishing 102.4 GB/s aggregate bandwidth pool for virtualization and computational pipelines.
7. Curator’s Assessment & Homelab Applicability
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Museum Hardware Provenance: Mateo’s Museum collection preserves 16 authentic physical units of the Samsung 16 GB DDR3-1600 Registered ECC RDIMM, divided evenly between 8x D-die units (Part:
M393B2G70DB0-YK0, Serials:4150C9AB,4150AD49,4150AF40,4150AD48,4150AF8D,4150AF8E,4150AF8B,4150AF91) and 8x B-die units (Part:M393B2G70BH0-YK0, Serials:3642021F,364200B8,364203EC,3642021E,364203D3,364203AC,3642011B,36420341). - Active Workstation Workhorse: All 16 modules are actively deployed in the museum’s flagship workstation, the Dell Precision T7610 Workstation (Exhibit #2973). Each of the two Intel Xeon E5-2637 v2 sockets manages 8 DIMMs across its 4 memory channels (2 DPC), providing a perfectly balanced 256.0 GB NUMA memory pool operating at full 1600 MT/s quad-channel bandwidth.
- Industrial Stability & Reliability: Samsung’s 30nm-class DDR3L RDIMMs are legendary in the server industry for rock-solid stability and zero infant mortality. In extensive testing on the T7610, the modules maintain zero correctable and zero uncorrectable ECC errors under sustained memory stress testing, running comfortably cool within the workstation’s directed front-to-back chassis airflow.
- Virtualization & ZFS ARC Supremacy: A 256 GB RAM footprint transforms a dual-socket workstation into an enterprise virtualization powerhouse. In Proxmox VE, TrueNAS, or Linux container workloads, 256 GB allows dedicated multi-gigabyte ZFS Adaptive Replacement Caches (ARC) to sit alongside heavy containerized stacks without ever swapping to disk.
8. Authentic Hardware Inspection & Module Markings
Inspection of the physical Samsung 16 GB DDR3 RDIMMs, verifying manufacturing marks, JEDEC raw card design, and component layout:
Exhibit 8.1: Museum Artifact Label & Component Markings
Label Markings Decoded
SAMSUNG: Manufacturer corporate brandmark.16GB 2Rx4: 16 Gigabytes density organized into two x4-bit electrical ranks.PC3L-12800R: DDR3L-1600 Registered ECC RDIMM standard operating at 1.35V.-11-12-E2: CAS Latency 11, JEDEC delay bin 12, JEDEC Raw Card E revision 2.KOREA: Country of origin (Samsung Semiconductor Korea wafer fabrication and assembly).M393B2G70DB0-YK0/M393B2G70BH0-YK0: Factory part numbers (D-die and B-die steppings).RoHS / Halogen-Free: European environmental compliance.
Mechanical & Electrical Inspection
- SSTE32882 RCD: Centrally mounted registering clock driver flanked by decoupling capacitors.
- 36 FBGA Packages: 18 DRAM packages populated per side with uniform solder ball coplanarity.
- 240-Pin Edge Connector: Undamaged 30 micro-inch electrolytic gold fingers with zero oxidation or scoring.
- Thermal Sensor Integration: Onboard TSE2002av sensor situated adjacent to center register for accurate thermal monitoring.
- Chassis Clearance: Standard 30.0 mm height guarantees complete clearance below Dell Precision T7610 memory fan cowls.