RAM... A Noob Question

[Hail Ceasar]

Hey all,
I just bought Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 from NCIX.
Now my mother board will support DDR2-800, and I couldn't find a MotherBoard that supported the 1000 RAM. Will it just not run the RAM at its max? Or I do I need a new board?
Also I know nothing about RAM Which slots should I put my Ram in? I believe it runs
A1-B1-A2-B2 ????

[wesamess]

pc2-8000 ram is ddr2-1000. Your motherboard will run the mushkins at 800, but maybe a little more if you overclock it.

[misterlarry]

Great ram, just bought another 4 GBs. You will like it. Btw, welcome to HWC Hail Ceasar!

[1Tanker]

Originally Posted by Hail Ceasar

Hey all,
I just bought Mushkin XP PC2-8000 Redline 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000 from NCIX.
Now my mother board will support DDR2-800, and I couldn't find a MotherBoard that supported the 1000 RAM. Will it just not run the RAM at its max? Or I do I need a new board?
Also I know nothing about RAM Which slots should I put my Ram in? I believe it runs
A1-B1-A2-B2 ????

Welcome Hail Ceasar. Run the sticks in slots A1/A2.

[Hail Ceasar]

Hey thanks guys, much appreciated!

Play Safe

[Silvgearx]

you must be using 64bit OS, i heard some people said you get a tiny bit more performance if you put your ram in slot A1 and B1 although i am not too sure either

[Hail Ceasar]

I have XP Pro I don't think it is 64bit, but I am pretty Noobish when it comes to Software

[Lithotech]

Hail, Ceasar!

Many motherboards support higher than the standard DDR2-800 ram speed, without overclocking the system. I'm not sure yours does though. Check in the BIOS:

Advanced - Jumper Free - DRAM Frequency...

See if DDR2-800 is the highest setting. It probably is, so make sure it is set to 800 and not 667 or something else.

In this case, you must overclock your HTT/FSB in order to hit DDR2-1000 for your ram. When the ram is set to 800, your HTT/FSB must be at 250MHz for the ram to be DDR2-1000 (250MHz x 800MHZ / 200MHz [original speed] = 1000MHz).

You may reduce the multiplier on the CPU so that it is back at stock speed (or leave it overclocked as well, but you better test for stability and read a few tutorials). To do this, back in the BIOS under CPU Ratio Setting, and set it to 12X (it will be at Auto or 15X).

Your CPU stock speed is 3GHz (15 X 200MHz = 3000MHz).

So if you run the HTT/FSB at 250MHz, times a 12X multiplier = 3000MHz or 3.0GHz.

Otherwise, at 250MHz times the original 15X multi = 3750MHz or 3.75GHz -- not something you can do with any current AMD chip, at least without exotic cooling.

3.2GHz is about the max you will get without tweaking, which would use a 13X multi and 250MHz FSB.

Remember to benchmark the ram before and after, to see how much it improves!

Oh, one more thing: the way AMDs work, the actual ram speed varies dependant on the multiplier you use and which mem divider it's on. The best multipliers for hitting the most possible combinations at full speeds are 10X and 12X (with 14X and 16X also working with DDR2-800).

10X allows for 667 and 800 to work at full speed, and 12X allows for 533 and 800 to work at full speed.

Good luck!



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[Hail Ceasar]

Thanks Lithotech!

Ill give that a shot when I get back from holidays!

B

[Lithotech]

Happy to help!

Please report back! I'd love to hear what you manage!

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