Asus A7n8x deluxe Memory Question

[VoteQuimby]

Hi,

I'm currently running an Asus A7n8x board. My problem is that my board wont let me run my Ram ( 2 x 256MB Corsair XMS 2700) at 166. Currently its at 133. When I try to set it to 166 and restart all I get is a blank screen and no beeps. What should I do?

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

What processor are you using? If you're adjusting just the FSB and not messing with the multiplier at all you're going to have problems with a large jump like that ... especially if your processor is not rated for DDR333.
As an example, my system has the A7N8X Deluxe 2.0 with an XP2800+ and 2x512MB of Corsair TwinX PC2700 (DDR333) ... this means that the CPU is at 12.5x166=2.08GHz ... Now, it would be possible for me to run this at 200FSB, but that would result in 12.5x200=2.5GHz, which is pretty unrealistic given my current setup (especially considering the 3200+ runs at 2.2GHz). See what I'm saying?

Post back your processor info ... also wouldn't hurt to give it a shot with only one stick of RAM inserted and see what happens, though check the multiplier first.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Ah I think I under stand

I'm running a XP 2400. So I need to up my CPU multiplier too?

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

IIRC, the 2400 was one of the first Thoroughbred-B cores, and ran somewhere close to 2GHz. So if you're looking to do DDR333 (166FSB), then you're going to want to try the 12x multiplier (12x166=1992~2GHz). As it stands now, you're probably running at 15x multiplier (15x133=1995~2GHz), so if all you did was change the FSB to 166, you'd be attempting to run at 15x166=2490~2.5GHz ... which is probably why the computer refuses to do anything with that setting ...

However, what I'm wondering is why you feel the need to move from 266 to 333? With the TB-B core, and the 2400 speed, you're not going to notice much of a performance difference between the two, and it certainly doesn't hurt for your memory to be running at its slower speeds ... the 2400 really doesn't need faster than DDR266 ... if you feel the need, though, there's your answer.

(BTW, for clarification purposes, I should say that I'm using the XP2800+ with the Barton core which has a 166MHz FSB, allowing me to run my FSB and memory synchronously, which helps improve performance somewhat.)

 

[VoteQuimby]

Ok, so its my CPU holding me back as far as the 166 speed?

I have my Ram runing at 166 now thanks!

 

[TheInvincibleMustard]

The CPU's not really holding you back, as you're just running it at the same speed with just a different memory clock ... your CPU is still at ~2GHz, so there's no change to that. What I was saying is that while you might notice some performance increase by running the 2400 at FSB166, the architecture of the TB-B cores (especially the 2400) doesn't really require DDR333, as DDR266 is plenty fast enough for it. I hope that clarified what I was trying to say earlier.

Grats on getting it to work anyway, BTW!