Higher Memory on Slower Motherboard? Possible?

[toeng]

I now have an asus motherboard that is a a7a266 that runs the 2100 memory which is 133 on the upswing and downswing of the clock making it the same as 266 mhz in speed.

I have had this a year or two and will upgrade the motherboard and chip before too much longer. I'd like to have a little more RAM right now, but I don't want to buy 2100 ram that will do me NO good in my next system as it will support 333, 400, or 533. I'm not sure yet which (but depending on price we all know faster is better) MY question is WILL my present motherboard or CAN it use the 3500 memory?

Everything seems to be configurable from the bios on this moyherboard. So can it be set with speed and cas latency, etc to run slower (the 3500) and mimic the 2100 memory till I put it in a system that calls for 3500 memory. ( I have an ASA in computer networking and in some of my early classes, I was taught that say 133 memory will work on a board designed for 100 memory, but not the reverse. In other words;faster memory will work on a slower board but slower memory will not work on a faster board.) Of course this might not apply in this situation. I know there are voltages and things of this nature to be considered. I just don't want to buy 2100 memory that will be obsolete (useless) to me in a few months.

 

[toeng]

Oh, by the way, the PC 3500 that I want is from OCZ ... I don't know if that'll help
thanks for any advice you guys can give me.

 

[toeng]

Anyone?

 

[Peter]

SDRAM has no lower speed limit. The PCxxxx denominates the maximum speed. So you may run your RAM slower than it technically could - just not faster.
Chipset limitations might introduce a ceiling on how LARGE a DIMM may be, but you can always use faster RAM of the same kind (SDR, DDR) in a slower mainboard.

 

[KF]

I have mixed memory speeds of modules and used high speed memory in mobos that could only supply parameters for lower speeds and never saw a burp at any time. So has just about any hardware geek that has junk "left over" and bought "hot deals" memory. There is scuttlebutt all over the Internet (and in mobo manuals) which advises agianst it. It is technically possible that there could be an electrical incompatiblity between modules with different chips. But the chances of this seem small if real life experience is a guide.

The problem you can run into is that the memory chip configuration of the newest chips may not be within the capabilitly of older mobos. Motherboards generally can reconfigure the memory system to adapt to many chip formats, but there are limitations. Retail memory such as sold in appliance stores sometimes uses memory speed as a code-word for this, since older mobos only used slower memory. They will change MORE (like twice) for the slower memory that uses the more expensive, now superceded, older memory chips. So PC133 may not work in PC100 designated mobos, or it may show up at half or quarter size. It isn't the speed that is the problem, it is the memory chip layout. (And generally non-Intel chipsets will take higher density chips than the concurrent Intel chipset.) I have also run into situations where the full amount of the memory is recognized in one DIMM slot but not in another. In one case, to my amazement, the mobo took modules larger size than designated in the manual.

Memory prices are low. All prices will pick up during the Chistmas season, if that is when you plan on changing mobos. OTOH, memory prices may drop further for the bigger, faster modules. Buying for the future is a very risky stategy, and seldom pays in the computer realm.

 

[toeng]

ok .. in the light of the event and to follow everyone's advice, I finally have my new rig designed (after hours surfing the review and
price comparison sites)

- Albatron PX865PE PRO II
- Intel P4 3.00 GHz 800 FSB
- Maxtor 200GB EIDE DiamondMax Plus 9
- OCZ Dual Channel GOLD Edition 512MB

Do you guys find any incompatibilities in those rigs?

also, I order all those components from one store only, it's www.iocombo.com ... anyone heard anything bad/good about them?
PS: These guys come recommended by the computer store where I bought my initial system.

However, I checked their pricegrabber and reseller ratings and they look like new reseller with some nice feedbacks.

Thanks for the tips, Gurus

 

[Boonesmi]

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4583.html

 

[toeng]

Thanks ... I have read the ratings, but the feedbacks are too little to make judgement from, that is why I am asking you guys