**Memory/mobo question**

[SlickVic]

Hi all...2 quick questions.

1) Will a stick of PC 3200 (specifically, pc3200 512mb made from bh-5 winbond chips) work in this motherboard here (I have the 845PE Max-L, MS-6580)...The MSI site say's "Supports two 184-pin DDR200/DDR266/DDR333 DIMMs"...I need to make a deal ASAP, so a quick reply would be awesome. I'm running some PC2700 in it now, which works great, but only 256mb.

2) Quick explanation of memory again...I know I saw it somewhere, but cannot find it...i.e.

2100=xxx mhz
2700=xxx mhz
3200=xxx mhz...you get the idea

Thanks!

BTW, awesome board...getting 2.8+ out of a 2.4, and rock steady, cool with onboard LAN and audio!

 

[o1die]

It should work fine, and allow you to do some overclocking.

 

[SlickVic]

Thanks o1die...anyone else?

 

[lycurgus]

Without official support for PC3200 there might be a problem with trying to run that memory at the 'auto' setting (or 'speed' - i.e. where the mobo id's the memory and runs it at what it's rated for). On the other hand, as long as the memory is good it should work with a the speed set manually in the BIOS to something the m/b can handle.

Regarding the clock speeds:

PC2100 = 133MHz X 2 (for DDR) = 266

PC2700 = 166MHz X 2 = 333

PC3200 = 200MHz X 2 = 400

 

[SlickVic]

Thanks lycurgus...it has an Auto, 200, 266 and 333mhz setting in the bios, so if I set it at 333, it should work, correct?

 

[SexyLady]

Only thing is u said u were getting PC3200 which is DDR400 and your board i thought u said only supported DDR333 so really the DDR400 (PC3200) would be a waste and might have timing probs, as it only has to be a nano second out and it wont run a darn thing, alot of boards now have BIOS flashes on offer as there have been some timing probs with the DDR400 ram and some mainboards, so check just in case .... Hope im wrong in this

 

[SlickVic]

Thanks, SexyLady...hmmm, what to do

Update: On MSI's site here under memory issue, it say's DDR400 will not work...oh well

 

[SexyLady]

Sorry Vic i didnt think it would as it stated only up to DDR333, you try and put anything higher in there and it wont be compatible, the only other thing would be to invest in another 256 PC2700 and then see if yourt board has an option to run "Dual channel" as i know alot of MSI boards do (as i run MSI) and then your performance should be more than enough, even if its not run in dual channel

 

[SlickVic]

Thanks....that's what I'll wind up doing, putting another PC2700 256 chip in there for now...off to the For Sale/Trade board

 

[SexyLady]

Happy hunting!!, im sure u will notice a decent increase with that extra ram 512 is sufficient to run most things on DDR333 good luck with it all, hope ya get a decent deal and try and get the same brand ram u run at the moment as i said b 4 it might be all DDR333 BUT different manufactures might have the timing set for just a nanosecond out for the access timing to what u run and u will get conflict and nothing will run at all (been there done that), ram can be a *Beep* of a thing so IF u can get the same brand ram to what u run now

 

[lycurgus]

Of course the MSI site says it doesn't support PC3200 (aka 400), because it only officially supports 333. However, as I stated, it will almost certainly work if you manually set the speed to 333. Faster rated RAM can run at the slower speed. Otherwise no one could ever use "PC3500" or "PC3000" DDR, because they are not official standards (and will never be). PC3200 just means it's rated to run at 400Mhz, it doesn't mean that it can't run slower. In fact if you run it slower, you could probably run it at more aggressive memory settings (lower latency etc.). However, that was a good point earlier, you will be wasting your money to some extent since the faster memory costs more and you won't be utilizing it's full potential. Of course, you could also use if for OC'ing. Just because the m/b only officially supports 333 doesn't mean that you can't try running it faster. Of course without a PCI / AGP lock, you'd be running those buses out of spec unless you have the necessary divider and can make it to 400.

 

[SkaarjMaster]

Just set it to a lower speed as stated and it should work. One thing I did notice in some motherboards that have aggressive RAM timings is you might want to use the next level up because of that.