Oh how I hate you ECS

[jha1223]

I can't justify replacing a working mobo right now. It's an ECS NFORCE4-MA (3.0). I hate this board with a passion, but am pretty much stuck with it for now. I have 2GB of kingston value pc2-5300 and an AMD AM2 4200+. I use the memory configuration thingies out there and almost every one doesn't list compatible pc2-6400. I may not even see a performance boost, but I can't help but feel that I'm cheating my system a bit by not having faster ram in there. FWIW, the ram that is currently installed is slated to go to a spare system that has one bad chip (falling in line with the wife's "don't buy crap that doesn't need replaced" mentality).

I emailed ECS to ask for advice on what memory to use and they send me a list of sites with configurators. Almost every single one lists pc2-5300 memory. But... their site and the manual says this board will support pc2-6400. What the hell....

Anyone with experience with this crap have any advice? I know the instinct is to say replace the crappy mobo. It's just not an option right now.

 

[n7]

Seriously, there's nothing wrong with DDR2-533.

Yeah, DDR2-800 is slightly faster, but you & i will never notice the difference without benchmarking.

 

[jha1223]

"I may not even see a performance boost, but I can't help but feel that I'm cheating my system a bit by not having faster ram in there. FWIW, the ram that is currently installed is slated to go to a spare system that has one bad chip"



I know >.< It's like changing the air filter on your car to get 3 more HP. It's just something you feel you need to do though 🙂

 

[Mondoman]

You won't notice the difference. Save your money for a fast hard drive (like a Raptor), which would make a big difference in perceived speed under Windows.