Requirements to use DDR400

I am reading descriptions of different Canterwood motherboards. For one MB it says:
(*to use DDR 400, FSB 800 CPU is required).
Is it common for all Canterwood motherboards?

Thanks

 

[floccus]

I don't follow Intel too much, but what I assume they mean is that unless you pair the ram with one of the P4's that use the 800Mhz FSB then you won't actually run at DDR400. This is quite simple to understand since the FSB needs to be set at 200Mhz, which is doubled to 400Mhz for DDR and "quad-pumped" for the processor. The older P4's run off a 533 Mhz bus, which is a 133FSB. That would mean your ram is running 266DDR. So I hope that explanation helps... if not, someone else whould come along and provide a clearer description.

 

[jaeger66]

Originally posted by: markgg

Is it common for all Canterwood motherboards?

Yes.

 

So unless I have new CPU that runs at 800 DDR400 will not run at 400?

 

[floccus]

Pretty much. You could push the FSB up to 200Mhz, but I'm not sure if thats even possible on a P4 w/o some extreme cooling. Its not really that big a deal though, DDR 400 really isn't that fast. Latency issues from other components (HD, GPU, etc.) cover up any gains moving to DDR 400 would give.

 

OK.
What memory would you recomend?

Thanks

 

[floccus]

I like Corsair XMS, but its pricey. Crucial is the best "bargain" brand so I use them a lot for non-OCed systems. Pretty much anything from Newegg will do you well brand wise.

Yeah, I forgot to add, you can get stuff thats certified to work DDR400 now. You have more room to OC and you don't have to buy new ram if you upgrade your cpu.

 

Do I need DDR400 3200 or DDR400 3500 memory?

Thanks