What should I do if my RAM doesn't run at advertised speeds?

[Salvador]

I just picked up some Kingston HyperX PC3700 DDR466 RAM (2x512) second hand and it will only do DDR430 in my system. Is this common? Can I RMA the RAM for this since it has a lifetime warranty?

 

[SerpentRoyal]

RMA the modules. Kingston is very good with the RMA process. They don't even ask for paper work as long as you don't tamper with the Kingston label.

 

[myocardia]

Are you giving this PC3700 the vdimm that it requires? Are you running it at it's stock timings? Are you overclocking your CPU, while trying to see if the RAM will run @ 233 Mhz?

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Are you giving this PC3700 the vdimm that it requires? Are you running it at it's stock timings? Are you overclocking your CPU, while trying to see if the RAM will run @ 233 Mhz?

I tried raising the vdimm to 2.7 and it made no difference in stability in memtest.

Yes, I'm running at the stock timings.

Yes, I'm overclocking the cpu to get to the 233fsb. The cpu runs rock solid in Prime95 and on memtest at those speeds overclocked running a RAM divider (166). It's just when I try running the RAM at DDR400 speeds with the overclock, I can't run it over 215fsb even with a bump in vdimm. How much vdimm is too much? I tried 2.7, but I'm afraid to go higher.

I tried each dimm separately and one dimm runs at higher speeds with far less errors in memtest than the other. Neither can reach 233fsb though.

Are these stock speeds only guaranteed if you have a system that is running at least those speeds without an overclock?

 

[Salvador]

Anyone? Is my RAM not guaranteed to do advertised speeds if my system isn't capable of those speeds unless it's overclocked?

I wanted to know if this was normal or if I should RMA my RAM. I've overclocked the cpu before, but I've always had relatively cheap RAM, so I've had to run a RAM divider to overclock.

In other words, I'm a complete newbie to overclocking RAM, so I need some help/advice here.

TIA

 

[JustaGeek]

RAM is not guaranteed to run at the advertised speed on any system.

The only guarantee is that it was tested to run at that speed, and I am sure it will in certain configurations. In your case, perhaps 215MHz FSB is too much for the CPU to run stable.

If you are happy with your RAM otherwise, and the system is stable at DDR 430 speeds, and faster than before, keep it and enjoy!

Good luck!

 

[Salvador]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek
RAM is not guaranteed to run at the advertised speed on any system.

The only guarantee is that it was tested to run at that speed, and I am sure it will in certain configurations. In your case, perhaps 215MHz FSB is too much for the CPU to run stable.

If you are happy with your RAM otherwise, and the system is stable at DDR 430 speeds, and faster than before, keep it and enjoy!

Good luck!

Actually, it's not any faster with this RAM because I went back to using the RAM divider, so I could overclock the cpu to what it was with the cheap RAM.

What is this RAM then? DDR400 with a DDR466 label and a fancy heat spreader? I think that I could do 215fsb with my Corsair ValueRAM.

 

[JustaGeek]

If you are not happy, just RMA it.

BTW, faster RAM alone will not make your system faster.

I would stop spending money on the upgrades for the aging system, and start saving for C2D or C2Q components.

Or perhaps the upcoming Phenom...?

Good luck!