Would slower memory prevent mobo from starting up?

[animeba]

I got a new mobo,
plugged in power supply, cpu, ram and power switch
No video and no startup beep.

I look in the manual and see that I'm using DDR2-533 RAM when the mobo only "officially" supports DDR2-667 and DDR2-800.

Is using my old slower memory preventing the mobo from starting up or do I have a dead on arrival mobo?

note: I'm using a ECS g33 chipset mobo. I have also unplugged all memory modules and starting the mobo as is, but no error beeps come out.

 

[Peter]

That depends ... if the RAM is slower than the chipset can go, then yes, the BIOS can hardly do anything but fail the boot. If the chipset can step down to 266 MHz clock for DDR2-533, then it'll just be slow - and you'll find that it isn't actually as bad as the hype makes it seem.