RAM compatibility Help

[d33p4k]

I am trying to upgrade RAM on my PC, so I went out and bought 333MHZ 512MB DDR RAM. But my PC refuses to boot with 333MHZ RAM. However my old 266MHZ 256MB RAM works just fine. I exchanged my 333MHZ RAM from the shop and the new 333MHZ DDR RAM module also doesn't work. Now I'm wondering if there is some settings/installation issue that I'm not aware of. According to my Motherboard's literature, it supports 266/333/400MHZ RAM. What am I doing wrong?

My Hardware specs are as follows:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-7N400E-L
nVIDIA nFORCE2 400/MCP
Socket A/AGP8x
4DDR/LAN/ATX
6-CH Audio/USB2.0
ATA133

Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.6 GHZ

Please help!

[john_the_ultimate]

If u r using ur current RAM module [i.e 266 MHz] with the new [333 MHz] then there must be a compatibilty problem. Try using the new module alone and take out the old one. See if it helps.

[d33p4k]

No, I'm not using the RAM modules together. 333 Mhz RAMs won't work individually either.

[john_the_ultimate]

Try using the module in another slot or with other machine, if it doesn't work then get it replaced.

[paul_007]

shouldn't the speed of both the memory stick be same i.e. either both 333 MHz or both 266 MHz

[vijay_7287]

^^^
not necessarily
one of the mem sticks will run underclocked at 266mhz

[d33p4k]

My PC won't boot even when only the new 333mhz 512MB DDR RAM is installed (without the old 256MB module). This has happened with 2 brand new 512MB 333mhz RAM modules, which work fine on a test computer setup at the shop I bought the RAM from. I am perplexed as to what I can do with the motherboard settings to get the 333mhz RAM to work.

[darklord]

Well go to BIOS and set Dram frequency asynchronous with System BUS that is FSB..may be that will help also try getting latest BIOS from the Gigabyte website.

You have mentioned that you have AMD Athlon XP 2000+ CPU which supports 266MHz FSB,running synchronously means,the 333 ram will get underclocked to 266 MHz,generally this doesnt cause any problems but still you can try running them asynchronously.

[zombie]

.

[darklord]

^^ i think you better start a new thread instead of crapping someone else's thread.

[zombie]

You stop double posting first.

[darklord]

Huh ? well anyways....
Its not worth it,screwing a jacka@# like you..

[d33p4k]

Originally Posted by darklord

Well go to BIOS and set Dram frequency asynchronous with System BUS that is FSB..may be that will help also try getting latest BIOS from the Gigabyte website.

You have mentioned that you have AMD Athlon XP 2000+ CPU which supports 266MHz FSB,running synchronously means,the 333 ram will get underclocked to 266 MHz,generally this doesnt cause any problems but still you can try running them asynchronously.

Thanks darklord

I went to CMOS setup and played around with the settings, finally I set memory speed to 266MHz, now I can use the new 333MHz 512MB DDR. I'm guessing its underclocked now at 266MHz, but I'm glad I atleast got it to work.

However, I still can't figure out how to use the old 256MB 266MHz DDR with the new one, If I install the my old RAM along with the New one, my Motherboard only detects the old 256MB RAM. Any Ideas?

[darklord]

Well its never recommended to mix different Memory modules.

There is a strong possibility that their timings dont match.

This is the very reason why you get matched dual channel kits which has 2 memory modules in it.

They have exact same specs.this helps in maintaining system stability.

What happens is that the memory controller cannot interprete the different timigs on different memory modules and hence crashes the PC,or doesnt boot,there can be various reasons.

Going to BIOS and adjusting memory timings manually can be done to try and make both of them work together if you are hell bent on using both together.

Ideally i would never recommending old and new ram modules,its not good.

Its upto you to decide whats good and safe for your system.

[d33p4k]

Ok I will stick to the new 512MB module. 512MB RAM is quite enough for my computing needs, I don't use any memory intensive applications anyway. If I had to choose between system stability and moderate increase in performance, I'd choose stability any day of the week. Thanks for the help.