Can DDR400 RAM handle a 230mhz FSB?

F

Frangible

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 25, 2003
Messages
269
Hey,

I need an additional gig of RAM in my box. Right now I have a gig of Cosair XMS DDR500. However, my system never overclocked as much as I wanted, no matter how many volts I fed my CPU. It seems stable with a 230mhz FSB though (DDR460).

Thing is, getting another gig of the RAM I have is $250, and the cheaper DDR400 value select is $150. My timings are 2.5-4-4-8, but those aren't huge as they don't do squat for performance anyway.

Can I get away with the value select? Or do I need to fork out another $250?

CPU is a P4 3.0C (very early one, the kind that never O/C'd well =/ (15x multiplier)) , mobo is an Asus P4P800 Deluxe.

Thanks.
 
Did you try to up the memory voltage as opposed to the cpu voltage ? Ususally it is suggested to get the same 2 memory modules, however running such loose timings (2.5-4-4-8) probably any decent memory will get to 230 fsb. Don't expect anything with "value" in its name to oc very well, if at all. you may be able to find some tccd 512 modules that ae relativly inexpensive that may match your current fsb and budget, but remember, nothing is a sure thing in the OC world...good luck
Oh, and don't expect to OC as well with 4 512 modules ! its a limitation of the chipset
 
Thanks for the response. When O/C'ing I did indeed try raising the memory voltage up to 1.85v, but I believe my CPU just can't handle it past about 3.5ghz. Even if I up the vcore to 1.75v it didn't help. Right now it's at 3.45ghz @ 1.6vcore. Seems to get about 53c under load. Seems stable after extensive Prime95 testing. I tried numerous ram settings but even the 3-4-4-8 SPD default didn't make things stable, which seems to indicate the CPU as the weakest link. I read where the fastest my old make of the 3.0C can get is 3.6ghz (the new ones can do 4.0), so maybe 3.45 is reasonable. I dunno.

I also saw some Kingston Kingmax PC3700 modules on Newegg for $150 or so, that seemed like a decent deal. But, you mentioned overclocking problems with 4x 512 sticks, can you shed any more light on that? How would getting another 1 gig impact my O/C'ing?

I'd really like another gig for my RAM whoring applications, though. But considering my "uber" memory I paid for top dollar for back in the day really didn't get stressed because the CPU choked early, I was just thinking maybe I could buy something a little slower and not spend an extra $100 without lowering the speed of my system.

Thanks.
 
It is my understanding that using 4 memory modules will impact how well you can overclock, simply put, it stresses the chipset a lot trying to address that much memory. Thus with 4 X 256, you may get a better overclock than with 4 X 512....conversley. 2 X 256 will overlock much better than 2 X 512. There are numerous reports of this phenomenoa on Anadtech. What percentage of performace lost I'm not exactly sure.
However I would say that the 3.0 is certainly no slouch overclocked or not....and indeed if you are running software that need that amount of memory, then by all means add it to the system. Even if you find you can only overclock to say 3.2, the added gain by the extra memory may offset the loss. Photoshop and such will certainly benefit from the added memory. I'd say go for the cheaper ram, run all of it at 3-4-4-8, overclock as much as you can stabily and enjoy !....let us know how it goes. twajetmech
 
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