The A8V supports dual-channel operation, which means that the RAM must be
installed in same-sized pairs. (That is, the DDR DIMMs in each pair must be
the same size as each other, but if you install two pairs for a total of 4
DIMMs, I believe that the pairs can be of different size. The manual
suggests that all 4 should be the same size, but I think it's an error.)
The board also supports single channel operation, but it only lists support
for a single DIMM, in slot B1.
The manual is available for download:
http://www.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket939/a8v-deluxe/e1642_a8v_deluxe.pdf
See pages 2-11 and 2-12.
I'm not sure about the specs of a 3400+, but I guess that it uses an 800 MHz
FSB. That wants PC3200 memory. It may be possible to run PC2700 RAM at
PC3200 (use manual settings in the BIOS, rather than SPD). The A8V might be
smart enough to automatically configure for PC2700. If not, you can set a
memory ratio in the BIOS setup. There would be a small performance loss, but
I doubt that it would be bad.
My recommendation: if you're going with a Socket 939 system, spend the money
on a pair for dual-channel operation.
www.newegg.com sells 512 MB (2 X 256)
PC3200 starting at about $85 (US), and 1 GB (2 X 512) for less than $160.
If you can get a 3500+ for the about the same price as the 3400+, you might
better go with that. I'm unclear exactly what makes a 3400+ slightly slower
than a 3500+. If Newegg is to be believed, they run at the same true
frequency (2.2 GHz), and have the same cache sizes. (One posting I read
suggests that the 3400+ uses 800 MHz Hypertransport settings rather than the
1 GHz for the 3500+, but that's beyond my understanding.)
You may also want to make sure that your A8V is a Rev. 2 board. There are
supposedly some fixes over the older versions, although they may be of
interest mainly to overclockers.
If you're really pinched for cash, you might consider a Socket 754 board.
That'd be single-channel memory only, but supposedly the memory controller
on the Athlon 64 has such good performance that the gap between single and
dual channel is slight. I have no personal experience with that, though, as
the A8V is my first Athlon mainboard. Socket 754 probably has less of a
future than Socket 939, but they may not matter if you wish to keep the
system a long time (say, six months or so). (I'd be pleasantly surprised if
the A8V had a meaningful CPU upgrade path in 18 months.)
HTH.
Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
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