Testing RAM on P4P800 for 800fsb

  • Thread starter Thread starter juneaukid
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juneaukid

Hello all,

Before I post my success story on building a PC for the first time I
want to make sure that my RAM is actually working at 800mhz.

The board is recognizing both Kingston 256 chips and the BIOS
interface says something like 400mhz with dual channel enabled
(something like that, I dont have the PC with me right now).

However, what I am hoping to find is some reading that actually says
800.
Is there such a reading?

Cheers,
Nate
 
juneaukid said:
The board is recognizing both Kingston 256 chips and the BIOS
interface says something like 400mhz with dual channel enabled
(something like that, I dont have the PC with me right now).

However, what I am hoping to find is some reading that actually says
800.
Is there such a reading?
Click to expand...

Nope. You're getting what you should expect though, depending on the
speed of the RAM.

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The P4 CPU runs at 800MHz INTERNALLY. (It runs at 4 times the motherboard's
FSB.) The motherboard's FSB is 200MHz. The DDR (double data rate) RAM runs
at double the motherboard's FSB, thus 400MHz.
 
Exactly.

Furthermore, to run the memory insync with the processor, 800Mhz RAM would
be needed, but it doesn't exist. To get around this, 400Mhz RAM is used and
by using dual channels (i.e. two memory controllers) it effectively achieves
800Mhz...like a RAID array it splits the data across both controllers to
spread the load.

Of course I might be talking crap, but I'm pretty sure that's what I read
when this stuff first came out.

Cliff
 
Thank you all for the responses. Although, I must admit they have left
me a litte confused.

Am I right that I can assume the processor is working at 800mhz
because the motherboard is running the RAM at 400mhz?

Would it have been evident if the motherboard was having problems with
the RAM?

The reason I initially posted the question is due to the number of
posts I have read about "matching" the correct RAM to the motherboard.

In the P4P800 Deluxe manual it lists a specific models of Kingston RAM
that have been "tested" and "qualified" for the board.

The model number of the RAM I installed is not listed in the manual.
Which is what prompted my concern.

(I should have mentioned in my first post that the memory is Kingston
PC3200 DDR 400. Model KVR400AK2/512r)


Cheers,
Nate
 
Am I right that I can assume the processor is working at 800mhz
because the motherboard is running the RAM at 400mhz?
Click to expand...

Probably, though not necessarily. Your processor speed is determined by
- frontside bus speed (called 'CPU External Frequency' in the BIOS)
- the CPU may also apply another multiplier. The newer 800Mhz versions -
'c' models - are quad pumped, that is, they used another 4x multiplier
- so a 'c' processor running with a FSB of 200Mhz is running at 200 x 4 =
800Mhz

I think the older 'b' class processors are also quad pumped, but they are
designed to run with a FSB of 133 Mhz. Hence they run internally at 133 x 4
= 533Mhz.

An easy way to find what settings are being used is to download PC Wizard
(free) from http://www.cpuid.com/.
Just click on each item to find details about it - 'chipset' will give you
most of the info you need.

Would it have been evident if the motherboard was having problems with
the RAM?
Click to expand...

Yes. Typically you get periodic unexplainable crashes/freezes. They can be
due to a number of factors, but RAM issues are a common problem.

Most people use a free utility called 'memtest' from
http://www.memtest86.com/. It can be a little confusing to use, just ask if
you need help. The main trick is to disable USB legacy support and unplug
USB devices otherwise it tends to freeze.

It will run a series of tests, and if it doesn't fail then you can rest
assured that your RAM is okay.

It is also often used if you want to tweak your RAM settings (i.e. from
their standard parameters).
The reason I initially posted the question is due to the number of
posts I have read about "matching" the correct RAM to the motherboard.
Click to expand...

There were a lot of issues with RAM when this board first came out - very
hit and miss as to what would work with it. If you're PC is running without
crashing, I'd say your fine.

If you want to learn more about this board, then check out the forums at
http://www.abxzone.com/.

Cheers, Cliff
 
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