DDR2 800mhz Memory Mess, PLs HELP!

kayman · 05-23-2007, 07:15 PM

Best to start at the begining... I have a P5WDG2 MoBo with Intel core2duo 6400 2.13ghz cpu and a Leadtek 256m 7600gs silent Graphics card. Originally I bought 2x 512mb Corsair ddr2 xms2 800mhz Ram chips with CAS 5-5-5-12. Then i decided to add another 2x 512mb corsair ddr2 xms2 800mhz ram chips so that I would have 2 gig of memory for Vista. However the latency on the second set of RAm is 4-4-4-12 at the time I had no idea what latency was and that it needed to be the same.

I added the memory and it worked for a while and then I started to get blue screen crashes stating all sorts of different things from Corrupt PFN lists to IRQL issues. First i thought it was my hard drive but I traked down the problem to memory configuration. I bought the memory from scan and there technitions told me that you cannot have 4x 800mhz chips togeter as no MoBo can handle it.

My question then is, what is the best way to get myself out of this mess? Is there an adjustment to the Mhz in the bios or the latency that would mean that the two sets of ram could work together? Or do I have to bite the bullet and dump one set, and if so which one? This is complicated further by the fact that neither set of 2x 512mb at the moment allow me to install a fresh installation of vista without bluescreening.

So could I have wrecked both sets of ram, how can I tell?

And how do you find out if the mobo is at fault? The only thing I know for sure is it is not a hard disk issue as I have replaced the hard drive and still have the issues!

I realise there are alot of questions but I am quite prepared to bare the children of anyone who can give me some good advice and straight answers!!!!

Houndog777 · 05-23-2007, 09:13 PM

You should clear the cmos first, and then install one pair of sticks.
It's doubtful you've ruined your memory or your motherboard; the system has just become unstable.

There is a way to tweak memory settings but your better reading some advice on it first. There's plenty online.

And, according to the manual for your motherboard, it does support 4 x 512mb of 800mhz, but not Corsair with the heatsink fitted.
http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

05-23-2007, 07:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
kayman Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 1 OS: vista and xp64 Dual boot	DDR2 800mhz Memory Mess, PLs HELP! Best to start at the begining... I have a P5WDG2 MoBo with Intel core2duo 6400 2.13ghz cpu and a Leadtek 256m 7600gs silent Graphics card. Originally I bought 2x 512mb Corsair ddr2 xms2 800mhz Ram chips with CAS 5-5-5-12. Then i decided to add another 2x 512mb corsair ddr2 xms2 800mhz ram chips so that I would have 2 gig of memory for Vista. However the latency on the second set of RAm is 4-4-4-12 at the time I had no idea what latency was and that it needed to be the same. I added the memory and it worked for a while and then I started to get blue screen crashes stating all sorts of different things from Corrupt PFN lists to IRQL issues. First i thought it was my hard drive but I traked down the problem to memory configuration. I bought the memory from scan and there technitions told me that you cannot have 4x 800mhz chips togeter as no MoBo can handle it. My question then is, what is the best way to get myself out of this mess? Is there an adjustment to the Mhz in the bios or the latency that would mean that the two sets of ram could work together? Or do I have to bite the bullet and dump one set, and if so which one? This is complicated further by the fact that neither set of 2x 512mb at the moment allow me to install a fresh installation of vista without bluescreening. So could I have wrecked both sets of ram, how can I tell? And how do you find out if the mobo is at fault? The only thing I know for sure is it is not a hard disk issue as I have replaced the hard drive and still have the issues! I realise there are alot of questions but I am quite prepared to bare the children of anyone who can give me some good advice and straight answers!!!!

05-23-2007, 09:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
Houndog777 Tech Hardware TEam Join Date: May 2007 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 2,683 OS: XPpro sp3 My System	Re: DDR2 800mhz Memory Mess, PLs HELP! You should clear the cmos first, and then install one pair of sticks. It's doubtful you've ruined your memory or your motherboard; the system has just become unstable. There is a way to tweak memory settings but your better reading some advice on it first. There's plenty online. And, according to the manual for your motherboard, it does support 4 x 512mb of 800mhz, but not Corsair with the heatsink fitted. http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us