Slower RAM in a faster slot - will it work?

thereisnoart · 07-16-2009, 07:24 AM

I know that faster ram placed in a slower slot will down-clock to work at a compatible speed. I am wondering if the reverse is true. My 2 year old motherboard went down and I am trying to find a board that will be compatible with both my processor and my ram (while spending as little as possible - it's a secondary machine). To be specific, I am looking at this board:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4680338&CatId=2014

It says it supports DDR2, 800Mhz. The ram I currently used is DDR2, 533Mhz. I know the ram won't "overclock" to match the faster slot - but will the 800Mhz slot recognize the slower ram? Does this board support up to 800, but can take slower speeds?

**Tyree** · 07-16-2009, 07:36 AM

The 533 RAM will work.

thereisnoart · 07-16-2009, 11:39 AM

Great! One step closer... will my processor work with this board? I couldn't find it on CPU-Upgrade.com.

Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz / 2MB Cache / 800 FSB / Socket 775
HH80551PG0802MN

EDIT: I think I found the answer - the description of the board names Pentium D 8XX, so I should be good right? Maybe a stupid question, I just want to be sure.

**Tyree** · 07-17-2009, 07:49 AM

You found the answer. D 8XXX = CPU's starting with D 8
There are no stupid questions.
You could do a lot better than the XFX Mobo though. XFX is not good quality and theeir support is not good. Also, Intel CPU's like Intel chipsets.
This Asus ASUS P5KPL-CM $55 would be a much better choice and Newegg is a MUCH better vendor tp purchase from.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288
http://www.asus.com/Product.aspx?P_I...specifications

07-16-2009, 07:24 AM	#1 (permalink)
thereisnoart Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Slower RAM in a faster slot - will it work? I know that faster ram placed in a slower slot will down-clock to work at a compatible speed. I am wondering if the reverse is true. My 2 year old motherboard went down and I am trying to find a board that will be compatible with both my processor and my ram (while spending as little as possible - it's a secondary machine). To be specific, I am looking at this board: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4680338&CatId=2014 It says it supports DDR2, 800Mhz. The ram I currently used is DDR2, 533Mhz. I know the ram won't "overclock" to match the faster slot - but will the 800Mhz slot recognize the slower ram? Does this board support up to 800, but can take slower speeds?

07-16-2009, 07:36 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,726 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Slower RAM in a faster slot - will it work? The 533 RAM will work. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.

07-16-2009, 11:39 AM	#3 (permalink)
thereisnoart Registered User Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 8 OS: Windows XP	Re: Slower RAM in a faster slot - will it work? Great! One step closer... will my processor work with this board? I couldn't find it on CPU-Upgrade.com. Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz / 2MB Cache / 800 FSB / Socket 775 HH80551PG0802MN EDIT: I think I found the answer - the description of the board names Pentium D 8XX, so I should be good right? Maybe a stupid question, I just want to be sure. Last edited by thereisnoart; 07-16-2009 at 11:48 AM.

07-17-2009, 07:49 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 5,726 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Slower RAM in a faster slot - will it work? You found the answer. D 8XXX = CPU's starting with D 8 There are no stupid questions. You could do a lot better than the XFX Mobo though. XFX is not good quality and theeir support is not good. Also, Intel CPU's like Intel chipsets. This Asus ASUS P5KPL-CM $55 would be a much better choice and Newegg is a MUCH better vendor tp purchase from. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288 http://www.asus.com/Product.aspx?P_I...specifications __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently. Last edited by Tyree; 07-17-2009 at 07:51 AM.