[Amano]

Hello. I'm running an Epox EP-8RDA+ mobo and recently added PC3200 DDR400 memory to it. The person that initially built it had PC2700 in it to save money. Normally, I'd have bought 2 1024 sticks, but I was able to find a crazy deal on 512 sticks of Kingston Value RAM. I've got 3 512 sticks of that now (KVR400/512R).

When running the PC2700, I believe I remember it running at 200MHz. The PC3200 I just installed runs at the same frequency rather than the 400MHz I figured I'd be able to pull out of it.

My question is this: Is there anything I'm doing incorrectly that is impeding a faster memory frequency? Some of the topics I've read up on seem to indicate that this board has issues with memory. Would a BIOS update allow for better memory compatibilty? The BIOS update notes from Epox didn't do me much good.

Here's my BIOS info:

BIOS Type Award
Award BIOS Type Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG
Award BIOS Message 03/05/2003 For nForce2-ST Chipset
System BIOS Date 03/05/03
Video BIOS Date 07/19/04

BIOS Manufacturer
Company Name Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Product Information http://www.phoenix.com/en/products/default.htm
BIOS Upgrades http://www.esupport.com/biosagent/index.cfm?refererid=40

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[leroys1000]

200Mhz is the proper memory frequency for pc3200.
It is double pumped to make an effective frequency of 400Mhz.
If the pc2700 was running at 200Mhz then it was overclocked.

 

[Amano]

Thanks much. I probably should have came here before trying to set the frequency higher on my own in BIOS. At least I learned about the CMOS battery and how to reset the BIOS in the process.

Again, thanks for the quick reply.

Edited for spelling

 

[keymaker]

hey amano,

the pc3200 supports an FSB of 200mhz, therefore a total of 400mhz FSB total(200mhz x 2). at 400mhz FSB, the total bandwidth is 3.2gigs and thats why they named the memory pc3200.

now pc2700 supports an FSB of 166mhz, a total of 333mhz(166mhz x 2). at 333mhz, the total bandwidth is 2.7gigs.

if you are running 200mhz on that computer then the pc2700 memory is overclocked. but is the system stable? i know the epox 8RDA+ was one of the best nforce 2 motherboards back then. is a major overclocker too.