Is it possible to use usa AMD mobo ram compatible with an Intel motherboard?

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Ethan9119

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Mar 23, 2015
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I recently purchased 4gb of ram (2x2GB DDR2 PC2 - 5300 DDR2 - 667 MHZ Desktop PC 240 pin PC2 - 5300U) and was told that it wasn't compatible with an Intel motherboard. Is there a way I can edit the bios settings to alter the Memory and make it compatible with an Intel motherboard?
Thanks!
 
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Pretty much any RAM can work with either AMD or Intel. I think your problem is that the RAM you have is DDR2. Unless you have an old motherboard (core2 era), you need DDR3.

If the RAM is really incompatible for some reason, you will not be able to boot. If you cannot boot, you cannot adjust any settings. You cannot modify the RAM to work on an incompatible system.
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Calculagator

Calculagator

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Nov 18, 2014
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Pretty much any RAM can work with either AMD or Intel. I think your problem is that the RAM you have is DDR2. Unless you have an old motherboard (core2 era), you need DDR3.

If the RAM is really incompatible for some reason, you will not be able to boot. If you cannot boot, you cannot adjust any settings. You cannot modify the RAM to work on an incompatible system.
 
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Guest

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The above answer is wrong. In the good old DDR2 days, there was ram that was AMD only. And nothing can make that work with an Intel motherboard. Intel DDR2 ram will work with both Intel and AMD systems.
 
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Calculagator

Calculagator

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I saw your comment and decided to do a bit more research. I didn't search exhaustively, but I was unable to find any cases of DDR2 ram specifically incompatible with intel. There were, of course, plenty of issues with DDR2 compatibility-timings, voltage, density, non standard specs, etc. In old Tom's forum posts on the issue, what seemed to be the consensus was that RAM that matched what the motherboard specified worked (with the exception of some touchy motherboards) regardless of AMD/intel. Intel incompatibility is red herring that distracts from the real issue of widespread DDR2 incompatibility.

Some RAM was marketed as AMD only because of extended memory profiles that intel did not support. While an intel board would not support these "overclocked" profiles, it would still work with the slower jedec timings. Judging by the speed listed, I doubt that the modules purchased require such a non-standard profile to reach their rated speed and timings.

I still think the main issue here is that the OP purchased DDR2. If the system really needs DDR2, then it is too old to be worth upgrading.

If you do know of a specific kit that has been confirmed to be intel incompatible, let me know. I would like to look into the issue more.
 
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Captain, the answer is no. I need more time to get facts. I specifically recall controller bit issues, but cannot find proof. And plenty of sellers confirming my suspicions. But cold hard proof? No captain, I have none.

I disagree that DDR2 is too old to upgrade. So many computers end up in the landfill yet are completely appropriate for modern use. This is something we will have to deal with someday, We can't throw away our computers every 5 years and cellphone/tablets every 2 years. It's very bad for the environment.

I'll look casually later, if I find some hard technical proof I'll let you know. But I'm still 92% sure you can't use AMD only ram in Intel system. The south bridge is missing the controller or something. Ah, my memory is failing me.
 
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Amit rock

Amit rock

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Yes it will fit and work on Intel chip without any problems rams are same rams are not made for only Intel or only amd they made for both. So, don't take any problem it will handle it fine!!
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Jun 5, 2013
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Knowing the set, many advertised by 3rd party sellers are from OEM systems where the DRAM was made specific to run on thatprebuilt, Compaq, Dell and others have used DRAM, HDs and other made to specific specs to tie the buyers into coming back to them for upgrades (which normally were outrageously priced ;) )
 
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Blue Palmetto

Blue Palmetto

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Feb 27, 2015
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I was wondering about this as well. I have a Dell XPS 410 with 4GB of RAM...2 I took from an older Dell that died on me. Searching eBay for RAM everything seems to be compatible except the listing will say something like "for AMD" and those turn out to cost a lot less. Comments of obsolescence aside, This could be a difference of like 80%.

 
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pctechwill

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May 21, 2015
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I've just tested this theory. Now, I am using an Optiplex 745 with BIOS 2.6.6 that came with a c2d 1.8 GHz and 2GB of RAM.

By updating the BIOS I put in first an e7400 which helped temendously, then a q6600 which far exceeded my expectations for a 2.4 GHz. Therefore, to say a DDR2 motherboard is not worth upgrading is rather flippant. There are stories out there of running the Q9650 on this board, but I haven't tried it at $100+ for just the processor. I picked up this Q6600 for $22, and the dell was a donation, so with a Zotac GT730 for $70 it became a pretty decent rig. Looking forward to a SSD soon and I would put this PC up against any current retail PC...

But, I digress. I purchased this 4x2GB Samsung AMD ONLY memory kit, and alas, it really didn't work in my Intel system. I figured I would take the gamble at $25 and hold onto it in case an AMD system of that era drops into my hands, though I don't imagine that happening as easily as the Intels... Anyway, looking at the listing page, I see the RAM I purchased has CL6. Now, two of this memory set that is recommended by COLGeek for the Optiplex 745 should have a CL5 according to this listing. That's the only difference I see spec-wise between the two. On another post on this site I've seen someone saying if you can adjust your memory clock settings you should be able to use any memory anywhere.

Is there such thing as a BIOS hack that unlocks those settings for this Dell motherboard? I guess my real question is like the OP, isn't there some way we can adjust the settings so that the RAM will work in either system?
 
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Calculagator

Calculagator

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Nov 18, 2014
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I believe the Optiplex 745 only supports 4gb RAM running at the 800 MHz speed. You may be able to get it to work with only two of the sticks, or you may be able to force it to the lower speed by using one or two sticks of slower RAM in with the faster.

You might be able to manually adjust settings, but only if you can get it to post first.

I do think that working on old computers can be fun: I recently bought an old Mac Pro and threw in 2 quad core cpus, 20GB of RAM, and an SSD--it runs great! However, for most people throwing the sort of "help me" question like the OP will not be served by upgrading an old system. If you are not doing it for fun, it could be frustrating and provide a low return on investment. People who just want a working computer will be much happier and spend less time/money if they upgrade to a newer, more powerful, less chunky, more compatible system.
 
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