memory compatability

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

hi,
I currently have a via266a chipset mobo obviously with a 266 fsb
I have 2x 256mb sticks of pc2100 ram. If I add more ram I would like to keep
it when I eventually upgrade my mobo. Someone advised I should buy a 512
stick of pc 3200 ram which I think is 400mhz. will this work on my mobo? and
if so will it work with my old 266mhz memory? I thought that I could only
use 266mhz ram with a 226mhz mobo

Thanks
Andy

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 15:02:51 GMT, "joanne grint"
<joanne.grint@ntlworld.com> wrote:

>hi,
>I currently have a via266a chipset mobo obviously with a 266 fsb
>I have 2x 256mb sticks of pc2100 ram. If I add more ram I would like to keep
>it when I eventually upgrade my mobo. Someone advised I should buy a 512
>stick of pc 3200 ram which I think is 400mhz. will this work on my mobo? and
>if so will it work with my old 266mhz memory? I thought that I could only
>use 266mhz ram with a 226mhz mobo
>
>Thanks
>Andy
>

Yes PC3200 will work with your existing memory and is what
you should choose. That is, technically it is backwards
compatible BUT there is as always (perhaps even morese
because your board has KT266A chipset) a potential that
having several memory modules will introduce instability...
not a case of it being PC3200 memory, rather it might be as
likely or moreso to work because you bought higher-spec
memory. Test with http://www.memtest86.com after any memory
changes.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

joanne grint wrote:
> hi, I currently have a via266a chipset mobo obviously with a 266 fsb
> I have 2x 256mb sticks of pc2100 ram. If I add more ram I would like
> to keep it when I eventually upgrade my mobo. Someone advised I
> should buy a 512 stick of pc 3200 ram which I think is 400mhz. will
> this work on my mobo? and if so will it work with my old 266mhz
> memory? I thought that I could only use 266mhz ram with a 226mhz mobo
>
>
>
>
> Thanks Andy
>
>
I've got the same chipset and was considering the exact same thing about
2 months back.
At the time I was OCing the FSB from 133 to 150 and the pc2100 mem was
stable, this mem had CL2.0 but the pc3200 I was considering was CL2.5
which I decided may be unwise, so I got pc2700 (333 mhz) which was CL2.0.
As soon as I added the new Mem which should have no problem coping with
the OC, everything went crazy and I could only get a stable system by
reverting back to FSB133.
Anyway, thats just my experience.

Just check that both Mem sticks, old and new, are CL2.0 or CL2.5.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Wed, 05 Jan 2005 22:45:49 -0800, swoggy
<swoggy1@hotmail.com> wrote:

>joanne grint wrote:
>> hi, I currently have a via266a chipset mobo obviously with a 266 fsb
>> I have 2x 256mb sticks of pc2100 ram. If I add more ram I would like
>> to keep it when I eventually upgrade my mobo. Someone advised I
>> should buy a 512 stick of pc 3200 ram which I think is 400mhz. will
>> this work on my mobo? and if so will it work with my old 266mhz
>> memory? I thought that I could only use 266mhz ram with a 226mhz mobo
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks Andy
>>
>>
>I've got the same chipset and was considering the exact same thing about
>2 months back.
>At the time I was OCing the FSB from 133 to 150 and the pc2100 mem was
>stable, this mem had CL2.0 but the pc3200 I was considering was CL2.5
>which I decided may be unwise, so I got pc2700 (333 mhz) which was CL2.0.
>As soon as I added the new Mem which should have no problem coping with
>the OC, everything went crazy and I could only get a stable system by
>reverting back to FSB133.
>Anyway, thats just my experience.
>
>Just check that both Mem sticks, old and new, are CL2.0 or CL2.5.


You may've had more problems because of choosing CAS2
memory. It's not that the memory is the problem, it's the
chipset. The best chance for stability would've been
running the CAS2 memory but at CAS2.5 or CAS3, manually
setting that in the bios if possible.