Old & slow DDR2 (400MHz) on new Asus P5W mobo?

[fredrikgroth]

Hey all,

First time poster, long time overclocker here. (Been raising FSB's since I had my 486 DX4-100 back in 1996, and changed the bus clock from 25 to 30 MHz to reach 120 MHz... breathtaking. There was actually a noticable difference. )

Anyways... I'm building a new system based on Asus P5W DH Deluxe and a E6400 cpu. Problem is, I will get all parts but the RAM today, so I won't be able to start it up... annoying. I have some old RAM sticks at home, two DDR2 400MHz (PC2-3200), I'm guessing there's no way these will work in my new system?

Thanks,
Fredrik Groth, Sweden

 

[Mondoman]

Although they'll be slow, they should work. Why not try them?

 

[rwaritsdario]

Well, youll have three options:
Run the FSB at 200Mhz to run 1:1
Use memory dividers
OC the memory to 266Mhz at 1:1 ratio

 

[fredrikgroth]

Ok, NOW I'm worried... I tried the old RAM-sticks; powered up the system for the first time ever, all fans started spinning, everything looked normal. But no sync signal to the monitor, everything was black. So I removed the RAM and powered up again, and everything looked exactly the same. Black screen, no sync. Is this a normal behaviour when unsupported RAM is mounted (or /w no RAM at all)

I also experimented on my old P4 system and removed the RAM (DDR1), and the behaviour was the same, no monitor sync, black screen. So with that in mind I'm not as worried, but still...

Anyone? Is something in my system faulty, or is it normal? Hopefully I will get my ordered RAM in a few days so I can try it for real; but I'd like some comforting words to be able to sleep at night.

Thanks,

Fredrik

 

[Mondoman]

Since your DDR2-400 sticks must date from the dawn of DDR2, I wouldn't be too worried if they're incompatible with modern MBs (it's most likely an SPD issue). People are still running into similar problems with DIMMs at the cutting edge of DDR2 speed (e.g. DDR2-800 a few months ago).

 

[CNeufeld]

I have some old RAM sticks at home, two DDR2 400MHz (PC2-3200), ...

You say you have DDR2 memory, but PC-3200 is a DDR speed, as is the 400MHz (all AFAIK). DDR2 4200 is the lowest I know of, and it runs at 533MHz. DDR2-5300 runs at 667MHz, etc.

I would have thought the keying on the memory sticks themselves would have prevented you from plugging them in fully, but apparently not.

Clint

 

[Mondoman]

CN, you need to read a bit more carefully! Your own post shows that he wrote PC2-3200, not PC-3200. "PC2" refers to DDR2, "PC" refers to DDR.

 

[CNeufeld]

I know that he says "DDR2 400MHz (PC2-3200)". There is no such beastie, as far as I know. There's PC3200, which is 400MHz. But there is no 400MHz DDR2. He's either got a different speed of DDR2 memory, or he's got DDR memory. My bet, if it's old memory, is that it's DDR, not DDR2.

That's what I was trying to indicate in my post, obviously unsuccessfully.

Clint

 

[fredrikgroth]

I know that he says "DDR2 400MHz (PC2-3200)". There is no such beastie, as far as I know. There's PC3200, which is 400MHz. But there is no 400MHz DDR2. He's either got a different speed of DDR2 memory, or he's got DDR memory. My bet, if it's old memory, is that it's DDR, not DDR2.

That's what I was trying to indicate in my post, obviously unsuccessfully.

Clint

They are in fact 400MHz DDR2, which is the oldest kind I know of. They clearly say "PC2-3200", they are 240 pin and they are notched like any other DDR2 memory I've seen. So there's no doubt they exist. 8)

Also according to Wikipedia, they exist.

The question is; would the "black screen" thingie be a normal symptom of non-supported DDR2 memory in my system? HOPEFULLY I will get my PC6400 sticks today, so I can make sure everything is allright. Or not.

Cheers,
Fredrik

 

[Mondoman]

...
The question is; would the "black screen" thingie be a normal symptom of non-supported DDR2 memory in my system? ....

Yes. The first pair of Ballistix DDR2-800 I got weren't compatible with my MB, and gave me the same black screen; Crucial happily replaced them with a newer revision, which worked fine.
Fortunately, my MB has LED debugging displays built in that indicate which step of the POST is being executed, so I could tell that it was hanging right at the step where it communicates with the SPD on the DIMMs.

 

[CNeufeld]

I know that he says "DDR2 400MHz (PC2-3200)". There is no such beastie, as far as I know. There's PC3200, which is 400MHz. But there is no 400MHz DDR2. He's either got a different speed of DDR2 memory, or he's got DDR memory. My bet, if it's old memory, is that it's DDR, not DDR2.

That's what I was trying to indicate in my post, obviously unsuccessfully.

Clint

They are in fact 400MHz DDR2, which is the oldest kind I know of. They clearly say "PC2-3200", they are 240 pin and they are notched like any other DDR2 memory I've seen. So there's no doubt they exist. 8)

Also according to Wikipedia, they exist.

The question is; would the "black screen" thingie be a normal symptom of non-supported DDR2 memory in my system? HOPEFULLY I will get my PC6400 sticks today, so I can make sure everything is allright. Or not.

Cheers,
Fredrik

Fredrik,

I sit corrected! And yeah, hopefully when you get your new memory, life will all be good again.

Clint