800+800 = 667?

[pgifford]

Hi,

I have an HP d4990y that came with 2GB PC6400 RAM. I dropped an additional pair of 1GB PC6400 sticks in for a total of 4GB (3.5 GB recognized), but the system now thinks I have PC5300 RAM (667 MHz). If I put one pair or the other the system recognizes the memory as PC6400 but all 4 sticks together I end up with PC5300.

There's nothing in the BIOS I can change regarding memory. Are the two pairs just incompatible with each other?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[Plyro109]

That sounds like a motherboard limitation. I know at least my MSI downgrades the RAM speed from DDR400 to DDR333 if I put 4 sticks in and run in dual channel, so that could be your problem.

 

[pgifford]

Thanks for the reply. A Crucial rep (the extra memory was from Crucial) says, "Sounds like the system BIOS is dropping the bus speed when all four slots are filled to maintain a clean signal. We've seen this before; I suggest you contact the manufacturer to find out if this is intended."

I contacted the system manufacturer, and after getting the runaround from the off-shore tech support clones who only cut and paste answers from the kb finally got the issue escalated to engineering. Hopefully they will reply promptly.

Paul

 

[randomizer]

Not bad, not bad at all, going all the way to the top. They haven't asked you if the disc is dirty or scratched have they? [/EA Games tech support payout]

 

[pgifford]

No, they haven't asked me that but they did try to blame it on Windows Vista (32 bit) several times. Funny, they're never able to tell me how the OS is affecting what I see in the BIOS setup screen.

Finally I told them that if I get one more person who doesn't know what they're doing I'm going to return the computer. That's when the issue was escalated.

 

[zenmaster]

Have you tried manually setting the RAM Speeds in BIOS?

If you post the Mobo model, somebody may be able to tell you how to do this. It's quite common for RAM to not automatically go to the desired speed.

 

[pgifford]

I wish I could, but it's a locked down HP mobo. P5BW Broadwater I think it is. The configuration options are very limited.

 

[KyleSTL]

I have an off-the-shelf Sony and it recognized my 4 sticks as DDR266 initially. I unplugged it, took out the CMOS battery, waited 2 minutes and put it back together. Been running DDR400 ever since. It's worth a shot.

 

[pgifford]

Thanks for the tip. I tried that last night. No dice.

Paul

 

[LoneEagle]

I wish I could, but it's a locked down HP mobo. P5BW Broadwater I think it is. The configuration options are very limited.

That one of the major reason why people build their own machine. Dell and many others will lock and limit what you can change in the BIOS (date and time! . You can not overclock as well. Really limited...

May be in your case you should add ordered from HP the same exactly RAM. I guess it's what they will tell you. We do not support foreign RAM other of what we sell. Did you check your original RAM brand/model? If your HP model could be configured with 4GB at a speed of 800, different brand could be the problem (CAS).

Did you try CPU-Z to see the CAS?

 

[pgifford]

Yeah, I'm starting to get the idea I should have built my own. Well, if they can't fix the problem I'll return it and do just that.

No, I haven't used CPU-Z. I'll try that tonight.

Thanks,

Paul

 

[theaxemaster]

You can do that or as long as you didn't get some funked up custom form factor motherboard like some OEMs do, you can always just swap for an off the shelf motherboard with better capabilities.

 

[pgifford]

It's a straight ATX mobo. Hell, what's another $100-$200, right?

That's going to be a hard one to get past the wife though! "Yes, I know it's a new computer but I thought it could use a new mobo too"

Paul

 

[zenmaster]

Yeah, I'm starting to get the idea I should have built my own. Well, if they can't fix the problem I'll return it and do just that.

No, I haven't used CPU-Z. I'll try that tonight.

Thanks,

Paul

You may want to consider that.
Also, the 1st thing you will need to upgrade before the memory is most likely the video card if you want to game.
That is far more important than RAM at this point.
All of the upgrade options for that PC's GPU are very poor except the 8800GTS option which is overpriced by about
$175.

 

[pgifford]

I already upgraded the video card to the 8800 GTS on my own. Part of the price HP charges for the upgrade goes to a new power supply too...something I didn't notice initially. So I had to buy and install a PSU. I've practically built the thing from scratch in my effort to save a few bucks.

Paul

 

[LoneEagle]

You may want to consider that.
Also, the 1st thing you will need to upgrade before the memory is most likely the video card if you want to game.
That is far more important than RAM at this point.
All of the upgrade options for that PC's GPU are very poor except the 8800GTS option which is overpriced by about
$175.

Dell, HP are can be fine if you buy them with everything needed and do not plan any upgrade and no overclocking. My current computer is a custom build but two of my previous were Dell. They were nice machine but more restricted.

For the Mobo, here again, can be custom made and can not be changed with regular stuff. Dell are good for that, custom MB, PSU (I think).

 

[Zorg]

If you can return that and actually get your money back, then do it before time runs out. As was said already, I think that's a mobo/BIOS limitation. You already have some of the parts so definitely build you own.

 

[smokedyou911]

I agree with zorg, get your money back, and then use the parts you already have, and buy the parts you need (case, mobo, cpu, hard drive and dvd burner. That could be done for around $500-600 with a quad core q6600 if you wanted.

 

[LoneEagle]

Do not forget XP or Vista...

 

[zenmaster]

Dell, HP are can be fine if you buy them with everything needed and do not plan any upgrade and no overclocking. My current computer is a custom build but two of my previous were Dell. They were nice machine but more restricted.

For the Mobo, here again, can be custom made and can not be changed with regular stuff. Dell are good for that, custom MB, PSU (I think).

Oh, They most certainly can.
And I'm all for buying the retails systems for more basic computing needs.

I'm guessing from the fact that this guy is trying to put 4gb into the system, he was a powerful system.
Also, the BASE price for his computer is $899 before you add anything.
You figure he already changed the RAM for 2gb and selected faster ram.
I'm guessing he upped the GPU as well from the built-in graphics.

He is likely well into $1000 plus range for his system.
At this point, he will be getting alot more bang for his buck by building.

The last PCs I bought for my Sister and both sets of In-Laws were Retail systems.
Great for them. Also a great deal for the cheaper bundles that only need a cheap GPU added to be nice systems.

 

[pgifford]

I'm returning the computer and going to build my own...thanks for the advice all!

I have a new question but I'll put that in a new thread...

Paul