Will my motherboard support the required voltage for Mushkin 800 DDR2

[tamzeed]

Hi all,

This is my first post in tomshardware.

I have an Intel D945GCNL motherboard. My motherboard memory specs are:

The desktop board supports the dual or single channel memory configurations defined below:

• Two 240-pin Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) connectors with gold-plated contacts.

• Support for:
― Unbuffered, non-registered single or double-sided DIMMs
― Non-ECC DDR2 memory
― DDR2-667, DDR2-533, and DDR2-400 memory
― 1.8 V (only) DDR2 SDRAM DIMMs
― Serial Presence Detect (SPD) memory only
― Up to 2.0 GB utilizing 512 Mb and 1 Gb technology

Regardless of the DIMM type used, the memory frequency will either be equal to or less than the processor system bus frequency. For example, if DDR2 533 memory is used with an 800 MHz system bus frequency processor, the memory will operate at 533 MHz.

Here is a link to the Mushkin DDR2 RAM page:
Click to see the Mushkin DDR2 RAM

Here is a link to the Corsair DDR2 RAM page:
Click to see the Corsair DDR2 RAM

I know both the RAM will be underclocked to the highest speed my motherboard can handle (667) but my main concern is whether my motherboard can handle the required voltage. My motherboard memory spec says 1.8v only. However, both Muskin and Corsair say 1.9v on their page.

Will either of the two 1.9v RAM work in my motherboard memory 1.8v slots?

I will not mix and match the two RAM brands, I am just having a look at those two brands. Will only stick to one brand if you guys give me the green light about my voltage question. I am planning to get 2 sticks of 1 GB RAM of the brand I choose.

Thanks!

 

[flyin15sec]

You're probably the best person to answer your question. Reboot, enter the BIOS, and look for memory voltage option, sometimes it could refer to as vdimm voltage.

If not, most DDR2 800mhz ram will run at 1.8v, with higher latency timings.

 

[tamzeed]

Thanks for the reply.

I dont quite understand what you're saying. I have already provided my motherboard memory specs. will the Corsiar OR the Mushkin RAM work with 1.8V (provided by my motherboard) instead of 1.9V? If the latency timings go higher, thats fine.

 

[marco324]

theres plenty of ddr2 800 that will run at 1.8 volts to be safe where are you buying your memory from

 

[ausch30]

The JEDEC standard voltage for DDR2 is 1.8v so all DDR2 memory will work at 1.8v. A lot of RAM has headroom above and beyond JEDEC specifications so companies will certify different modules to run at EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles) settings which is just a setting that they guarantee the RAM will overclock to, those are the reduced timing and elevated voltage setting that most RAM is sold at.

Here's an example

This was an old set of RAM I had which was sold as DDR2 800 4-4-3-10 2.1v

All those settings are programmed into a chip on the modules called an SPD (Serial Presence Detect) chip so the motherboard can identify the correct settings for the RAM.