Will I be able to use DDR33 or 400 on this mobo

[rds1220]

I'm working on a pretty old computer that uses DDR 266 (PC-2100). What I was wondering is do you think that the motherboard will be compatible with DDR 333 or 400 type RAM?

 

[CaedenV]

oh! about the ram compatibility!
If the ram in the system is ECC then you will need ECC
If the Ram in the system has an R in the speed rating then it is buffered memory, and will need to have buffered memory installed
If the ram has an L then it is low power memory, and you will need to match voltage

normally these are not issues, but it is something to look into.

 

[CaedenV]

The nice thing about DDR is that it is largely backwards compatable, so if you get ram that is above spec then the mobo will dumb the ram down to run at what it can handle, and if you get ram too slow, then the mobo will slow down the match.
Likewise, if there is ram already in the system then all ram will run at the speed of the slowest stick of memory. So long as it is DDR1 in a DDR1 mobo then it should work.

All that said; typically people put the fastest ram available to their mobo at the time of building, and the general rule of thumb is that you want to match what is already there.

If you check the mobo manufacturer's website it should have a spec sheet with your real answer.

 

[Pinhedd]

I'm working on a pretty old computer that uses DDR 266 (PC-2100). What I was wondering is do you think that the motherboard will be compatible with DDR 333 or 400 type RAM?

It won't natively support DDR-333 or DDR-400 but they might run. Doing so will require overclocking and possibly changing clock ratios if possible.

 

[rds1220]

The nice thing about DDR is that it is largely backwards compatable, so if you get ram that is above spec then the mobo will dumb the ram down to run at what it can handle, and if you get ram too slow, then the mobo will slow down the match.
Likewise, if there is ram already in the system then all ram will run at the speed of the slowest stick of memory. So long as it is DDR1 in a DDR1 mobo then it should work.

All that said; typically people put the fastest ram available to their mobo at the time of building, and the general rule of thumb is that you want to match what is already there.

If you check the mobo manufacturer's website it should have a spec sheet with your real answer.

This computer is for a customer using a North Gate computer a company that hasn't existed for atleast 7 or 8 years. There is no website or number for tech support. Thats why I want to know if it was backwards compatible.

 

[rds1220]

oh! about the ram compatibility!
If the ram in the system is ECC then you will need ECC
If the Ram in the system has an R in the speed rating then it is buffered memory, and will need to have buffered memory installed
If the ram has an L then it is low power memory, and you will need to match voltage

normally these are not issues, but it is something to look into.

I see none of that on the label. It just says DDR266 256M then a serial number.

 

[CaedenV]

the motherboard itself will have a model number (most likely made by gigabyte, or one of ASUS's many off-shoot companies like ABIT or ASRock), if you give us that then we can look up the information.

If the current ram module does not have any of those extra letters (which is normal) then you can purchase normal memory and have it work OK