Crucial PC2-8500, read as PC2-6400?

[MysLex]

Hello again Xtremesys. Been a while since last..

Just thought id check in and ask a fairly quick question..
Ive got my system setup for a while and everything seems to run accordingly.

How accurate is CPU-Z, really?
Seeing under CPU-Z's "SPD" tab, it reads my memories as;

MAX BANDWIDTH: PC2-6400 (400 MHz), while my mem sticks clearly should be PC2-8500 (according to the box they came in).

And another thing,, The Timings table, reading my mem voltages and timings and frequency,, I cant seem to quite understand what they are, why are there 4 sets of different timings and frequencies? :confused:

Im sorry if this should appear to be the worst set of questions you've read in a while, but i cant help to feel a bit confused,, I surely would like my mems to run in a speed they we're designed for.. :up:

Memsticks:
* 2GB * Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 CL5 EPP
"BL2KIT12864AA1065"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v422/MysLex/memss.png

If someone could help me clearify, Thank you in advance..
Sincerely

[triple_A]

Yep i have the same thing with my pc8500 OCZ ram.

That's normal.
The timings table lists the timings and voltages the ram is specified to run at at certain speeds.

As you can see 533Mhz is listed so it is indeed pc8500 ram.

[MysLex]

Thanks for clearing that up, i would just like to be sure, because under the tab "MEMORY" it clearly says my DRAM Frequency is 408.0 MHz aswell :confused:

Odd,,

Sincerely

[triple_A]

Well if you look at the timings table, you'll see two JEDEC speeds and two EPP speeds.
Those JEDEC speeds can be detected by any motherboard, so when you insert the ram into a motherboard, the motherboard reads that JEDEC data and sets the ram automatically to the best settings available.
Since most motherboards only support up to pc6400/400Mhz ram (that probably also goes for your mobo) it's most probably set to 400Mhz.

Those other two speeds listed are EPP, which means enhanced performance profile. These settings can ONLY be read my motherboards with nVidia chipsets. So if you have an nvidia based motherboard you simply go into the bios and set it to apply those enhanced performance profiles. Then it will automatically set the ram to the higher settings as listed by that EPP data, in your case 533Mhz. :)

However, this doesn't mean that you can't run your ram at 533mhz if you don't have an nvidia chipset. All you need to do in that case is enter the bios and set your ram to these speeds manually. So set it to 533Mz (1066ddr) by hand, then set the timings and voltage according to the timings table.
But in this case there is no guarantee that your motherboard is able to run at 533Mhz :P

[MysLex]

Interesting you say that, thank you..
I tried running them in higher speeds before, but it wouldnt work..
I thought my mobo would be able to run them at 533 MHz, but now when i check on Komplett.se's site(where i brought) it says:

RAM-Speed that's supported: PC2-4300, PC2-6400, PC2-5300

But when i check the mobo specifics out on the official Abit homepage, it says this under MEmory:

Supports Dual channel DDR2 1066/800/667 Un-buffered Non-ECC memory

Allthough i dont seem to be able to run them any faster then 400 MHz (800)


Sincerely

[triple_A]

Yep then your motherboard officially only supports up to pc6400.

May i ask what motherboard it is that you're using? although most mobo's don't officially support anything higher than pc6400, most of them can easily be overclocked to those speeds.

Edit:

those DDR2 1066/800/667 speeds are DDR (Dual data rate) speeds. so it effectively only runs on half that speed.

pc5300 = 333Mhz or 667Mhz DDR
pc6400 = 400Mhz or 800Mhz DDR
pc8500 = 533Mhz or 1066Mhz DDR

[MysLex]

Sorry, I thought i included that,, a bit distracted at the moment..

Im using a Abit IP35 Pro Mobo,,

Saying those numbers are half rate, doesent 1066 means i SHOULD be able to run them at 533 saying that the mobo supports that speed on the official site,,
But why in the hell does it say on Komplett's homesite (where i bought it) that it only supports PC2-6400 mems? *confused again*

Sincerely

[zanzabar]

look at the spd from my team extreme 667mhz 3-3-3-8
http://i30.tinypic.com/2dkx3f7.jpg

i dont really care what the spd is so long as it works

[MysLex]

Ok, thanks for that =)

So what program do you use to determine the speed of your memories, or do you simply trust the bios settings you apply before booting up? :-)

Sincerely,