Hey guyz i got a question (again lol)


from what i know, AMD can only use PC3200 RAM... (or probably im just a noob lol)


but somehow, i see someone using PC4000 with his opteron, and i see someone using RAM that's more than PC3200 for his AMD 64? how come?


is it me that's just a noob or what lol !



Thanks for the advance

Higher speed RAM gives you more room to breathe when you are overclocking so you don't have to use big memclock dividers. This is important on AMD's multiplier locked processors since all you can really do is increase your clock speed

Um, AMD's can use whatever 184pin DDR ram you want to use.

You haven't overclocked your OCZ ram yet? If you have... then viola.... DDR faster than PC3200 on your AMD processor OMGWTFBBQ.

My roomate(Ator) is using PC4800 ram. This allows him to overclock his FSB to 300 and have no RAM problems, and have a super fast rig with INSANE memory bandwidth.

The way I understand/remember it:

Older Athlon XP (and prior) processors had a maximum rated FSB, which varied from core to core (ie: Barton cores, etc). For example, some were rated to run at PC2700 (333FSB), and newer versions were rated to PC3200 (400FSB) Another important factor was the max rated FSB that the motherboard could support.

The RAM rating (ie: PC3200, PC4000, etc) refers to the maximum speed and amount of information that can be transmitted to/through the RAM itself, where PC3200 = 3.2 GB/s (or was it Gb/s ?)

A64 processors have the memory controller built in (no more need for a Northbridge on the mobo), so by using higher-speed-rated RAM, as stated above, you can crank up the processor speeds by increasing the FSB. Actually, that is simplistic in terms of what all you have to do to get a good OC. I just spent most of last night reading up (like 10 pages once I trimmed it down) on the recommended OC settings for my mobo...

One note, though: non-FX A64's are HALF-LOCKED, which means that you can drop the processor multiplier and increase the FSB in order to achieve a faster (overclocked) speed (see note about "simplistic" ^^^ ) This is where the faster-rated RAM comes in handy, since it will be capable of operating more efficiently at higher speeds than "value" RAM that becomes unstable above PC3200/400FSB.

FX procs are fully UNlocked, meaning you can maintain the same FSB and still raise the processor operating speed by raising the CPU multiplier, as long as your RAM can keep up (and you change a couple settings for your mobo in BIOS)

(any OC pimps that see something wrong with the above, please let me know)

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 The way I understand/remember it: Older Athlon XP (and prior) processors had a maximum rated FSB, which varied from core to core (ie: Barton cores, etc). For example, some were rated to run at PC2700 (333FSB), and newer versions were rated to PC3200 (400FSB) Another important factor was the max rated FSB that the motherboard could support. The RAM rating (ie: PC3200, PC4000, etc) refers to the maximum speed and amount of information that can be transmitted to/through the RAM itself, where PC3200 = 3.2 GB/s (or was it Gb/s ?) A64 processors have the memory controller built in (no more need for a Northbridge on the mobo), so by using higher-speed-rated RAM, as stated above, you can crank up the processor speeds by increasing the FSB. Actually, that is simplistic in terms of what all you have to do to get a good OC. I just spent most of last night reading up (like 10 pages once I trimmed it down) on the recommended OC settings for my mobo... One note, though: non-FX A64's are HALF-LOCKED, which means that you can drop the processor multiplier and increase the FSB in order to achieve a faster (overclocked) speed (see note about "simplistic" ^^^ ) This is where the faster-rated RAM comes in handy, since it will be capable of operating more efficiently at higher speeds than "value" RAM that becomes unstable above PC3200/400FSB. FX procs are fully UNlocked, meaning you can maintain the same FSB and still raise the processor operating speed by raising the CPU multiplier. (any OC pimps that see something wrong with the above, please let me know)

Athlon XP's can use higher rated ram too.

I've seen people run 300FSB on an Athlon XP.

I didn't mean that they couldn't, just that they were rated "out of the box" for use with PC2700/3200 RAM.

But wouldn't it sort of defeat the purpose of buying PC4000 RAM and slap it into an XP motherboard if you DON'T plan to OC?

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 I didn't mean that they couldn't, just that they were rated "out of the box" for use with PC2700/3200 RAM. But wouldn't it sort of defeat the purpose of buying PC4000 RAM and slap it into an XP motherboard if you DON'T plan to OC?

Yeah, just like it would be worthless on an Athlon 64 rig too. Athlon 64's aren't rated to use anything above PC3200 either...

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 I didn't mean that they couldn't, just that they were rated "out of the box" for use with PC2700/3200 RAM. But wouldn't it sort of defeat the purpose of buying PC4000 RAM and slap it into an XP motherboard if you DON'T plan to OC?

Exactly, the rating is just the maximum speed it is rated for. It would be like buying a ferrari and always driving the speed limit

Quote: Originally Posted by turbopsi Um, AMD's can use whatever 184pin DDR ram you want to use. You haven't overclocked your OCZ ram yet? If you have... then viola.... DDR faster than PC3200 on your AMD processor OMGWTFBBQ. My roomate(Ator) is using PC4800 ram. This allows him to overclock his FSB to 300 and have no RAM problems, and have a super fast rig with INSANE memory bandwidth.

NOOOOO !!! IF ONLY I KNEW !!!!! sighsighsigh ! lol !!


and yeah i OCed my RAM too only to 414 tho (is it the clock or something?) lol but i didnt know that Athon can take any RAM speed above 3200 !! !!

oo but how about DDR2? athlon cant do DDR2 can they?


thanks for answering me o mighty pimps

I wouldn't say that Athlons can't do DDR2 (they may not be able to and I just don't know for sure), just that it's hard to find Athlon boards that take the stuff... (did a quick search on newegg, came up empty).

A couple things:

First, Athlon 64's can't use DDR2 right now. That would mean it needs a whole new memory controller, which is coming very soon as the new socket M2 (has a new name now, can't remember it off the top of my head).

Second, raising the CPU multiplier won't increase the RAM speed, only raising the FSB speed does this.

Third, the Venice/San Diego/Dual core Athlon 64's actually have native support for up to DDR500 (PC4000) RAM built in. All you need is a BIOS update to unlock the feature, and you also need RAM with the rated SPD of DDR500 and up. This means that the RAM will run at 250Mhz, while your FSB will still be at 200!

Quote: Originally Posted by Ator A couple things: First, Athlon 64's can't use DDR2 right now. That would mean it needs a whole new memory controller, which is coming very soon as the new socket M2 (has a new name now, can't remember it off the top of my head). Second, raising the CPU multiplier won't increase the RAM speed, only raising the FSB speed does this. Third, the Venice/San Diego/Dual core Athlon 64's actually have native support for up to DDR500 (PC4000) RAM built in. All you need is a BIOS update to unlock the feature, and you also need RAM with the rated SPD of DDR500 and up. This means that the RAM will run at 250Mhz, while your FSB will still be at 200!

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 One note, though: non-FX A64's are HALF-LOCKED, which means that you can drop the processor multiplier and increase the FSB in order to achieve a faster (overclocked) speed (see note about "simplistic" ^^^ ) This is where the faster-rated RAM comes in handy, since it will be capable of operating more efficiently at higher speeds than "value" RAM that becomes unstable above PC3200/400FSB. FX procs are fully UNlocked, meaning you can maintain the same FSB and still raise the processor operating speed by raising the CPU multiplier, as long as your RAM can keep up (and you change a couple settings for your mobo in BIOS)

I see what you're getting at, the suggestion (or inferrence (sp?)) that upping the CPU multi would also increase the FSB, and therefore possibly make the RAM have to play catch-up... I think I forgot to mention that by upping the CPU multi on an FX-5x processor, that you'd have to up the FSB to match, if you wanted the RAM to run at 1:1 with the CPU/FSB... (did I get it right that time?)

nice .. thanks for all the information guyz

Quote: Originally Posted by GrandpaNoob72 I see what you're getting at, the suggestion (or inferrence (sp?)) that upping the CPU multi would also increase the FSB, and therefore possibly make the RAM have to play catch-up... I think I forgot to mention that by upping the CPU multi on an FX-5x processor, that you'd have to up the FSB to match, if you wanted the RAM to run at 1:1 with the CPU/FSB... (did I get it right that time?)

Not quite...

Actually, when you raise your CPU multiplier, the only thing that happens is that the CPU speed goes up. That's it. The RAM stays the same, the FSB stays the same. That's how a, say, 3000+, which runs at 1.8Ghz (200x9) still has the same RAM speed as a 3800+ @ 2.4Ghz (200x12). Heck, even running a 2x multiplier would still keep the RAM at 200Mhz.

Meh, my mind is mush right now, from all the DFI-Street/EOC OC guides I made myself read last night...

Thanks for the straightening out, though.