[SOLVED] 2x4GB DDR2 RAM on ECS MCP73VT-PM mobo

[razmanta]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to "refurbish" an older PC to give it away. I have small concern that I haven't managed to work out by researching on the internet.

The mobo in the old PC is a ECS MCP73VT-PM (https://microdream.co.uk/ecs-mcp73vt-pm-socket-lga775-matx-motherboard.html#.XvsvsvdRVg8) which I've paired with a Intel core2quad Q6600.
I'm trying to find a 2x4GB kit of RAM for it, and am barely coming up with anything. I'm looking at this kit: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/gp/product/B010B6YRYM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2NSWM0XFATW3G&psc=1.
That RAM kit says it won't work with an Intel chipset. The mobo has an nvidia chipset.
Is it an issue that the CPU is an Intel one? Will it still work?

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!

PS: sorry for the noob-ish question, I'd just like to avoid throwing the money away needlessly

 

[Math Geek]

the difference was the voltage the ram ran at. check out the voltage needed for the ram kit and then see if the mobo can handle it.

if the numbers are good then it will likely be ok. but those 2x4 kits were real troublesome when they came out and may not work well.

 

[SamirD]

2x4gb ddr2 will be worth more than the whole system--those kits that work for the intel platform have always been and still are expensive.

 

[razmanta]

the difference was the voltage the ram ran at. check out the voltage needed for the ram kit and then see if the mobo can handle it.

if the numbers are good then it will likely be ok. but those 2x4 kits were real troublesome when they came out and may not work well.

Thanks @Math Geek ! I did not think of that, will have a look.
Yeah, I've read a lot of bad reviews for these kinds of kits. Think I'll end up settling for a 2x2GB kit that's easily available locally. Just hope it'll be enough for the system to handle light browsing/office applications, maybe some low res/low detail games. Gonna throw in a SSD too and my old R9 290x.

 

[razmanta]

2x4gb ddr2 will be worth more than the whole system--those kits that work for the intel platform have always been and still are expensive.

That's if you can find them at all . I can't find them at all on the domestic market (Romania). Just found some offers on Amazon.de and ebay - price and trustworthiness vary wildly lol. Also did a dry run for ordering that 2x4gb kit this morning, doesn't ship to Romania... oh well.

 

[Math Geek]

i bought 4 x 2gb ddr2-800 last year for about $35 new off newegg. of course i'm in the US so it was easy to do. i recall seeing a couple 2x4 kits but they were real expensive and i know they had lots and lots of problems on pretty much every platform.

but 4 gb will be plenty for office work and light gaming overall. you won't be playing any new AAA games on that q6600 anyway. anything that will run on the q6600 should run fine with 4 gb ram.

i recently had a q6600 system the kids used as a gaming rig themselves and they had no complaints. i paired it with a hand me down 380 and it worked fine for 1080p for what the kids were playing. i did have 8 gb ram but it had 4 slots so the above referenced 4 x 2gb kit was what i installed there.

 

[geofelt]

The motherboard has onboard video that would be fine for simple apps.
The big key to good performance will be the ssd.
As to the ram, the motherboard looks to need nothing special.
Memory
• Single-channel DDR2 memory architecture
• 2 x 240-pin DDR DIMM socket support up to 8 GB
• Support DDR2 667/533/400 DDR2 SDRAM
I suppose the seller of the ram in your link knows of some sort of limitation so I would buy something different.

 

[SamirD]

Thanks @Math Geek Think I'll end up settling for a 2x2GB kit that's easily available locally. Just hope it'll be enough for the system to handle light browsing/office applications, maybe some low res/low detail games. Gonna throw in a SSD too and my old R9 290x.

Should definitely be able to handle the basics with that r9 290x in there. I have an older Dell Precision 670 that's socket604 xeon and when I added a gtx 260 to it, it went from stuggling with 480p videos to running 720p without breaking a sweat. It's amazing how much improvement can come from a gpu, even in non-game related applications.

 

[Math Geek]

mine is a dell XPS 420. we still use it but it's now the 4th system and only gets the basic web browsing, streaming and basic homework tasks. when i upgraded last couple times the kids get the last hand me down. they just got the 4690k system when i made the 3600x and 3700x systems we mainly use now for the heavy lifting.

 

[razmanta]

Thanks for all the input, guys! Really appreciate it. I'm gonna go ahead with the 2x2Gb kit, as it seems to be the safest option.
@Math Geek @SamirD : thank for sharing your own experiences. They put my concerns to ease (was feeling kinda bad I might wind up giving away an unusable system).
@geofelt : yup, SSD is a must.
I'll have the system updated by end of January, will come back with a short post about how it runs - for closure .

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

 

[SamirD]

Glad to help. Definitely post back with your experiences. I'd love to hear how it runs.