A question about RAM speeds on the Motherboard

AMD Vagrant

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What does " 1866(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800" mean? If I don't over clock, can I still use the 1600 Mhz ram?

Does this mean that the motherboard can only use 1866 and 1600 if it's overclocked?

There is an 8 gig stick of ram for 1600 Mhz and 1333 Mhz that costs the same. if I put in the 1600 and don't overclock, would there be any problems?

Here is the link of the Motherboard I'm referring to. Just scroll down to the memory section.

http://www.cplonline.com.au/asrock-980de3-u3s3-motherboard.html

Edit: sorry about the bad title, I tried posting with another title but wasn't allowed. Or maybe there wasn't enough text in the question. Is there a minimum number of words you need in the body of the question?

Cheers
 
Solution
These specs you listed say that the mobo can "out of the box" support 1333, 1066, and 800 MHz RAM.
The 1600 Mhz RAM will downclock to 1333 when placed into that mobo, unless otherwise specified in the BIOS.
No, no harm should be expected....

ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory Support:
- Dual Channel DDR3 memory technology
- 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots
- Supports DDR3 Overclocked;1866(OC)/1600(OC)
- Supports DDR3 At nornal clock; 1333/1066/800

This means 1600 or 1866MHz RAM will run at 1333MHz if you configure nothing in the BIOS, but the motherboard will have the way to make RAM run at it's native speed, that's overclocking but just the RAM not the CPU... there is also the chance depending on the CPU that it will make the motherboard overclock automatically... but if you have to do it, it's no big deal... If the motherboard data says it supports 1866(OC)/1600(OC), it will perfectly handle those speeds without harm... it was made to support that speed but the BIOS was set by default to 1333Mhz because it was manufactured to use both AM3 and AMD3+ socket CPUs... and AM3's only support up to 1333MHz RAM.

The memory support list page says:
Note1: The mainboard supports DDR3-2100 MHz DIMMs only when you install a AM3+ cpu to the mainboard.
Note2: AMD FX series CPU on this motherboard support up to DDR3 1866 MHz as its standard memory frequency.
Note3: When overclocking, some AMD CPU models may not support DDR3 1600 MHz or higher frequency DIMMs.
Note4: Due to CPU spec, AMD 100 and 200 series CPUs support up to DDR3 1066 MHz. With ASRock design, this motherboard can support DDR3 1333 MHz.

http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/980DE3U3S3/?cat=Memory
 

AMD Vagrant

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Thanks for stating things in a clear manner. I fully understand now. I thought this might be the case but wasn't to sure initially. The CPU I'm going to be using is an FX-8320. I guess I will have to research on how to overclock ram. I've never overclocked anything I hope it's not too difficult :D
Again thanks for the help mate.

Cheers
 
Overclocking the RAM is quite simple, download the PDF user manual from the motheboard product page... The manual should contains the appropriate instructions... they are not so detailed but should help to a certain point..

To overclock the RAM all you have to do is:
1. To enter the BIOS you usually have to tap the DEL key repeatedly when the BIOS Post starts
2. In the BIOS go to the OC Tweaker menu / Memory Configuration / Dram frequency / double click on [Auto] / select 1600 or 1866 MHz (depending on the new RAM speed) / exit the setting screen with the ESC key / next press F10 to exit the BIOS saving the setting... if prompted to confirm, do so, and exit.

See and/or download the manual
ftp://66.226.78.21/manual/980DE3U3S3.pdf