Question DDR2 and native support ?

[Koblerville]

Thanks for reading,

I’m confused by some information in a Pentium 4-era, P5AD2E ASUS motherboard manual. Specs first, then my questions.

RAM:
Dual-channel memory architecture
4 x 240-pin DIMM sockets support unbuffered non-ECC
DDR2-711 (FSB 1066)/DDR2-600 (FSB 800)/
DDR2-533 (FSB 1066/800) MHz memory modules
Up to 4 GB system memory
Native DDR2-711/600 support

Options provided in manual for setting the DRAM frequency:
auto, 400, 533, 600, and 711 MHz.

Manual also says:
Set the DRAM frequency to 600 MHz if your system is running at FSB 800. Set the item to 711 MHz if your system is running at FSB 1066.

************************

1) Would DDR2-400 be supported by this board? Confused because it’s listed as a DRAM frequency option, yet no DDR2-400 in the RAM specs.

2) Does 600 MHz under options above mean 600 megatransfers?

3) Could 533 above be understood as transfer rate (MTs), thereby using MHz to describe the base memory bus frequency of 266?

4) When the FSB is set to 800 why does the manual say to set the DRAM frequency to 600? It makes more sense to me to set it to 400 (400 MTs x 2 = 800 MTs FSB).

5) What does “native support” for the DDR2-711/600 mean? I also don't see this RAM for sale.


I don’t have this hardware. I am just researching in order to practice all of the math on the motherboard. I will take the A+ test soon. Feel free to answer with as many equations as possible.

R/ James Hazuga

 

[Aeacus]

1) Would DDR2-400 be supported by this board? Confused because it’s listed as a DRAM frequency option, yet no DDR2-400 in the RAM specs.

No.

As said in MoBo specs, it supports DDR2 533/667 Mhz RAM.

Most likely the BIOS on MoBo is shared between different MoBos, including for those which do support DDR2 400 Mhz.

2) Does 600 MHz under options above mean 600 megatransfers?

It can, if the BUS clock rate is meant to represent the actual DDR speeds. But without considering DDR, the BUS clock frequency for 600 MT/s would be 300 Mhz.

3) Could 533 above be understood as transfer rate (MTs), thereby using MHz to describe the base memory bus frequency of 266?

Yes.

4) When the FSB is set to 800 why does the manual say to set the DRAM frequency to 600? It makes more sense to me to set it to 400 (400 MTs x 2 = 800 MTs FSB).

CPU compatibility is the issue here.

Also, you won't get 800 MHz out of when selecting from BIOS 400 Mhz. Since that 400 Mhz already includes DDR.

5) What does “native support” for the DDR2-711/600 mean? I also don't see this RAM for sale.

RAM OC frequency.

Meaning that when you have 533 Mhz RAM, you can OC it to run at 600 Mhz. Or when you have 667 Mhz RAM, you can OC it to run at 711 Mhz. - All that, IF lucky, that is.