Motherboard FSB spec is 800/1066/1333 but compatible memory spec is 800 MHz

pwrmx24

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Jan 29, 2014
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Can I use higher clock memory in the ASUS IPIBL-LB? HP web site says FSB spec is 800/1066/1333 but compatible memory spec is PC2-6400 800 MHz.
I probably don't know what I'm talking about but why have a bus that interfaces w/the memory at higher than the memory spec. I thought they would be the same.
Thanks.
 
The front side bus relates to how fast the CPU can run (at least it used to). For the Core 2 series CPUs the memory controller was integrated on the motherboard instead of the CPU and was thus independent (sort of) from the speed of the CPU/FSB.
Your motherboard may actually be able to handle faster RAM, but it won't be supported. Even if it cannot, DDR2 was pretty good at down-clocking to match motherboard specs.