[Motherboard/Memory] DDR2 800 RAM work with DDR2 1066 slot?

[fragnasty]

Hey, first post, heh.


I need to know if a motherboard that says it supports DDR2 1066(but does not specify DDR2 800) will also support DDR2 800. I figured it was like PCIe 2.0 also working with PCIe x16, but I'm not actually sure.

I'm trying to upgrade my PC with a new motherboard and graphics card, but I have DDR2 800 RAM and the requirements for my graphics card are kind of conflicting with this. This is pretty much what I need.

AMD board
Socket Am2
Nvidia nForce chipset
At least 2 PCIe 2.0 x16(doesn't matter what else it has)
Support DDR2 800 RAM
SLI Support
$170 or less

I have found a couple of boards, but they seem cheaply made and I don't really trust them. I am curious about this because it would give me a lot more options. I never actually thought about the above problem until I wanted to upgrade. I can always buy RAM later, but I probably wont be able to for maybe 2 months, or longer.

 

[shadowthor]

If it supports DDR2 1066, it will also support speeds below that, including ddr2 800.

 

[fragnasty]

Ok cool, I thought it would but wasn't sure and none of my friends seemed to know either. Thanks.

 

[Mondoman]

SLI support is almost always a waste of money, because you can just buy a newer, single-card graphics solution that is more powerful than your SLI setup. Conveniently enough, the best-quality and most stable MBs today use Intel chipsets, like the P35. Consider going with a good Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3x MB (prices range from $90 to $160 or so).

 

[fragnasty]

I've got an AMD CPU, so wouldn't that kind of conflict with a board that has Intel chipsets?

I thought of ordering a DFI Lanparty DK and getting a Sapphire 3870 to go with it. After reading a lot of reviews and people's personal opinions, the 8800GT seemed like a better card that was in my price range(I have always liked Nvidia more anyways).

Would you recommend going with the DFI and the 3870, or another board and the 880GT?

 

[Mondoman]

Sorry, I assumed you would be upgrading your CPU as well; otherwise, you won't really see any performance gain by upgrading the MB.
Assuming you've got a PCI-express slot on your current MB, just get the 8800GT (which is certainly a good performer at very attractive prices now) and wait to upgrade the MB until you upgrade your CPU.

 

[doomturkey]

Don't worry about mixing AMD chipset with nvidia card, there are not conflicts. Now an intel chipset... Well there might be some issues there. So if you want you can go with the Lanparty DK and get the 8800GT. Or you could pick another board, its up to you.

 

[fragnasty]

I thought the 8800GT needed a 2.0 slot? I know the 2.0 and x16 are same look wise, but I figured you would still need a 2.0 for the newer cards.

If that's the case then I probably won't get a new motherboard(only reason I was planning on getting one was so I didn't have to get one later). But if it works out this way, I'll save some money now and spend it on other things heh.

 

[Mondoman]

Nah, the latest cards are built to PCIexpress 2.0 spec, but will still work fine in "normal" PCIexpress slots. The next generation of graphics cards might start pushing the throughput limits to the point where PCIexpress 2.0 might start helping, but by that time it might be time to switch MBs for other reasons as well (for example, DDR3).

 

[fragnasty]

Thanks for the input doomturkey. I knew there wouldn't be any problems with AMD chipset and Nvidia, but I was planning on doing SLI and was pretty sure you couldn't do that with a Crossfire board heh.

Also, thanks Mondoman. I think I'll just stick with the 880GT for now and save the motherboard money to buy something else(I need some more cooling lol).

You guys have been a great help, I'll have to come back here more often.