Ram severly declocked

[MC1]

I have 2 Gigs of Corsair XMS DDR400 on an Asus A8R MVP. For some reason, the ram is listed at only 100 Mhz, 1/4 of its supposed speed. I double checked with cpu-z and it said the same thing.

How do I get the ram to go at 400 Mhz? I looked around the Bios but did not see anything specific. Thanks!

*EDIT* I may have figured out part of the problem, I have 2 different types of XMS (thanks, Corsair). They look the same but 2 of the 4 sticks are newer. I tried the pairs out individually but they would only run @ 200Mhz, not their rated 400 Mhz..wtf!

 

[Mondoman]

I'm pretty sure CPU-Z reports the memory *clock*, not the effective data rate. Remember that DDR stands for Double Data Rate, so DDR running at a 200MHz clock has an effective data rate of 400MHz; thus the speed is called "DDR-400".

 

[MC1]

that would make sense. But then my Ram is only running at 200Mhz (because 100 time 2 =/= 400)

 

[Mondoman]

Make sure you are running the RAM on all "auto" settings in the BIOS. Also, try downloading PC Wizard 2007 (free), run it, and see what it says the RAM is running at (click "Mainboard" [computer w/down arrow] icon at top left; click "Chipset" at top right; info at bottom right), and what is in the SPD of the 4 different modules (click "Mainboard" [computer w/down arrow] icon at top left; click "Physical Memory" at top right; info at bottom right).

 

[MC1]

I copied this from the program, not quite sure what you mean by SPD

Type : DDR-SDRAM PC1600
Frequency : 100.2 MHz
DRAM/FSB Ratio : CPU/22
Supported Channels : Dual (128-bit)
Activated Channels : Dual
ECC Diagnostic : No
CAS Latency (tCL) : 2.5 clocks
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 2 clocks
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 2 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 5 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) : 7 clocks
DRAM Idle Timer : 16 clocks

 

[elpresidente2075]

For some reason your ram is running at DDR200 spec. The 100 is the base clock, and its multiplied by 2, due to the Double part of Double Data Rate (DDR). When it runs at 200MHz, its actually DDR400.

Setting it at auto is probably what the problem is. The fact that you have two different kinds installed are probably causing some sort of conflict and causing it to underclock itself. Don't know why its doing this, but to fix it, go into the bios and set it (the ram) to 200 mhz. IF it works, you've got all the speed advertised. Otherwise, I dunno.

Might be a problem with the mobo. Check for bios updates and such. I think I heard something about some boards doing that sort of thing with all four slots taken up.

Have a nice day...

 

[Mondoman]

SPD is the info contained in each module that gives data about the module and a set of conservative timings. You should be able to access that info in PC Wizard 2007 by doing the 2nd procedure (Physical Memory) in my previous post. Post what you get from there.

 

[MC1]

ok I will try that. thanks for y'alls help by the way. (And yeah, the mobo is pretty much crap, dont buy it)

 

[Crashman]

I have the A8R32-MVP, it's OK.

 

[akahuddy]

A8R32-MVP = Good
A8R-MVP = Crap

They're completely different boards and the latter just doesn't cut the mustard. I bought a DFI CFX3200DR on eBay and it is head over heels better across the board. (No pun intended)

 

[spanner_razor]

Carefuly when setting it to 200mhz as non matched ram can be a bitch to get to run stably, I used some old 400 mhz ram with newer corsair stuff and it just blue screened constantly.

 

[Crashman]

Ah, that's too bad. I picked the A8R32-MVP because it was the last motherboard on the market to support a Gameport (analog joystick connector). It's has a few hickups with the audio controller which were reduced with driver/BIOS updates. Otherwise it's a fine board, which is why I'll also go with your "good" assesment on what should have been a great board.