DDR 400 with 333 FSB?

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karel69

New Member
i've just ordered a new mobo, cpu and ddr module over the internet. But i have a question: the ddr module i bought is a 400 MHz one, while the cpu is designed to run at a 333 MHz FSB speed. (Both of them are supported by the mobo of course.) but is it actually wise (or even possible) to get a system working with asynchronous fsb/ddr. Do i have to purchase a 333 MHz DDR module, or will i need to set the fsb to 200 MHz, increasing the multiplier (btw, is this even possible, considering that the socket A sempron is designed for 333 FSB)? Or can I just leave things the way they are? And if i do leave things the way they are, is it true that some performance goes to waste then due to the asynchronous fsb/ddr?
 
I'm not sure about the actual performance speed, but I have a similar setup; Athlon XP 2700+ (333 FSB) and 512 MB DDR400 (2x256). When I set the RAM control to "auto" in the BIOS, it loads the RAM as 166MHz dual-channeled, but when I set it to "by SPD" it loads up as 200MHz dual-channeled. The setup won't have any problems loading/running, but I don't know if the RAM is actually running at 200MHz, or if it's just telling me it is. I suspect the former.
 
This came from the ram 101... I think you can trust praetors advice.

Budget Machine
Generally shoot for PC3200 (even if your board supports only PC2700). The reasoning is (a) running budget PC3200 on a PC2700 board may allow for tighter timings and thus a wee bit more performance, (b) the price delta is not significant between one or two speed grades and (c) PC3200 allows for a bit more upgrading.

So my guess is it will work...
 
It'll definitely work and if the board supports having an asynchronous CPU/DRAM clock then you can have your CPU at 166MHz and the RAM at 200MHz. Reliastically there isnt a world of difference between the two both in terms of price or performance :)
 
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