AMD 64 Question PLZ HELP

[Foxracer15]

Im getting a AMD 64 3200+ but my friend says that having 4 sticks of RAM (which i currently have 4x512) doesent work very well with the AMD 64 series...

He says it lower the speed of the RAM somehow.

I was wondering if you knew anthing about this? and if it was true?

Plz help :stickout: :stickout:

 

[DonNagual]

Yes, what your friend has told you is true. With the Athlon64 cpus the memory controller is integrated into the chip. If your cpu is pre-rev E, then it will actually go so far as to drop your FSB. If you are post-revE it is a little better, but still not really worth it. In most scenarios your system will be faster with 2x512 instead of 4x512, as it sets your system to a 2T automatically, as soon as you pop 4 sticks in.

Here is some good reading:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/athlon64-e3-mem_2.html

 

[Foxracer15]

Alright well thx for the info ill probly do that and just put in 2x512 if i get the 3200+ or i might just stick with my intel and leave in the 4x512. Not sure

Thats wierd that AMD would constuct their cpu so it would do that :suspiciou

 

[DonNagual]

Well, there is a good reason for it actually. And it is the main reason that AMD processors outperform their intel counterparts.

AMDs memory controller is built into the CPU, Intel's is not. The memory controller is what sends information back and forth between your CPU and memory. Intel's extra distance between the CPU and memory controller increases the processing time.

But the downside (as things currently stand) is that 4 sticks of ram mess things up. Stick with 2 sticks of ram with Athlon64 cpus. Hopefully in the newer cpus they will figure out how to get around this. In the meantime, it's just they way things are. :giddy:

 

[Didou]

The memory will be slowed down to PC2700 only if all 4 memory modules are double sided (memory chips on both sides of the memory module). If the modules are single sided, then you can populate all 4 slots & still have it run at PC3200 speed.

 

[mossimoboy]

Sorry to **** in, but this question has been eating away at me for a while.
If i put 4 sticks of pc2700 in, will that slow it down to pc1600 or something around there?


Thanks

 

[SCHUMIinSA]

I currently have a AMD Athlon64 3700+ with 2x512MB RAM. Would this same problem also occurr if I put in two more 1GB ram sticks?

 

[Foxracer15]

yea all my memory is double sided

But thank you all for the help :grinthumb

 

[DonNagual]

The memory will be slowed down to PC2700 only if all 4 memory modules are double sided (memory chips on both sides of the memory module). If the modules are single sided, then you can populate all 4 slots & still have it run at PC3200 speed.

But will it drop you down to 2T? I can't seem to find a definitive answer on this. I have been told that regardless of dual/single sided, if you try and work with 4 sticks you automatically get bumped to a 2T instead of 1T.

 

[Didou]

I've had it running at 1T on a few systems with 4 modules populated. Might be a BIOS issue, maybe some motherboard makers prefer to play it safe & default it to 2T.

I myself am installing a X2 3800+ with 4x 1GB modules on a MSI K8n Neo2-FX (not the platinum), I'll tell you how that goes.

 

[Foxracer15]

yes please do because that is the motherboard im planning on getting

 

[mossimoboy]

So.. does this mean that if i put in four sticks of pc2700 it will also downgrade a speed?

 

[Didou]

Well it seems with 4 modules of 512mb, 1T ins't quite stable. It went through memtest for more then 12 hours without errors but Windows felt flaky (it was a new install). Maybe I need to tweak with voltages & perhaps a newer BIOS release could help in that aspect.

Memory is running @ 200MHz though (400 DDR).

CPU-z validation page

 

[Didou]

Now running an ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 & the modules are running in 1T fine. If anyone is interested in a brand new MSI K8n Neo2-FX...

ps. the 1T/2T option was not available in the default 1.20 BIOS, I updated to the latest which is currently 1.50 & it showed up in the options.

 

[DonNagual]

Thanks Didou. Good to know.

In other news, I just noticed for the first time that my system is defaulting to 2T!!! I have the A8N-SLI deluxe (latest bios), Athlon64 3700+ and two sticks of PC3200 512mb samsung ram.

I know it is not the best ram on the block, but it still is good quality ram. Grrrrr.

Manually switched to 1T in bios. Stable so far.

 

[PaulWuzHere]

I am running an Athlon 64 3000+ socket 754 and I have 2 sticks of DDR400 ram, it reads as 333Mhz (DDR 2700) Is this a 2T thing? or si there something else wrong? I have updated the BIOs from gigabyte already and its the same. Also I am running an Nforce3 250

 

[DonNagual]

NO the 1T/2T thing is different from the FSB.

What is your motherboard make/model? Does it support 400Mhz FSB?

May be best to start a new thread on this.

 

[PaulWuzHere]

ya it says on the box in huge letters DDR400, and I don't believe there are any socket 754 boards that don't support that.

 

[DonNagual]

Of course your board supports up to 400Mhz. But for example, how much ram are you plugging in there? Some boards will downclock you to 333mhz if you try and use two sticks of 1GB (total of 2GB).

 

[DonNagual]

Or maybe you are lucky enough that a simple bios update is your problem.

On the FAQ for your motherboard, it says you must have version BIOS Ver. F11 or later (assuming your board is the GA-K8NS)


Q: This main board will show DDR333 speed when I use DDR400 double-side RAM module X 2 PCS, 1 PCS or single-side RAM module no problem.
A: Please update BIOS Ver. F11 or latter.
http://us.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/FAQ/FAQ_473.htm