P4S533 memory sticks

[Sten]

Hello !
The manual of my P4S533 says I can use 3 DDR sticks of PC 2100 (up to 3 Gb)
but only 2 sticks of PC 2700 (2 Gb) ?
Now I have 2*512 of PC 2700.
Will the computer work at all if I put in a third stick ??
For some large graphical works I need a lot of memory.
Is it possible/(necessary) to turn down the memory speed to make this work ?
Maybe I can´t use the PC 2700 sticks at all if I need more memory!
Sten

 

[Paul]

Hello !
The manual of my P4S533 says I can use 3 DDR sticks of PC 2100 (up to 3 Gb)
but only 2 sticks of PC 2700 (2 Gb) ?
Now I have 2*512 of PC 2700.
Will the computer work at all if I put in a third stick ??
For some large graphical works I need a lot of memory.
Is it possible/(necessary) to turn down the memory speed to make this work ?
Maybe I can´t use the PC 2700 sticks at all if I need more memory!
Sten

There is a general relationship between the number of electrical
loads on the memory bus, and the maximum speed you can run it at,
without experiencing memory errors. Some of the Asus BIOS, will
automatically turn down the clock, when they detect three modules.
So, you might not have to do anything.

If you try it, get a copy of memtest86 from memtest.org . You can
even test your existing memory configuration, to see if it is error
free.

HTH,
Paul

 

[DaveW]

I'm not sure what you're question is: Your manual already told you that a
third stick of PC2700 will NOT work.

 

[Sten]

My manual told me that 3 sticks of PC2700 will NOT work but 3 sticks PC2100
does !

Question is :
1. Will the mainboard accept 3 sticks of PC 2700 running at the speed of PC
2100´s.
2. Is there a another way around this limitation.

Sten

 

[Paul]

My manual told me that 3 sticks of PC2700 will NOT work but 3 sticks PC2100
does !

Question is :
1. Will the mainboard accept 3 sticks of PC 2700 running at the speed of PC
2100´s.

Why not. There is no difference between a PC2700 stick running at PC2100
rates and a PC2100 stick doing that. That is what backward compatibility
is all about.

2. Is there a another way around this limitation.

Sten

Change motherboard ?

A P4S800D-E deluxe (SIS655 chipset) or a P4P800SE are cheap upgrades.
They are around $100 at Newegg.com, so shop around.

See page 17 of the first document, for population rules for SIS655.
Page 10 of the second document, covers rules for 875 (or 865) boards,
as they are really the same die.

http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/oa/pentium4/655tx_presentation.pdf
ftp://download.intel.com/design/chipsets/applnots/25273001.pdf

Even with mixed ram, you can still operate these boards in single
channel mode. (I'm more confident in the P4P800SE doing this, as
I'm less familiar with the operation of the P4S800D-E. But people
who have used the P4S800D-E report no problems using it.

Download the manuals from the Asus website before you buy. That way,
you can become familiar with what options are available on the board,
so there won't be any surprises.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Sten]

Thanks for the help !
After reading the article at http://www.lostcircuits.com/memory/2gb/ I don´t
think a lot more memory would help me so much !?
A little surprising testresult is it not ?
Maybe I have already a quite optimized computer as it is now...

P4S533
P4 2.8 GHz / 533 MHz / 512 Kb
2*512 Mb cas 2.5
Samsung SP1614N 160 Gb ATA133

Matrox Millennium P750
Samsung Syncmaster 1100p+ (21")

Sten