Question about P4C800-E and PC3700 Memory

[G. Constantine]

Hello. Recently I got 2 sticks of PC3700 (1024MB 128Mx64) mem to go
with my newly bought P4C800-E mobo. The problem I'm having is when I
install the memory and power on the comp, nothing happens. no
beeping, no post, blank screen. Nothing but the fans whirling. When
I re-installed my old mem (PC2100) everything booted fine, but I got a
post error saying 'Overclocking Failed' or something along those
lines. After going in to the BIOS and making sure everything was
kosher I exited and everything was honkey-dorey. Please note I don't
overclock my system and all of the BIOS settings concerning the
CPU/Memory are default.

While browsing the manual for memory compatability it lists PC2100, PC
2700 and PC3200. Is it that the P4C800-E does NOT support PC3700
memory AT ALL? Or is there something I need to change on the board or
in the BIOS for the system to recognize it? Thanks!!

 

[OldBoy]

Hello. Recently I got 2 sticks of PC3700 (1024MB 128Mx64) mem to go
with my newly bought P4C800-E mobo. The problem I'm having is when I
install the memory and power on the comp, nothing happens. no
beeping, no post, blank screen. Nothing but the fans whirling. When
I re-installed my old mem (PC2100) everything booted fine, but I got a
post error saying 'Overclocking Failed' or something along those
lines. After going in to the BIOS and making sure everything was
kosher I exited and everything was honkey-dorey. Please note I don't
overclock my system and all of the BIOS settings concerning the
CPU/Memory are default.

While browsing the manual for memory compatability it lists PC2100, PC
2700 and PC3200. Is it that the P4C800-E does NOT support PC3700
memory AT ALL? Or is there something I need to change on the board or
in the BIOS for the system to recognize it? Thanks!!

Did you enable SPD?
If so, the bios reads the info from the memory sticks......

Gr. Jan

 

[G. Constantine]

Did you enable SPD?
If so, the bios reads the info from the memory sticks......

Gr. Jan

If you mean the option 'Configure DRAM timing by SPD', then yes, it is
enabled...

 

[Paul]

If you mean the option 'Configure DRAM timing by SPD', then yes, it is
enabled...

You had better read the part number off the DIMM and post it here.
If there is no heat spreader, post the numbers on the chips as well.
Maybe it is the wrong kind of ram ? You seem to be saying that
each DIMM contains 1GB of memory ? If they are Mushkin, for example,
Mushkin uses "stacked" RAM, and those DIMMs give more than the standard
load to the motherboard.

Paul

 

[DaveW]

When using highly timing dependent 1 GB sticks of RAM, it makes a HUGE
difference which brand and which model you use. Most, especially
inexpensive, will NOT work due to timing problems. The correct brand and
model of PC3700 will work in that board.

 

[G. Constantine]

You had better read the part number off the DIMM and post it here.
If there is no heat spreader, post the numbers on the chips as well.
Maybe it is the wrong kind of ram ? You seem to be saying that
each DIMM contains 1GB of memory ? If they are Mushkin, for example,
Mushkin uses "stacked" RAM, and those DIMMs give more than the standard
load to the motherboard.

Paul

I just tried again with a speaker connected to the mobo so I could
hear the post error. It said "System failed due to CPU overclock",
but like I said, nothing in the BIOS is set to O/C anything.

What I got was 2x 1024MB 128Mx64 PC3700 184Pin-DDRam. The only thing
I see on the sticks themselves are on each issolinear chip is says:
GET 0346 AE2501284T-6. Here's a link to where I got it:

http://www.dvcentury.com/Merchant2/...Product_Code=88-466-1024&Category_Code=PC3700

Could it be that this board simply doesn't allow PC3700 memory at all?
Or is there a way I can override the BIOS make it use the memory?
Thanks for any help you can render!

 

[Paul]

I just tried again with a speaker connected to the mobo so I could
hear the post error. It said "System failed due to CPU overclock",
but like I said, nothing in the BIOS is set to O/C anything.

What I got was 2x 1024MB 128Mx64 PC3700 184Pin-DDRam. The only thing
I see on the sticks themselves are on each issolinear chip is says:
GET 0346 AE2501284T-6. Here's a link to where I got it:

http://www.dvcentury.com/Merchant2/...Product_Code=88-466-1024&Category_Code=PC3700

Could it be that this board simply doesn't allow PC3700 memory at all?
Or is there a way I can override the BIOS make it use the memory?
Thanks for any help you can render!

The P4C800 uses the 875 Northbridge and the datasheet for the Northbridge (which
contains the memory controller) is here:

http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/index.htm?iid=PCG+devleftnav&
http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/25252502.pdf

If you look on PDF page 131, the largest chip the 875 can handle is a
64Mx8 chip.
Page 133 also contains a table with the same info. (Intel generally only
officially
supports JEDEC standard modules, which use x8 or x16 chips.)

I wasn't able to get any useful info from the dvcentury web page (like
many on pricewatch),
so now we have to use the chip number. I tried running the chip number
through icmaster.com
and got no match (which is not surprising - now that you can have anything
you want printed
on the tops of chips). Now, if you look at the trailing digits, the 1284
says to me
"128Mx4" chip technology.

Looking at the 875 datasheet, the supported configurations are x8 or x16
chips and there
is no mention of x4 chips.

If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you'll see that reputable
manufacturers use
64Mx8 chips, to make 1GB modules. Micron modules are sold by Crucial, and these
particular ones are about $430 each, significantly more than the $150 you paid.

http://www.micron.com/products/modu...count=184-Pin&version=Unbuffered&package=DIMM

If you go to the Kingston site, the best value there in a 1GB module for
the P4C800-E
is this one, for $259 each. The module has ECC, which I believe P4C boards
support.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/partsinfo.asp?ktcpartno=KVR400X72C3A/1G

While the datasheet link for that product is not valid, another 1GB module
from the
listing for the P4C800-E says the module uses 64Mx8 parts.

Another thing that is strange about that part number, is the -6 part. If
you look here,
a -6 corresponds to a DDR333 chip, and it is a long way from DDR333 to
DDR466. You would
think an overclocked module would start with a -5 chip. All vendors who
offer modules
faster than PC3200, do so by overclocking - there is no JEDEC standard for
anything
faster than PC3200, so faster modules are established by testing and not
by design.
(An engineer can contact a memory company factory and get specs which
aren't in the
datasheet, and perhaps that is how they establish what a safe amount of
headroom is.)

http://www.micron.com/products/dram/ddrsdram/partlist.aspx?density=512Mb

If you look at Corsair's listing of memory, they only have one unbuffered module
at the 1GB size point. It is a PC3200 module, so Corsair doesn't offer anything
faster than that at 1GB. About $330 each in pricewatch.com.

http://corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html
http://corsairmicro.com/corsair/products/specs/cmx1024-3200.pdf

I wonder what Dvcentury's return policy is like ?

I would also be curious as to what motherboard DVcentury used to test the
modules.
I cannot imagine what board would support the module, as server boards are more
likely to use registered modules. Maybe one of the current SIS or Via
chipsets is
more forgiving ? Intel generally is not an industry leader when it comes to
supported chip densities (it has to do with their stance on standards).

You could also check over at abxzone.com. Here is a sample post:

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=645680#post645680

HTH,
Paul

 

[jaf]

As a test try just one stick.
If it starts shut down and try the other stick.


--
John
johnf 202 at hotmail dot com


| Hello. Recently I got 2 sticks of PC3700 (1024MB 128Mx64) mem to go
| with my newly bought P4C800-E mobo. The problem I'm having is when I
| install the memory and power on the comp, nothing happens. no
| beeping, no post, blank screen. Nothing but the fans whirling. When
| I re-installed my old mem (PC2100) everything booted fine, but I got a
| post error saying 'Overclocking Failed' or something along those
| lines. After going in to the BIOS and making sure everything was
| kosher I exited and everything was honkey-dorey. Please note I don't
| overclock my system and all of the BIOS settings concerning the
| CPU/Memory are default.
|
| While browsing the manual for memory compatability it lists PC2100, PC
| 2700 and PC3200. Is it that the P4C800-E does NOT support PC3700
| memory AT ALL? Or is there something I need to change on the board or
| in the BIOS for the system to recognize it? Thanks!!

 

[G. Constantine]

What I got was 2x 1024MB 128Mx64 PC3700 184Pin-DDRam. The only thing

The P4C800 uses the 875 Northbridge and the datasheet for the Northbridge (which
contains the memory controller) is here:

http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/index.htm?iid=PCG+devleftnav&
http://developer.intel.com/design/chipsets/datashts/25252502.pdf

If you look on PDF page 131, the largest chip the 875 can handle is a
64Mx8 chip.
Page 133 also contains a table with the same info. (Intel generally only
officially
supports JEDEC standard modules, which use x8 or x16 chips.)

I wasn't able to get any useful info from the dvcentury web page (like
many on pricewatch),
so now we have to use the chip number. I tried running the chip number
through icmaster.com
and got no match (which is not surprising - now that you can have anything
you want printed
on the tops of chips). Now, if you look at the trailing digits, the 1284
says to me
"128Mx4" chip technology.

Looking at the 875 datasheet, the supported configurations are x8 or x16
chips and there
is no mention of x4 chips.

If you scroll to the bottom of this page, you'll see that reputable
manufacturers use
64Mx8 chips, to make 1GB modules. Micron modules are sold by Crucial, and these
particular ones are about $430 each, significantly more than the $150 you paid.

http://www.micron.com/products/modu...count=184-Pin&version=Unbuffered&package=DIMM

If you go to the Kingston site, the best value there in a 1GB module for
the P4C800-E
is this one, for $259 each. The module has ECC, which I believe P4C boards
support.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/partsinfo.asp?ktcpartno=KVR400X72C3A/1G

While the datasheet link for that product is not valid, another 1GB module
from the
listing for the P4C800-E says the module uses 64Mx8 parts.

Another thing that is strange about that part number, is the -6 part. If
you look here,
a -6 corresponds to a DDR333 chip, and it is a long way from DDR333 to
DDR466. You would
think an overclocked module would start with a -5 chip. All vendors who
offer modules
faster than PC3200, do so by overclocking - there is no JEDEC standard for
anything
faster than PC3200, so faster modules are established by testing and not
by design.
(An engineer can contact a memory company factory and get specs which
aren't in the
datasheet, and perhaps that is how they establish what a safe amount of
headroom is.)

http://www.micron.com/products/dram/ddrsdram/partlist.aspx?density=512Mb

If you look at Corsair's listing of memory, they only have one unbuffered module
at the 1GB size point. It is a PC3200 module, so Corsair doesn't offer anything
faster than that at 1GB. About $330 each in pricewatch.com.

http://corsairmicro.com/corsair/xms.html
http://corsairmicro.com/corsair/products/specs/cmx1024-3200.pdf

I wonder what Dvcentury's return policy is like ?

I would also be curious as to what motherboard DVcentury used to test the
modules.
I cannot imagine what board would support the module, as server boards are more
likely to use registered modules. Maybe one of the current SIS or Via
chipsets is
more forgiving ? Intel generally is not an industry leader when it comes to
supported chip densities (it has to do with their stance on standards).

You could also check over at abxzone.com. Here is a sample post:

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=645680#post645680

HTH,
Paul

Thank you VERY much on that rather informative response! I ended up
sending the memory back to exchange it for 1Gb (2x512) of PC3200
memory.

http://www.dvcentury.com/Merchant2/...90-3210+++[Detail+Specs]&Category_Code=PC3200

Hopefully these will work. Serves me right for not doing more
research and blindly buying the cheapest thing I saw. Let that be a
lesson to all of you! ;>

Thanks again Paul, you are a credit to this group.