Repost: A7N8X DX (Kingston RAM Q)

[Ron]

Apologies for the repost. I realized that the people from whom I wish to
hear (God? Ben Pope?) probably won't see the original post without the
"A7N8X" in the subject line!

I bought a pair of Kingston DDR-400 sticks from a store in the USA (which is
far from my home.). The P/N is [KVR400X64C3]. It was my intention to
install them into the A7N8X-DLX, but the Kingston website indicates that
they are matched to the P4P boards. I also see that the sticks have CL2.5
printed on them. The Asus website indicates that the approved RAM for this
board is [KVR400X64C25], although it specifies that even this memory has a
CL2.5 value.

(The Kingston website says that the values for these chips is "3-4-4"
whatever that means). So...being somewhat apprehensive about opening the
packages, I called Kingston directly. Their T/S was a bit cagey, and said
that the sticks I have would "probably be OK." He added that there would be
a slight speed difference, but that I wouldn't notice it.

Not accepting this, I contacted Asus directly, and they said: "No, that P/N
will NOT work on the A7N8X DX."

So now I'm in a bit of a bind. Two of the distributors here in CDA say that
no company will accept returns (or do a swap) on RAM. Two *different*
distributors say that since Kingston RAM has a lifetime warranty...they
(Kingston) will happily do a RMA so that I can get the proper stuff.

I feel stupid, and I'm not sure how to proceed.

Thoughts, please?
TIA Ron

 

[jaeger]

So now I'm in a bit of a bind. Two of the distributors here in CDA say that
no company will accept returns (or do a swap) on RAM. Two *different*
distributors say that since Kingston RAM has a lifetime warranty...they
(Kingston) will happily do a RMA so that I can get the proper stuff.

If what you have is 184 pin unbuffered DDR SDRAM, then it will work.
Don't put too much stock in the compatibility charts, it's impossible to
test every single DIMM. What is confusing is that the part # indicates
CL3 while you say that the actual DIMM has 2.5 on it. Where did you buy
them?

 

[Glenn Gorrie]

I can appreciate your confusion/frustration. I am waiting for delivery of an
A7N8X dlx Rev 2.0 at this time, and have spent hours searching for
confirmation on a 'compatible' DDR PC3200 (and 2700) 512 Mb DIMM - one that
has been proven to perform in practice, over time.
I'd really like to hear from others who are using this board and would like
to assist by posting their RAM make and specs. I have been reading far too
many posts here and there that identify memory compatibility issues with the
A7N8X dlx.
What say? It would surely help 'newbies'.

 

[Ron]

Hmm. Well in fact, each stick has an original Kingston sticker that says
"2.5V".

Further, I've spoken [again] to Kingston, and their "level 2" tech says that
these sticks WILL work on the A7N8X DX. Meanwhile, I've got my fingers and
toes crossed in the hope that the nice lady (who does RMA's to Kingston from
here in CDA) will help me to swap these 2 sticks for the C25 stuff i should
have purchased in the first place.

(Doh!)

Ron

 

[Ron]

Well, Asus says the C3 won't work. One Kingston rep. says it "should"
work...while another says it "will" work...and a third says there's no
reason why it "won't" work, provided I have a 400W or better PSU. And they
add that they will only replace it with the same P/N if I decide to RMA it.
Which is no good to me.

Meanwhile, the nice lady at one of the Kingston distributors here in CDA
said that they (Kingston) would only swap it if it was purchased from a
Kingston store. And I'm supposed to provide the # of the store (if it
was...which it was not). And several calls/visits to local retailers have
shown that none of them are willing to swap it for me. (In all cases, I
said I'd pay any $ difference). So it appears that nobody in CDA will swap
it for me. One dealer even said that, since there was no way to prove it
wasn't a 'grey market' item...he couldn't help me.

Jeepers! Even though I went to a legitimate US retailer - and I have a
receipt - that's still not good enough. I couldn't recall the precise P/N
of the approved RAM, so I asked the retailer for suitable memory for a
Asus/AMD board. The memory he produced looked like the right number. (And
it was - down to the last character; was 3, should have been 25.

I made a mistake, and now it appears that I'm gonna have to pay for it.
<sigh>

 

[jaeger]

Well, Asus says the C3 won't work. One Kingston rep. says it "should"
work...while another says it "will" work...and a third says there's no
reason why it "won't" work, provided I have a 400W or better PSU. And they
add that they will only replace it with the same P/N if I decide to RMA it.
Which is no good to me.

Well, you did get the right answer in there:

 

[Ron]

Admittedly, the consensus is that it will work. But will it run slower than
the 2.5 stuff? And if so, will it be one of those one-trillionth of a
nanosecond differences (which of course are undetectable by mortals
anyway?!)

I ask because Mr. Kingston said that yes - it WOULD be slower...but "you'd
only notice it in games and stuff, where you might lose 2 or 3 frames/second
on playback."

And I'm puzzled as to why Asus would state that it won't work. Mind you,
there are now about 9 players in this game - 5 of them say yes, and 4 say
no.

With odds like these, and considering we're talking about [what appears to
be] the world's most finicky mobo...

Hmmm.
Ron

 

[jaeger]

Admittedly, the consensus is that it will work. But will it run slower than
the 2.5 stuff? And if so, will it be one of those one-trillionth of a
nanosecond differences (which of course are undetectable by mortals
anyway?!)

Yes, it will be slightly slower. But no human will ever be able to tell
the difference. So unless your whole purpose of owning a computer is
running synthetic benchmarks, the performance will be fine.

 

[Ron]

Well, I've found a local dealer who promises to swap this for the right
stuff next week. In light of my experiences so far...I'll believe it when
I'm holding it in my hand. Meanwhile, I'm going to let this thread go
dormant, and post afresh [with a catchy subject line] late next week.

Warm appreciation to those who contributed thoughts 'n' ideas! (Stay
tuned!)

Ron

 

[Ben Pope]

Jeepers! Even though I went to a legitimate US retailer - and I have
a receipt - that's still not good enough. I couldn't recall the
precise P/N of the approved RAM, so I asked the retailer for suitable
memory for a Asus/AMD board. The memory he produced looked like the
right number. (And it was - down to the last character; was 3,
should have been 25.

If they chose the memory to be compatible with the board and it is not, then
it is they who are at fault, not you. If it is their mistake, they should
take the memory back and replace it for compatible memory (it's reasonable
to pay the extra) - to a spec that you originally wanted. They have not
fulfilled the terms of the contract, i.e., memory compatible with that
motherboard.

I made a mistake, and now it appears that I'm gonna have to pay for
it. <sigh>

Did you make the mistake, or they?

Ben

 

[Ron]

Well, Ben - they maintain that they made no error. When I spoke to them,
they assured me that this memory would work just fine with the Asus mobo.

So it seems that, until/unless I actually try it and ascertain that it will
not boot...I'm stuck with these sticks. At least, that's the position that
is being taken by the retailer.

The reference I made to "my" mistake, was to travel so far from home...and
then make a purchase of this calibre. In any case, this may soon become a
moot point. We'll see next week.

Ron