DDR Ram, backwards compatible?

G

Gooter

Geek Trainee
Hi,

I want to purchase additional DDR Ram for my current system. However, I also will be updating (new mobo) my system in the near future...I just do not want to do it all at this time. My current mobo only supports up to PC2100 DDR Ram. If I purchase PC3200 or higher Ram (to use in my future system), will it work on my current mobo? Can you set the memory timings to slow down the faster Ram?

If it helps, I have a Epox 8K7a board.

Thanks!
 
Im not certain..... :)
But ddr ram is basically sd ram, and sd ram is backwards compatible. Plus you can buy things like pc3500 and I think pc3700 now too, no motherboard 'supports' this so it must be backwards compatible.

Your board almost definatly allow you to change your memory timings ie the cas and ras timings.
But im guessing you mean the clock speed..... if the ram is backwards compatible you wont have to alter your clock speeds. You will usually have the option to change the fsb:mem ratio in your bios.

Just hit delete on bootup and have a look around.

A little look at your board....
http://www.amdmb.com/article-display.php?ArticleID=86
 
Yes, it is 'backwards compatible'. Getting faster RAM than what the motherboard supports is never a bad idea, since you'll at least be able to tweak the memory timings faster.
What zeus said is good, but keep in mind some bios features vary from board to board. Epox is known for some good overclocking motherboards, so there should be plenty of tweaks for you to play with.
 
Thanks for the replies. Now, I have a different question.

Is there a noticeable difference in speed between the PC2100 vs. the PC2700 or PC3200 DDR Ram? Just wondering if I need to spend the money to get the 3200 when the 2100 is cheaper, albeit only around $13 cheaper for a 512 stick.

Thanks.
 
Certain sizes and speeds are at more of a sweet spot than others. Also consider the brand. You might be able to get away with some cheaper stuff by the likes of OCZ and Geil, but these have been known to have problems in the past. If you have the money, Corsair is supposedly the best. Personally, I like Samsung. Good quality stuff w/o having to pay out the nose. The brand I recommend staying as far away from as possibly is PNY, as I've only really had problems with their memory. Go with either Crucial or Samsung for the best price while still retaining quality.

I'd suggest buying at least PC2700, of a good brand, as PC2100 is on the low end of the spectrum and is about the minimum anyone uses these days.
 
Your memory should always be run in sync with your FSB.

Thus, if you have a FSB of 133, PC2700 memory will not make your system perform better.
And actually, on some motherboards, DDR400 performs less than DDR333 w/ a FSB of 166.

That said, you can always buy faster ram and run it at a lower speed, because I don't know about where you live, but here, PC2100 is the exact same price as PC2700, so why not get it ?
 
The the sake of $13 id definatly get the faster ram.

But I always wanna overclock :)
 
That's actually the only reason why you should get faster mem than your FSB, besides the price: overclocking.
That is why PC3500 and PC3700 exist, because currently, no cpus natively run on a 216 or 233 FSB (DDR433 and DDR466)
 
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