hey i have a AMD AM2 Athlon 64 x2 4200+ cpu with kingston 2x 1gig ddr2 667mhz ram i have been getting random pc restarts and everything. just before i put in 1 ram stick and put my ram mhz to 400mhz so far i have not had one restart i was wandering can my cpu actually handle the 667mhz ddr2 at all or is the slower ram speeds im running now better?
amd am2 and ddr ram help
- Thread starter drift-oz
- Start date
If ive understood my reading on DDR2 properly, to run at 1:1 with your cpu you need PC2-6400, DDR2-800 (same thing). It will like '400mhz' (FSB, double data rate x 2 = 100x4) as the 100mhz clock it is actualy running is a proper factor of the cpus fsb of 200.
As PP said AMDs an't a fan of deviders really. So while DDR2-667 should work in theory, it might just be being a pita for you. Run some benchies and see if it makes much of a differance.
Just my .2
As PP said AMDs an't a fan of deviders really. So while DDR2-667 should work in theory, it might just be being a pita for you. Run some benchies and see if it makes much of a differance.
Just my .2
I hope you're not misreading your mobo...
If you have DDR2-667 at stock timings and trying to run at "400MHz", you could in fact be running at DDR2-800 speed (400x2). Might want to check out CPU-Z and see if you're overclocking it-- If it says 200MHz, you're way low, 400MHz is way high (loosen timings maybe, check RAM specs). If that is the case, you have to back it down to 333MHz (DDR2-667).
TJS
If you have DDR2-667 at stock timings and trying to run at "400MHz", you could in fact be running at DDR2-800 speed (400x2). Might want to check out CPU-Z and see if you're overclocking it-- If it says 200MHz, you're way low, 400MHz is way high (loosen timings maybe, check RAM specs). If that is the case, you have to back it down to 333MHz (DDR2-667).
TJS
My G.Skill is rated at 5-5-5-15 DDR2-800, and 4-4-4-10 DDR2-667... think a lot of RAM is able to scale higher nowadays with loose timings, but our friend with the issues may have it too aggressively clocked/timed. I also know that mobo BIOSes vary, so he may be misreading it... I hate having to learn a new BIOS every time I get a new mobo. 
TJS
TJS
Thanks heaps for your help. umm ok here it goes, i went into a comp store where my mate works i told him about my probs with pc resetting and stuff and he told me that aparently AMD AM2 are fussy with ram. He said that aparently kingston ram works good with amd am2 so for $340AUD i got some kingston ddr2 667mhz 2x 1gig paired sticks. took it home installed it into first 2 slots where my pc wouldnt boot with old ram in there pc booted and has kept going since running at 667mhz no probs for last 6 hrs now all bios settings on auto. just before i went onto amd site and checked there parts list which they say you should use with my cpu and right there under kingston ram was my exact ram which i bought and i couldnt see any list for my old kingmax ram. so if anybody else got this prob maby have a look at that. So yeah im so happy now pc works and at propper speeds. One more thing i was wandering can i oc my ram and cpu now like maby run ram at DDR2 800mhz now? and what could i maby get my 2.2gig amd am2 64bit dual core running at? thanks alot everyone for your help. also any one wanna buy my old kingmax ram at all, will send to anyone in australia and again thanks everyone.
FarFarAway
New member
The 4200+ should clock to at least 2.6GHz I reckon and most RAM can run at 800MHz with some more volts and perhaps looser timings
would i need any special cooling for the ram to run at 800mhz i done it just before for a few mins but i didnt wanna push it also what voltage should i do and what do you mean by looser timings atm its like 5-5-5-15, 2T or something, also what do i need to change on the cpu to run 2.6gig like fsb, voltage?
Basics of OCing are pretty much (lame terms) raise FSB/ hit wall, raise voltage/ Raise FSB ect. Its not that easy, but thats pretty much how it works. As for the ram, loosining the timings means make those #s bigger. Like 5-5-5-15 to 6-6-6-15 and so on. To tighten your timings you make them smaller like 4-4-4-12 ect. They can probably explain it better than me. And AM2s are finiky with odd #'d RAM.
FarFarAway
New member
A fan will do on the cooling front. 2 x Rubber bands + 80mm fan ftw 
