RAM - Cheated or Real?

[mac007]

Bought some RAM from Play.com, installed it and runs well.
I ordered the OCZ Reaper DDR2 PC2-8500, though when I ran Everest Ultimate & CPU-Z it said that it was PC2-6400.
On the box it has Part number OCZ2RPR10664GK, which does match the PC2-8500.

Could it be that both these programs are lying?
Is there another way to check?

Help much appreciated.

[r_j_k_p]

make sure you bios is updated on your mobo...

or that your mobo even supports pc2-8500

[Flewis]

Does it run at PC2-8500 speeds? If so theres nothing to worry about.

[this_is_gav]

Sure it doesn't have SPD settings for both? Most high-speed sets have SPD settings for at least 2 speeds, as the first time a board boots, it's highly unlikely to do so at PC2-8500 speeds until you tell it to.

[Salazaar]

Sure it doesn't have SPD settings for both? Most high-speed sets have SPD settings for at least 2 speeds, as the first time a board boots, it's highly unlikely to do so at PC2-8500 speeds until you tell it to.

QFT

What speed is it actually running at? If it's only running at 800Mhz it'll show as being PC2-6400, up the speed to 1066Mhz and it'll show up as PC2-8500.

[kalniel]

What options does the SPD table in CPU-Z list?

[Bugbait]

I use this RAM. The latest version of CPU-Z should list settings for 266, 333, 400, and 533. Off the top of my head it's something like:

266: 3-4-4-?-?
333: 4-4-4-?-?
400: 5-5-5-?-24
533: 5-5-5-15-26

At 400Mhz I can run them at 4-4-4-10, far tighter than the default (on the Asus Rampage Formula). I can boot at even lower settings (the 3rd ranking is far tighter) but it won't pass several hours of Orthos so hardly "rock stable".

[GSte]

It will be recognised as PC6400 as there is no official jedec spec for PC8500. If it doesn't RUN at PC8500 speeds, then you need to worry.

[Rosaline]

It will be recognised as PC6400 as there is no official jedec spec for PC8500. If it doesn't RUN at PC8500 speeds, then you need to worry.

GSte is spot on here - the highest it can claim to be is PC6400. It is always important after installing ram to correctly set the BIOS settings to those recommended by the ram manufacturer.

[Bugbait]

It is always important after installing ram to correctly set the BIOS settings to those recommended by the ram manufacturer.

No point buying OCZ Reaper RAM if you're just going to run it under "normal" conditions .

[mac007]

Seems like it had something to do with the jdec spec as suggested.
Changed the DRAM settings in the Bios to 1066, and system runs fine.

Thanks for the info, thought I was being ripped off.
Next step overclocking