Help with Upgraded RAM speed.

[Joekerr22]

To anyone who can help,

I currently own a Soyo KT400 Platinum edition motherboard. I had a 512mb Crucial stick of DDR333. I recently just bought 2 more sticks of Crucial 512 DDR400. When I start my computer the memory is found in the memory check but after that it says DDR233. I believe this is showing my memory working at a 233 rate. Is there anyway I can reformat my computer to get the memory to work at 400 or at least 333. I'm not familiar with overclocking but would attempt it if it would fix this problem and if someone could help me with this matter. Thanks for the time.

[mike_w]

What is the processor? If it is an Athlon XP, it would be best to leave the memory at its current speed so that the CPU is running in sync with the RAM.

[oralpain]

It should be working at 333, if that is the rated fsb of your processor. If it's not, go into the bios setupo and select the DRR333, 166Mhz, or 5:4 memory ratio.

You dont have to reformat anything.

[Joekerr22]

My processor is a Athlon 2100+. It's about 4 years old so I don't think it's an XP.

[oralpain]

It is an XP. Athlons prior to the XPs listed thier true MHz, not a PR number.

The 2100+ is a 266MHz fsb, the memory will run at 266Mhz DDR (133 real Mhz), unless you overclock. A 2100+ that is that old is a Palomino core. Palominos are multiplier locked and are poor overclockers, so getting any noticeable performance boost from overclocking is probbaly not going to happen.

You should leave your memory at 266MHz. Running the memory at its ratted speed will give you no perfromance benifit as the FSB of the cpu is only 266.

[Joekerr22]

Thanks for the clearification. I just have a few more questions. Is there a danger in changing the cpu? Is that possible damage to the mother board or should it not be a problem? What does fsb stand for? Thanks for the help.

[mike_w]

Thanks for the clearification. I just have a few more questions. Is there a danger in changing the cpu? Is that possible damage to the mother board or should it not be a problem? What does fsb stand for? Thanks for the help.

FSB stands for Front Side Bus. The CPU speed is FSB X multiplier. Although the multiplier only affects the CPU, the FSB is also the speed of the RAM. If you want the RAM to go faster, you'd have to make the FSB higher, thereby increasing the speed of the CPU.

You can change the CPU safely so long as you reapply thermal paste and reattach the heatsink correctly. You should also check that the motherboard is capable of taking whatever CPU you intend on installing.

However, I would personally go for an Athlon 64 since Socket A CPUs are becoming outdated. While they're not slow, Athlon 64s are (in my opinion) a better option.

[oralpain]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front-side_bus