Motherboard and chipset restrictions

foldingchair · Aug 12, 2004, 08:58 AM

hey, i was looking into upgrading my computers ram, and before i bought some i was going to look to see what the motherboards max amount or ram it can read. I have a link to my mobo and a link to my mobo's chipset. On the motherboard page it says that the max amount of mem is 1gig sd ddr, but on my chipset's page, it says that it can hold a max of 4gig sd ddr. I should go by the motherboards max right? The only way i could max out the chipsets max of 4 gigs would be to get a mobo that can support 4gigs right? Sorry this is kinda confusing, i didnt know that the chipset had a max memory like the motherboard did.

thanks!

dipstick · Aug 12, 2004, 01:54 PM

Which mobo is it? Most boards support a max of 1GB in each slot for a total of 3 or 4GB depending on the number of memory slots(3 or 4)

Matth · Aug 12, 2004, 10:26 PM

It may also be a BIOS issue - if they actually list the changes with BIOS updates, there may be one to increase the supported RAM, and half the time, they don't bother updating the main page to reflect it.

foldingchair · Aug 12, 2004, 10:50 PM

o ok, ill check the bios updates, the mobo link is here:

http://www.ecsusa.com/products/l7vmm2.html

and the chipset is here:

http://www.via.com.tw/en/ProSavage%20Chipsets/km266.jsp

o btw, i have the KM266 chipset.

thanks guys!

EDIT: just found something interesting. I just looked in my mobo manual, and it says that it is expandable up to 2 GB using 1 GB DDR SDRAM modules, so it looks like i can get a max of 2gig on the mobo.

dipstick · Aug 12, 2004, 11:10 PM

I would go with the mobo specs. Seems it only supports 1GB of regular ram. I'd limit it to 2x512mb just to be safe

foldingchair · Aug 13, 2004, 12:29 AM

alright thanks, thats what i was going to do anyway. Hey, are there any other things i need to look for when im buying memory? I was thinking about getting this:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...144-305&depa=1

will that work with my mobo? The thing im not sure about is that the Speed is DDR400, and on the mobo page it says its compatible with 2.5V DDR SDRAM (DDR266/DDR200). Does it only have DDR266 becuase it was writen before DDR400? Or am i totaly missing what that means?

Thank you!

dipstick · Aug 13, 2004, 12:17 PM

Yes, it will work but it will only run at 266MHz instead of 400MHz. Still it will give you more headroom if you want to try to OC and you'll be able to use it if you upgrade later down the line. But I have to say I'm not a fan of Geil memory. I'd grab this instead
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-026&depa=1
Good luck

pr0digal jenius · Aug 13, 2004, 07:18 PM

Folding chair - yes, chipsets do have memory limitations.
This is why server boards cost so much...they have southbridge chips designed to support far more then 4 GBs(some can support 8 or 16 i think)

and as for RAM..i have no experience with geil, but my experience with corsair, mushkin and OCZ, or even SMART Modular for that matter, has been nothign short of steller

foldingchair · Aug 15, 2004, 03:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dipstick

Yes, it will work but it will only run at 266MHz instead of 400MHz. Still it will give you more headroom if you want to try to OC and you'll be able to use it if you upgrade later down the line. But I have to say I'm not a fan of Geil memory. I'd grab this instead
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-026&depa=1
Good luck

ok, will running it at 266mhz instead of 400 be a big performace difference?

Lchevy79 · Aug 15, 2004, 04:11 AM

nope it will not perform any different . it will run at 266 but if you get a new mobo in the future you will have 400mhz ram

foldingchair · Aug 16, 2004, 01:27 AM

thank you!!!

Aug 12, 2004, 08:58 AM	#1
foldingchair DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 54 Rep Power: 0	Motherboard and chipset restrictions hey, i was looking into upgrading my computers ram, and before i bought some i was going to look to see what the motherboards max amount or ram it can read. I have a link to my mobo and a link to my mobo's chipset. On the motherboard page it says that the max amount of mem is 1gig sd ddr, but on my chipset's page, it says that it can hold a max of 4gig sd ddr. I should go by the motherboards max right? The only way i could max out the chipsets max of 4 gigs would be to get a mobo that can support 4gigs right? Sorry this is kinda confusing, i didnt know that the chipset had a max memory like the motherboard did. thanks! __________________ Signature Made by tastyweat (Thank you!)

Aug 12, 2004, 10:50 PM	Thread Starter #4
foldingchair DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 54 Rep Power: 0	o ok, ill check the bios updates, the mobo link is here: http://www.ecsusa.com/products/l7vmm2.html and the chipset is here: http://www.via.com.tw/en/ProSavage%20Chipsets/km266.jsp o btw, i have the KM266 chipset. thanks guys! EDIT: just found something interesting. I just looked in my mobo manual, and it says that it is expandable up to 2 GB using 1 GB DDR SDRAM modules, so it looks like i can get a max of 2gig on the mobo. __________________ Signature Made by tastyweat (Thank you!) Last edited by foldingchair; Aug 12, 2004 at 11:10 PM.

Aug 13, 2004, 12:29 AM	Thread Starter #6
foldingchair DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 54 Rep Power: 0	alright thanks, thats what i was going to do anyway. Hey, are there any other things i need to look for when im buying memory? I was thinking about getting this: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...144-305&depa=1 will that work with my mobo? The thing im not sure about is that the Speed is DDR400, and on the mobo page it says its compatible with 2.5V DDR SDRAM (DDR266/DDR200). Does it only have DDR266 becuase it was writen before DDR400? Or am i totaly missing what that means? Thank you! __________________ Signature Made by tastyweat (Thank you!)

Aug 15, 2004, 04:11 AM	#10
Lchevy79 -=[DHzer0point Team]=- Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 725 Rep Power: 0	nope it will not perform any different . it will run at 266 but if you get a new mobo in the future you will have 400mhz ram __________________ msi K7N2 delta2-AMD 2800xp@2083-1gig of pc2700ram -ati x850xt 256mb -Audigy mp3+ - 1 80gig maxtor 8mb and 1 250gig 16mb maxtor -48x24x48 buslink burner-and a lite on 4x +/- dvd burner xp home samsung lcd (19") 930b monitor

Aug 16, 2004, 01:27 AM	Thread Starter #11
foldingchair DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 54 Rep Power: 0	thank you!!! __________________ Signature Made by tastyweat (Thank you!)

Aug 12, 2004, 01:54 PM	#2
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Which mobo is it? Most boards support a max of 1GB in each slot for a total of 3 or 4GB depending on the number of memory slots(3 or 4)

Aug 12, 2004, 10:26 PM	#3
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	It may also be a BIOS issue - if they actually list the changes with BIOS updates, there may be one to increase the supported RAM, and half the time, they don't bother updating the main page to reflect it.

Aug 12, 2004, 11:10 PM	#5
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I would go with the mobo specs. Seems it only supports 1GB of regular ram. I'd limit it to 2x512mb just to be safe

Aug 13, 2004, 12:17 PM	#7
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	Yes, it will work but it will only run at 266MHz instead of 400MHz. Still it will give you more headroom if you want to try to OC and you'll be able to use it if you upgrade later down the line. But I have to say I'm not a fan of Geil memory. I'd grab this instead http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-026&depa=1 Good luck

Aug 13, 2004, 07:18 PM	#8
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	Folding chair - yes, chipsets do have memory limitations. This is why server boards cost so much...they have southbridge chips designed to support far more then 4 GBs(some can support 8 or 16 i think) and as for RAM..i have no experience with geil, but my experience with corsair, mushkin and OCZ, or even SMART Modular for that matter, has been nothign short of steller