Name: hoi polloi
Date: October 07, 2005 at 09:56:41 Pacific
Subject: Wrong RAM speed...

Reply:
With dual channel the ram speed may not need to be at maximum. It depends on the bandwidth of the processor.

For example, if you have a 64-bit mainboard with dual channel, put a single 512K 400Mhz DDR RAM module in one channel an dboot up, the BIOS will show it as single channel 400MHz 64 bit.

If you put two such identical modules in different channels, say, with an AMD XP64 3000 processor, the BIOS may show 333MHz Dual Channel 128 bit.

That's because between them the modules using two channels provide more memory bandwidth than the processor can use.

There is nothing wrong, they system has adjusted the memory speed to suit the processor. It doesn't need to go at full "revs" to do the job.

Check the facts for your setup it may be functioning correctly.

i have a similar problem....

i had a 256mb ddr400 ram worked propely
ive put in some 512mb ddr400
sys recognizez 768ram but at 333 speed

the ram's are nut dual chan but the mainboard suportst dual chan and i also have an amd64 3000+ system.
Since my ram re not dual chanel, is the stuff above still valid? (i tryed bot slots separatly and work fine at 400mhz)

There is no such thing as dual channel RAM, but there is RAM sold in dual channel kits to be used in motherboard's that support dual channel mode...does that make sense?

You have a couple of things going on...1st of all, to run in DUAL mode, you need 2 sticks of RAM, not 3. By installing the 3rd stick, you're disabling dual channel mode. Dual means two!

2nd, some motherboards have a limitation built into the chipset regarding the number of banks that can be used with PC3200 (DDR400) RAM. If you execeed the limit, the chipset automatically clocks all the RAM at PC2700 (DDR333) speed.

If you had checked the board manufacturer's website, or possibly looked in the manual, I'm sure that would have been explained.

What's the make/model of your motherboard?

This space for rent

i do not have 3 sticks only 2 (one 256mb and one 512)

i read in the motherboard's manual and it supports dual channel but its not saying anything about limiting the ram speed. it also supports 2gb ram