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Hi, I recently bought a new Abit NF7 V2.0 motherboard and fitted it to my computer. I have an Athlon XP2000 running on it and 2 dimm modules of 512MB PC3200 DDR400 RAM. I am having a problem getting the memory to run at DDR400. I have them inserted them into Dimm sockets 2 and 3 on the motherboard but when I start the computer it comes up with:
Memory Frequency For DDR400
DDR Dual Channel Enabledwith the error:
CMOS checksum error - defaults loaded.When I try to restart the computer it sets the Memory frequency to DDR266 which works ok.
I've tried to set the fsb/dram ratio manually in the bios to give ddr400 but the computer doesn't boot and beeps disconcertingly. I can set it to DDR333 and it works ok. Loading the optimized defaults doesn't help either.
I've flashed the bios to the latest version (19) and can't find any answers on the internet.
Can anyone tell me how to get the computer to work at DDR400 frequency or what the problem might be?
Thanks in advance,
Andy
How are you clocking your CPU? Is it a Palomino or T-bred? Locked or unlocked?
XP2000+ runs at 1667mhz (12.5 x 133mhz)...if it's unlocked, try the multiplier at 8.5 & FSB at 200mhz (400DDR), then you should be able to run your PC3200 memory at DDR400
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hey ANDY,
is something preventing you from using DIMM 1 and 2 instead of 2 and 3? Or did you already try that and it didn't work either?
do the specs say you have to use DIMM 2 & 3 for DDR400? i took a quick peak at the specs for your board. don't know what else to think yet.
on the off chance that you haven't tried using sockets 1 & 2 and your documentation doesn't forbid it, give it a try. If cabling, or other hardware is in the way, i suggest you "reposition" to give you access to DIMM 1.
shot in the dark. give it a stab.
GOOD LUCK!
AOSCLAY
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Thanks for the advice,
I've just tried the multiplier at 8.5 and the FSB at 200 and it didn't even beep when I tried to start it.
Looked in the manual and it says install memory from dimm 3 to 1. Use Dimm 2 and 3 if using dual channel.
Cheers though, any more ideas, let me know!
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"Use Dimm 2 and 3 if using dual channel"
god loves those that read their manuals. figures it just couldn't be that simple.
"didn't beep" as in booted fine and had no errors...or "didn't beep" as in sat there like a rock and did nothing?
good luck!
AOSCLAY
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Flashing lights but no beep and nothing happens. Essentially dead. I'm wondering now if my processor can't deal with it in some way. Is that possible?
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is ANDY and ANDREWGRIMBLE the same person?
if so and you are saying it works fine with one stick do this:
take the working stick out and swap it with the other module that you were trying to run. One of your sticks might be bad.
test each one induvidually.
post with results.
AOSCLAY
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Sorry I didn't catch that before...when running dual channel, the memory sticks have to be virtually identical or you will encounter problems. Many memory producers have gone to selling matched pairs to eliminate problems with compatibility. It's possible that's what happened in your case.
Also, dual channel is practically useless in a socket A system...& assuming you don't have a matched pair anyway, just run both sticks as single channel & try the CPU at 8.5 x 200mhz FSB again. Single channel PC3200 is the way to go with the socket A.
Once again, from Tom's Hardware:
"Buyers enticed by dual channel DRAM should note one crucial thing: in theory, a dual-channel memory link does not bring any benefits since the data rate is limited by the FSB bus's bandwidth. It's fixed at a maximum 200 MHz (Athlon XP 3200+) to give a bandwidth of 3.2 GB/s. Even using fast dual DDR400 memory with an access time of 6.4 GB/s has no effect on the Front Side Bus bottleneck of 3.2 GB/s. With that in mind, it's really not so inappropriate to question dual-channel memory technology on the Socket A platform."
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20030908/index.html
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I am andy and andrewgrimble by the way.
Thanks for all the advice.
Any idea how to set the memory to single channel on my motherboard? it seems to automatically set to dual.
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Your board has the ability to run either single or dual channel. Since you have 3 DIMM slots, it stands to reason that one DIMM slot is on one channel, & the other two are on the other channel. So for dual memory to work, you have to use one slot from each channel, otherwise you'll be running in single channel mode.
I'm not sure how they're numbered, but the 2 slots that are close together should be on one channel, & the one that is separated should be the other channel....so if you put your memory in the 2 slots that are next to each other, you should be running single channel.
Here's a long discussion about it:
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8747
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