RAM not running at full speed

[kahlil88]

I've been using DDR2-800 on my ASUS P5B-E motherboard, but when I run Memtest86+ it reports it as being DDR2-665. I tried going into the BIOS settings, but couldn't find anything that would control RAM speed.

[puntoMX]

You should get this option in your BIOS:

Go to "Advanced" and then to "JumperFree Configuration" and set it to "Manual".

You should now be able to set the "CPU Frequency" and "DRAM Frequency"

Just set it to 800MHz but beware that some 965 chipsets don't like the 800MHz setting on the RAM.

[kahlil88]

You should get this option in your BIOS:

Go to "Advanced" and then to "JumperFree Configuration" and set it to "Manual".

You should now be able to set the "CPU Frequency" and "DRAM Frequency"

How strange. I set AI Tuning to manual, but 800 MHz isn't an option. My options are 667, 833, 1000, 1111 and 1333 MHz. Maybe my board is just really weird and picky about RAM?

Edited March 12, 2009 by kahlil88

[go6o_kara]

You should get this option in your BIOS:

Go to "Advanced" and then to "JumperFree Configuration" and set it to "Manual".

You should now be able to set the "CPU Frequency" and "DRAM Frequency"

How strange. I set AI Tuning to manual, but 800 MHz isn't an option. My options are 667, 833, 1000, 1111 and 1333 MHz. Maybe my board is just really weird and picky about RAM?

Hmmm, try with only one memory module. Also it worth a bios update. And first, set your bios to bios default settings. This often solve some weird things. Check what CPU-Z says about the memory speed and what SPD presets are availiable.

Edited March 12, 2009 by go6o_kara

[puntoMX]

How strange. I set AI Tuning to manual, but 800 MHz isn't an option. My options are 667, 833, 1000, 1111 and 1333 MHz. Maybe my board is just really weird and picky about RAM?

No 800 and 1066, heh... well, try 833MHz I would say.

[submix8c]

...and...

Your CPU is probably running a multiple of 333(?) as opposed to 400 (?). That'll "force" the RAM to accomodate the speed (my Soyo does the same thing).

(or maybe I mean 166/200?)

Edited March 12, 2009 by submix8c

[Zxian]

What CPU are you running? It sounds to me like it's one that uses a 333MHz FSB (or advertised as 1333), and your BIOS doesn't quite know what to do with it and your RAM.

Update the BIOS from ASUS's support website and check the settings again. I would highly recommend using the AWDFlash option from the computer BIOS to update, as opposed to a Windows based program. Get the BIOS image, put it on a USB flash drive, and boot the computer. You'll have an option to press Alt+F2 (or something of the sort). Press this. Assuming you left the flash drive plugged in, you'll be able to find the BIOS image file there.

[kahlil88]

What CPU are you running? It sounds to me like it's one that uses a 333MHz FSB (or advertised as 1333), and your BIOS doesn't quite know what to do with it and your RAM.

Update the BIOS from ASUS's support website and check the settings again. I would highly recommend using the AWDFlash option from the computer BIOS to update, as opposed to a Windows based program. Get the BIOS image, put it on a USB flash drive, and boot the computer. You'll have an option to press Alt+F2 (or something of the sort). Press this. Assuming you left the flash drive plugged in, you'll be able to find the BIOS image file there.

I updated my BIOS to (beta) version 1807 today. I'm using an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 @ 2.4GHz - the FSB is 1333 MHz, so maybe I should think about overclocking?

Edited May 3, 2009 by kahlil88

[Zxian]

I think your board might be incorrectly determining your RAM speeds if you have the settings at "Auto". Go into your BIOS. Under Advanced -> Jumperfree Configuration, you'll see a setting for DRAM configuration. Set this to DDR2-800.

Hopefully that fixes the trick.