PC2-6400 clocked at 400Mhz?

Hello everyone, I apologize if this is the incorrect forum subcatergory for this topic, I personally couldn't find one more suitable.

Anyway, I ran CPU-Z on my laptop after installing two new sticks of Crucial 2GB PC2-6400 ram (4GB). CPU-Z as you can see in the picture is telling me that the ram is clocked at 400Mhz. Is this normal?

 

Yes. Actual clock speed of DDR is half of what most people expect.

 

If this is Santa Rosa (it is) then CPU-Z is just reporting what chip is saying. Unless you are overclocking it is running at 667Mhz.

 

That is just the SPD, which is the programmed memory timings for the RAM if it is running at that speed. You need to click on the "Memory" tab to see the actual memory frequency. You double it and you get the advertised speed. Your ram will be running at 333 MHz (667MHz Double Data Rate) since you have a PM965 chipset, which limits the RAM speed to 667 even if you have a Penryn with 800MHz FSB.

-J.B.

 

Upload a screenshot of the memory and CPU page. That should clear up things....

 

Your RAM can support up to 400mhz (800mhz DDR effective) but you still have the Santa Rosa platform which supports 667mhz maximum (333mhz). It will simply downclock from 800mhz to 667mhz.

You will have a CAS latency of 4 at 667mhz

 

Thank you all for the fast responses, that really cleared things up.

Andy, I have posted both images you requested. Does everything look up to par?

 

OK since Andy won't step up. Yes it all looks good your RAM is working at 667Mhz. But the CL did not drop to CL4 as flip thought (I knew it wouldn't) oh well?

 

Well as long as it looks good to you I'm content! Thanks guys for your help. Just for laughs I'm in the process of downloading 3DMark 06 just to see how it ranks.

 

I hope you get a 2,000? Good luck.

 

3DMark '05 score: 2566 / 5792 CPU

 

I think the SPD in CPU-Z is showing the info wrong, because I believe Crucial only sells CL=6 PC2-6400 RAM. So, the actual pre-coded timings should have been 6-6-6-18 instead of the depicted 5-6-6-18. Maybe its up with Crucial only, since RAM's timings are supposed to downclock as well, as you may notice from the OP's other attachments that the:

RAS to CAS delay: downclocked to 5
RAS Precharge: downclocked to 5
Active to precharge delay (tRAS): downclocked to 5

So the timings seem a bit weird to me

My RAM timings downclock (symmetrically) when my system is at stock frequency


I guess timings should have been such, because then only the timings on the OP's memory page look to be making sense


Another Crucial PC2-6400 CL=6 RAM
View attachment 22715

 

Interesting insight Andy, is there really anything I can do about it? And if not, is it really a big deal? I mean am I loosing substantial system performance because it's that way?

 

No, you're not losing any performance really. The RAM is functioning at a frequency of 333MHz CL=5, so its fine. You don't need to worry about it. If you want to see an increase in overall performance (load/boot times), install a fast HDD. The 7K200 or the WD1600BEKT will be a good, cheap choice. They're available for under $100.

 

Thanks man. I decided to take the plunge, I just ordered a new T8300 processor from newegg for 250 bones, and I found a brand new hard drive on ebay same one I already have for 40 bones, so I couldn't pass it up.

 

Cool.
Good Luck with the upgrades !!