Dell Dimension 4600 and CMSS1GB-400

[bdsquared]

I followed the instructions on the web site and put the model of my PC in, a Dell Dimension 4600 and purchased the CMSS1GB-400 module as recomended by the site. I got system beeps on boot and have no idea if the RAM is bad, I bought the wrong one, or am I doing something wrong. Please help.

[RJLeong65]

I followed the instructions on the web site and put the model of my PC in, a Dell Dimension 4600 and purchased the CMSS1GB-400 module as recomended by the site. I got system beeps on boot and have no idea if the RAM is bad, I bought the wrong one, or am I doing something wrong. Please help.

 

First off, which processor do you have?

 

Second, if it's a P4 rather than a Celeron, is your FSB a "533FSB" model or an "800FSB" model?

 

With OEM systems, you will hear the beeps and get no POST if you have a "533FSB" processor and attempt to use DDR400/PC3200 memory with an SPD that knows only DDR400 operation. That's because your system will always use the 200MHz memory speed while your processor FSB speed remains at 133MHz, which is outside the supported specs of your system's chipset (the clockspeed differential between the actual FSB speed and the actual memory speed is greater than 33.3MHz). Thus, with a "533FSB" processor which uses an actual FSB clockspeed of 133MHz, you can use only DDR266/PC2100 (133MHz) or DDR333/PC2700 (166MHz) memory; DDR400 memory with an SPD that knows only DDR400 (200MHz) operation is usable only if your processor has an "800FSB" (200MHz actual FSB clockspeed), since Intel has never made a "667FSB" (166MHz actual FSB clockspeed) processor.