A7V8X-LA Compatibility With VS1GB400C3

[iPirate]

Hi, I'm wondering if my old ASUS A7V8X-LA would work with the Corsair Value Select PC3200 1GB DDR400 CL3 184PIN DIMM Memory. Someone from another forum told me I should come here for an answer.

[RAM GUY]

That sounds like a MB from an HP system? Is that the case?

[RJLeong65]

Hi, I'm wondering if my old ASUS A7V8X-LA would work with the Corsair Value Select PC3200 1GB DDR400 CL3 184PIN DIMM Memory. Someone from another forum told me I should come here for an answer.

 

Sounds like, as the RAM GUY suggested, that you have an OEM motherboard pulled out of an HP Pavilion or Compaq Presario system. Such motherboards have no provision at all whatsoever to manually set anything. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for any aftermarket memory modules to work properly on that mobo.

 

And OEM motherboards must adhere strictly to JEDEC reference standards with regards to memory compatibility. Due to the limitations of the VIA KT400 chipset, you are limited to running only one stick of the VS1GB400C3 memory at the full DDR400/PC3200 speed - and even that requires a CPU with a "400MHz" FSB (since this motherboard was designed for an AMD Athlon XP processor). If your CPU FSB speed is only "333MHz" or "266MHz", then you can only use DDR333/PC2700 memory or DDR266/PC2100 memory (which the VIA KT400 chipset limits to four banks - either two double-sided sticks or one double-sided stick plus two single-sided sticks). If you fill all three memory slots with double-sided sticks of memory, your system's memory speed will default to a slow DDR200/PC1600 speed. This is because the KT400's memory controller is only capable of single-channel operation.

 

EDIT: I've just looked at the specs of that A7V8X-LA motherboard on the HP website, and found that you cannot use PC3200 memory on that motherboard, especially one whose SPD lacks any programmed info at all whatsoever for any speed besides the full DDR400 speed. That motherboard officially supports only PC2700/DDR333 or PC2100/DDR266 memory. Hence, using any PC3200/DDR400-rated module (including the VS1GB400C3) on that A7V8X-LA motherboard is a crapshoot since some of those modules know only DDR400 speed (and thus results in a POST failure) while others can work in a DDR333 system like yours. Therefore, you're better off trying to find the PC2700/DDR333 version of the Value Select module, the VS1GB333. If you must purchase PC3200/DDR400 memory for the A7V8X-LA motherboard, make sure the memory's package states "Compatible With DDR333 (PC2700) Systems."