Ram speed issue....

[ramblintoo]

I have a HP  H141-Uatx motherboard (Foxconn2A8C) and Intel E8500 cpu and 1333MHz ram. Both MB and CPU clearly support 1333MHz. memory but it only runs at 1066. Reset and reflashed Bios ver.6.10 (the latest for win7) and no option in there to change anything. Tried many different "known working" PC-10600 modules with the same results.  I`m only assuming myself this is a bios issue but thats why I`m here. What else could it be ?

[Golffies]

Hi ! It might be that the BIOS reads the most conservative JEDEC timings in the SPD chip of your RAM, and does not pay attention to other existing profiles. RAM makers often choose very conservative JEDEC declared timings, in order to make sure that any host will boot with their products.

You may check the JEDEC timings of your sticks through a tool such as CPU-Z and validate the hypothesis. In case your BIOS does not let you manually set the clock of your RAM (I guess this is the case, otherwise you would not look for a fix), you have no other choice than to slot here RAM sticks with JEDEC timings at 1333Mhz. On another HP mobo of mine, regular Samsung RAM gave the best result, because of its SPD JEDEC timings.

[ramblintoo]

Yes, CPU-z and Speccy both show ANY PC-10600 ram as 533.3 MHz. and 7-7-7-20 clocks. I would need to be at 9-9-9-24 to reach 1333MHz. Is that correct ? I responded on another thread here about an updated bios for this board and Win 10 but haven`t heard back. Not sure if it was the right one though. The only way to change the timings is in the bios ? Right ??

[DeathBringer]

Chipset G41 doesn't support 1333 Mhz for memory (natively).

[ramblintoo]

Posted by DeathBringer - 1 hour ago
Chipset G41 doesn't support 1333 Mhz for memory (natively).


What can I do about that ? This is from the MB manual on the HP site.

[DeathBringer]

Front side bus (FSB) speed isn't memory speed.

[Golffies]

You are right, the only feasible way to change manually RAM timings is through the BIOS setup. In case your BIOS let you choose your RAM clock, go that way. In case it does not, you have no other option than installing sticks which declare no ability to run at a lower speed than 1333Mhz.  There are people who re-program the SPD chip of their memory sticks to this purpose, but this is an entirely other story.

As a side note, it may occur often, that chipset is compatible with various RAM speeds, but depending on the kind of CPU installed. Please double check that G41 supports 1333Mhz when a E8500 CPU is slotted in the motherboard.

[ramblintoo]

I see. My best option is to use what I have and upgrade down the road, and soon ! Thought maybe a bios might exist with more options. Thanks for all the help guys !

[Golffies]

When I read again the two tips from D.B., he/she is right. The chipset is limited to 1066Mhz with DDR3. See the specs. This is the one and only reason why your RAM is not running at 1333Mhz and that is normal.

[ramblintoo]

Great info. Not what I wanted to hear. Never thought to look on the Intel site, I could have saved a lot of time. No info like this exists on the HP site. Not even a Qualified Venders List for ram. Thanks DB and all !