Need help with RAM (BIOS???)

talked to a Corsair rep today and they told me if I was going to buy a PC6400 800 series RAM, that it wasn't just a plug'n'play type RAM.
That I would have to enter the BIOS and enter numbers into it for the RAM.
Is this true for most RAM, especially non-value type RAM?
This build is not going to be overclocked at all.
I thought if you get a nice decent RAM, pop it in, off you go.

This was the RAM I was considering till I talked to the Corsair rep.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18581&vpn=TWIN2X2048-6400&manufacture=CORSAIR

 

Corsair rep is on drugs most probably!

If your motherboard supports it, your cookin!!

What are your system specs?

He's probably relating to timings or frequency settings!


Regards...

 

lol


Specs are Intel E6600 C2D
Asus P5B
eVGA 8800GTS
RAM not sure yet, but for optimal performance I apparently need 800mhz since FSB is 1066.

...and yes, maybe that's what he was referring to, but still, do I really need to do that?
Like I said, I'm fairly comfortable with computers, but setting times in BIOS and what not...confused

 

have you tried reading the MOTHERBOARD manual?
Is the Corsair actually specified as compatible?


Studio T

 

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=630
Read that, check your manual to see what type of ram your board supports. Most generaly you shouldn't have to manualy enter specs, but its not a bad thin if you do.

 

Okay thanks Coleman, appreciate the link.

 

Depending on the brand, Corsair, Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, and everyone else who sell "performance memory", tend to have different voltages and timings on those modules than on their standard products. Which means that yes, that memory is compatible, and it will work. You just need to go into the BIOS and tell it to send 2.6V to the memory instead of 2.2, and you need to change the timings from CL=3 to CL=2, or whatever it is your RAM of choice requires.

Most modern motherboards will detect those things and set the timings and other things themselves, however not all of them, and sometimes they auto-detect incorrectly. If that memory you were looking at is listed as compatible with your motherboard, it will probably auto-detect nicely. If it doesn't, then you'll probably have to go in and adjust that manually.

Oh, and in addition to the article, check out this page, generously provided by Corsair.com: Configurator Search

/Mimsy