Have I been Scammed

[angelarius]

ok ok ok let me be blunt so everyone knows im an idiot,

I bought used ram

I love my XP as it has always functioned well for me im usually dont fix what isnt broken. I uninstalled vista on my laptop as soon as i bought it but i want to give win7 a shot on my desktop and 2gb just isnt going to cut it for what i want to use it for + some of the adobe cs5 programs wont let me with my current hardware and software.

But to be fair i got a great deal on geil black dragon 2x2gb pc2 6400 4-4-4-12

i recieved the ram today and after installation i checked up on my cpu-z and noticed the part number cl5-5-5ddr2800 5

i checked pc wiz and it gave me the same part number

and sure enough i was clocking at 5-5-5 at 400mhz

i updated my bios but the timings stayed the same.

i dove into my bios thinking it was a settings malfunction and proceeded to manually set the "correct" timings of

cl - 4
trcd - 4
trp - 4
tras - 12
trc - 16

a quick reboot later and cpu-z and reads me at 4-4-4-12 but the part number is still bothering me.

i dont want to make a fool of myself by calling this person who sold me the ram a liar if there is some small misunderstanding but it currently appears he sold me cl5 ram while calling it cl4 (for which the price i paid was not so great)

have i inadvertently overclocked this cl5 ram to be running at cl4 and been cheated?

is it possible for some stupid reason they could call cl4 ram with a part number starting with cl5?

i apologise for the wall of text i am about to produce but im not sure what information is valid but i used to be quite heavy into hardware a long time ago (about 7-8 years ago) but swapped to the website dev side of things at that time. and to be blunt im not sure what information is currently relevant.

Win XP pro 32bit

Processor = athlon 5200+

Mobo = Alive nf7g hd ready

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=ALIVENF7G-HDREADY


This is what pc wiz says about my ram.

Information SPD EEPROM (DIMM0) :
Manufacturer : GEIL
Part Number : CL5-5-5DDR2800 5
Serial Number : Unspecified
Type : DDR2-SDRAM PC2-6400 (399 MHz) - [DDR2-800]
Format : Regular UDIMM (133.35 x 3)
Size : 2048 MB (2 ranks, 8 banks)
Module Buffered : No
Module Registered : No
Module SLi Ready (EPP) : No
Width : 64-bit
Error Correction Capability (EC... No
Max. Burst Length : 8
Refresh : Reduced (.5x)7.8, Self Refreshµs
Voltage : SSTL 1.8v
Prefetch Buffer : 4-bit
Manufacture : 2000
Supported Frequencies : 200 MHz, 266 MHz, 400 MHz
CAS Latency (tCL) : 3 clocks @ 200 MHz, 4 clocks @ 266 MHz, 5 clocks @ 400 MHz
RAS to CAS (tRCD) : 3 clocks @ 200 MHz, 4 clocks @ 266 MHz, 5 clocks @ 400 MHz
RAS Precharge (tRP) : 3 clocks @ 200 MHz, 4 clocks @ 266 MHz, 5 clocks @ 400 MHz
Cycle Time (tRAS) : 9 clocks @ 200 MHz, 12 clocks @ 266 MHz, 18 clocks @ 400 MHz
Min TRC : 12 clocks @ 200 MHz, 16 clocks @ 266 MHz, 23 clocks @ 400 MHz


Anyway thanks for taking the time to read this and im 100% sure i read the correct timings from the page i bought this ram from (im looking at it now)


Thanks much
Angel

 

[hokiealumnus]

What does the CPUz SPD tab say? Take a screenshot if possible. If there is a sticker on the RAM, it likely has specifications for timings and voltage. With Black Dragons, IIRC they need somewhere from 2.0-2.1V to function properly at the 4-4-4-12 timings. I'm not positive on that though and without the actual model # (should also be on the sticker on the RAM) I can't say for sure.

 

[ratbuddy]

It is rated for 4-4-4-12, but only at 266mhz. At 400mhz, it's only rated for 5-5-5-18. Got a link to the sale page?

 

[bchur83]

What you are seeing is the default SPD settings that are pretty safe for most machines. You would need to manually set to 4-4-4-12 at the rated voltage to get the full potential. As for the info CPU-Z is giving you, that is probably the correct part #, but with more voltage the chips can perform better.

 

[Jolly-Swagman]

That Ram should be able to Run 1.9v to 2.4v

Memory Timings:
@ 400 MHz 6-6-6-18 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 24-51-3-6-4 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 333 MHz 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-43-3-5-4 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)
@ 266 MHz 4-4-4-12 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 16-34-2-4-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR)

 

[angelarius]

the stickers on this ram are like nothing i have ever seen, it doesnt even say the speed or the memory size, like they have been ripped off which also arises suspicion.

i am seeing people are saying it is 4-4-4 under the correct set of circumstances but you can theoretically OC a processor to 5ghz but it would be falst to advertise it as such. Should i return this or is it actually the advertised item.

the screenshots that were requested


PS Thanks very much for the input i know i am new here but such a nice response

These timings are manually set in my bios, if i set them to auto then they run 5-5-5.

 

[coonmanx]

If you look up the CL4 stuff on Newegg it appears that it's the same as the CL5 stuff but "hand picked" to run at CL4. The built in information that is in the ram may be exactly the same as the CL5 stuff since they aren't really manufacturing different ram but simply hand picking the ram that does CL4.

Here's the Newegg link...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144071

I would say that you manually set the ram voltage up to 2.0 and then set timings to CL4 and see if it runs. The specs on the Newegg page say that it can take up to 2.4 volts as well. I'm guessing that if you give it enough volts it will do CL4 and that's all that matters.

 

[ratbuddy]

There's different versions, some only go up to 2v or 2.2v. It should say CL4 in the SPD stuff, not CL5. The ad is misleading at best, and outright intentionally deceptive at worst. I'd go for a refund.

See the sticker that should be there at http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Geil/Black_Dragon_PC2_6400/2.html and click through to the next page for what CPU-z should look like.

 

[coonmanx]

Well, the seller has a 100% feedback rating so I doubt that it's really a scam. As far as the sticker not being there, that is a bit odd. However, I would jack the voltage up and see what happens. If you can't get rated timings then return them.

We all know that memory gets binned (hand picked) and that they can claim higher frequency or better timings simply by adding extra voltage. I'm just not sure if they would have changed the SPD information or not.