CL3 Memory wont work on Intel 848P Neo Mainboard? any help?

Question

Hi,
I purchased Kingston DDR Ram recently and put it into my computer. It worked fine but sometimes I start computer up and it comes up with a message saying something is wrong with the memory timings. I dont think it is configured properly.
In the BIOS there was an option to "CONFIGURE DRAM TIMING BY SPD" and i set that on ENABLED. If i set it to DISABLED then there are other options that I have to set.
These options are as follows:
1. CAS# Latency [Options 2 or 2.5 Clocks];
2. RAS# Precharge [Options 2, 3 or 4 Clocks];
3. RAS# to CAS# Delay [Options 2, 3 or 4 Clocks];
4. Precharge Delay [Options 5, 6, 7 or 8 Clocks];
5. Burst Length [Options 4 or 8 Clocks].
These are the 5 settings i can modify and in the "[]" brackets are the options i can select from for each one. Could you please tell me how I am to configure this in order for the memory to work. The Ram voltage is set at 2.6v. The CAS# Latency only allows 2 or 2.5 clocks so im not sure if thats the problem or not.
The specifications of my computer as as follows:
RAM - Kingston KVR400X64C3A/1G 1GB PC3200 CL3 184
Motherboard - MSI 848P Neo (MS-6788 v1.0)
Motherboard BIOS - A67991MS v1.0081203
Motherboard firmware - V1.0 initial release
CPU - Pentium 4 2.53Ghz
Regardless of the settings I have done so far, if it works past POST and loads windows...after sometime it randomly resets. Any idea why this is the case? I suspect its the CAS Latency. The manual says you can select 3 Clocks but i dont see that option, just 2 or 2.5

Answer 1

The Kingston Site is not always correct or to be more precise:  it does not state the operating conditions under which DDR-400 is possible on this mainboard.  In this cases the problem is not the modules as such (they are able to run @DDR-400) if they are put into a system that supports that.
In your case the problem is the mainboard's chipset which can only make the memory run @DDR-400 when an FSB-200-MHz processor is installed.  You are currently using an FSB-133-MHz processor.  With such a processor, the maximum memory clock speed that the system can run at is DDR-333.  I just checked the Intel Datasheet for the 848P Chipset.  That is also the reason why all DDR-400 modules mentioned in the official MSI Memory Test List for this mainboard were tested with an FSB-200-MHz-CPU installed. 
The only thing you can do to get aroung this "problem" is to install a supported FSB-200-MHz-processor.
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Also, when i look at my motherboard manual, it shows option for 3 as CAS latency but in reality when i check the bios its not there (which im assumin is reason y it wont work).
It would probably be there once a processor is installed that will enable higher memory clock speeds than DDR-333.  However, the actual CAS latency is only of secondary importance here.  The main question is why DDR-400 is not possible (which would automatically yield a CAS Latency of 3 by settings the values in the corresponding SPD Profile).  And as I said:  DDR-400 is only possible with an FSB-200-MHz-Processor.
With your current configuration, the highest possible memory speed is DDR-333 @2.5-3-3-7.  In case that runs fine & stable everything is working as it should.