https://forum.asrock.com/ Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Web Wiz Forums - All Rights Reserved. Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:46:01 +0000 Thu, 16 Mar 2023 18:53:26 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Web Wiz Forums 12.04 360 https://forum.asrock.com/RSS_post_feed.asp?TID=25622 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_images/web_wiz_forums_black.png https://forum.asrock.com/ https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=25622&PID=104058&title=asrock-a320mdvs-v-4-03-and-x4950-memory#104058 Author: eccential
Subject: 25622
Posted: 16 Mar 2023 at 6:53pm

Interesting, I didn't even know AMD made AM4 version of Athlon X4. I see it's actually a Bulldozer family of chips.

Anyway, my guess is that it will work, and here's my thinking.
1. Memory modules have multiple SPD values, rather than just one (JEDEC) or two (XMP). For example, the timing table for my JEDEC 3200MT/s DIMM as reported by CPU-Z lists timings down to 1454MT/s

JEDEC timings table          CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
     JEDEC #1          10.0-10-10-24-34 @ 727 MHz
     JEDEC #2          11.0-11-11-26-37 @ 800 MHz
     JEDEC #3          12.0-12-12-28-40 @ 872 MHz
     JEDEC #4          13.0-14-14-31-44 @ 945 MHz
     JEDEC #5          14.0-14-14-33-47 @ 1018 MHz
     JEDEC #6          15.0-15-15-35-50 @ 1090 MHz
     JEDEC #7          16.0-16-16-38-54 @ 1163 MHz
     JEDEC #8          17.0-17-17-40-57 @ 1236 MHz
     JEDEC #9          18.0-18-18-42-60 @ 1309 MHz
     JEDEC #10          19.0-19-19-45-64 @ 1381 MHz
     JEDEC #11          20.0-20-20-47-67 @ 1454 MHz
     JEDEC #12          21.0-21-21-49-70 @ 1527 MHz
     JEDEC #13          22.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz
     JEDEC #14          23.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz
     JEDEC #15          24.0-22-22-52-74 @ 1600 MHz

2) CPUs know their own max supported modes, which is 2400MT/s in this case.

3) BIOS knows to limit memory controller speed depending on many factors. So I'd think it'd pick a setting between #7 and #8 for my particular DIMMs. For example, I have an X470D4U system that had just 2 sticks of single-rank 3200MT/s DIMMs, running at that speed. When I put 2 more sticks in and booted, it automatically downclocked to 2933MT/s. I didn't need to do anything to it.

On the other hand, it's possible the old BIOS that support the Athlon might not be smart enough, or have bugs, making it not automatically select a reasonable speed and try for the max value. And of course, you can't update BIOS because newer BIOS won't support the Athlon.

So it's sort of a gamble. If someone here has a Bristol Ridge based CPU, with 3200MT/s DIMMs, they could give you a more definitive answer. Otherwise, maybe you can ask AsRock support to try it. I imagine they have all kinds of CPUs and DIMMs sitting around.
]]> Thu, 16 Mar 2023 18:53:26 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=25622&PID=104058&title=asrock-a320mdvs-v-4-03-and-x4950-memory#104058 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=25622&PID=104057&title=asrock-a320mdvs-v-4-03-and-x4950-memory#104057 Author: alabal
Subject: 25622
Posted: 16 Mar 2023 at 5:29pm

Hello, I have an Athlon X4 950 processor and I bought an Asrock A320M-DVS motherboard.
With this configuration, can I use a 3200 MHz memory that will work at 2400. Does this memory have to be XMP Ready, because the default I see is 2400 MHz. And the cheaper memory by SPD is set to 3200mhz. Will the cheaper one be able to start the computer or at least get to the bios to manually configure the frequency.
Another question , on my motherboard on the bis chip has label 4.10.
Is it bios version or what?
Because version after 7 do not support Bristol Bridge CPUs. And I have not another cpu to flash old BIOS.]]> Thu, 16 Mar 2023 17:29:34 +0000 https://forum.asrock.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=25622&PID=104057&title=asrock-a320mdvs-v-4-03-and-x4950-memory#104057