Question about my old ddr2 memory

[johndms]

My old system has 4gb (2x2gb) DDR2 memory from OCZ (link on newegg) that is labled as pc2-6400 (800MHz), but CPU-Z shows it as pc2-5300 (667MHz).  With bios settings on 'Auto', it'll default to 667MHz, I have to manually set it to 800.  I'm wondering if this is simply OCZ's marketing strategy, to produce a bunch of 667 modules and test them at 800.  If they're stable at 800, then they're sold as 800.  If not, then they're sold as 667.

 

I'm also wondering which frequency and timings I should be looking at when considering a compatible upgrade.  I still have two empty slots on the board.  Should I focus on purchasing a set of 800MHz or 667MHz?  If I purchased a set of 800MHz @ 5-5-5-15, would there be compatibility issues, or could I simply set the timings in the bios to 5-6-6-18?  I've been eyeballing a 4gb set of G.Skill DDR2 on Newegg and I'm half temped to pull the OCZ out and go with two sets of G.Skill just so they all match.  I just want to cover all my bases first as I'd rather spend as little as possible on this old system.

 

And for the record, in case it matters, the system has an am2+ board, GA-ma770-ud3, with an am3 phenom ii x4 965BE processor not overclocked.

Thanks!

 

 

[Glenwing]

That's how all RAM is. RAM is not inherently a certain speed, it all defaults to the same a given motherboard. "DDR2 800" means it is DDR2 which is rated for overclocking up to at least 800MHz. It doesn't mean it is inherently 800MHz and is somehow different than DDR2 667.

[johndms]

That's how all RAM is. RAM is not inherently a certain speed, it all defaults to the same a given motherboard. "DDR2 800" means it is DDR2 which is rated for overclocking up to at least 800MHz. It doesn't mean it is inherently 800MHz and is somehow different than DDR2 667.

Okay, so it doesn't really matter which frequency I shop for as long as they're both rated as stable at 800MHz and the timings match?