XP compatability and turning down memory

[jakeou812]

Hi everyone. I really need some help.

I put together my own P4 system without any experience. I ended up buying a stick of ddr400 (512). I got this because the motherboard that came with the barebones pack I purchased earlier said it supported ddr400. This barebones pack also came with a celeron 2.4 400FSB.

It sort of works, with random multiple blue screen errors, mostly relating to BIOS. This is mostly when playing video games.

I found out my motherboard (Matsonic MS9337C) is not supported by Windows XP. I looked for a suitable replacement motherboard but could not find one that supports AGPX8(my video card), DDR400, and 400 mhz FSB. I'm starting to think that a 400FSB and DDR400 won't go together or something.

I cant afford to spend $300+ for the chip/motherboard combo I would need to be kosher right now. I'm wondering: if I get a motherboard that supports both 400MhzFSB and Win XP, could I underclock the DDR or something? Would an old motherboard(400FSB), just work with my memory?

I've already tried to figure this out myself for a while (months), but I could really use advice on where to start.

Thanks for reading..

jake

 

[trebor]

go to www.tigerdirect.com they all sorts of mobo, that you can choose from. Yes they do have mobo that support what you are looking for.

 

[CTComputers]

I would recommend you going to the manufacturers website and look for a bios update for your mobo. Also if you have never flashed or updated your bios, GET SOMEONE EXPIERIENCED TO DO IT, or you will wind up buying a new mobo and everything attached to it.

 

[jakeou812]

Thanks for the advice guys. I flashed the BIOS a while ago and it did lessen the amount of crashes I was experiencing. So did: Getting a good surge protector,a new power supply, a decent CPU fan (CPU still gets hot), and using a LAN and Audio cards instead of unsupported mobo. The motherboard is not on this list: http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/catalog/ so it's not supported by XP officially.

The web sight you recommended let me find a motherboard that is supported and compatible. I hope it works for $100.

Thanks again