Just bought a Celeron E1200 with MSI board and Crucial DDR2 5300.
It posted but blue screened with a PCI error when I tried installing Windows XP.

The spec says the chip has a FSB of 800 so do I need DDR2 667?
(tried Googling this but no real answer, Intel support just refered me to the reseller)
Cheers

What model is the motherboard? Some the older ones can only take 400 or 533 DDR2 where as the better newer ones can take upto 1333 DDR2.

Its the MSI P4M900M3-L which supports FSB 1066/800/533MHz

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140909

The processor is Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200 Socket 775 (1.60GHz) 800FSB

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139975

What puzzles me is many bundles on say Google have it with the 5300 memory also this link on here by Seanpint

http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=369424

If it'll do an FSB of 800MHz, get some DDR2 800 to get the most out of it. It should still be relatively cheap at the moment.

That was just a quick spec up for a cheap PC. As I said its all basic stuff and would be better to upgrade but was just getting the cheapest price point items. If your planning on getting the E1200 and your looking at overclocking it then why not get 1066 RAM? Wish I did with my RAM now so it could be run 1:1 ratio for the best bandwith while overclocking.

Also spend a bit more and get a better motherboard. The Via and Sis motherboards have never been to good thats why they so cheap. Get the Gigabyte G31 Motherboard. You will thank me for it later lol :)

I'll second the above, the intel 3x chipsets really are good. I have one in my gaming rig and one in the media PC downstairs and both are looking like they'll last a good few years.

The good thing about the Gigabyte G31 is you can also up the volts for overclocking. This is a fantastic thing on a Matx motherboard.

Thanks for the pointers, had not heard that about the SIS and Via chipsets.
Have just put in some faster DDR2 PC2 6400.
Tried installing Windows XP Pro and it did the same thing.
Then tried installing Windows XP home and it is fine.
Am confused

PCI error is nothing to do with memory?!

Things to try. Reset the CMOS (should tell you in the mobo manual) to make sure all settings are at their defaults and memory is usually left at auto, try reseating the memory and PCI/PCIe cards.

As for memory go to crucial's website, it has a scanner to tell you what memory you can use. Even if you don't want to buy from crucial it'll give enough info to point you at what you need.

The VIA chipset has been mockingly called "VILE" for years!

What did the Crucial and Kingston memory checkers come up with?

The Crucial check only gave a general recommendation but MSI's active updated the BIOS.
It still BSDs on the install so I guess it must be the mobo, perhaps I was clumsy putting it in?