1066MHz Black Dragon EVO ONE running as 800 MHz on P5KC

Has anyone here had any joy running GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Black Dragon EVO ONE modules on a P5KC board at full speed?
Mine, when set to auto, thinks they're 800 Mhz modules and whenever I try to set them up manually I get an 'Overclocking failed!' error.

Everest reports them as:


Module Name GeIL CL5-5-5DDR21066 5
Serial Number 00000006h (100663296)
Manufacture Date Week 10 / 2008
Module Size 2 GB (2 ranks, 8 banks)
Module Type Unbuffered DIMM
Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM
Memory Speed DDR2-800 (400 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 1.8
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings
@ 400 MHz 5-5-5-15 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 23-51-3-6-3-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP)
@ 333 MHz 4-5-5-13 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 20-43-3-5-3-3 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP)
@ 266 MHz 3-4-4-10 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS) / 16-34-2-4-2-2 (RC-RFC-RRD-WR-WTR-RTP)

and if I try to up the voltage to 2.4 the problem remains.

I flashed my BIOS to the latest version (1105 - March 18th 2008) but it made no difference whatsoever.

If anyone could give me any advice here I'd be really grateful.

Thanks in advance...

Cheers.
Mod.

Shouldn't need 2.4v. Try 2.2v instead.

Are they in Slots A1 and B1?

Thanks Cob n Trill, for the prompt replies.
I just tried them at 2.2v after reading your post Cob but stil get that error and yeah, Trill, they're in slots A1 and B1.

I built this machine just after I'd built one almost the same for a friend and thought it was time I upgraded myself. I went for the 1066 MHz in mine coz it didn't cost that much more but running at 800 it seems as if it's slower than the Corsair stuff in his.

Should these be able to run at 1066 in this board? I'd love to see what difference it'd make speed wise.
Anyway, thanks again for the help. I'll keep trawling the web to see if I can come across anyone else who's got this prob.
Thanks again.
Cheers.
Mod.

Are you just setting the memory to 1066 or are you also overclocking the FSB at the same time?

Just trying to set the memory to 1066 at this stage.
Everything's running at stock / auto settings and that's the only thing that doesn't do what's expected of it.

Might be best to put in the settings manually into the board... i.e. voltages, timings, fsb and cpu multiplier.

OK, cheers, I'll give that a go. Will it be OK to just copy the relative settings from the report generated by Everest? (I'm not that clued up on overclocking in general and tend to stick to auto on everything: being a bit of a wuss, like. That said, though, I did play around with the BIOS in my old P4C 800-E Deluxe once I'd transferred everying over I was scared of losing to this new machine. That machine contains Corsair RAM and, although on a stock Intel heatsink and Fan and in a Lian-Li case with just 3 80 mm fans therein, I got it up to 3.4 Ghz before it started playing up. This effort has given me a bit of confidence now as the machine's still alive and kicking. Anyway, this new machine's an Antec Sonata III case with an Antec EarthWatts 500W PSU, 1 x 120 mm exhaust fan and an Artic Cooler Freezer Pro CPU heatsink and fan. The graphics card is an Asus Radeon EAH3650/HTDI/256M and the temps are stable at around 25 - 40 depending on the load. It's got a Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 Energy Efficient SLACR 95W CPU in it and this 4GB of RAM. Should I be able to play about with voltages and that without causing too much damage? At the moment the FSB is 1069.12 MHz and the CPU multiplier is at 267.28 x 9 = 2405.52.
I'm not sure about the other voltages at this stage...

Mod said:

OK, cheers, I'll give that a go. Will it be OK to just copy the relative settings from the report generated by Everest? (I'm not that clued up on overclocking in general and tend to stick to auto on everything: being a bit of a wuss, like. That said, though, I did play around with the BIOS in my old P4C 800-E Deluxe once I'd transferred everying over I was scared of losing to this new machine. That machine contains Corsair RAM and, although on a stock Intel heatsink and Fan and in a Lian-Li case with just 3 80 mm fans therein, I got it up to 3.4 Ghz before it started playing up. This effort has given me a bit of confidence now as the machine's still alive and kicking. Anyway, this new machine's an Antec Sonata III case with an Antec EarthWatts 500W PSU, 1 x 120 mm exhaust fan and an Artic Cooler Freezer Pro CPU heatsink and fan. The graphics card is an Asus Radeon EAH3650/HTDI/256M and the temps are stable at around 25 - 40 depending on the load. It's got a Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 Energy Efficient SLACR 95W CPU in it and this 4GB of RAM. Should I be able to play about with voltages and that without causing too much damage? At the moment the FSB is 1069.12 MHz and the CPU multiplier is at 267.28 x 9 = 2405.52.
I'm not sure about the other voltages at this stage...

Click to expand...

If this is the right memory:-

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...EVO ONE DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GE24GB1066C5DC)

Then the timings you need are:-

15-5-5-5 with the DDR/RAM voltage @2.2v

To set the timings they may be called something like the following

15 (Precharge Delay (tRAS)) - 5 (RAS Precharge (tRP)) - 5 (RAS to CAS delay (tRCD)) - 5 (CAS Latency (tCL))

Pretty sure they are the correct wordings, some mobo manufacturers may call them slightly differently.

Find the place to change the FSB and manually enter 1066Mhz. Then find the CPU clock (Multiplier) and make sure it's set to x9.

-> 9x266 = 2.4Ghz (CPU speed).

-> 266x4 (multiply the FSB by 4 as Intel CPU's are quadpumped) = 1066Mhz (DRAM speed).

So that should be all correct. CPU voltage can be left on auto if you like as it's still running default speeds, but like I say, it can overclock a fair bit before this would need to be increased.

The only bit that may cause it not to work is the DRAM/Strap setting. Hopefully your mobo should have some options that look like this:-

266/667
266/1066
333/800

These, as far as I can tell without googling, set a divider on the RAM/CPU speed. So say you have slow memory, if you change this you'll see the actuall FSB result change. By altering these you can trade memory speed for different CPU speeds.

Now I think you want to set it to auto, but if that does not work, try 266/667 and this should represent a 1066Mhz FSB chipset with a 4:5 memory ratio.

Also perhaps make sure your Command Rate (CMD) is set to T2 (2).

Hi Firegod.
Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed reply: I really appreciate it.

I tried your suggestion but, despite entering everything manually, it’s still playing up.
I even changed the DRAM Voltage to, 2.2v, then 2.3v then 2.4 with the manual settings you showed me but no change.

There were a few things different in the P5KC BIOS:
The Command Rate only had: Auto, 1N or 2N options.
I tried 2N and then Auto but with the other stuff set manually: no change there.
I turned off the ‘Transaction Booster’ option but this did nothing either.
My DRAM/Strap setting was listed as, I think, ‘FSB Strap to North Bridge’ which had the options:
Auto, 200, 266, 333, 400...
I tried 266 but nada again.

I’ve just come across a post on the OCZ Technology Forum
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37736&highlight=p5kc
Which, although talking about a different brand of RAM altogether, states that for 4GB to work in this board:
"Right settings for a shoot should be 5.5.5.18, command rate 2t, tRFC=54 at 2.0v/2.1v (always search for the lowest stable voltage)
Relax timings to 5.6.6.18 or increase a few your NB voltage up to 1.45v might help also... and yes, relaxed tRFC is a must for 4gb+ configs.
If your bios include higher tRFC values like 54+ then you dont need to flash your ram, only set the right value at bios."

Do you think it’d be safe for me to try these settings with this Geil RAM?
Also, after doing all that manual stuff above I ran Asus Update again just to check for another BIOS and there was one. How I missed it I don’t know but it’s version 1203 from the 25th June.
Anyway, I downloaded (in a quiver of anticipation) but it didn't make any difference either. I've even tried lots of different combinations of setting in the BIOS based on your advice but leaving some things set to auto and others manually entered. Nothing seems to work and it's still only coming up as 800 MHz. Do you think it's the board that's the prob with 4GB? Googling 'P5KC and 1066MHz' seems to bring up lots of people with the same problem when running 4 GB.

My only other option is to try the DDR 3 slots but if I'm having this problem with DDR 2 then perhaps that'll be even worse compatibility wise.

Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I'll keep fiddling and post back if ever I do find a solution.
Cheers.
Mod.

Mod said:

...

I’ve just come across a post on the OCZ Technology Forum
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37736&highlight=p5kc
Which, although talking about a different brand of RAM altogether, states that for 4GB to work in this board:
"Right settings for a shoot should be 5.5.5.18, command rate 2t, tRFC=54 at 2.0v/2.1v (always search for the lowest stable voltage)
Relax timings to 5.6.6.18 or increase a few your NB voltage up to 1.45v might help also... and yes, relaxed tRFC is a must for 4gb+ configs.

Do you think it’d be safe for me to try these settings with this Geil RAM?

...

Click to expand...

You should have no probems trying out that suggestion. I would try the stated timings of 15-5-5-5 first with the tRFC at 54. If that does not work then try upping the NB (Northbridge) voltage as suggested. Then I'd try loosening the timings to 18-6-6-5 if you still have no luck. But the reason I say try that last is you at least want to get the 4Gb running at it's stated speeds.

CMD rate at 2T sounds like it should be 2N on your board, so I would leave that set manually also. Try setting your Strap back to Auto also, but leave the FSB entered at 1066Mhz and the CPU multi at x9.

If we still can't get it working, and like you say, googling "P5KC + 4Gb" seems to bring back lots of people with problems, perhaps look at a different mobo? Although that would be last resort. I'm sure we can get this working. lol.

Also leave transaction booster thingy disabled. That seems to help. Apparently it looks like 1066Mhz is not supported??? It also looks like you may have to run 18-6-6-5 for it to work. But try the other steps first.

Hello again Firegod.

Thanks for the help again. Well, I've now tried loads more settings but it still refuses to recognise the RAM as 1066.
I tried the manual set up once more with all those settings,changed the timings to 5,5,5,15 @ 2.2v and tRFC @55 coz there wasn't an option for 54. Similarly, my Northbridge voltage only had: 1.25,1.40,1.55 and 1.70v so i tried the 1.40 v and the machine wouldn't boot but emitted a long beep at post (it normally just quietly shows the 'Overclocking failed!' error: no noise.) I then tried just the 18,6,6,5 timings but still no joy.
What a pain, eh?
You may be right about a new mobo..one of those P5Q boards with the P45 chipset might be better, eh?
haha. Any excuse to buy a new board with a slightly better chipset I hadn't noticed until I'd bought this one!
I might try and play around a bit more though: perhaps that trfc 55 was too high?

Mod said:

Hello again Firegod.

Thanks for the help again. Well, I've now tried loads more settings but it still refuses to recognise the RAM as 1066.
I tried the manual set up once more with all those settings,changed the timings to 5,5,5,15 @ 2.2v and tRFC @55 coz there wasn't an option for 54. Similarly, my Northbridge voltage only had: 1.25,1.40,1.55 and 1.70v so i tried the 1.40 v and the machine wouldn't boot but emitted a long beep at post (it normally just quietly shows the 'Overclocking failed!' error: no noise.) I then tried just the 18,6,6,5 timings but still no joy.
What a pain, eh?
You may be right about a new mobo..one of those P5Q boards with the P45 chipset might be better, eh?
haha. Any excuse to buy a new board with a slightly better chipset I hadn't noticed until I'd bought this one!
I might try and play around a bit more though: perhaps that trfc 55 was too high?

Click to expand...

Hi mate, it's defo not playing ball like is it.

The tRFC isn't like a high or low value, it represents the amount of time it waits. So, I think, it's like 55 micro-seconds or something like that. So by using higher numbers, we're infact slowing the operation of the RAM down.

I know that's not very technical, I don't know all the lingo you see. But that's what it does. So it's to try and increase stability.

I'd be tempted to sell the board and try another one.

You're a star Fire coz that was def the answer I was hoping for!! haha!
Judging by what I've now come across on the web I think these boards are just picky about 1066 RAM - especially when it's 4 GB. I've already started looking at what
other boards are available and the Asus P5Q looks OK. I'll just have to make sure whatever I go for can take this RAM before I buy it. Cheers for all your help though, It's well appreciated and I feel much more confident messing about with the BIOS now so I feel as if I've learnt quite a bit anyway.

Thanks again mate.

Mod.

Mod said:

You're a star Fire coz that was def the answer I was hoping for!! haha!
Judging by what I've now come across on the web I think these boards are just picky about 1066 RAM - especially when it's 4 GB. I've already started looking at what
other boards are available and the Asus P5Q looks OK. I'll just have to make sure whatever I go for can take this RAM before I buy it. Cheers for all your help though, It's well appreciated and I feel much more confident messing about with the BIOS now so I feel as if I've learnt quite a bit anyway.

Thanks again mate.

Mod.

Click to expand...

Glad to help fella, even if we couldn't get the RAM working on the current board. But like you say, the practise is defo good to boost your skill set.

Good look with the new board!

Cheers mate!

Hey Fire
I think I might have got it sorted at last!
Typically I came across the solution when checking on the Asus forums to see if that P5Q board I hoped to get could take 1066 RAM without problems. On there, I came across loads of posts by people slagging off various Asus boards (my P5KC included) and threatening to RMA them coz they didn't have native 1066 support as promised by the sales spiel. Anyway, someone had posted that he noticed something when building a gigabyte board-based machine and so changed his Asus BIOS settings to match that:

Here's what he did:

Adjust CHA SKEW Support [ENABLED]
CHA CLK SKEW [150PS]
CHA FB SKEW [150PS]
Adjust CHB SKEW Support [ENABLED]
CHB CLK SKEW [000PS]
CHB FB SKEW [000PS]

So I tried it again as you said earlier, upped my DRAM voltage to 2.2 and used the above settings as well. Bingo! The bloody thing worked!!
I've posted some screen shots on the page below.
http://www.web-spinners.myzen.co.uk/1066.html

It feels a bit quicker but I dunno if this is just wishful thinking...
Only had one freeze where my screen went all pixelated but hopefully that's a one off (The first I've had since I built it).
Do the screenshots show much difference in speed d'ya think?

Cheers for your help again.

Mod

Hi Yah Mod, just wanted to add my 2p mate

I used to have a P5KC board and read the exact same post on the asus forums, i found my machine booted using the memory skews although it was still unstable, i also like you, read a lot of comments about the board not being able to run 1066 memory correctly so i returned it and exchanged it for a p5q board.

Even on this board im having issues getting the memory to run at 1066, i think im destined for a life at running my memory slower than its rated speed
Just wanted to say dont go head first into buying a new motherboard expecting it to solve all your problems because as ive found out, it wont

Good luck though mate

Ste

Hi Steve.

Cheers for the info mate: I was worried some of the other boards would have the same problems hence my scouting those Asus forums trying to find out which one would def run my Geil when I came across those posts. Looks like they're all pretty much the same then, eh?
That freeze/crash I had after doing those Skews was the first I've had on this machine so if it happens again I'll just leave it all on Auto as before and, like you, settle for running it at 800 then. Oh well, at least you've saved me from wasting money on a new board so I'll just be content with what I've got for now...if it ain't broke and all that.

Thanks again for the advice..I'll save my money till that new Nephalem comes out then.
Thanks again!
Cheers.
Mod.