1066mhz pc8500 memory stuck at 800mhz!

mitch2471

mitch2471

mitch2471

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Looking for a bit of help.

I have recently bought a Foxconn x38a motherboard along with a Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) & 4 GB of OcUK 2GB DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel.

When picking the motherboard it would appear I didn't pay enough attention to the details on the memory.

It would appear that the motherboard will run pc8500 1066mhz memory at 800mhz.
To run the memory at it's full potential (1066mhz) Overclocking is required.

I'm fairley new to Overclocking, so I've read a few articles & given it a go but seem to be going no where.

I'm not overly bothered about overclocking the cpu, but from what I've read you cannot overclock one without overclocking the other.

When I change the settings in the Bios I can get the figures I'm looking for, but it then won't boot into windows & needs the Bios reset.

Below are the settings I have tried:

Memory set to 5-5-5-15, voltage to 2.2v
Fsb upto 300mhz works & fives me a memory speed of 900mhz
Fsb set to anything above 300mhz crashs the system.


Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Well if you are trying to up the FSB to get the correct ratio to run the ram at 1066 you will need to up the voltage on the CPU otherwise it may not boot.
 
Yeah I had read that somewhere but keep seeing different things online for what sort of voltage I can go upto.
I read somewhere the max u should go with this cpu is 1.5v & others who say you need to go beyond this for overclocking.
So I'm not sure what voltage range I should use?
Also the ram voltage range is 1.8-2.3v as per manufacturer.
I have the memory running at 2.1v with 5-5-5-15 timings (as per manufacturer).
Being that the memory modules are already rated to 1066mhz as a norm I can't see the need to boost the voltage to the memory.
 
I have my 1066 ram running at 800mhz at the moment, as if I set it to 1066 there is a bug with this mobo that stops it from booting.

so.. ASUS BLITZ FORMULA 1205 bios please fix ASUS! :)

DeadMan
 
Ok still no joy.
These are the settings in my bios:
CPU Config:
super clock free = disabled
speed step = disabled
cpu ratio = 9
CIE support = enabled
Hardware prefetcher = enabled
Adjacent cache line = enabled
intel virtulization = enabled
executive disablebit = enabled
peci = disabled
core multi processing = enabled

Memory timings:
dram frequency = auto (options are auto, 667 or 800mhz)
config dram settings by spd = disabled
dram cas# latency 5
dram ras to cash 5
dram ras precharge 5
dram ras activate prec 15

Fox intelligent stepping = manual

Ration & clock settings
memory target frequency 800mhz (cannot be manually changed)
cpu ratio = 9
cpu frequency setting = 266
cpu freq: memory speed
pcie freq settings = 100
pci clock = auto

Any suggestions?
 
Hi there, thanks for the link, have seen this article before.

Thing is Foxconn claim it's possible (still waiting to hear back from them as to how this can be done).

Also there is this chunk of the review:
We’ve used DDR2-1066 for previous roundups, but the X38A is missing the "8:5" DRAM:FSB-clock ratio (aka 1.60x multiple) required to set this speed with an FSB1333 CPU. Alternative ratios of 3:2 and 5:3 resulted in DRAM data rates of 1000MHz and 1111MHz. We chose the 1000MHz data rate even though our memory is rated for the higher speed, because doing otherwise would have rewarded Foxconn’s oversight with a bandwidth advantage over every other board we’ve recently tested.

Would suggest that in this review they managed to clock it up to 1000mhz & 1111mhz.

They refer to ratios of 3:2 and 5:3

Sorry if I'm being a bit dim here but what ratios are these? What sections of the bios do these apply to?

Thanks again for everyone's help
 
I'm no expert but I think they are talking about lowering multipliers with higher FSB's or just making the FSB higher to achieve those ratio's.

Some boards have an option in their bios to run the FSB at a 1:1 ratio with the RAM, they also over 1:1.25, etc. You may have an option in the overclocking part of the bios, not sure on the board though.

Take what I've said with a pinch of salt, I could be completely wrong.
 
Yeah I do have a set of ratio options like that, in fact one of them gives me a dram frequency of 1066mhz (ideal) only problem is that on savings the options the system won't boot into Windows.
Call me mad here but could the fact that I'm running vista 64 cause complications?
 
mitch2471 said:
Yeah I do have a set of ratio options like that, in fact one of them gives me a dram frequency of 1066mhz (ideal) only problem is that on savings the options the system won't boot into Windows.
Call me mad here but could the fact that I'm running vista 64 cause complications?
Click to expand...

No i do not think so. The issue is with the mother board its self. As you pointed out in your above post the techy will look into it. Sounds like a Bios issue that they have been aware of but as of yet a solution has not been provided. The article address's the issue as well.

Out of interest when did you purchase this motherboard?
 
Last edited:
mitch2471 said:
About 2 weeks ago, why do you ask?
Click to expand...

Just a suggestion:

If the motherboard is not performing as you expect it, have you considered returning it and exchanging it for another/ alternative mother board?

You could explain the situation to the retailer regarding non performance. Although they may charge you a restocking fee.

Is there a particular reason/ choice to this particular mother board?
 
mitch2471 said:
yeah I wanted a board that could handle ddr2 & ddr3 for easy upgrading + I wanted to go for the latest chip set.
Click to expand...

Unless there is a Bios update to address the issue, the reviews would indicate it is not a performing board, it may be worth considering?

(Under the long distance act you should be able to exchange pay the difference for a quality board that has proven over clocking pedigree/ performance)
 
Much as I don't want to, generally because it will be a pain int he arse I am going to give that some consideration.
At one point I was giving some thought to the Asus p5k combi (35 chipset). Anyone had any experience of them? any good?

cheers
 
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