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

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mod
  • Start date Start date

Mod

Mod

Mod

Associate
Joined
11 Sep 2007
Posts
12
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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...
 
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.
 
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?
 
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.
 
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 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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom