4gb dominator 1066mhz showing as 400mhz? help please

Terrier_Jimlad · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:04

I have the following:

Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Dominator Memory Kit CL5(5-5-5-15)

running on an ASUS P5Q-E however in CPU-Z it only shows as 400Mhz and PC26400:

I understand i need to change the DRAM voltage or something, but I cant find that option within the asus BIOS ... any one know which option it is?

Thanks in advance!

OzZie · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:11

400Mhz means its running at 800Mhz DDR. Your 1066Mhz RAM will show up as 533Mhz within CPU-Z once its setup in the BIOS.

Look around for DRAM frequency/divider in your BIOS and make it so that it shows up as 533mhz, as at the moment it'll be set to 400mhz (or 800).

Then remember to set the DRAM voltage to 2.1v as per CPU-Z for 533mhz operation. It'll be in the BIOS under AI tuner somewhere. You may have to set the first option under this page in the BIOS to manual to allow you to adjust the settings under this page.

Also, when you are at the AI tuner page, manually set it from 5-5-5-18 to 5-5-5-15 (just that one end timing) once you've got it running at 533/1066.

Terrier_Jimlad · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:17

hi mate,

the only thing i can see that makes sense is called DRAM Frequency, and it gives me these options:

Auto
DDR2-401MHz
DDR2-480MHz
DDR2-502MHz
DDR2-533MHz
DDR2-602MHz
DDR2-640MHz
DDR2-667MHz
DDR2-800MHz

It was originally auto, but I changed it to DDR2-800MHz, which gives the result in the CPU-Z screenshot in my first post

Terrier_Jimlad · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:21

ok i eventually found where to change it, was called "matche it to northbridge" or something, set that to manual and it let me change the ram frequency to 533mhz ...

I accepted changes, machine rebooted ... now it wont boot ... pc powers on fine but get no pic on the monitor ... uh oh!

Terrier_Jimlad · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:34

help someone, im scared now lol

OzZie · 28 Mar 2009 at 18:39

The settting would have been 'match to FSB freq'.

Did you give it 2.1v? If not, that will be the cause of your problem. See if you can get back into the BIOS and change the voltage to 2.1v, as at 800mhz, it will need a lot less voltage.

Edit: I'd also press the '+' key twice on the northbridge voltage setting to bump it up a two notches from auto, as running faster memory will put extra strain on it.

Terrier_Jimlad · 29 Mar 2009 at 00:07

I cant even get to bios or any kind of screen anymore

95thrifles · 29 Mar 2009 at 00:13

perform a clrcmos, check your mobo manual, might have a reset switch on the board, if not you'll have to take out battery leave for 10 mins then re-insert

Terrier_Jimlad · 29 Mar 2009 at 00:54

managed to clear bios and get it back to scratch ... i've tried sticking the dram voltage to 2.1v and still cpu-z shows as 400mhz ... here are the 4 options i've been playing with, but still getting no where, apologies for my newbness lol ... can anyone take a look at the options below and recommend what they should be set to:

FSB STRAP TO NORTH BRIDGE = AUTO/200/266/333/400

DRAM FREQUENCY = Auto/DDR2-401MHz/DDR2-480MHz/DDR2-502MHz/DDR2-533MHz/DDR2-602MHz/DDR2-640MHz/DDR2-667MHz/DDR2-800MHz

DRAM VOLTAGE: 2.10

NB VOLTAGE: 1.12 (was set to auto but notched it up a little)

Any recommend anyt settings to get the full potential from my ram?

Thanks again

95thrifles · 29 Mar 2009 at 02:24

set FSB to NB strap as 400, save and exit, then go back in and you should get different DRAM freq options, and 1066 should be there. Oh and your NB wants to be much higher, about 1.35

Terrier_Jimlad · 29 Mar 2009 at 12:30

If i set the FSB TO NB to 400, save and exit, go back in to BIOS i have the following 3 DRAM Frequeny:

AUTO
DDR2-400mhz
DDR2-533mhz
DDR2-560mhz

If i select 533mhz and also bump up the NB voltage a little, save and exit, my machine no longer fires up and i have to reset the whole bios to get it back on ...

What's causing that?

ian|Squared² · 29 Mar 2009 at 12:40

remeber speeds shown are "double data rate (DDR)" so 400 is 800

RJC · 29 Mar 2009 at 13:09

Try booting with only one stick of ram and see what happens then try the other stick.
Selecting 533MHZ should give you correct memory speed.

OzZie · 29 Mar 2009 at 14:35

I'm thinking maybe a BIOS update would solve things, as memory compatibility is something that often gets updated. When i bought my P5Q-Pro just 4 weeks ago, it came with a BIOS nearly a year old.

Try 1.26v for the NB, and give the RAM a single notch up from 2.1v.

Terrier_Jimlad · 29 Mar 2009 at 15:08

i've upgraded to BIOS to the latest version as like you, mine was 8 months old ...

Here's what i've tried:

1) left everything auto = boots to windows fine but cpu-z shows ram as 400mhz
2) left everything auto and set FSB Strap to NB to 400 MHz = boots to windows fine but cpu-z shows ram at 266.7 MHz
3) as #2 above but changed DRAM Voltage to 2.10v = windows boots fine but cpu-z shows ram at 266.7 MHz
4) as #3 above but bumped NB to 1.26v = windows boots fine but cpu-z shows ram at 266Mhz
5) as #4 above but changed DRAM frequency to DDR2-533Mhz = BIOS freezes when trying to save changes, I have to manually kill the power and the PC no longer boots up ... have to reset the BIOS all over again and start from scratch

Don't know if this is causing it, but i am currently using a crappy Dual Core E2500 (2.5GHz) until my Q9650 arrives ... would this crappy CPU cause my problems?

95thrifles · 29 Mar 2009 at 15:13

shouldnt do, have you actually run memtest yet?

Terrier_Jimlad · 29 Mar 2009 at 18:17

think i'll just give up on it and leave it at 400Mhz ... just wish i'd have known it wouldnt work or i'd have bought 6400 instead of 8500 ... surely i wont noticed too much difference?

i'll run memtest and post results ... cant tell you how much i appreciate the help so far guys