is my memory running at the correct frequency??

buachille · 28 Jan 2007 at 16:22

hi,

i recently upgraded my machine.

i'm not too up on memory and stuff so could do with some advice.

i have a EVGA nForce 680 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard with this ram Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB).

the ram is currently running at 400mhz but i have a feeling it should be set higher than this.

can someone tell me if this is right or not please.

i have pasted full results from cpuz below.

CPU-Z 1.38 report file
Processor(s)
Number of processors 1
Number of cores 4 per processor
Number of threads 4 (max 4) per processor
Name Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
Code Name Kentsfield
Specification Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU @ 2.66GHz
Package Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping 6.F.7
Extended Family/Model 6.F
Core Stepping B3
Technology 65 nm
Core Speed 2666.5 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 10.0 x 266.7 MHz
Rated Bus speed 1066.6 MHz
Stock frequency 2666 MHz
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, EM64T
L1 Data cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 4 x 32 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 4096 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Chipset & Memory
Northbridge NVIDIA 680i SLI SPP rev. A2
Southbridge NVIDIA 680i SLI MCP rev. A2
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x16
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Memory Frequency 400.0 MHz (2:3)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 22 clocks
Command Rate 2T
System
System Manufacturer EVGA
System Name 122-CK-NF68
System S/N 1
Mainboard Vendor EVGA
Mainboard Model 122-CK-NF68
BIOS Vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
BIOS Version 6.00 PG
BIOS Date 12/21/2006
Memory SPD
Module 1 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Corsair
Module 2 DDR2, PC2-6400 (400 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Corsair
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c

Minstadave · 28 Jan 2007 at 16:28

I think its running at the right speed PC6400 runs at 400Mhz (800Mhz effective speed).

buachille · 28 Jan 2007 at 16:48

Minstadave said:
I think its running at the right speed PC6400 runs at 400Mhz (800Mhz effective speed).

i heard about it running at 800mhz and that is why i was unsure.

does the 2 in ddr2 mean it runs at twice the speed? must do.

thanks for the reply.

Minstadave · 28 Jan 2007 at 16:56

buachille said:
i heard about it running at 800mhz and that is why i was unsure.

does the 2 in ddr2 mean it runs at twice the speed? must do.

thanks for the reply.

Nope its the D in DDR that means it runs at twice the speed just like it does in DDR1.

DDR stands for Dual Data Rate, meaning 2 operations are carried out (one with the rise and one with the fall of the clock signal.

buachille · 28 Jan 2007 at 17:40

Nope its the D in DDR that means it runs at twice the speed just like it does in DDR1.

so much to learn and so little time to learn it :rolleyes:

james32 · 29 Jan 2007 at 00:58

buachille said:
can someone tell me if this is right or not please.

Memory Frequency 400.0 MHz (2:3)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 5.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 5 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18 clocks

change your memory to below and give it 2.2 volts

CAS# Latency (tCL) 4 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 4 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 12 clocks

buachille · 29 Jan 2007 at 07:54

james32 said:
change your memory to below and give it 2.2 volts

CAS# Latency (tCL) 4 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRDC) 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 4 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 12 clocks

is that a big overclock or will my memory be perfectly safe at those settings?

Legend · 29 Jan 2007 at 11:00

Sorry to hijack this, but I have a virtually identical query. I have the Team Xtreem 6400C4 800MHz, which is rated at 4-4-4-10. In my BIOS (and in CPU-Z) though, it's frequency is rated at 5-5-5-15. Screenshot below.

I assume these figures should read;

Memory Frequency - 800MHz
tCL - 4
tRCD - 4
tRP - 4
tRASmin - 10

However, I'm stumped as to what voltage should read. Should it be the same as Buachille's recomended above - 2.2 volts? How is this figure decided exactly? Is there a formula for it? Is higher better? I've always been perplexed by RAM!

Buachille, as with my RAM, these settings are what the RAM should be, so I don't think this is technically overclocking, as we're only setting the ram to what it's officially rated as. In theory, should be perfectly safe, and if it's unstable at officially rated speed then you should RMA it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on that though.

james32 · 29 Jan 2007 at 11:10

2.1 volts or 2.2 volts to get 4.4.4.10 timings

whats under reference frequency?
memory frequency = ddr 800
tCL - 4
tRCD - 4
tRP - 4
tRASmin - 10
memory voltage is on your ram sticks or label

Legend · 29 Jan 2007 at 11:43

Reference frequency says as below;

Left at default for the moment, as unsure what it should be.

I've also noticed that when I select 'Profile 1' under the 'Performance Memory Profiles' it changes to the settings seen below. Would it be stable at these settings? Where does this profile come from, as I didn't set it up?

The voltage on my memory says 2.0-2.2 - I've set it at 2.0 for the moment (with 4-4-4-10) but should it be 2.1 or 2.2? What difference does that 0.1 or 0.2 of a volt make? Can't see it really matters...

Rubik · 12 Feb 2007 at 19:54

Can anyone advise the purpose of the reference frequency setting?