memory, what settings are genuinly faster?

[SooTyLaD]

been doing a fair bit of reading on memory in terms of what is better but there are so many conflicting opinions it just aint funny...

could someone tell me with my cpu at 378x9 what would be the optimum memory configuration i should be going for? lots of people say its best in 1:1, some people say as long as its linked its loads better than unlinked, some people say speed maters much more than timing...

what is the actual case? 4-4-4-12 @ 756MHz? 5-5-5-15@ 945MHz? 5-5-5-18 @ 1000MHz?

much more complicated that the cpu... please advise

I suppose i could bench the different variations but apparently it seriously depends on application also that that aint much good...

 

[SooTyLaD]

how do you work out how low you can go? there are so many combinations being 4 numbers so which are the ones that if lower would really make a difference?

i've keyed in 3-3-3-8 at the mo and its blend testing at the mo so i basically picked those numbers by throwing darts if you know what i mean...

what is the proper methodology?

 

[SooTyLaD]

"CellShock 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400C4 800MHz Dual Channel Kit"

i can't unlink the mem so its either 945 or 1134... but even with slacker timings of 5-5-5-15 the computer wouldn't post... even went up to 2.35V but no luck...

(*wondering why the hell i bought the best ram i could find*)

so i gave up and tightened the timings instead... if you have any advice on getting the clock higher i'd appreciate it

 

[SooTyLaD]

blend testing 945 @ 4-4-4-12 now... with the PCI-E freq. @ 105MHz (why does this make a difference?)

the computer restarded itself after a few seconds over and over again but i managed to get into windows... but i've recently read this may well be the mobo and not the overclocking settings so if anyone knows a way to stop the dreaded cycle please let me know

i'll post it the above o/c is stable thanks Cob

 

[SooTyLaD]

Also, try running at 1t .

could you elaborate?

 

[SooTyLaD]

the blend test has failed twice now, once on stock volts (2.2) and again on 2.25... just upped it to 2.3 so we'll try again

i thought i was just my cpu but my whole system seems really voltage hungry - could this be all becuase of a bad mobo or summat?

 

[SooTyLaD]

failed again at 4 hours blend - gonna have to go for 2.4 volts now!

this really doesnt seem right... anyone know whats going on? i feel like i need frikkin mains voltage to run my components!

 

[SooTyLaD]

Are you certain its the memory thats causing blend to fail. It could be your cpu or even your memory controller.

the cpu was 12 hours orthos stable so i'd have thought so... the 2.4V blend just failed and i'm not really willing to go higher so i guess thats it... i bought the best ram i could find and am gonna be runnning it below stock at 756MHz

but cheers for that post WJA very interesting

 

[SooTyLaD]

At what speed and test was it 12hrs orthos stable? Is it just blend you are having problems with?

it was orthos stable at 3.4gig (378x9) at 1.5V - this was with the mem at 756MHz 5-5-5-15 (2.2v)

had some real problems just, the computer kept restarting to begin with, then when it finally went in it was freezing just before or after it posts the memory size... i managed to get in to the bios eventually and put it all back to stock while i think about it

 

[SooTyLaD]

Which test were you running in orthos for the stable run? Small, large or blend?

that was when i was only trying to push the cpu so that was small ffts...

its blend that fails once i'd upped the memory a bit...

 

[SooTyLaD]

I think it is clocking well, it's just throwing up a few errors. It could be worth really loosening off the timings, or even just setting to automatic if you haven't already tried that.

heres the deal...

i tried on 945 with timings on auto at 2.2V (stock) - wouldn't boot, entered into the dreaded gigabyte cycle-reboot (3-4 seconds, reboot, repeat)

so after resetting the cmos, i put it to stock volts at 756MHz on 4-4-4-12 timings... so under what the manufacturers spec is... then THIS entered into the same dumb ass cycle!!! under oem spec!!!

it eventually went into windows with these settings so i'm back in now, but i'm not a happy bunny... do you think i have somehow (despite ordering the best i could find!) got some dud ram? do i have grounds for an RMA or is this a mobo problem?

so far i've found my overclocking capabilities to be frankly crap, which is a big dissapointment... i know "any overclock is free performance" and all that, but overclocking is great fun and when you finally save up and get a new computer like every three years, its a real disappointment - my last system was a crap clocker aswell

so far my cpu eats volts for breakfast, my mobo has a tendancy for cycle-rebooting, and my memory wont go above stock... could this all be related to one component or am i just the unluckiest guy in town

 

[SooTyLaD]

If the memory works at stock settings without fault then you have no grounds to rma the memory - no kit is guaranteed to overclock one iota. It sucks when this happens I know. I would still be inclined to think its either your motherboard or a setting that isn't playing nicely. If all else fails your best bet is to either sell it on MM or ebay and buy a different set.

well, like i said it does cycle-reboot sometimes at (or below!) stock... when i put it back down the last time (before i wrote the above post) it wouldn't start, it restarted maybe 5 times before i could get it to go in... dont really want to switch the computer off now

before i start full heatedly blaming the ram... anyone care to take a guess at where else the problem could be? be it a component or a setting?

btw: thanks for all your help w3bbo

 

[SooTyLaD]

the rebooting cycle sounds like a common problem with the bios on DS3s, do you have the latest rev installed?

i'm on F4 and although i have heard its common on the DS3s i didn't think is was an issue with DS3Ps... i think F5 has just come out so maybe worth a shot... i'll do this memtest stuff aswell