1066 Ballistix not running up to speed

[Crazymage]

Hi, I have an ASUS P5E Mobo, an e2140, an 8800GT, and 2 gigs of 1066 Ballistix memory. I put everything together yesterday and it's working great except I'm having trouble getting the RAM to run at the correct speed. First, I have the most up to date BIOS. CPU-Z showed my memory as PC2-6400. I have manually adjusted the speed and voltage of the RAM to get it up to 1066, but it still reads as 6400 in CPU-Z. Mainly I am wondering if I have got it working correctly and shouldn't worry about it being displayed wrong, or if this means that I will not get the most performance out of my memory. Thanks

 

[systemlord]

The reason CPU-Z shows PC2 6400 is because its overclocked DDR2 800 sold as DDR2 1066, they just pre-overclock it for you and sell it as DDR2 1066. Also be aware that to change (all voltages) DRAM voltage you just type in what voltage you want, you going to love your new P5E as I do. 😀


Do your self a favor, set the CPU PLL voltage to it lowest setting of 1.5 volts as this setting can damage your processer! Also set all other voltages to there lowest setting even if you not going to overclock, because most of the time the [AUTO] settings almost always set things to high than they need to be shortening your component life. Except for your CPU Vcore voltage set the stock value to stock volts printed on your processer box, mine says (for my E6600) 1.35 volt max unless your going to OC then don't set it past 1.45 volts. Good luck to you and if you have any questions please ask.


Heres the stock table for all voltages>>>>

By systemlord at 2007-12-17

Asus P5E review>>>>> http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-p5e.html

 

[Crazymage]

Thanks for all the info, first off, CPU PLL Voltage, I'm not really familiar with that.
"Do your self a favor, set the CPU PLL voltage to it lowest setting of 1.5 volts as this setting can damage your processer!"
I think it just got worded a little awkwardly, you don't mean that the low setting can damage can damage the CPU do you? I'm guessing that I want it low like the other voltages.

As for overclocking, I have the e2140 running at 3.12 right now with a 1.325 VCORE. The max for this chip is supposed to be 1.35 officially, but I also hear that if you want to OC it you can go up to 1.5. I mainly just want this cheap CPU to last me till the 45nm's, but I would like to keep it in decent condition so I would like to find out what voltage actually begins to damage it.

Also, I have a Zalmann 9700 and my CPU has not risen above 51 degrees under load yet.

 

[systemlord]

I forgot to mention that some Asus P5E owners have notice instability on newer BIOS versions so if you start to see instability, its most likely the new BIOS upgrade. I'm still on the stock BIOS version that came installed out of box, also its not a good idea to update your BIOS unless you have a good reason.


Asus's website states, "Please note, BIOS update is only recommended when experiencing technical difficulties with your system, And is not recommended to be performed regularly."

"Moreover, due to the nature of BIOS update, there is certain level of dangers involved. BIOS update must be performed with extreme caution. During BIOS update process, your system must be maintained without interference or power loss to prevent unexpected damage."

People seem to think that by updating their BIOS will give them a magical increase in performance, this is not always true. This often causes more problems than there worth, this is my second computer in 3 years and not once have I updated my BIOS.

Do your self a favor, set the CPU PLL voltage to it lowest setting of 1.5 volts as this setting can damage your processer!"

Sorry I meant to say set the CPU PLL voltage as low as possible, The review link I gave you can explain this in more detail. The CPU PLL is a more for quad core overclocking.

 

[Crazymage]

Ah, my reason for updating the BIOS was my ram was not running at the correct speed. It seems that I can't get my ram running at 1066 unless I'm OC'ing my processor. When I try to change the frequency it gives me the list of ~10 speeds and they don't come close to 1066 till I'm doing a substantial OC.

I didn't actually check to see if you could type in the exact speed that you wanted. Unfortunately my computer is down for a while since Dell sent the video card for my friend's computer to the wrong state; I'm letting him use mine for now. Anyways, if you have any more info on why the RAM frequency is linked to the CPU I'd appreciate it. Until now I thought that the speed of the CPU was limited by the RAM, not the other way around.

 

[systemlord]

Ah, my reason for updating the BIOS was my ram was not running at the correct speed. It seems that I can't get my ram running at 1066 unless I'm OC'ing my processor. When I try to change the frequency it gives me the list of ~10 speeds and they don't come close to 1066 till I'm doing a substantial OC.

I didn't actually check to see if you could type in the exact speed that you wanted. Unfortunately my computer is down for a while since Dell sent the video card for my friend's computer to the wrong state; I'm letting him use mine for now. Anyways, if you have any more info on why the RAM frequency is linked to the CPU I'd appreciate it. Until now I thought that the speed of the CPU was limited by the RAM, not the other way around.

The reason why the RAM frequency is linked to the CPU is because thats the way Asus configures their mobo's, if you overclock the processer then your RAM speed options change along with memory dividers.