Asus M5A97 R2.0 & Kingston Hyper X Blu 1600Mhz

[nekomastermax]

So I bought the Asus M5A97 Rev 2.0 motherboard on my birthday (Sept 4, 2012) and I got 8GB of Kingston Hyper X blu 1600Mhz DDR3 memory (4GBx2 sticks).

Now Asus says it supports kingston hyper x blu 1600MHz memory (4GB and 8GB models) but the board will only boot with the speed on Auto or when set to 1333Mhz (1500Mhz with CPU overclocking to 4.0GHz)

When I try to set the speed to anything faster then 1333Mhz the computer won't boot and when I restart it says overclocking failed.

From what I understand I need to set the timings manually for this to work, but I have no idea where to get those values.

Could someone help me get my hyper x blu running at its proper speed? I need to know the timings and which values to change, I've never changed the timings or speed of memory before so I'll need as much help as I can with this.

Also, if anyone wants to ask why bother with getting my 1600Mhz speeds, I work at a computer store and I was told you get a decent boost in speed for each jump in clock speed (I was told by one of the senior (in terms of years worked) employees that I'd get a 20% boost in speed if I went from 1333Mhz to 1600Mhz)

 

[Deleted member 217926]

20% huh? Not so much. More like 1% - 2% depending on your processor.

Somewhere in your BIOS is advanced memory options. Set the voltage, speed and timings to whatever your sticks are rated at. Without a RAM kit number I don't know what those values are. You should be able to get them off the Kingston website. The memory should also be set to ganged if that is an option.

 

[nekomastermax]

I have a AMD Athlon II x2 270 OC'ed to 4.1GHz.

Also, this model number or something, stuff is confusing me more then anything.
"KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX" (It was a 4GBx2 Stick kit)

Also, how the hell do I turn X-X-X-X (Eg 9-9-9-24) into a timing? Theres more then just 4 values to change in the DRAM Timing control

 

[Deleted member 217926]

That RAM uses 1.65v to get to DDR3 1600 cas 9 so it's either old stock or lower quality. All high quality DDR3 1600 only needs 1.5v to reach the same speeds. The higher voltage will not be a problem with an AMD system though.

This page tells you the timings you need to be concerned with.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26/2

Your timings will be 9-9-9-24 2T ( or 2N depends on what your motherboard manufactrurer calls it ). You will only need to set those values I listed. Everything else can be left alone.

So voltage = 1.65v

Speed = 1600

CL = 9

tRCD = 9

tRP = 9

tRAS = 24

CMD = 2T ( 2N )

 

[nekomastermax]

I got that ram only this summer, from a good computer shop (Best Byte) based in Whitby, Ontario.

I'll try this in a bit, I'll report back soon if it works. If not, then i had to reboot and reset to the defaults.

BTW, when Im OC'ed to 4.1 GHz, 1333Mhz becomes 1500MHz and 1600MHz becomes 1900+ MHz

Also, the voltage should be fine, I've over volted to 1.7 before to see if that helped at all, but that was before I knew the timings. I forgot to reset the values and it was like that for a couple days (I got plenty of cooling in my PC)

 

[Deleted member 217926]

It does not matter where you bought it. 1.65v DDR3 1600 just means they used lower quality modules when they made that kit. It is essentially factory overclocked DDR3 1333 overvolted to run at DDR3 1600 speeds. 1.5v is the JEDEC standard.

It's been years since I overclocked an AMD system. Since the CPU and RAM are linked I doubt you can set the modules to run at spec. If you are already at 1500 there is no point trying to squeeze 100Mhz out of it. And I doubt they will overclock to 1900 since they are low quality modules to begin with. As I said above going from DDR3 1333 to DDR3 1600 will yield you a few percent at most. Anyone telling you 20% has no idea what they are talking about.

 

[nekomastermax]

The guy that told me about the 20% in performance has been dealing with computers for a long time now, and is a senior employee of the company. He could be a manager if he wanted to. I don't think he meant it in terms of over all performance, more like in terms of memory performance.

Also, how can it be low quality if I bought Hyper X blu? as far as I know, everyday memory is low quality compared to Hyper X Blu. I know its been used in gaming builds. Kingston did state that the Hyper X Blu memory is more for performance so its timings may need to be adjusted on come computers.

This RAM run's at full speed in my Dad's i5-2500K system with a ASUS P8Z68 VLE Mother board.

BTW, where are you getting this voltage/quality thing from?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

He could be a manager if he wanted to.

He just chooses to be happy in a lower paying job huh? 😉

Let's look at some proof shall we?

Since you have a fairly old processor RAM actually makes more difference to you than it would if you had a current generation FX or Intel CPU. So 3-5% as opposed to 1-2%.

Here is a good one with a Phenom II X4 955. Very informative read.

http://www.legionhardware.com/articles_pages/amd_am3_memory_performance_guide,1.html

Need more proof?

http://www.overclock.net/t/555061/guide-am3-cpus-which-ram-speed-is-faster-and-which-cpu-nb-clock-is-best

The reason? Both AMD and Intel use integrated memory controllers in their modern CPUs. So the memory controller is on the chip not on the motherboard like it was 3 or 4 years ago when your guy at work's knowledge ends. This integrated memory controller ( IMC ) just does not need high speed RAM. When you start talking about AMD FX chips and Sandy and Ivy Bridge Intel chips RAM speed matters even less. There is literally a 1-2% difference in DDR3 1333 and DDR3 1600. The same is true from DDR3 1600 to DDR3 1866 and so on.


As for higher voltage meaning lower quality that has held true for as long as RAM has been made. The lower the votage needed to run at a set speed the better obviously. Old first generation DDR3 ran at as high as 1.8 and 1.9v. Then as it became more common about 3 years ago with first generation Core i5 and i7 and the Phenom II chips then 1.65v became the standard. Since Intel now requires 1.5v RAM for all their processors starting with Sandy Bridge 1.5v became the standard starting in early 2011.

You will not find a single current Corsair or GSkill kit that requires 1.65v for DDR3 1600 cas 9. Don't believe me?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611+600006127+600000324&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=147&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

Some very old Corsair Dominator kits and a few oddball brands but 99% of it is Kingston and Mushkin. The only current Corsair and GSkill kits at 1.65v are DDR3 1866 and up. As I said above it's no big deal for you though since you are using a CPU with a 3 year old architecture that was designed around 1.65v RAM anyway.

But........

If your Dad is running 1.65v RAM with an i5 2500K he is technically overclocking the IMC and as such is voiding the CPU warranty. Intel will not honor their CPU warranties if you run anything over 1.5v RAM in Sandy and Ivy Bridge CPUs.


If you want any more proof of anything I have posted just ask. I'll be glad to provide it. Some of us on this site know what we are talking about a little bit.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Oh yeah I should have mentioned above. The only case where you want the highest speed lowest latency RAM you can afford is with an APU. Then it can make a huge difference.

 

[nekomastermax]

Im not going with a APU, i have my own graphics card and I've heard APU's aren't all that great. Plus I already have a AM3+ mobo, I'm not putting 200 bucks into a nice new FM1/FM2 board

Anyways I think I'll just upgrade my ram sometime soon, as well as the cpu, seems that 4.1 GHz is about the max stable clock a Athlon II x2 270 can do with the memory I have, anything higher and I risk a over-voltage warning and possible damage :S

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Oh I was not recommending an APU. Don't get me wrong, they are great at what they do and they are perfect for certain uses but if gaming is something you do then you want a discreet GPU.

There is literally no reason to upgrade that RAM. At least as long as you stay with AMD. Their IMC is not as sensitive as the Intel IMC is and they can handle 1.65v modules fine. When I said they use lower quality modules I think you misunderstood me. It is literally the same speed and timings as RAM that runs at 1.5v. The only difference is the voltage required to get there. Since you have an AMD system the voltage is not a problem.

The main reason to upgrade what you have now is to get a quad core CPU. Just get a Phenom II if you can find one. They are all pretty much the same chip and no matter what model you get will max out around 4Ghz when overclocked. At least the Black Editions will.

 

[nekomastermax]

I was thinking of getting a Phenom II x4 965 anyways, 103-109 bucks on tigerdirect.ca

Also, I got a reply from kingston about this ram, they said that it requires different timings and more power to get its speed but I think theres better RAM out there worth the same or around its price (40 bucks for 8GB Hyper X Blu 1600MHz, 50-60 bucks for newer high performance ram)

 

[witnezz]

On the M5A97 Rev 2.0 the correct HyperX Blu timings are hidden / buried.

Took me a few hours of searching and testing to get my HyperX blu 16GB KIT DDR3-1600
at the correct timings.

In the bios, up top click on the AI Tweaker tab, then switch the AI Overclock tuner,
which says manual by default, to D.O.C.P.

Now the DDR3-1600MHz profile shows up in the "DRAM O.C profile" box.

Now you can drop into the DRAM timings and only the options you need to
change will be changeable.