Is this DIMM Voltage too high?

[KublaiKhan]

• Intel Core i7-950
• EVGA SuperClocked 015-P3-1582-TR GTX 580 1536MB
• CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB CAS 9 (triple channel DDR3)
• EVGA 131-GT-E767-TR LGA 1366 SLI3
• Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium

CORSAIR Vengeance 12GB (3 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ12GX3M3A1600C9
DDR3 12GB 1600MHz VENG
(3x4GB) 1600MHz PC3-12800
CAS9 design for overclock
CMZ12GX3M3A1600C9

This machine is NOT overclocked! (unless I did it by accident)

I'm not dull-witted! I don't do this for a living, so my understanding is less than we would all prefer. I do hope I will not frustrate anyone too terribly.

For this RAM, the timings are 9-9-9-24 (no idea why I have tRFC of 88 and not AUTO). I thought the DIMM Voltage was supposed to be 1.50, but it's obviously not. In fact, that 1.70 is the lowest setting in the DIMM Voltage menu. As far as I know, it's always been 1.70.

My computer hasn't been unstable, but am I slowly frying that RAM?

At first blush, changing Memory SPD does not change the AUTO settings, below. Is that the case? Perhaps I do not understand what [AUTO] means on this screen. One would assume the machine makes the measurement or draws from a list of safe values. But it also appears that once a setting has been changed from [AUTO], it cannot be put back at [AUTO], which leads me to invalidate my understanding—to reason that the machine is incapable of determining safe values.

How could anyone who is not one of the engineers who designed the motherboard or RAM know what values to use?

I have these notes. I don't remember where they came from:

? DIMM # 1
SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR3
Memory format UDUMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 4096 MBytes
MAX bandwidth PC3-10700H (667NMHz)
Part number CMZ12GX3M3A1600C9
Manufacturing date Week 14/Year 11
Number of banks 8
Nominal Volage 1.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP yes
XMP revision 1.2
? JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 6.0-6-6-16-23 @ 444 MHz
JEDEC #2 7.0-7-7-19-27 @ 518 MHz
JEDEC #3 8.0-8-8-22-30 @ 592 MHz
JEDEC #4 9.0-9-9-24-34 @ 666 MHz
? XMP profile XMP-1600
Specification PC3-12800
Voltage level 1.500 Volts
Min Cycle time 1.250 ns (800 MHZ)
Min tRP 11.25 ns
Min tRCD 11.25 ns
Min tWR 15.00 ns
Min tRAS 30.00 ns
Min tRC 50.63 ns
Min tRFC 160.00 ns
Min tRTP 7.50 ns
Min tRRD 7.50 ns
Command Rate 2T
? XMP timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC-CR @ frequency (voltage)
XMP #1 6.0-6-6-16-27-2T @ 533 MHz (1.500 Volts)
XMP #2 9.0-9-9-24-41-2T @ 800 MHz (1.500 Volts)

My apologies for the format.

Regarding the XMP timings table, I can align the first four values with BIOS settings, above. But what is the fifth setting (26 and 41)? And the rates of 533 and 800 MHz—what is that and does it appear in the BIOS?

If I read this correctly, I currently have the wrong XMP mode (?) set. But changing it doesn't seem to do anything.

I have a screen of every BIOS setting. Please let me know if there is something more I should post.

 

[KublaiKhan]

OK, just in case anyone ever fights their way through my babbling....

I changed the Memory SPD back to Standard, and the voltages reflect the 1.50 V I keep reading about. So maybe the XMP profiles on my machine don't match the RAM I bought? And it's now obvious that I did not have it at 1.70 until I changed the Memory SPX to XMP Profile 1, because I did experience weird errors today, the like of which I've never seen before.

This is frustrating. I really need help.

 

[Tradesman1]

Can try setting them up manually, with no OC on the CPU the DRAM and the MC are trying to pull the DRAM over and above the specs of the CPU/MC which is rated for 800/1066 DRAM. To run 1600, most OC the CPU some to help, add some voltage to the QPI/VTT which feeds the MC...this combination may get DRAM voltage to run at 1.5 or 1.55 when running 1600 stable

 

[KublaiKhan]

I'm sorry, but I can't follow you entirely; you obviously understand this more than me. I thought the RAM was running at 1600 MHz; I never thought the CPU needed to be overclocked to make it so. I can post what I assume are the relevant screens, if you or someone else could tell me exactly what to do. I would be indebted.

 

[Tradesman1]

Might check for a newer BIOS or try it manually setting to 1600, spec timings and voltage, if there are any problems at the 1.5, then try the OC or the voltage adjustments I indicated. XMP cabn be setting it at 1.7 as it's not capable of running the sticks at1.5 due to poor BIOS programming or a weak MC (memory controller) in the CPU

 

[KublaiKhan]

This is the newest BIOS available; there's not been an update since 2011.

Those last five images are screenshots from my BIOS, not something I pulled off the Internet. Have I not set the memory to run at 1600 MHz?

 

[Tradesman1]

If you want to run at spec 1600 and closer to the spec 1.5 voltage am suggesting a slight OC of the CPU and the adding of some voltage to the QPI/VTT which feeds the MC (memory controller in addition to setting the data rate and base timings manually. You seem to be expecting the system to do everyting automatically which isn't how it always works - the BIOS has to be updated to match up to the DRAM which it apparently isn't

 

[KublaiKhan]

I bought everything together. The motherboard supports DRAM running at 1600 MHz. "Supports triple channel JEDEC DDR3-1600+. Officially supports up to 24GBs of DDR3 memory." I'm taken aback that I would need to overclock the system, but not arguing the point. I'm not as familiar with overclocking as you, so you could be mistaking my confusion for argument. I'm not arguing. I think I need very specific advice to do what you describe.

 

[Tradesman1]

The mobo is part of it, the big thing memory wise is the MC (memory controller) and what it can run - your 950 CPU is rated to run 800-1066 DRAM - ----- to run 1600 the MC needs to be OCed (can do this by OCing the CPU and adding voltage to the MC and/or DRAM. Wrote about this in Item 12 here:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/ddr3-dram-faq,review-33220.html

 

[KublaiKhan]

OK, I'll read up a bit. If I needed help, would you be willing to walk me through this at a later time?

 

[Tradesman1]

Sure

 

[KublaiKhan]

BIOS defaults 19DEC15

======================================================
Standard CMOS Features
======================================================

Date (mm:dd:yy) 		Sat, Dec 19 2015
Time (hh:mm:ss) 		14 : 7 : 31

SATA 0 			[ST31000528AS]
SATA 2 			[ST2000DL003-9VT166]
SATA 1 			[SAMSUNG HD103SI]
SATA 3 			[TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-2]
SATA 4 			[TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-2]
SATA 5			[ None]

Halt On 			[All Errors]

Base Memory 		639K
Extended Memory 		12581888K
Total Memory 		12582912K


======================================================
Advanced BIOS Features
======================================================

Hard Disk Boot Priority 	[Press Enter]
CD-ROM Boot Priority 	[Press Enter]
First Boot Device 		[Hard Disk]
Second Boot Device 		[CDROM]
Third Boot Device 		[Removable]
Boot Other Device 		[Enabled]
Boot Up NumLock Status 	[On]
Security Option 		[Setup]


======================================================
Hard Disk Boot Priority
======================================================

1. SATA 0 		:	ST31000528AS
2. SATA 2 		:	ST2000DL003-9VT166
3. SATA 1 		:	SAMSUNG HD103SI
4. Bootable Add-in Cards


======================================================
CD-ROM Boot Priority
======================================================

1. SATA 3 		:	TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222
2. SATA 4 		:	TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-222


======================================================
Integrated Peripherals
======================================================

Onboard SATA Device 	[Press Enter]
Onboard Device 		[Press Enter]
USB Device Setting 		[Press Enter]


======================================================
Onboard SATA Device
======================================================

SATA Mode 		[IDE}
LEGACY Mode Support 	[Disabled]
SATA 3.0 Storage Controlle 	[Enabled]


======================================================
Onboard Device
======================================================

PE5 Slot (PCIE x1) 		[Auto]
Realtek GigaLan 		[Auto]

PE4 Slot (PCIE x1) 		[Auto]
Realtek Lan PXE Boot ROM 	[Disabled]
TI 1394 Setting 		[Enabled]
High Definition Audio 	[Enabled]
P80 Show CPU Temp. 	[Enabled]


======================================================
USB Device Setting
======================================================

USB 3.0 Controller 		[Enabled]
USB 1.0 Controller 		[Enabled]
USB 2.0 Controller 		[Enabled]
USB Operation Mode 	[High Speed]
USB Keyboard Function 	[Enabled]
USB Mouse Function 	[Enabled]
USB Storage Function 	[Enabled]


======================================================
Power Management Setup
======================================================

ACPI Function 		[Enabled]
ACPI Suspend Type 		[S1(POS)]
X Run VGABIOS if S3 Resume 	  Auto
Soft-Off by PWR-BTTN 	[Instant-Off]
Wake-Up by PCI card 	[Enabled]
X USB KB Wake-Up From S3 	  Disabled
Resume by Alarm 		[Disabled]
X Date (of Month) Alarm 	  0
X Time (hh:mm:ss) Alarm 	  0  :  0  :  0
HPET Support 		[Enabled]
HPET Mode 		[32-bit mode]
POWER ON Function 	[Disabled]
X Hot Key Power ON 		  Ctrl-F1
PWRON After PWR-Fail 	[Off]


======================================================
PnP/PCI Configurations
======================================================

Init Display First 		[PCI Slot]
Reset Configuration Data 	[Disabled]

Resources Controlled By 	[AUTO(ESCD)]
X IRQ Resources 		  Press Enter

PCI/VGA Palette Snoop 	[Disabled]
INT Pin 1 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 2 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 3 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 4 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 5 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 6 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 7 Assignment 	[Auto]
INT Pin 8 Assignment 	[Auto]
Reserved RC For Bridge 	[Disabled]

** PCI Express relative items 88
Maximum Payload Size 	[128]


======================================================
PC Health Status
======================================================

SmartFan Function 		[Press Enter]
VCC 3.3V 			3.32V
CPU Vcore			1.23V
DIMM Voltage 		1.52V
CPU VTT Voltage 		1.19V
IOH Vcore			1.13V
VCC 			5.12V
+12V 			12.25V
3VSB 			3.21V
VBAT 			3.26V
CPU Temperature 		23°C
NB Temperature 		49°C
VREG Temperature 		27°C
System Temperature 	19°C
CPU 	Fan Speed 	1730 RPM
Power 	Fan Speed 	0 RPM
Chasis 	Fan Speed 	0 RPM
AUX 	Fan Speed 	0 RPM


======================================================
Frequency/Voltage Control
======================================================

Dummy O.C 		[Disabled]
Extreme Cooling 		[Disabled]
-Memory Feature 		[Press Enter]
-Voltage Control 		[Press Enter]
-CPU Feature 		[Press Enter]
CPU Clock Ratio 		[23 X]
CPU Host Frequency		[Auto]
  Target CPU Frequency 	  3200Mhz (133x24)
  Target Memory Frequency 	  1067Mhz
MCH Strap 		[Auto]
CPU Uncore Frequency(Mhz) 	[Auto]
CPU Clock Skew 		[0 ps]
IOH Clock Skew 		[0 ps]
Spread Spectrum 		[Disabled]
PCIE Frequency(Mhz) 	[100]
OC Recovery 		[Disabled]
Turbo Performance 		[Disabled]

Save Profile 		[Press Enter]
Load Profile 		[Press Enter]


======================================================
Memory Feature
======================================================

Memory SPD 		[Standard]
Memory Control Setting 	[Enabled]
Memory Frequency 		[Auto]
  Target Memory Frequency 	  1067Mhz
Channel Interleave Setting 	[6 Way]
Rank Interleave Setting 	[4 Way]
Memory Low Gap 		[Auto]

Parameters 		Setting 	Current
tCL Setting 		[Auto] 	8
tRCD Setting 		[Auto] 	8
tRP Setting 		[Auto] 	8
tRAS Setting 		[Auto] 	20
tRFC Setting 		[Auto] 	86
tREF Setting 		[Auto] 	509
Command Rate 		[Auto] 	1T
tRRD Setting 		[Auto] 	4
tFAW Setting 		[Auto] 	20
tRTP Setting 		[Auto] 	4
tRW Setting 		[Auto] 	8
CH1 Round Trip Latency 	[Auto] 	51
CH2 Round Trip Latency 	[Auto] 	52
CH3 Round Trip Latency 	[Auto] 	54
Back to Back CAS Delay 	[Auto] 	0
tddWrTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	5
tdrWrTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	5
tsrWrTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	14
tddRDTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	10
tdrRdTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	10
tsrRdTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	10
tddRdTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	7
tdrRdTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	6
tsrRdTRd Setting 		[Auto] 	4
tddWrTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	7
tdrWrTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	4
tsrWrTWr Setting 		[Auto] 	4
tRL 			[+0]
tWL 			[+0]


======================================================
Voltage Control
======================================================

EVGA VDroop Control	[With VDroop]
CPU VCore		[Auto]		1.28125V
CPU VTT Voltage		[Auto]		+0mv
CPU PLL VCore		[Auto]		1.800V
QPI PLL VCore		[Auto]		1.100V
DIMM Voltage		[Auto]		1.500V
DIMM DQ Vref		[+0mV]		+0mV
IOH VCore		[Auto]		1.100V
IOH/ICH I/O Voltage		[Auto]		1.500V
ICH VCore			[Auto]		1.100V


======================================================
CPU Feature
======================================================

Intel SpeedStep 		[Enabled]
Turbo Mode Function 	[Enabled]
CxE Function 		[Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit 		[Enabled]
Virtualization Technology 	[Disabled]

***** Logical Processor Setting *****
Intel HT Technology		[Enabled]
Active Processor Cores 	[All]

***** QPI Controller Setting *****
QPI Control Settings		[Enabled]
QPI Link Fast Mode 		[Enabled]
QPI Frequency Selection 	[Auto]

These are the DEFAULT settings, as I've had to reset CMOS, thanks to a bad crash.

I'd like to get the RAM to the advertised 1600Mhz speed, but I have to watch the DIMM voltage, which went up to 1.70 when I wasn't looking.

I could use very specific instructions from anyone with the time. Thanks!!!

 

[KublaiKhan]

I manually set the DIMM voltage to 1.5V—what the RAM is rated for. Then I set the Memory SPD to XMP Prifile 1. Upon restart, BIOS detected the right timings, as far as I could tell, and set the Target Memory Frequency to 1600 Mhz. Last time I tried using the XMP Profile, I did not manually set the DIMM voltage, and it went up to 1.7V. I'm lucky I didn't fry the RAM.

If this seems right, please tell me:

Thanks for looking & Happy Holidays!!!

 

[KublaiKhan]

I manually set the DIMM voltage to 1.5V—what the RAM is rated for. Then I set the Memory SPD to XMP Prifile 1. Upon restart, BIOS detected the right timings, as far as I could tell, and set the Target Memory Frequency to 1600 Mhz. Last time I tried using the XMP Profile, I did not manually set the DIMM voltage, and it went up to 1.7V. I'm lucky I didn't fry the RAM.

If this seems right, please tell me:

Thanks for looking & Happy Holidays!!!