OCing DDR2 800 memory. Just isn't happening

[jay2tall]

Alright so I like to think I know what the heck I am doing. However I have had this system for about 1.5 year. Everything is the same except I added an additional identical set of 2x 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 4,4,4,12 memory modules, and a new video card. So I have run the OC I have now rock solid stable for some time now. Actually I turned the OC down to 3.0GHz about a week ago to keep temps down and maybe save a few buck on the electric bill.

ANYWAYS. Here is my quandary. I can not, for the life of me, ever get my memory to OC. I have it at 2.1v to keep stable at a 1:1 ratio with a 400MHz bus (800mhz). However I've read many posts and reviews that people have these running stable at 1000Mz with 5,5,5,15 or better timing. I can't get it anything above 800Mhz no matter what I do.

1) Is it worth even trying or won't I see any performance at all?
2) What am I doing wrong or what should I be doing?

 

[jplum1556]

Overclocking your memory really doesn't boost performance much at all. If really want to oc it make sure your voltage is at what it's suppose to be. I know my 800mhz ram at 4-4-4-12 needs 2.2v to run at those speeds. Also make sure your changing the timing when you oc it.

 

[jay2tall]

Is there any performance decrease or issues with 4,4,4,12 800MHZ to 5,5,5,15 1000MHZ. I mean just figuratively speaking.

 

[jplum1556]

I haven't tested it but having it at 1ghz should make up for the looser timings. The 1000MHZ ram will be faster. Just make sure you don't fry it

 

[Lupiron]

You want to run your RAM in sync with the FSB, and not use a memory divider. If you have 800 Mhz 4-4-4-12 You should want your FSB at like 410ish and adjust the CPU multiplier accordingly.

Your ram should have no problem running at 820Mhz with the FSB. Raising the speed over that of your FSB doesnt do much of anything!

And I have tested that! Simply going from a FSB of 333 to 400 and keeping the ram at 1066 yielded speed gains.

It's kinda hard to get 400Mhz of memory bandwidth through a 333 Mhz pathway!

While a Mem divider can look like it works in a benchmark, it doesnt work all that well in real testing.

--Lupi

 

[Technophobe]

Because you now have 4 sticks of memory and not just 2, you probably need to boost the North Bridge voltage a bit to drive 4 and not just 2.

 

[jay2tall]

^
I had the same issues when I had 2 sticks. I might just leave it as from research it doesn't show much if any improvements if I do OC it.

 

[Nicocat]

You want to run your RAM in sync with the FSB, and not use a memory divider. If you have 800 Mhz 4-4-4-12 You should want your FSB at like 410ish and adjust the CPU multiplier accordingly.

Your ram should have no problem running at 820Mhz with the FSB. Raising the speed over that of your FSB doesnt do much of anything!

And I have tested that! Simply going from a FSB of 333 to 400 and keeping the ram at 1066 yielded speed gains.

It's kinda hard to get 400Mhz of memory bandwidth through a 333 Mhz pathway!

While a Mem divider can look like it works in a benchmark, it doesnt work all that well in real testing.

--Lupi

Now, about that... what about AMD chipsets? I have the same 800mhz RAM (same voltage and timings, too), but the K9A2 Platinum I have, a 790FX board, runs at an apparently paltry 200mhz. However, AMD boards have all this silly Hypertransport trickery and other assorted tricks, so I never really understood what's going on in them.

Are you saying it might be a good idea to double the FSB to 400mhz and halve the multiplier? Because I think other parts of the mobo may have something to say about that...

 

[JDParham]

I'd try raising your voltage to 2.2v. I have 4 gigs of this same memory and had no problem raising my bus speed to 417mhz (834mhz mem clock, 417 * 7.5 CPU) using the manufacturers recommended settings for my mem modules. (2.2v 4-4-4-12)

 

[Lupiron]

AMD Chipsets are the same, its when you have an AMD processor that things get a bit nuts because the mem controller is on the chip, no FSB for it!

I am not to familiar with AMD junk, though I have a phenom system sitting over there... I havent turned it on since I built it, lol!

Its an excellent Idea to run your RAM in sync with FSB if you can! Always! FSB is your RAMs communication pathway. All data travels through it.

So knowing that, think yer 200 FSB has enough room for 400 Mhz worth of data? I highly doubt it. But it just takes a simple test! Super Pi 32 million test! Up the FSB and lower the multiplier so your other speeds stay the same. You want the only thing changed to be the FSB (And maybe a lil NB voltage to support it.)

Then test Super Pi with yer current settings, then re test with the high FSB. You'll note that you get pretty decent gains for doing nothing but running the FSB in sync with the ram!

--Lupi

 

[Mondoman]

... I have had this system for about 1.5 year. ... I added an additional identical set of 2x 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 4,4,4,12 memory modules,
... I can not, for the life of me, ever get my memory to OC. ... I've read many posts and reviews that people have these running stable at 1000Mz with 5,5,5,15 or better timing....

Since memory manufacturers change the chips going into the modules so frequently (on even a weekly basis), the 2nd set of RAM you bought is *not* identical to the first. Similarly, the people writing the posts you've seen have also almost certainly been using modules not identical to yours.