Quick question on memory timing

Karch_32

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I have OCZ Gold memory on my five year old build, and due to it's sluggishness in BF2BC, I have decided to finally look into OC'ing it, at least until I freshen it up to a 2500K.

I have never OC'd before, so I though I would look at the RAM timings first.

Luckily, I stumbled upon the <CNTRL> + <F1> tip, as I could never find the timings, and also removed EasyTunes.

I finally was able to get the timing to 4-4-4-12, per the OCZ spec, as the mobo kept it at 5-5-5-15. BUT, the spec calls for 1.9V, and the mobo is giving me 1.8V.
These are confirmed with CPU-Z.

When I go into the Bios (ver. F14), and add 0.1V, the system won't boot properly to Win 7 64.

Any suggestions, or just leave it alone?

Also, any tips on what to do next? I have, so far, added a measly 10 MHz to my clock speed.

Thank you.
 
Solution
I'm not really sure what it's called. It could be "memory ratio" or "CPU:memory ratio" or something else.

When I overclocked my CPU (with memory ratio set to Auto), it ran my 1333 MHz memory at 1066. I don't know how it arrived to that conclusion, so I manually set it to run at 1333 MHz. It might be possible that your mobo will automatically decide the ratio for you. Download CPU-Z from cpuid.com and check the memory tab. There you'll see the current FSB : DRAM ratio, as well as some other stuff you probably won't understand. Anyway, if you only exceed 333 MHz by a small amount (like 20 Hz or something), your memory might still be able to handle it. I ran my 1333 MHz memory at ~1400 MHz and it didn't encounter any problems at all.

gracefully

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You stand to gain a lot more by overclocking your CPU and graphics card rather than your memory. I suggest you start there, if you haven't already. If you really want to OC your memory, I suggest trying to look for BIOS updates first, just in case it helps. What are your system specs?

If you want to see how much you stand to gain by OCing your memory, check this out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-speed-tests,1807-15.html
 

Karch_32

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Thank you for the reply.

System specs are:

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
4 GB RAM (OCZ Gold Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm Big Typhoon CPU Cooler
OCZ ModXstream 600W PSU
Antec Sonata II case
Win 7 64 bit
Samsung 1TB F3 Spinpoint HD
Samsung 2253LW monitor, 1680x1050

I believe, with this new GPU, the CPU is my bottleneck. Perhaps I shouldn't touch the memory at this point? It may be (probably is) that the memory is the least of the problem, perhaps, and I should focus on the CPU at this point, then perhaps the GPU, if needed.
 

gracefully

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What GPU? You might have forgotten to write it. :p

Anyway, the CPU is definitely a bottleneck if you have something like a 460 or 6870 in your system. You can try overclocking it, and save up for your next build.

According to that article, you get a 10% performance boost at best by having faster memory. Mostly, it's the memory intensive stuff like file compression that get the biggest benefits, as well as CPU-bound games.
 

gracefully

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Well, that processor is definitely a candidate for a bottleneck. I don't suggest you upgrade your processor without upgrading your platform as well, seeing as S775 is EOL. The next best thing to do is probably to try and overclock that processor to 2.4 GHz or something. If you want to upgrade, save up for a new mobo, CPU, and RAM, since you can reuse the rest of the parts. A Sandy Bridge setup is very nice, so consider that.

So in my opinion, I think you should leave the memory alone, and focus on the CPU, since that seems to be the weakest link in your setup. I'm not sure if Conroe overclocks well, but it's worth a try.
 

Karch_32

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I believe these do overclock well, and I agrew with your comments, and thank you.

My plan is to play with this, try to learn some things, get it running faster, then buy the i5 2500K, ASUS mobo, I think a bigger PSU, and another EVGA GTX 460 for SLI.

Also, I build an i5 750 Lynnfield last year for my wife, and I might try overclocking that one a bit, as we plan to play BF3 when it comes out :)
 

gracefully

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The JEDEC profiles are simply a list of configurations that the RAM is guaranteed to run at without issues. So if your CPU only supports 266 MHz, it will use that, and apply the appropriate timings (4-4-4-11 in this case). This is because some modules, for example a low end one, might run at timings that are laxer than high end modules. The low end module might only support 9-9-9-28 at 1333 MHz, while a higher end one can do 7-7-7-21 at the same frequency, and do 8-8-8-24 at 1600 MHz.

Yeah, I suggest you play with your system to learn how to overclock. Since the system is sort of "expendable", you can overclock with abandon.

The results of some overclocking articles reveal that faster CPUs help with minimum framerates in games. This will give you a noticeable "boost" in perceived framerate, since the FPS doesn't go so low. You can try OCing your GPU, but that might not help much since your CPU doesn't give it enough work anyway.

BF2 was fun, and the graphics was good. My OCed 5750 manages 40-ish FPS on all high settings @ 1080p with no AA.
 

Karch_32

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Also, it seems the only options I have for the CPU clock ration is 6 or 7 (default is 7). Is this normal?

And, if I am reading everything correctly, I can only go up to 333 MHz FSB due to my DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) memory modules?
 

gracefully

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Something went wrong with the prime95 run. Did you overclock? Try running memtest86+ to test for memory problems.

The CPU clock ratio is (CPU frequency / FSB Frequency). 1860/266 = 7. Since your processor has a locked upper multiplier (it's not an Extreme series processor), the only way to overclock is by raising the FSB frequency.

You can go over 333 MHz, but you'll have to drop the FSB:DRAM ratio, so that your memory doesn't try to run faster than it can.
 

Karch_32

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I did overclock, somewhat. I added about 20 to the FSB, but now I am at 320, and it seems to be ok.

Are locked processors common? I didn't realize I had that.

With my current setup, seeing how I can't go over 333 MHz with my memory as it is now, how do I adjust it so the memory stays below 667 but the FSB higher?

Thank you.
 

Karch_32

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Gracefully, I really appreciate the support and help you have offered.

I have been searching all over the BIOS, and cannot find or figure out where I can modify the FSB: DRAM ratio. Is there another 'secret' keystroke I need?

If I cannot find it, am I limited to a 333 FSB, therefore, 2.33 MHz?
 

gracefully

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I'm not really sure what it's called. It could be "memory ratio" or "CPU:memory ratio" or something else.

When I overclocked my CPU (with memory ratio set to Auto), it ran my 1333 MHz memory at 1066. I don't know how it arrived to that conclusion, so I manually set it to run at 1333 MHz. It might be possible that your mobo will automatically decide the ratio for you. Download CPU-Z from cpuid.com and check the memory tab. There you'll see the current FSB : DRAM ratio, as well as some other stuff you probably won't understand. Anyway, if you only exceed 333 MHz by a small amount (like 20 Hz or something), your memory might still be able to handle it. I ran my 1333 MHz memory at ~1400 MHz and it didn't encounter any problems at all.
 
Solution