Ram speed effect overclocking?

[tensai27]

OKay, I know this has been asked before and I realize that the difference in performance between 1333mhz and 1600mhz is minimal. Here's the thing, I have the fx 6300 and the m5a97 r2.0 motherboard and I have been struggling to get it stable anywhere past 4.2ghz. From what I have been seeing on the web, everyone who has reached decent overclocks with my combo has had 1600mhz and up. I have never once seen anyone with 1333mhz report back a decent OC with my board and chip. It's seems odd but could it be that having faster ram improves stability on my cpu when overclocking past 4.2ghz? Thanks in advance.
Also, here are my full specs in case it is relevant:
FX 6300 w/hyper212 at 4.2ghz 2200mhz NB/2400mhz HT
Asus m5a97 r2.0
7200rpm hdd
8gb ddr3 1333mhz (2x4gb)
r9 280x 1100mhz/1550mhz
Seasonic 520 s12II bronze

 

[Supahos]

no the ram being faster won't help, and I'm sure you could probably OC the ram to 1600 if you really think that is the issue. I suspect the faster ram is more of a product of people who intend to do higher OCs typically buy better stuff.

 

[Ironsounds]

Hello... the real test is the Performance in a Software Benchmark... it all depends on how the final score is "weighted" by what % of the memory performance... higher memory speed allows pushing the FSB up more, But some FSB settings cause the memory controller to divide timings/communication, in other words i've seen better Benchmarks with Lower Speed Memory Settings, at a certain CPU FSB setting.

 

[tensai27]

This is the memory I am using by the way. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313123
Mine runs at 1.5v. It's pretty basic, no heat shields or anything. Do you think it's safe to up these to 1600mhz? How much voltage should I put through it?
As for the CPU, I'm currently only overclocking through the multiplier. I have heard of people getting good results on the fx cpu by doing a combination of both multi and fsb. I know if I go the fsb route, having faster memory would be in my favor since raising the fsb changes everything. It's also a pain which is the reason I stayed way from it.

 

[Supahos]

Oh dear lord it actually asks for 1.65v for 1333 no I wouldn't try to OC to 1600 in that case. Surprising its running at 1.5v now... if you just want to see you can try going for 11-11-11-30 timings at 1600 if you choose I wouldn't take it above 1.5v however. (those are the JDEC specs for 1600 so it would be about all you could expect out of that memory if you just want to see if that helps your OC) Shouldn't really cause a heat issue as long as the voltage is still 1.5v and that loose of timings.

 

[tensai27]

Oh dear lord it actually asks for 1.65v for 1333 no I wouldn't try to OC to 1600 in that case. Surprising its running at 1.5v now... if you just want to see you can try going for 11-11-11-30 timings at 1600 if you choose I wouldn't take it above 1.5v however. (those are the JDEC specs for 1600 so it would be about all you could expect out of that memory if you just want to see if that helps your OC) Shouldn't really cause a heat issue as long as the voltage is still 1.5v and that loose of timings.

Mine never asked for 1.65v. Says 1.5 on the package. I'm not sure why it says that on this site but I purchased mine here in Taipei and it might differ from the American model, I don't know. I didn't post a site from here because it would be in Chinese but here's where I got if from http://goods.ruten.com.tw/item/show?21310067195409 You can see on there they list it as 1.5v. It seems to be decent quality, nothing special but the ram runs perfectly fine at 1.5v and defaulted at that(I didn't even have to set it manually).

 

[Supahos]

That's fine and feel free to try them at 1600 with the 11-11-11-30 timings worst that will happen is they might not post, and you'll have to go back to 1333.

 

[tensai27]

That's fine and feel free to try them at 1600 with the 11-11-11-30 timings worst that will happen is they might not post, and you'll have to go back to 1333.

Thanks, how long would you suggest stressing them? Also, should I try to bring the timings back to what they were if it's stable?

 

[Supahos]

if you're going to run them at 1600 then leave them at 11-11-11-30 if you drop them back to 1333 then yes take them back to 9-9-9-(whatever they were) I think they'll either boot and be stable or wont' boot at all I wouldn't bother stress testing them much if they work at 1600.

 

[tensai27]

Just posting back...I was able to log into windows at 11-11-11-30 1600mhz. One question though, doesn't looser timings = lower performance? I'm pretty sure it does. Wouldn't it be sensible to try testing a tighter timing since this worked?

 

[Supahos]

in this case yes, a decent 1600 kit will easily run at the same timings as yours does at 1333 at 1600, a pretty good kit will do better timing (CL 7 or 8) You can try to walk them down. But I only gave you this suggestion since you were convinced running at 1600 would get you a better CPU OC, you now have 1600 MHz memory so give it a shot.

 

[tensai27]

I'm stressing right now at 4.3ghz on occt with the same voltage I was using at 4.2ghz(1.39v). It used to fail 2mins in but now has gone fine for 17mins...keeping my fingers crossed. Is 1600mhz at 11-11-11-30 better or worse than 1333mhz at 9-9-9-24? If it's worse, then I'll just go out and pick up some 1600mhz sticks provided the oc is fine.

 

[Supahos]

1600@ 11-11-11-30 is worse, you can pick up 1600 CL 9 sticks pretty cheap, and usually the CL8 ones aren't bad price wise (usually the blue gskill ripjaws in a 2x4gb kit are reasonable and will out perform your 1333 CL9 by a decent margin)

 

[tensai27]

Well, core 2 failed 37 mins in. But I have to say it got a lot farther then it did with 1333mhz. So it seems to make an improvement but not quite enough. Since I still have temperature room, I will try raising the voltage to 1.4v and see how that does. Might also try fooling around with the fsb and multi. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Supahos]

no worries that's what these forums are here for.

 

[tensai27]

It failed at 1.4v....and really quick too. Odd because it lasted 37mins on 1.39v but only 3 mins on 1.4v. I'm not sure if having faster ram is worth it and I most likely have reached the limit of my chip. I practically have tried everything I can think of and just can't get this thing to run past 4.2ghz.

 

[Supahos]

Yeah everyone acts like "oh just get a 6300, or OH just get an 8320 and OC them to beyond 6350 or 8350 speeds" Sometimes that works out great other times you spend more on OC gear than you would have on the faster chip and running it stock

 

[tensai27]

Yeah everyone acts like "oh just get a 6300, or OH just get an 8320 and OC them to beyond 6350 or 8350 speeds" Sometimes that works out great other times you spend more on OC gear than you would have on the faster chip and running it stock

Well, luckily I was able to get my cpu (slightly) faster than the 6350 and the hyper 212 evo is just nice to have compared to the stock cooler. But yeah, the fx 6300+hyper 212 evo=same cost as the fx 6350. Oh well, could be worse. At least I didn't buy a water cooling setup for an oc pushing 5ghz.

 

[Supahos]

Also have to add in the fact you could have used a cheaper board if u just wanted the 6350 at stock speeds... and the Turbo speed of a 6350 is 4.2

 

[tensai27]

Also have to add in the fact you could have used a cheaper board if u just wanted the 6350 at stock speeds... and the Turbo speed of a 6350 is 4.2

Well if I had a fx 6350, I would have tried to oc that as well. I never leave cpu's at stock. Seems kind of silly to buy an unlocked cpu only to leave it at stock. Turbo isn't the same as running all cores at 4.2ghz.

 

[tensai27]

Trying one more thing before I give up. I have the multiplier set to 21(that's how I got it up to 4.2ghz) and I raised the fsb to 205 bringing it up to 4.3ghz. Going to try that with 1366mhz memory then 1600(or the closest thing to it since the values get all weird) if it fails. Wish me luck!

 

[Supahos]

Yeah the straps make things weird once you play with the FSB, shouldn't hurt anything however. Good luck.

 

[tensai27]

multiplier 21, fsb 205 seems to be failing with ram oc'd and not. 1.39v failed as well as 1.4v. Trying 1.41v as I type this. Honestly I would be really happy to get this CPU up to 4.4ghz. I'm obviously near the edge of my cpu's capability but I can't help but shake the feeling that I can go farther. Any suggestions? Should I lower the multi more and raise the fsb? How about raising the ram voltage to 1.55?

 

[Supahos]

you can raise the ram voltage if you wan to 1.55v it "shouldn't" hurt anything. The voltage shouldn't hurt anything on the CPU so long as temps stay in a good range.

 

[tensai27]

Okay so 4.4ghz is stable at 1.43v with llc. 21 on the multiplier, 210 on the fsb. ram is overclocked to 1600mhz with 11-11-11-30 timings. I will test 1333mhz(or whatever the value is near it) with the same relaxed timings to find out if it is just the timings and not the frequency effecting this. If that fails, it must mean it's the frequency and I will buy 1600mhz memory. If it passes, I might try gradually tightening the timings. NB and HT got knocked outta whack. I'm going to have to stress them again too after raising them. I'm going to stop with 4.4ghz, I'm already using 1.43v and llc is enabled. I most likely could get 4.5ghz stable at 1.45v based on the pattern, but 1.43 is where I draw the line. None the less, these results are much better than my previous. Thanks again Supahos! In the hopes of helping some one else, I will report back letting anyone who sees this know if the 1600mhz makes a difference.