Sandra memory benchmark

[Guest]

My system is benchmarking some OUTSTANDING numbers in every single area EXCEPT the "memory benchmark" aspect which I dont understand as the chip is brand new Xerox 256MB PC133

I am getting:
Integer Stream (Int) ALU/RAM = 280 MB
Float FPU/RAM = 290 MB

*These numbers are significantly lower than they should be according to the posted system specs by Sisoft Sandra. For Example a Duron 600 gets 367/400 and the system I HAVE an Athlon 1ghz gets 434/521 so I am highly confused - I will post all my system information and if anyone could provide assistance (is it an errant BIOS setting ??) I would appreciate it GREATLY!

ABIT KT7-RAID
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1Ghz
256MB SD-PC133 (Xerox brand as reported by Sandra)
40GB ULTRA/ATA100 Western Digital
Onboard ULTRA/ATA100 RAID Controller (Highpoint 370)
GeForce2 MX (Hercules) display adapter 4X-AGP
SB Live! PCI card
(2) Generic 100MB Network Controllers PCI
9300i HP CD-Writer 10x CD-Recorder

This all runs in a brand new ultracooled 300W Midtower Case
Any help/comments appreciated!

 

[Toejam31]

I would suggest that you check your memory settings in the BIOS. Perhaps enabling Fast-Writes would help.

Toejam31

 

[ledzepp98]

there are a few kt7 faq pages that show the best bios settings. i don't have a link but i'm sure it's not hard to find. the first place you can start is to enable 4-way interleave in the bios (probably under advanced chipset features). this should give a pretty good boost by itself

 

[mpjesse]

what's the CAS rating? maybe the memory just plain sucks dude.

-MP Jesse

 

[Grizely1]

Yeah if it's CAS3 then....

And also, I've never tried Xerox memory (hehe)

 

[ledzepp98]

it's not because it's cas3. my memory is cas3 but is 95% stable at cas2 (UT and 3Dmark2K seem to be the only things that cause problems). when i run the sandra memory benckmark i equal the thunderbird 1ghz numbers (+/- 2). when i run it at cas3 i fall short about 20. i was getting low numbers also until i enabled interleave

 

[phsstpok]

One set of KT7 FAQ pages can be found at WWW.GO.TO/KT7FAQ. This is an excellent resource.

Here are some suggestions.

Make sure you are running your memory at 133 Mhz.

In Soft Menu III of the BIOS Setup DRAM Clock should be HSTCLK + PCICLK. If it is set to HSTCLK you are only running at 100 Mhz (or whatever the FSB is set to)

In Advanced BIOS Features make sure both L1 and L2 caches are enabled.

I forget in which section these are but enable 4K page mode and select 4-Way interleave if you 2 indentically sized DIMMs use 2-Way interleave if you don't. The interleave options may or may not increase performance depending on the application but page mode should always help.

You can also try faster DRAM timings, like Fast and Turbo, and you can try CAS 2 but be warned your memory might not be up to it. If you get into trouble and your system fails to boot, remember to hold down the Insert key when you power up. This will boot the system with temporary default settings. When you get into the BIOS Setup your last settings will still be there.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Bandit]

yeah. You definately need memory tweaking. Definately enable HSTCLK+PCICLK.

Then try setting your Bank0/1, 2/3, and 4/5 DRAM Timeing to Turbo.
SDRam Cycle Length 3 (you could try 2, I left mine at 3)
DRAM Bank Interleave 4-Way


These options are all found under "Advanced Chipset Features". They are what I use. If you run into stability problems, turn the DRam timines to Fast and try again. If still unstable, go to Medium, and so forth.