EP45-DQ6 Memory and bios recomendations

[Epimetheus]

Hi,
I've got my Q9300 set at 425x7.5 1.3v core - limited by my ram. What memory would you suggest so that I can try to get this thing to 533 fsb? And since I'm new to OCing (as of today)... any bios suggestions would also be appreciated. Your thoughts? Thanks!

Memory: 8G (4x2G) PVS24G6400LLK Patriot Extreme Performance PC2-6400 (800MHz) 4-4-4-12
CPU: Intel Q9300
Mother board: Gigabyte EP45-DQ6
Cooling: DD-CPX-Pro 12V Pump, 360x120x40mm radiator w/3x120mm fans (pump and fans at 100%), D-TEK Fuzion cpu block w/ quad core insert, 3/8" tubing, t-line .
Case: Antec 900
Videocard: GForce 8600 GTX (to be replaced by a powercolor lcs HD5850 once available)
Display: Epson wxga 3lcd (1280x800 native projector)
Power: Corsair Professional HX650W modular power supply
OS: Windows 7 (64)
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Turbo
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 7
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.1875 GHz (425x7.5)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 425 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100
C.I.A.2........................................: [Disabled]

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800mV
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 900mV
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00B
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................4
tRCD ......................................... 4
tRP'...........................................4
tRAS..........................................12

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD........................................... 3 [Auto]
tWTR.......................................... 3 [Auto]
tWR............................................6 [Auto]
tRFC........................................... 42 [Auto]
tRTP........................................... 3 [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 0 [Auto]

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................: 8 [Auto]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................: 0 [Auto]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................: 8 [Auto]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................: 8 [Auto]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................: 7 [Auto]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................: 9 [Auto]

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................: 8 [Auto]
tRD Phase0 Adjustment..................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................: 0 [Auto]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................: 0 [Auto]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................: 8 [Auto]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................: 8 [Auto]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................: 7 [Auto]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................: 9 [Auto]

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.3000
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: [Auto]
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: [Auto]
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: 0.760 [Auto]
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:[Auto]

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: [Auto]
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; 0.760 [Auto]
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: [Auto]
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: 1.500 [Auto]

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.000V
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: [Auto]
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: [Auto]
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: [Auto]

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Enabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Enabled]

[Sunburn74]

You current ram sticks probably will not get you there. If you're shooting for a 533mhz fsb, your ram needs to run at 1066. You plan on pushing pc6400 sticks up that far? I don't think it'll happen buddy. But good luck with it.

You should have just bought faster ram so that your ram won't be the bottleneck.

Just keep doing what you're going and see how far you can go. Drop the processor multiplier to 6 and increase the fsb until you can't increase it anymore. Push the board and the ram to its max. Then go back and oc the processor as well. Cheers mate.

[Chike]

DRAM Voltage is set auto and XMP disabled. The memory may not have the voltage that is required. Check BIOS PC Health or EasyTune HWMonitor for actual applied value.
Can you post a sceren capture of MemSet main(click >>) and spd(click spd) windows?
Sure enough you'd be able to push your memory too at least to 900 or 1000.

[Epimetheus]

If you're shooting for a 533mhz fsb, your ram needs to run at 1066

exactly. Which is why I'm looking for recomendations on which ram has proven decent results for my board. (sorry, I should have been clearer in stating the exact nature of my question).

So, to restate, WHICH 1066 ram modules would you suggest?

Thanks again!

[Psycho101]

That RAM should do at least DDR 900-DDR 1000 simply by changing primary timings to 5-5-5-18/15 and making sure secondary timings are also loose enough, eg settingtRFC to 52-68 etc. As you increase FSB, you'll also need to increase the Static tRead value (AKA Performance Level) to maintain stability and the ability to boot.

Assuming your current RAM can do DDR-1000 then you'd be limited to a FSB of 500 and a clock speed of 3.75GHz. Many Q9300's run out of steam before 500 FSB regardless of cooling. They're not well known for having good OC headroom, even on water. You may be able to get 4GHz, if you're lucky, but you'll probably need quite a bit of Vcore, maybe 1.5V+ This is a hint at the kind of voltage scaling you should expect:



After around 3.8GHz, most lower model quads (Q9300 is a C0/C1 Yorkfield with half the cache disabled) stop scaling well with voltage. This means that although 3.2GHz may be doable with 1.3V, 3.5GHz with 1.3625V etc, 4GHz will take considerably higher of a % increase for the proportion of clock speed rise.

If you definitely can't get at least DDR-1000 out of your RAM then I personally recommend some GSkill PK series. Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory Note that in the last month or two, DDR2 prices have increased alot. This kit used to be about $60. It may be worth just making do with what you have and getting the most you can from it.

As a suggestion, try starting with the following RAM settings:

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.00B Also try 2.00D
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 800Mhz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD ......................................... 5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS..........................................15

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD........................................... 3 [4]
tWTR.......................................... 3 [4]
tWR............................................6 [8]
tRFC........................................... 42 [62]
tRTP........................................... 3 [4]
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 0 [2]

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: [1.24-1.38V] Test this range, don't set auto.
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 2.200V This is the rated voltage according to Patriot.

Static tRead (both channels)..............[ 7-11 ] You need to alter this as you increase FSB. incorrect settings here could mean the PC doesn't boot, and errors out with 23 short beeps.

[Epimetheus]

Psycho d'Angleterre:

Merci! exactly the info I needed - thanks for taking the time and effort to spell it out for me! I'll play around a little with the memory I've got - and will forgo the upgrade. Money better invested in next year's i7.

Epi.