GA-EP45T-UD3P what to tweak?

[Torin]

Greetings All!

I have a stable build on a GA-EP45T-UD3P (rev 1.0) with 8GB of ram (4x2GB). I have the CPU Frequency and the FSB maxed out in this build (the highest core temp hits 66C max running prime95 for 24 hours, going higher with either CPU Freq or FSB pushes the temp higher then I want to go, and I don't want to buy a new heat sink to bring the temps down further). I know very little about tweaking the memory timings and so I am hoping that the knowledgable folks here can make some suggestions concerning what I should try to tighten up in order to improve the memory performance. I am not looking to eek out every last ounce of performance but am more looking for the things I should try that will give me a reasonable performance return on my tweaking time (I hope that acutally makes sense :) ).

I am content with my current configuration given that this board is gimped and wont run at a Memory Bus speed of 1333MHz with 4 DIMMs in it (see my earlier post for details). I am just looking for any memory settings that I should tighten up to improve the memory performance, if any exists.

My current settings are below. Thanks in advance for any and all insights!

Torin

P.S. Remember that this is DDR3 memory and not DDR2.

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: +8.0
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: +0.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 2.92GHz (366x8.0)

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 366MHz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100MHz
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.).....: [Not Visible]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [400]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: [3.33D]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1220
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]
Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................ 9
tRCD ......................................... 9
tRP'........................................... 9
tRAS.......................................... 22
Set all Suggested below to highest Values first.
Then later you can lower, one at a time, testing as you go
Advanced Timing Control
tRRD........................................... 4
tWTR.......................................... 5
tWR............................................ 10
tRFC........................................... 74
tRTP........................................... 5
Command Rate (CMD) ....................: 2
Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................
Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................: 10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto <<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................: 10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:Auto <<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................: 1.11250V
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: [auto]
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: [auto]
CPU Reference…………....0.760V*.......: [auto]
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< [Not Visible]
MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: << 1.100v
MCH Reference….…….0.760V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.750V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.500V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave
DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.500V............: 1.500v
DRAM Termination .…0.750V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Data VRef 0.750V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Data VRef 0.750V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Address VRef 0.750V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Address VRef 0.750V............: <<< Leave
Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]
Integrated Peripherals
USB Storage Function ..............[Disabled]

[Nickel020]

Just leave it as it is. Any benefits you'll get from tightening the timigns will be so small that you won't notice them.
Take a look at the RAM comparison in my sig, the differences I found there were very small, even though the RAM speed varied by 50%.

[Torin]

Thanks Nickel, I checked out a couple of the links you posted. It looks like you can get benchmark improvements but they don't seem to give you much when it comes right down to game performance. What setting on this board (EP45T-UD3P) is the "tRD" setting? It looks like tRD is the MCH Read Delay setting but that does not help me to understand which of the settings in this BIOS represent tRD.

Thanks again for your insights!

Torin

[Comers]

Hi,
I've got exaclty the same board, cpu and ddr3 with only exception 2x2GB.
The tRD setting is this:
Static tRead Value.........................: 10
Never tried 8GB ram myself but maybe lowering to 9 (8 if lucky) will improve your ram performance. Currently I have it at 7 but without oc. You could check with Everest / Cache & Memory Benchmark to see your Read/Write/Copy bandwidth and compare with other multi (for example MCH Frequency Latch = 333 + System Memory Multiplier=3.20B).
Also this:
tRAS.......................................... 22
looks at the edge - Kingston specs say: tRASmin=36ns and you have:
(1000 / 1220 * 2) * 22T =36,065ns. If you have instability try tRAS=23 or 24.
Then:
tRFC........................................... 74
could be decreased since specs give tRFCmin=90ns. Maybe down to 65 will be ok.
And these:
tWTR.......................................... 5
tWR............................................ 10
tRTP........................................... 5
should be different if you check them with MemSet, but you'll better leave them on auto.

Hope I'm not mistaken here cause never used 8GB.

[Torin]

Thanks for the suggestions Comers. I will give them a try this weekend and let you know what sort of results I have.

Torin

[pox67]

Hi Torin, any more luck overclocking this board?

I have Corsair 1600 2x2GB ram though.

I have a Q9550 as well.
It works happily at 3GHZ: (borrowed your layout, cheers :)
MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: +7.0
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: +0.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.00GHz (400x7.5)

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 400MHz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100MHz
C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: [Not Visible]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [400]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: [3.33D]
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1333
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Auto] -> 7, 7, 7, 20

I have tried 8.5x400 for 3.4GHZ but half the time the PC won't boot and then resets the settings.