Get the most out of RAM

[essotereh]

My question is more related to installation and set up. I have 4 sticks of KHX1600C10D3B1K2/8G (32G Total) that I upgraded to in my 1st system:

VGA: Nvidia GeForce GT520
CPU: Intel 15-2500 3.3 GHz
Original RAM: KHX1600c9d3/4G (16G Total)
Operation System: Win 7 64-bit SP : 1
Power Supply : 800 W
MOBO: GA-Z68AP-D3(rev. 1.0)

It is working ok, but I just wanted some tech tips on maximizing on this RAM's use. BIOS settings, voltage ,etc. Not looking to go nuts with OC just get up to SPECS

My 2nd system:
MOBO: Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58.
RAM: KHX1600C9D3/2G HyperX (6G total)
CPU: Intel i7 920 2.66GHz LGA1366
OS: Win 7 64 SP1 with the latest BIOS.

I'd like to upgrade it to KHX1600C9D3/4G HyperX in this system. Again, I am wondering the best settings to maximize use. Can I mix the new and old RAM?

Thank you

[Vinster]

going from C9 memory from C10 memory will not give you much difference in day to day use...

I'd just make sure the memory timings, voltages and Memory ratio are set appropriately so that you are using what you paid for.

have you made any adjustment in the bios?

If you could, download CPU-Z and post up screenshots of the tabs and we can go from there.

Vin

[essotereh]

Here's the SPD for the GA-Z68AP-D3 system. This has the new 32GB of RAM in it already running with default BIOS:

[essotereh]

Here's the RAM for the GA-Z68AP-D3 system:



sorry about the size of the pics and multiple posts, it wouldn't allow me to put more than one pic per post

[essotereh]

Here's the SPD for the Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58 with the original RAM: KHX1600C9D3/2G HyperX (6G total)

[essotereh]

And RAM for the Gigabyte EX58-UD4P which I like to install and upgrade to KHX1600C9D3/4G but could I mix it with the old RAM?

[Vinster]

looks like you are doing pretty good on your z68 system.. it's running at 1600Mhz... timings are a little higher than spec but you may had needed that to run that much memory in that system.. what you can try is change it from 10-10-10-29 to 9-10-10-10-29... just decreasing the CAS... if there is no issue then change the second 10 to a 9... so then you'll be at 9-9-10-29... slowly working down to the spec 9-9-9-27...


for the EX58 you could change your timings to 9-9-9-27 and make sure your DIMM voltage is 1.65v (or 1.64v or 1.66v what ever your MB allows) then change the following

Memory Multiplier from 8x to 10x
Uncore Frequency Multiplier from 16x to 20x maybe 21x if you have an stability issue...

but before you change any settings in the Bios I want you to save them. once you are in the Bios, press "F11" and save the profile... in case you have an issue you can return to your original settings by pressing "F12" and then you can load your previous settings.

the datasheet for your KHX1600C9D3/4G memory is available here; http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX1600C9D3_4G.pdf

Something else you can use to make sure the RAM is operating properly is to run Memtestx86... you need to create either a Boot CD/DVD or a bootable memory stick to run it, but it would tell you if you are in a good starting point before going to play with windows... if you have no issues running a few passed of Memtestx86 then the likely hood of corrupting windows if much slimmer (doesn't happen often but can)

you can download Memtestx86 from here; Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

Latest version is 4.20... 1 pass with my x58 system with 6GB of ram takes 45min... yours will be longer... but once you get a pass or two then you should be safe to run windows and run a Linx test to really stress out the memory.

Vin

[essotereh]

Thanks a lot...

The Z68, I got the timings down to 9-9-9-27. I don't see much of a difference or feel different and the system is stable so I suppose I will leave it at these timings of 9 and 27. It is still at 1600 Mhz as well.

I think I decided on not mixing the RAM for the X58. I'll just use 3 of the 4 sticks of 4G that I have for 12G total. I thought it should've been fine especially all being Kingston but I keep reading advice against mixing. Now, the steps you outlined for the X58 still apply if I am not mixing, correct?

[Vinster]

actually I have a correction.. but I'll get to that in a sec.

you thought is correct... and adding a 4th stick in a 3 channel motherboard I wouldn't recommend or mixing memory, as it should always work, you could be asking for trouble... and in an x58 you should either have 3 sticks or 6 sticks, nothing in between.

and that's the thing... mild timing changes and mild frequency changes will not give you a noticable difference in day to day use....


now for the correction...

you are running your memory at 1066Mhz that is a ratio of 2:8 (or x8 in the bios) with an Uncore of x16 on your system

Setting the ratio to x10 with an uncore of x20 will put your memory at 1333Mhz, not 1600Mhz

what you want to do is set the memory ratio to x12 with an uncore of x24. that will get you to 1600Mhz

With nearly doubling your memory frequency you might notice a small difference.

sorry for the mistake, I thought you were already at 1333Mhz when I looked at your screenshot.

Vin

[essotereh]

So after trying these settings and some other tweaks, I constantly got blue screen of death. So, I reverted back to the settings I was using with the old RAM but with the new RAM in and it works fine again. Having taken note of the boot up time, it hasn't changed which is cool, at least it didn't get odd and sluggish or anything. It's stable and seems the same as before except now I have 12G of RAM, so I'm happy