Is my RAM set at its potential?

[FonduJack]

Hi, ive been putting this off for a while, but i want to make sure im getting the full potential power from my RAM. I dont want to overclock, i just want to make sure im running them at the right settings. For maximum efficiency and power.

I have a GA-ep45-ud3p motherboard with OCZ Reaper HPC 4gb (2x2gb) 1066 (PC2 8500) ram.

Im running windows 7 Pro 64 bit. btw.

Here are some screen shots from CPU Z.







And heres my cpu screen too, just in case.

[wazza300]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

have you tried settng the command rate to 1t? if no luck leave it at 2t

[Chike]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Please post a screen capture of MemSet main(click >>) and SPD(click spd) windows, and post BIOS settings, use the template in this post or the one after.

[Psycho101]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Just from the info you've provided already, no, your RAM isn't set to spec. You have tRAS set as 18, the SPD indicates the modules are rated to tRAS=15.

Also consider using the 2.4B multiplier to get 1099. It's not a huge overclock, and as long as you're using the max rated voltage for the sticks it is possible. from DDR916 to DDR-1099 will give much more of a performance boost than tweaking timings down, unless you can lower Static tRead. Static tRead makes a huge difference. With your FSB, start by setting tRead=10, then load windows. Using Memset, lower tRead one step at a time and hit apply. The tRead value the PC hard locks on + 1 increment will 99% be the lowest stable tRead. Eg if you hard lock on tRead=7, go into the BIOS and set tRead=8 and go ahead and do some tests.

[FonduJack]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Ok here is Memset: just fyi (tRAS really is 18, i just clicked the arrow on accident before i took the screeny, its not 19.)



And here are my bios settings.

MB Intelligent Tweaker
Robust Graphics Booster.....................Turbo
CPU Clock Ratio.................................7x
CPU Frequency..................................3.2GHz (458x7)

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control........................Enabled
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)...................458
PCI Express Frequency (MHz.................100
C.I.A. 2.............................................Disa bled

Advanced Clock Control
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 (XMP)...............Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch......................400 MHz
System Memory Multiplier.....................2.00D
Memory Frequency..............................1066 916
DRAM Time Selectable..........................Manual

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time...............................5
tRCD.............................................. ...5
tRP'.............................................. ....5
tRAS.............................................. ..18

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD.............................................. ...auto
tWTR.............................................. ..auto
tWR............................................... ...auto
tRFC.............................................. ...auto
tRTP.............................................. ...auto
Command Rate (CMD)...........................auto

Driving Strenght Profiles
Driving strength...................................auto

Channel A
Static tRead Value................................9
tRD Phase 0 Adjustment.........................auto
tRD Phase 1 adjustment..........................auto
tRD Phase 2 Adjustment..........................auto
tRD Phase 3 Adjustment..........................auto
Trd2rd (Different Rank)...........................auto
Twr2wr (Different Rank)..........................auto
Twr2rd (Different Rank)...........................auto
Trd2wr (Same/Diff Rank).........................auto
Dimm 1 clock skew control.......................auto
Dimm 2 Clock skew control.......................auto
DDR Write training..................................auto

Channel B
Static tRead Value................................9
tRD Phase 0 Adjustment.........................auto
tRD Phase 1 adjustment..........................auto
tRD Phase 2 Adjustment..........................auto
tRD Phase 3 Adjustment..........................auto
Trd2rd (Different Rank)...........................auto
Twr2wr (Different Rank)..........................auto
Twr2rd (Different Rank)...........................auto
Trd2wr (Same/Diff Rank).........................auto
Dimm 1 clock skew control.......................auto
Dimm 2 Clock skew control.......................auto
DDR Write training..................................auto

Motherboard Voltage Control
Load line calibration................................disable d

CPU
CPU Vcore............................................. 1.275v
CPU Termination.....................................1. 200v
CPU PLL............................................... .1.500v
CPU Reference.......................................Au to
CPU Reference 2.....................................Auto

MCH/ICH
MCH Core.............................................1 .260v
MCH Reference......................................aut o
MCH/DRAM Ref......................................auto
ICH I/O................................................a uto
ICH Core.............................................. 1.200v

DRAM
DRAM voltage........................................2.1 00v
DRAM Termination..................................auto
Channel A Reference...............................auto
Channel B Reference................................auto

Advanced Settings
Limit CPU Max to 3..................................disabled
No-execute memory protect.....................disabled
CPU enhance hald (C1E)..........................disabled
CPU Thermal Monitor 2 (TM2)...................enabled
CPU EIST function..................................disabled


There you guys go.

[Chike]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Setting XMP to profile2(or profile1 whatever is there) and standard timing on auto will set appropriate timings for DDR-916 (5-5-5-13)
If you can use 2.00B multiplier you may be able to use Static tRead Value 8.
Try to set Driving strength 1066 for both channels and see if that makes any change.
Run memory benchmark before and after changes and see which give the best results.
That's about it for no memory OC.

[Psycho101]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Firstly set tRFC to 15 as specced. If not already set all primary timings manually.

You can now go ahead and tweak.

I'd have a go at lowering tRead first. Using Memset like I detailed, find the value that freezes the PC. The stable value is almost always the one above the value that locks the PC. You may have to power off the PSU and hold the power button after the hard lock or a boot loop may occur. The hard lock won't damage anything as long as you let Windows settle before doing it.

After you have the lowest tRead possible, move to advanced settings. On this motherboard for some reason Command Rate does nothing and the RAM is always at 2T. For the values above this you could mess around calculating what currently is being set via looking at Memset, but why bother farting around? Simply look at the values to the left and set all settings 1 value lower. Now re-boot and bench/test. Repeat this until unstable, then raise each value by one until you encounter the setting that caused instability. Leave the suspect value in a stable position and continue reducing other values again until instability results.

IMO you're going to get much more gain from stting 2.4B and getting that running stable than running underclocked, unless ofc you can get a good reduction in tRead that could over power any gain made moving up in frequency. Not wanting to OC your RAM slightly is your choice but to me isn't a logical one. Such a tiny OC to avoid drastically underclocking your RAM by over DDR-100 is pefectly acceptable. If my cheap bog standard XMS2 can do it, I'm sure your Reaper can handle it with ease. Check to see if your RAM has an extended voltage policy. Some OCZ stuff does, allowing a small 0.05-0.1V increase while maintaining warranty.

Edit:
If it's completely optimal RAM timings you're after, XMP isn't going to give you this. Even if it does set tighter timings it still is somewhat conservative. I firmly believe XMP has no place at all other than for people who don't know what RAM timings are or how to adjust them. Using XMP my system isn't even stable at stock speeds (loading optimised defaults). It takes turning off XMP for things to be stable at the regular 2.8GHz and DDR1066. That speaks volumes for XMP imo.

[FonduJack]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Wait so do you want me to change tRAS to 15 or tRFC?

When i installed the memory a while back it said the timings were supposed to be 5 5 5 18.

and now that i think of it, i wouldnt mind overclocking the RAM a bit, Psycho101.

and what should i use to test the ram stability?

[Psycho101]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Sorry, I meant tRAS. According to the SPD, they have been programmed with this in mind. The specs on OCZ's site do state 18 though which is somewhat confusing. Either way, you should be fine at 15.

Consider using the full rated 2.2V for now, then lowering it if you desire after you get stability with your chosen settings.

Perhaps your first step now (if OC is where you want to go) is to temporarily raise tRead to 10, leaving Advanced Timings on auto and try the 2.40B multi out. This should provide more benefit than tweaking alone. If all boots fine, do the Memset tRead trick to find your minimum tRead and give it a good stress over night if poss with Prime/Orthos Large FFT or OCCT large data set.

If this goes well, precede to tweak timings down as discussed. A combination of not having the RAM underclocked and tightening timings as much as possible will maximise your results nicely.

[FonduJack]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

ok im gonna change those settings now.

Ill use prime95...what kind of torture test should i do?

Blend or should i make a custom?

if custom what settings.

[FonduJack]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

just changed the settings and boots fine.

timings are 5-5-5-15
voltage is 2.2v
tRead is 10 on channel A and B
advanced timings are all auto.

only thing i couldnt change was memory multiplier. there was no option for 2.40B. so i left that at 2.00D, i forget what the other options were.

and doin the memset thing, i want to be changing the performance level right? thats tRead correct?

dont forget to let me know what torture test i should run, in case you skip over my previous post.

[Psycho101]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

Excellent! Sounds promising so far. There is definitely a 2.4B setting as this is the only way you can run DDR-800 RAM at rated speed with a 333 FSB CPU. I'd recommend going back into the BIOS, setting to the 333 Strap and then cycling through the multi's until you get 2.40B. Also setting Strap to auto should allow you to cycle through all multi's regardless of strap. I give you both methods in case one is hiding the 2.40B setting. Make sure XPM is copletely off too as this may be interfering with things in some way.

I'd run a Prime Large FFT. The standard setting will be fine and make sure all data goes into RAM rather thanbeing limited to just L1/L2 CPU Cache.

As I say 2.40 should definitely be there. For now, you can always try and find the minimum tRead at 2.0 multi if you want. Open Memst and reduce it one value at a time, applying after each reduction. eventually your PC will lock. Best to move the mouse/window around a little after applying each seting as it may take a second to lock. When it locks, add 1 to the number of tRead it locked on and set this for both channels in the BIOS. Stress test to confirm stability.

[Chike]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

The reason is that (G)MCH Frequency Latch is set to 400 and not auto, XMP does not ever interfear with anything.

[FonduJack]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

ok i changed (G)mch Core Freq. to 333MHz and that gave me an option to make memory multiplier 2.40B.

System booted just fine.

Should i now try the memset trick and find the lowest tRead?

and then after that run prime95, run an In-Place large FTTs (maximum heat, power consumption, some RAM tested), correct?

sorry im a bit slow, i just dont wanna eff anything up. lol

[Psycho101]

Re: Is my RAM set at its potential?

The reason is that (G)MCH Frequency Latch is set to 400 and not auto, XMP does not ever interfear with anything.

Just covering all bases. And I did mention changing Strap to auto or 333.

Yes, you can go ahead and use Memset to find your tRead now, that's fine. You have the correct Prime test.

With any luck you should be Prime stable. I'd test over night, for at least 8 hours then maybe try for a 12 hour Prime blend followed by 20-50 runs of IBT on max stress and manually selecting 4 threads.

If all that passes the you're about as stable as you will ever need to be.

If you're a gamer, you may want to verify 3D stability too. Use Vantage on a 4 hour loop, maybe a bit of FurMark on regular settings and a couple of hours in any game you are currently in to. Prime and IBT are good but it's always a nice idea to test with programs you'll be using on a regular basis. Also try extracting a large RAR file, maybe a 5GB+ ISO or something. Use an archive you know is not corrupt. If it extracts fine then great. Some stability issues can occur and at times WinRAR may indicate CRC (error checking) errors or archive corruption when it is in fact a CPU/RAM/MCH problem causing it.