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Underclocking memory for timings?

Last response: in Memory
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September 19, 2014 7:03:01 PM

Okay, so I have some 2400 mhz sticks. My computer is freezing, but I'll run memtest+ later on to see if the sticks are faulty.

In general, would it be any more beneficial to run the sticks at say 1600mhz with lower timings versus 2400mhz at 10-12-12-31?

I don't really even need this much speed, but I bought it because it was almost the same price as lower speed RAM and I wanted to give G.Skill a chance :p 

More about : underclocking memory timings

September 19, 2014 7:17:10 PM

I probably made a mistake buying 2400 triX.
I had to remove one of the beautiful heat sinks to clear my cooler.

You lose very little by running ram slower, say @1866.
The lower latency compensates.
I can't prove it, but ram at 1.65v seems to reduce your oc capability compared to 1.5v.
For a fuller discussion, read this:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-ha...
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September 19, 2014 8:45:22 PM

If you are getting freezing at 2400 may need either the CPU OCed a little or a little extra voltage to the MC (memory controller) to help carry the sticks correctly...Yes you can downclock, what CPU and mobo? and is it OCed, need this to provide the best recommended timings and freq
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September 19, 2014 9:01:59 PM

Tradesman1 said:
If you are getting freezing at 2400 may need either the CPU OCed a little or a little extra voltage to the MC (memory controller) to help carry the sticks correctly...Yes you can downclock, what CPU and mobo? and is it OCed, need this to provide the best recommended timings and freq


It's just a bit unstable at 2400mhz. For the most part, it doesn't freeze, but freezing does exist and it didn't with my 1333mhz RAM on my AMD FX 6300... I suppose I could just use that RAM if things don't pan out, but I would rather downclock the RAM and get the better timings. The sticks are supposed to run at 2400mhz at 1.65 volts. It runs at 2400mhz at 1.665 (which I'm guessing is the same as 1.65 even though rounded up it is 1.66) and for the most part, it works. I just don't like the freezing. My i7 4790k cannot possibly be freezing while I'm trying to run Skype... so it has to be the RAM.

Anyways, it is factory overclocked to 2400mhz. CPU is running at stock (i7 4790k @ 4.0ghz / 4.4Ghz Turbo) (for some reason the NHD-15 I have doesn't keep temps as low as I would like so I'd rather not overclock if possible. I want to keep temps below 70 at full load because I don't think it's safe to run it for prolonged periods of time after 70C. When I stress test it at stock speeds (which probably stress tests at 4.4ghz turbo), I get about 62 celsius. Obviously, if I overclock it any further it will wind up going into the 70's or low 80's on a stress test. I'm aware that there are very few, if any, applications that will run at full load on an i7, so gaming temps would only be in the mid 50's to low 60's, but I still worry. Maybe you can help alleviate my concerns?




So after that off-topic rant about my CPU....

My RAM is factory overclocked to 2400mhz @ 1.65 with timings of 10-12-12-31 with a command rate of 2T.

Of course downclocking would allow me to run my sticks at less voltage which may increase stability if the problem is indeed the high voltage. However, I still want similar performance to my old 1333mhz Corsair XMS3 RAM sticks which ran at 9-9-9-24, so if I can't get anything like that I'd rather RMA these sticks and use my old ones. Thanks for your help.


Also I see that you have some Trident X's. My sticks are also Trident X's, so you can probably help :p 
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September 19, 2014 9:10:22 PM

Try at 2133 9-11-11-29 at 1.65 and see how that runs, if stable can try lowering voltage....another option is stay at 2400 and raise the MC voltage about + 0.06 or so should be VTT, DDRVTT or CPUVTT voltage (key is the VTT for the MC)
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September 19, 2014 9:24:04 PM

Well since I mainly use my computer for word processing, forum posting, and somewhat moderate gaming (well, the gaming itself is heavy, but I don't have time to do it very often.) so the main reason I got the higher clocked RAM is for if I do decide to overclock. However, since I don't plan to overclock (right now anyway), what is the lowest speed (with timings) that you would recommend for me to run these sticks?

I figure the lower the speed, the less voltage I need = less heat = longer use.

I want something around 1600mhz (as that would probably be the performance threshold... the point where it doesn't matter unless you are doing heavy editing tasks or decompressing huge zip files, etc.) and low timings. I'm aware that low timings doesn't mean a huge performance boost, but I want it to atleast be on par with my old RAM sticks which ran at 1333mhz (OC'd to 1600mhz) with timings of 11-11-11-28. I suppose I could just use the sticks themselves but I'd rather get lower timings with this RAM since I already spent 85 on them :p 

So far it seems to run stable at the suggested timings and voltage. My memory controller is VTTDDR I think, and it's running at 0.825 (is that good or bad? I'm not very familiar with the memory controller) without any adjustments.

Thanks again!
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September 19, 2014 9:31:25 PM

Go 1866 then 1.50 9-10-9-27
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September 19, 2014 9:32:04 PM

Tradesman1 said:
Go 1866 then 1.50 9-10-9-27


Okay I'll try it and let you know.

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September 19, 2014 9:36:30 PM

I'm in and out will keep an eye out for you ;) 
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September 19, 2014 9:39:27 PM

Tradesman1 said:
I'm in and out will keep an eye out for you ;) 


Everytime I boot my system it seems to freeze a bit when I try to open my start menu or open a program. I'll chalk this up to using an HDD ( I was so used to my 512GB MX100 :'(  ). So far those settings work fine. I can't say for sure if it will stay this way but I will used it for a day or so and update you on the status tomorrow. Thanks for your help.

Also, would a lower command rate (such as 1) help at all?
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September 19, 2014 9:54:38 PM

Can either try that or go to 8-9-9-27 and try - might want 1.55 or so
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September 20, 2014 9:24:31 AM

Well I found out why my computer was hard freezing. Every time I opened Core Temp, it would freeze to the point where the computer couldn't do anything and I had to restart. My ram was completely maxed out at that point. I guess it's just a bug with the software? Anyways, the ram seems to run fine at the latest suggested timings, but is there any benefit from 1866 vs 1600? Would the lower timings I could get at 1600 benefit me any more from the current ones I can get at 1866?

Also, my memory controller (VTTDDR) is at 0.825v. If I add 0.06v to that, is that safe or is it risky?

Also, the higher the voltage, the lower the timings I would be able to get if I downclock, correct? So if I left it at 1.65v and added a tiny bit more voltage to my memory controller, would the timings I can get at 1866 with 1.65v give me better performance than running it at 10-10-12-38 @ 2400mhz?

Sorry about all the questions. I'm not new to overclocking CPU's, but I am new to this whole memory situation, so I want to make sure I don't screw something up. Thanks for your help.

OT: Does the Asus Maximus VII Hero have a bad temperature sensor? One second my temps will be 38-40 and then they will be 52 out of nowhere and I'm using not even 5 percent CPU load?? Crazy stuff. I hope it is a sensor and not the actual temps. 50C on 4.4ghz is way high for 1% load.

I'm seriously thinking about delidding my processor to see if I can get better temps.
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