Noob first time build trying to get advertised RAM speed

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Gothic_Day

Gothic_Day

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Oct 31, 2015
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I just finished my first ever PC build. The RAM I brought s able to be ran at 2400Mhz, but I can't figure out how far I need to adjust my settings to get it to run at it's potential. I saw something on Newegg about needing to increase the NB core voltage. I already know about enabling X.M.P., which does tell the MB to use a higher frequency, but still seem to not work.

Hardware I am dealing with:

MB: Gigabyte F2A78M-HD2
RAM: GSkill F3-2400C11D-8GXM
CPU: AMD A10-7700k Black Edition
Power supply is 400w

I am using the stock cooler, but I am assuming that I am going to need to buy a aftermarket solution in order to keep temps under control when running the NB at a higher rate. Also, I have no idea what loose and tight RAM timings mean, or how they are calculated.

Any help would be appreciated.

(Also, before anyone starts flaming me about my choice of parts, I just want to play Valve games. Mostly TF2)
 
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TonyRoma

TonyRoma

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Oct 28, 2012
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How many sticks of RAM do you have? Loose and tight is related to timings. Loose meaning higher numbers, tight being lower numbers, as these numbers refer to delays. Lower is faster, but I would put too much time into it. Also be sure to Memtest your PC to confirm that it's stable.
 
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Gothic_Day

Gothic_Day

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Oct 31, 2015
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Alright. Thanks for the info about timings. I have 2 sticks of RAM. Each one is 4GB. Running in Dual mode. The MB only has 2 slots for RAM as well. Which Memtest is recommended these days? Memtest86 or Memtest86+? I've never used either, but I do know of their existence.
 
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Gothic_Day

Gothic_Day

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Oct 31, 2015
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OK, so after doing a little bit more searching, I have a rough idea of what I'm going to be doing. Please feel free to correct me if I'm off track somewhere:

1. Enable the XMP profile in the bios
2. Boot into a version of memtest (which one to use?)
3. Run tests for X amount of time to check for errors (how long to run?)
4. If errors, reboot to bios and up the NB core voltage (by how much?)
5. return to step 2 until it passes
6. Boot into Windows and test with P95 just to be sure (never used P95 before either)
7. If errors, return to step 4 until things work alright
8. If stable, monitor some temperature thingy? (NOT sure about if\what to monitor for)

I don't know much about overclocking in general, so I'm concerned about the part dealing with increased voltages. How much is too much for the board?
 
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TonyRoma

TonyRoma

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Oct 28, 2012
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Hi again Gothic. I'm liking your testing methodology listed above, it's a sensible approach to have regarding testing. I've always used Memtest86+, download it from here. Download the appropriate version for USB or DVD.

These are the specs for your RAM kit from the manufacturers website here.
Series RipjawsX
Memory Type DDR3
Capacity 8GB (4GBx2)
Multi-Channel Kit Dual Channel Kit
Tested Speed 2400MHz
Tested Latency 11-13-13-31-2N
Tested Voltage 1.65v

When it comes to running Memtest I'd go for a least 2 passes as a quick test, though it won't be particularly quick, maybe 2 hours. If you find you are getting errors in Memtest, then the options you have are... Increase NB a little as you suggested, increase RAM voltage a little (though 1.65v is already quite high), loosen your timings a little (12-14-14-33-2N for example), or a combination of all those.

Good luck.
 
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Gothic_Day

Gothic_Day

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Oct 31, 2015
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Alright. At least I'm on the right track. How much is too much for NB? I don't want to start this process until I'm absolutely sure that I wont break my board. Oh, and I did get an aftermarket cooler. (mail is being slow today)

(I use mainly Apple products for computing, so that's why I have so many questions lol)
 
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Gothic_Day

Gothic_Day

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Oct 31, 2015
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Sorry for lack of update, I only just got time to mess with this. So after enabling the XMP profile, using default timings and NB voltage, I don't get blue screens, but I sometimes will get random crashes, steam will occasionally quit without an error, and sometimes i get random black lines on the screen for a split second. I am attributing this to memory errors, since the APU uses memory for GPU. Loosinging timings does help be able to use it without increasing the NB, but I would like to be stable, obviously. My question is: on the subject of increasing the NB voltage, my bios has "Normal", "Auto", and "+X.XXX", X being an incremental step using my +- buttons. It does not tell me how much voltage I am currently giving my NB, and I cant find it for the life of me with any software monitor.

(Yes, P95 gives me a rounding error when I start it, M86+ gives me 2 errors that look like flipped bits)

tl;dr: Will increasing NB make me stable? What value should I bump it up to? Only gives me options like +0.006 and up
 
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