Memory Overclocking Problems

[darkspreader]

Hello, I am having serious problems with trying to overclock my 2x1gb Geil Ultra DDR2-800 RAM. My specs are as follows:

Gigabyte DS3-965P Motherboard (rev 3.3)
Intel Core 2 Duo e4400 @ 3.0ghz (300x10) (1.325v)
2x1gb Geil Ultra DDR2-800 RAM
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 640mb
Corsair 520HX 520w Power Supply

I currently have my processor (obviously) at 3ghz with no problems, and I have my RAM multiplier set to 2.6 I believe. Timings are at 4-4-4-12, voltage is at 1.9. But, whenever I try doing even the slightest overclock of my RAM, I cannot boot. My computer just restarts, restarts again, then restarts once more back into BIOS defaults, which is normal if there are any overclocking problems.
I've tried setting it to DDR2-900 speeds, 2.1v, and 5-5-5-15 for the timings, yet still the same problem.

Does anyone have suggestions, or am I just doing something wrong here?
Thanks in advance for the help.

That Geil Ultra RAM should be doing way better than what it is right now...
Also, here is a current CPU-Z report of my computer at 3ghz and non-overclocked memory speeds:
http://www.alpha27.randomresources.com/files/cpuz_report_001.htm

 

[closed_deal]

I guess you have a 100 Mhz fsb overclock, in the RAM world if your 1:1 @ 800 it'll be running at 1000. Lower it to 333/667 then it'll run fine @ 866. If the timings are @ 4-4-4-12 stock you could lower them i little again but 4-4-4-12 is good by any standards.

 

[darkspreader]

So, how exactly would I go about achieving a 1:1 ratio? Sorry, this is practically my first overclock; I've got the CPU overclocking down packed, but the memory overclocking is still over my head.

The way the memory stuff works on my DS3 is different, too. You don't change the speeds of the RAM from like DDR2-800 to DDR2-667, instead, it's a multiplier. This is what confuses me the most. I'm still puzzled on how the fsb:dram ratio works. On my DS3, it consists of a list of memory multipliers ranging from around 2 to 4, 4 being the highest. So like, in my situation right now, I have my CPU at 3ghz (300x10), and if i set the multiplier to 4 for the memory, it'll attempt to overclock the memory to DDR2-1200 speeds. How does the math work in all of this?

Edit: I just realized after posting this that 1200 is the FSB of my CPU when overclocked. So I assume by somehow achieving DDR2-1200 speeds with a 1200mhz FSB, this will give me a 1:1 ratio? Am I correct?

 

[closed_deal]

lol - ok i got confused reading that. Ok to start when i say DDR2 means that it's running at 400 but because it is DDR2 you have to times 400 by it to to get it's rated speed which is 800. (2X400)

Now as for ratio's like me in that i can only change it fom 800, 677 and 540.
(For the next part you need to understand that your CPU is 2000Mhz = 10 X 200. 10 being the multi and 200 being your FSB.)
When you overclock your FSB buy 1 Mhz it increase's your RAM 1 mhz so ie. FSB 201 RAM 401 another FSB 240 RAM 440.
Now beacuse of this CPU overclock your ram is now at 802 and 880 respectively.

To have your CPU at 3Ghz your FSB must be at FSB 300 Multi 10 = 3000Mhz. Thats a 100mhz FSB overclock so your ram will have done the same now at 500 (400 stock adding the 100 FSB overclock)before DDR2 it's new overclock setting is 1000mhz. Your RAM is rated at 800 you will be lucky to get it to 900 = 450 + 50FSB o/c.

Hope your still with me here.

If you lower your RAM to 667 is now 333 but now add that 100mhz FSB overclock and you've got 433 then DDR2 it you've got 866 which your ram would do with a 0.2 overvolt.

This will also help you overclock your CPU more. You could try 540 or whatever your next ram drop is to get a higher CPU overclock. However this doesn't mean your system will be quicker.


*EDIT* Damn soz just reread your post. erm not to sure what 2-4 is but change it to all that you can then check in CPU-Z in the Memory tab and look at what DRAM is at. Then hopefully you'll understand if not and i've confused you more i give you permission to slap my with a_herring.

 

[darkspreader]

well, I was just somehow able to get it to overclock to DDR2-900 speeds, timings are 5-5-5-15 2T. Before I wasn't able to, so I doubt it'll stay at this forever.

But as far as my DS3's RAM multiplier goes, I'm not sure how to explain this, but I think how it works is you set the RAM multiplier to whatever, like 2.66, and it'll multiply that by your bus speed. So, like right now I have my bus speed at 300, and my multiplier is at 3. So that equals DDR2-900. There are various multipliers in the BIOS: there's like 2.0, 2.5, 2.66, 3.0, 3.33, and 4.0.

Anyways, I'm going to tinker with the auto and manual voltage settings, and see if I can get it to DDR2-999 speeds (3.33 x 300). I'll edit this post with more details later.

 

[closed_deal]

First thanks for explaining how your mobo works, maybe helpful for furture upgrades. As for getting 999 i doubt it very much. Maybe 940 at a push with slackened timings however, it'll be interesting what you get in the end. With ram as a rule never go over 0.2 v of the rated may end up messy or no switch on . Try lowering it to 2.66 and getting more from your CPU. CPU can go to 1.55vcore fine watch temps.

 

[darkspreader]

Alright, I just got it to boot at DDR2-999 speeds, 5-5-5-15 2T. I had to add .1v to the northbridge and I had to set the DIMM to 2.1v. The Geil Ultra's max voltage says 2.3v, so I think I'm good at that part. I'm going to leave my computer on tonight and do some Orthos memory testing to make sure it's stable.

The only thing I don't like about manual voltage settings is the vdroop on my CPU. I have it set to 1.4 volts now (stock is 1.325), and at idle it drops down to 1.36v. Under Orthos load, it drops down to 1.344v. Now, yesterday I was able to run it at 3ghz at stock voltages, with an idle drop to around 1.3v, and under load to 1.26v. I Orthos stressed this for 13 hours straight and no errors. Although, it somehow *feels* slower than having it at a higher voltage. For now, I'm going to leave it set at 1.4v.

Anyways, it seems that all my RAM needed was some more juice.

Thanks for the help!

 

[closed_deal]

Hey congrats on the 999 speed. Are you sure it's rated at 800Mhz pc6400 etc if it is thats an awsome overclock. May go for Geil next time not cheapy OCZ may get past this 3.5 rut i'm in (ram based). As for your feels slow try SuperPi before and after each o/c it is affected by RAM o/c's quite a bit. Get ver1.5 it shows the times to the 3rd decimal. If you put a bit more voltage you could get 4-4-4-12 and that would definately make it feel better .

Don't talk to me about vdroop lol - my sucker draws *ahem* 1.7 vcore sometimes on heavy load. Bios says 1.6.

 

[darkspreader]

Well, I tried bumping the DIMM voltage to 2.2v and 2.3v, then setting the timings to 4-4-4-12. When i set it to 2.2v, Windows would not boot, and would show all these strange kernal errors and system errors, and that the operating system is corrupted, and when I tried it at 2.3v, my computer wouldn't even post... I had to take out the BIOS battery and put it back in, lol.

Oh well, I'm very happy with DDR2-1000 speeds. And yes, it is DDR2-800 PC6400 ram, I paid $100 for it at the time. Here's the link on Geil's site: http://www.geilusa.com/products/showSpec/id/65 It's very nice RAM, just took some understanding. Here's the link on Newegg, I bought it from there: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820144062 Now it's only $66. :\

As for the voltage thingy, I was talking about how my computer felt slower when i lowered my CPU's voltage, not my RAM's. Either way, I did a test at 1.4v and at 1.325, and surprisingly having it at 1.325v gave it a 200 millisecond decrease in time, lol.

 

[closed_deal]

When i lowered my timings stock were 5-5-5-15 i lowered them one at a time followed by a 10 min Orthos run. But as your running at DDR1000 speeds it is really asking a bit much to lower timings.

Thanks for the links. I'm in the UK so newegg is no good to me, but the geilusa link has helped me track some down .

Not too sure about the CPU feeling slower but i'm glad SuperPi helped you. Have you managed to get more out of your CPU, seeing as your RAM can get to DDR1000. Are you at 333FSB and times three RAM (999) setting atm?

*Edit* If any UK ppl reading this here is the link for this RAM : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-058-GL

 

[darkspreader]

It's the other way around, FSB is at 300 and the RAM multiplier is at 3.33, so it's at DDR2-999.

I haven't really played any games or cpu/graphics intensive applications yet, but I'm sure the boost in the RAM will help it a lot. Crysis eats my computer alive, lol.

Thanks for the help!

Hmm, I wonder if I can overclock it to DDR2-1200 speeds, the next step up from the 3.33 multiplier, lol. I'd probably need to pump out all 2.3v on the DIMMs and have some ridiculous timings. It'd be worth trying, though. Someone else was able to get this to DDR2-1500 speeds at 5-5-5-15, lol. But it all depends on your setup.

Edit: Heh, we're on this topic at the same time. Yeah, that link for the RAM shows it with a badass case, lol. Mine came in just a normal plastic case with a warning label on it.

 

[closed_deal]

lol @ your Edit. I think all overclockable hardware should have a warning hehe.

With tight RAM timings i found games loads alot quicker i.e Call of Duty 4 takes about 13 seconds to load and Crysis around 25. Are your CPU temps high or do you just like to run at stock voltage? I always thought Intels could get to 3.2-3.6 easy on aftermarket air coolers.

 

[darkspreader]

Well, I'm very displeased with my bolt modded Scythe Infinity... temps at 1.4v @ 3.0ghz are 45C idle 65C load. I don't know if that's normal, but that's pretty hot for me. I may have done a bad appliance of my Arctic Silver 5 grease, who knows. I want to try to grab an Ultra-120 Extreme, but I don't have the money at the moment, so all I can really do is just mess around with the airflow in my case and stuff. If my temps weren't so high, I'd probably try to shoot as high as I can on 1.4v.

Also, I was playing Crysis today and while I was playing, it randomly froze and started showing a ton of artifacts, and all the models turned into what looked like 16-bit low resolution textures. I wasn't sure if my GTS was overheating... Temps showed it at around 68C, but that's not too bad compared to other people's temps I've seen. I assumed it was either my GPU overheating, or some problems with having my CPU undervolted.

At any rate, if I do end up with cooler temps somehow, I'm pretty sure I could hit 3.2ghz+ with my e4400. It has an L2 stepping, and apparently the L2 stepping overclocks a heck of a lot better than the new M0 steppings.

 

[closed_deal]

Yeah a Thermalright Ultra extreme is great i use it to cool my 6000+ o/c'ed now rated at 180W .

Nah it''ll be your GTS overheating. Use 'rthdribl' and check temps then. Have you overclocked it?