HELP. Overclock CPU/RAM?!

[trancetunes]

Hi everyone

I was wondering how I can overclock my CPU without changing the speed of my RAM? -AND- How I can overclock my RAM to an acceptable speed (speeds are: 1066, 1333, 1600, 2000) without changing speed of CPU?


My setup includes:

ASRock X58 Extreme Motherboard
Intel Core i7-920 CPU
OCZ3P1600LV6GK RAM (DDR3 1600 PC 12800 from OCZ)


Without overclocking it runs at:

CPU - 2667 MHz (Shows up as 2800 MHz on CPU-Z and CoreTemp)
RAM - DDR3 1600 with 8-8-8-24, Command Rate 2


However right now I have it at:

CPU - 3507 MHz
RAM - DDR3 2004 with 11-11-11-20, Command Rate 1

I did this by manually increasing BCLK from the default 133 to 167. The PCIE Freq was left at the default 100. Doing this made my RAM go up from 1600 to 2004.


Again, my question is: How do I increase the CPU Speed without changing RAM at all? Is that possible? Also, is there a way to increase RAM to a specific number without increasing CPU? Meaning, can I increase my RAM, for example, to 2000 without increasing default CPU speed?

NOTE: I am aware of the ability to change the RAM speed in the same area of BIOS, but they end up being quite random when deciding to overclock..Therefore, there are only certain numbers I can end up on with BCLK because the RAM changes if I do that..That is why I need this help. Right now the MAX I can go with BCLK is 167 because my RAM hits 2004. If I use the RAM choices available at BCLK 167 to go lower, the PC ends up not being stable with any other than 2004 @ 11-11-11-20.. I hope you all get why I need this help now! Thank you!!

 

[Scotteq]

You cannot merely increase/decrease the BCLK and have an effect only on one or the other. What you can do, though, is lower the multiplier (*underclock) on the components you dont' want to stress while you work on the remainder.

The procedure I recommend is to underclock *both* your Processor and your memory while you test your intended BCLK. Then once you have proven your BCLK is stable, then go to work on the CPU. After your CPU and BCLK are stable, then go to work on the memory.

The BCLK effects *everything* at once. So understand that not all combinations are possible.

BCLK x Processor multi = Processor speed
BCLK x Memory Multi = Memory speed

So, for your i7 920: 133 x 20 = 2,660 gets you your stock processor speed
and your stock RAM: 133 x 12 = 1596 (tiny underclock on DDR2 1600)

20 is your CPU Multiplier and 12 is your Memory Multiplier.


Again: Changing the BCLK affects BOTH your memory and your CPU at the same time.

SO - What i/we need to know is "What Is Your Target Processor Speed" Not having this little detail means I cannot do the math to tell you which combinations of BCLK, CPU Multi, and Memory Multi are available to you.

 

[trancetunes]

Alright, you definitely helped me understand how to work with BCLK and RAM speed now Thank you so much!!

Now I am using CPU Multiplier of 21x, and 191 BCLK which comes to 4011 MHz
My RAM is at 1530. (AKA I am using RAM Multiplier of 8x)

I will see how high I can bring the RAM while staying stable From what I know, it's better to have faster CPU speed than RAM speed, so if I can't get 2000 RAM while having 4GHz CPU, I don't mind.. Correct me if I am wrong about that though

UPDATE: my PC seems stable only if I keep it at 1530 RAM when using 191 BCLK/21x cpu multiplier...I can definitely notice the difference though. Before this I was at 3507 MHz and 2004 RAM. I think it's faster with 4000 MHz and 1530 RAM

Let me know what you think please

 

[Scotteq]

From an application standpoint, Memory speeds are rather irrelevant: High or low RAM speeds make almost no difference in performance in gaming and typical desktop applications. About the only place where it may matter is specialized memory intensive programs and benchmarking. It is - By Far - more important desktop apps and games to have a higher processor speed than whatever trivial boost you might gain by stressing memory. Plus: While you may be able to get 30 or 40% out of your processor, you may only be able to reliably get a few % out of your RAM. Why? Memory makers test, "Bin" their chips by performance, and charge you for the ones that run fast.

My recommendation is to worry about memory performance last... *IF* you worry about it at all.


Now: The CPU is what does the actualy work, so *OF COURSE* 4Ghz on the proccy is faster than 3.5.

 

[trancetunes]

Thanks Scotteq

 

[trancetunes]

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