How to change the ram speed on my motherboard.

[jango400]

Hello everybody!I just finished building my 1st rig and everything is working fine except for my ram, it seems to be running at 1333 instead of 1600. Does it really affect my performance or should i leave it alone? I don't have any experience with timings/BIOs or anything so all advice is appreciated.

 

[jango400]

My build

NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5\" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 CPU Cooler

LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive - OEM

 

[jockey]

Read the motherboard manual. There is a section in there with a "how to" on this subject. For an easier read, download the PDF manual from GB's website.

 

[jaquith]

Often with AMD and other MOBOs, sometimes it's not an option; only "Support for DDR3 2000(OC)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules" is listed.

However, Memory Clock -> 8.0 is available so set it; I noted the setting in the manual, and the 955 can handle the 1600 MHz w/o messing with the CPU Frequency(MHz) settings.

I would also enter the CAS timings: 9-9-9-24-2N in the DRAM Configuration. ref http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=222 You may be required to raise the DRAM Voltage Control 1.55v~1.60v.

 

[jockey]

GB tends to default DDR3 memory to 1.5 volts and 1333mhz, cl 8 or 9.

 

[jango400]

Thank you for the replies, i was stating to get worried that my question would get passed on. I had to google some terms but i think i understand it better now thanks. I thought it was strange that newegg would sell this in a combo pack without it being fully compatible so i looked up my mobo on gigabytes site and it said that my G-skill 1600 ram would work so thats a relief. Ill give those timings and voltage changes a try and post a update.

 

[jaquith]

^Combos are NOT guaranteed at all, it it the purchaser to verify compatibility. Most RAM will run at SPD {1066 or 1333 MHz} but not necessarily at Rated Speed.

BIOS:
Memory Clock -> 8.0
DRAM Configuration /Enter
CAS# latency -> 9
RAS to CAS R/W Delay -> 9
Row Precharge Time -> 9
Minimum RAS Active Time -> 24

1T/2T Command Timing -> 2T

DRAM Voltage Control -> 1.55v~1.60v

Save & Exit - Yes

 

[jango400]

Problem solved i am running at 1600 now thanks jaquith.

 

[jango400]

Best answer selected by jango400.