FAQ: Memory settings on ASUS MoBos

[Newbie237]

I know a lot of people (including me) are having problems running memory factory timings on ASUS motherboards... Something I learned today is that on recent BIOS (I don't know how recent) the orders of the memory timing parameters is not the same as the one used by the manufacturers.
For example, when buying a memory, you probably saw those numbers: 2-3-2-6 (numbers for Corsair XMS PC3200LL). What those numbers mean is:
CAS Latency: 2
RAS to CAS delay (tRCD): 3
RAS Precharge (tRP): 2
Active to Precharge Delay (tRAS): 6

Now, on most Asus BIOS you will have to enter those parameters in the following order:
2-2-3-6 (CAS#, tRP, tRCD, tRAS)

and now your memory should work fine.....

Side note: when testing your memory with memtest, you should be disabling your Legacy USB support during the test as there are numerous known memtest issue when this is enabled. You can re-enalbe it after the test.

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Asus P4C800-E Deluxe
P4 3.0GHz HT
1Gb Corsair XMS PC3200LLPT
ATI A-i-W Radeon 9800 Pro
WD 200Gb SATA
Lite-on IDE Combo Drive
Win XP Pro SP1

 

[Rabbitrunner51]

I have a similar system to yours, and i must be honest as I am a little lost as to timings and some of the other settings. It is probably running on the normal setting.
how do you check these numbers and where? In the bios?
i only bought two 256 sticks of CorsairXMS 3200 Platinum and wonder if I shouldn't have gone ahead and just bought the double 512's (1GB). Does this much more memory really make a big difference? I know it will now cost me double the amount vs, a little over two hundred dollars
I did a system check with some program (Fresh Diagnose ),and there sure is a whole lot of info that I really don't fully understand. The benchmark graph is at the high end,but some of the numbers like realtime memory have me a little baffled. I could swear it said something like 38xxxmb. blah blah!
Some day I am going to get ahold of all the material I can to explain the intricacies of the computer system.
Do you think the Sandra program is a good tool? I guess it is the indudstry standard. Thanks for reading my babble.
I just go along,learn a bit and continue.Really should have Majored in this way back in 1974 when I went to college.i do OK for an intelligent guy. blah blah..

 

[Newbie237]

1) Correct those numbers are in the BIOS:
Advance Menu -> Chipset -> Set the "Configure DRAM Timing by SPD" to disabled and then the DRAM sub-items will show up. This is where you'll configure those timings.
Now when you buy a stick of memory, those timing should be written up somewhere. Make sure that the Bios uses the sam numbers as your DDR.
2) Well 2x256 might become a little small (depends on what you are doing with your PC)...If you see that your system is using all your memory and starts to slow down because of disk access (the PC will write data to the HDD when running out of DDR), then you'll know it's time to upgrade your system.
3) Sandra is very good to test the system overall.

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Asus P4C800-E Deluxe
P4 3.0GHz HT
1Gb Corsair XMS PC3200LLPT
ATI A-i-W Radeon 9800 Pro
WD 200Gb SATA
Lite-on IDE Combo Drive
Win XP Pro SP1

 

[SoDNighthawk]

Here are my AMD system specs on my ASUS motherboard. If you go to http://www.aida32.hu/aida32.php that link you can download the World Wide System tool and post your system specs here like I have. The tool is free and full version not a trail program. I would be very interested in what a system like yours reports for system information.
The aida program lets you copy past from it so you can produce the same info I have below. I would appreciate it much.
CHEERS!!

CPU Properties
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP-A, 2083 MHz (6.25 x 333) 2800+
CPU Alias Barton
L1 Code Cache 64 KB
L1 Data Cache 64 KB
L2 Cache 512 KB (On-Die, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info
Package Type 453 Pin PGA
Package Size 4.95 cm x 4.95 cm
Transistors 54.3 million
Process Technology 6Mi, 0.13 um, CMOS, Cu
Die Size 101 mm2
Core Voltage 1.65 V
I/O Voltage 1.6 V
Typical Power 53.7 - 60.4 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power 68.3 - 76.8 W (depending on clock speed)

CPU Manufacturer
Company Name Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Product Information http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118,00.html

CPU Utilization
CPU #1 0 %

CPUID Properties
CPUID Manufacturer AuthenticAMD
CPUID CPU Name AMD Athlon(TM) XP 2800+
CPUID Revision 06A0h
Extended CPUID Revision 07A0h
Platform ID CBh (Socket A)
IA CPU Serial Number Unknown

Instruction Set
AMD 3DNow! Supported
AMD 3DNow! Professional Supported
AMD Enhanced 3DNow! Supported
AMD Extended MMX Supported
AMD64 Not Supported
Cyrix Extended MMX Not Supported
IA-64 Not Supported
IA MMX Supported
IA SSE Supported
IA SSE 2 Not Supported
IA SSE 3 Not Supported
CLFLUSH Instruction Not Supported
CMPXCHG8B Instruction Supported
Conditional Move Instruction Supported
MONITOR / MWAIT Instruction Not Supported

CPUID Features
36-bit Page Size Extension Supported
Automatic Clock Control Not Supported
CPL Qualified Debug Store Not Supported
Debug Trace Store Not Supported
Debugging Extension Supported
Enhanced SpeedStep Technology Not Supported
Fast Save & Restore Supported
Fast System Call Supported
Hyper-Threading Technology Not Supported
L1 Context ID Not Supported
Local APIC On Chip Supported
LongRun Not Supported
LongRun Table Interface Not Supported
Machine-Check Architecture Supported
Machine-Check Exception Supported
Memory Type Range Registers Supported
Model Specific Registers Supported
Page Attribute Table Supported
Page Global Extension Supported
Page Size Extension Supported
Pending Break Event Not Supported
Physical Address Extension Supported
Processor Duty Cycle Control Not Supported
Processor Serial Number Not Supported
Self-Snoop Not Supported
Thermal Monitor Not Supported
Thermal Monitor 2 Not Supported
Time Stamp Counter Supported
Virtual Mode Extension Supported

Enhanced Power Management
Frequency ID Control Not Supported
Software Thermal Control Not Supported
Temperature Sensing Diode Supported
Thermal Monitoring Not Supported
Thermal Trip Not Supported
Voltage ID Control Not Supported
Motherboard Properties
Motherboard ID 02/13/2003-VT8377/VT8235-A7V8X-X
Motherboard Name Asus A7V8X

Front Side Bus Properties
Bus Type DEC Alpha EV6
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties
Bus Type DDR SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 167 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 333 MHz
Bandwidth 2666 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties
Bus Type VIA V-Link
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (ODR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 533 MB/s

Motherboard Physical Info
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 6 PCI, 1 AGP
RAM Slots 3 DIMM
Form Factor ATX
Motherboard Size 240 mm x 300 mm
Motherboard Chipset KT400
Extra Features Q-Fan, CPU Overheating Protection, JumperFree, Stepless Freq Selection

Motherboard Manufacturer
Company Name ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Product Information http://www.asus.com/products/mb/mbindex.htm
BIOS Download http://www.asus.com/support/download/download.aspx

Physical Memory
Total 1023 MB
Used 262 MB
Free 761 MB
Utilization 26 %

Swap Space
Total 2462 MB
Used 174 MB
Free 2287 MB
Utilization 7 %

Virtual Memory
Total 3486 MB
Used 437 MB
Free 3049 MB
Utilization 13 %

Chipset Properties
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8377 Apollo KT400
In-Order Queue Depth 4
CAS Latency 2.5T
RAS To CAS Delay 3T
RAS Precharge 3T
RAS Active Time 7T

Memory Slots
DRAM Slot #1 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)
DRAM Slot #2 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)

AGP Properties
AGP Version 3.05
AGP Status Enabled
AGP Aperture Size 1024 MB
Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x
Current AGP Speed 8x
Fast-Write Supported, Enabled
Side Band Addressing Supported, Enabled

Chipset Manufacturer
Company Name VIA Technologies, Inc.
Product Information http://www.via.com.tw/en/apollo/chipsetindex.jsp
Driver Download http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2

BIOS Properties
BIOS Type Award Modular
Award BIOS Type Award Modular BIOS v6.0
Award BIOS Message ASUS A7V8X-X ACPI BIOS Revision 1003
System BIOS Date 02/13/03
Video BIOS Date 10/21/02

BIOS Manufacturer
Company Name Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Product Information http://www.phoenix.com/en/products/default.htm

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