# OverClocking RAM timings. Whats the go?



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

Hi All
Ok .. my system specs are below (in my sig) but i want to know if o/c the timings on my DDR2 ram is worth the crashes/BSOD.
I have **** around with them in the past and at times thought some tasks were more responsive but am thinking maybe it was just in my head.
I have attached my current system setup as per CPUZ.
In my bios i have the RAM setup up as suto timings but have my new e8400 clocked at 4.0g (up from 3.0 stock)

any ideas on whether i should bother with the ram?


----------



## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

Your timings are pretty good considering the OC you're running.


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I see you are running Kingston Hiper memory with 512mb sticks


are you running 4 of these ????? I would "expect" trouble if you are ??


its very difficult to overclock with four sticks of memory at such high levels


I would also back-off to timings of 5-5-5-15 and you should begin to see more stability ?


----------



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

yes i am running 4 although even though they are all the same type 1 pair are a newer release than the first (thanks Kingston you &^$&$&*%)
They still run ok in dual chan. tho

and the timings you see there are in AUTO mode so do you suggest i manually back them off?

and what Voltage is ideal for my ram?


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

the weak link in your system for overclocking is your ram and the four stick configuration


your auto config has them Identified incorrectly as PC6400 when in actuallity they are PC2-8500 sticks which are designed to run at 5-5-5-16 with voltages of only 1.8volts 


Kingston IMHO was never much more than a value ram manufacturer, they played a major role and filled a much needed niche back in the day when memory prices were insane.

well; prices are no longer insane and high performance sticks can be bought very reasonably now days

I personally suggest you get a matched pair of one gig each stick (NOT four sticks!) of Corsair or Crucial PC2-8500 sticks with CAS latencies of 5-5-5-15 and capable of being volted to 2.1 or 2.2 volts then you will not have a choke point at the memory 


you could sell off your existing sticks on ebay >>>>> just a thought


but I would manually back off your timings to 5-5-5-15 if you want stability back in your system and you cant raise the voltage with those sticks, I am amazed you got this far.

I have never seen four sticks run in an overclocked system without ramping up the voltage a tad!


enjoy, and nice clock ray:


----------



## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

I don't have a vast amount of experience with Kingston HyperX (I own a 2GB kit of PC3200) but I'm really happy with the RAM. My HyperX OCs higher than the Corsair XMS that it replaced with the same timings. Of course any company can hit the ball out of the park once, it's those who do it consistantly that become legendary.
That said Corsair is what I typically buy for myself and the my customers (which are few and far between these days.)


BTW, it can safely be ran at up to 2.2v, but I agree with Linderman, you are better off with 2 sticks of 2GB 

KHX8500D2/512
512MB 64M x 64-Bit PC2-8500
CL5 240-Pin DIMM

Page 1
DESCRIPTION:
This document describes Kingston's 64M x 64-bit (512MB) DDR2-1066 CL5 SDRAM (Synchronous
DRAM) memory module, based on eight 64M x 8-bit DDR2 FBGA components. This module
has been tested to run at DDR2 1066MHz at a latency timing of 5-5-5-15 at 2.2V. The SPD is
programmed to JEDEC standard latency 800Mhz timing of 5-5-5-15 at 1.8V. This 240-pin DIMM
uses gold contact fingers and requires +1.8V. The electrical and mechanical specifications are as
follows:


----------



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

Ok. Well it seems linderman was right (altho i kinda never doubted anything he said)
Running at 5-5-5-15 seems to be MUCH more stable and ive also decided to refrain from such over-keen cpu clocking. As per image below i am running CPU at 4068mhz and the vcore is now 1.384v

I have also just listed my current ram on ebay and placed an order for - 
Kingston HyperX 2048MB 1066MHz DDR2, Non-ECC, CL5, KitX2 (KHX8500D2K2/2G)

This seems to be pretty much the same i am running now but in 1gb sticks (not 512)
And in case you were wondering why i went with Kingston again, it just so happened i found a great price on these (around $121AU incl postage!)

Will let you know how i go

ian


----------



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

oh and here is my cpuz pic


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

Mattlock got one up on me again ray:ray: I didnt catch the ability of your ram to be run at 2.2 volts


that ram can be bumped up to 2.1 volts *is what I would try* you will need to adjust that in the bios under ram settings / look for Vdimm voltage


although four sticks will never give the performance capability that two sticks will


----------



## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

linderman said:


> Mattlock got one up on me again ray:ray: I didnt catch the ability of your ram to be run at 2.2 volts
> 
> 
> that ram can be bumped up to 2.1 volts *is what I would try* you will need to adjust that in the bios under ram settings / look for Vdimm voltage
> ...


Gotta keep you in your toes Mr. Linderman. :grin: 

Seriously though, I was looking at buying the exact same HyperX RAM when we had an earlier discussion about DDR1066 and OCing, and wanted to make sure it was able to handle a Vdimm of atleast 2.1v. I just couldn't justify the additional cost at since my XMS DDR800 is doing a pretty good job running @ 890mhz. (Although I'm not completely sure that it's not the cause of my OC becoming unstable from time to time)

I would also bump the Vdimm up to 2.1v. You might even be able to crunch your timings back down with the Vdimm increase.:4-dontkno


----------



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

ok. well i have taken the advice of you clever lads and ditched my 4 sticks 0f 512 hyperx and have replaced all this with corsair xms2 pc6400 ddr2 2x1gb CL4
already i am seeing far greATer stability even at high cpu clocks but i havent even started playing with it yet
im in the middle of moving house so i am hardly about to start tinkering when all my sheit is mostly in boxes. what i did not notice though was when i changed my vcore back to auto i was very surprised to see the volts (at moderate clock of around 25%) rise from my manually set 1.35-1.38v to the system controlled voltage of around 1.54 or so. Needless to say the temps also rose from around 38c ambient to around 45c
Seems a great deal of instability could hAVE been due to a severe lack of vcore voltage

anyways .. any thoughts??

IAN


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

IMHO i would not allow my system to run @ 1.54 volts on the cpu thats big!!


stick with the manual setting 



two sticks of good ram will always perform better than 4 sticks


----------



## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

I hope you meant 1.45v....As Linderman said, 1.54v on an E8400 is too much voltage for your CPU to survive in the longterm.


----------



## ian_heath (Jan 14, 2007)

OK. point duly noted
i have just reset back to stock (auto) for now 

so what is the max suggested vcore for a e8400
(considering also that i run water cooling)


----------



## linderman (May 20, 2005)

http://www.evga.com/forums/printable.asp?m=322761


----------

