RAM Timing advise...

Hello everyone!

Sooo... I got my SLI working!! And well, I ran 3dmark06, and I scroed a 7905. I'm happy with the score, but I'de like to see if I can break 8000 3dmarks. So this is what I've got so far:

CPU: AMD 4200+ OC'ed to 2600MHz It's Idleing at about 31 degrees celcius and maxing out at about 38-39 degrees with a heavy load on it.

RAM: 2Gb XMS Corsair (4x512) No timings have been done. If you have any advise of what to time the RAM at please tell me.

Motherboard: A8N-SLI Deluxe: Right now its idle temp is about 45 degrees (why is it so hot?!)

Video cards: 2x BFG 7900gtx, no timings or overclocking has been done to the cards

Hard Drives: (2x) 36.6 Raptor 10k's in Raid 0

So, if you have any advise on what I can do to speed up this computer, please let me know!

 

wat CPU cooler do u have? wat case u got? wat im thinking is that if we could squeeze just a little more cooling out ur system, maybe it could speed up?

 

Well, I'm pretty much FULL in my case... And I'm really trying not to spend anymore money... hahaha.. Im $4,000 in already lol.

 

So ya wanna overclock?,you must have raised your fsb to overclock your 4200 this also overclocks the ram,running in1:1 and stock timings your memory should e good to around 220-230fsb ie 230mhz after that you will have to drop your ram devider down to 4\5

My 1g xms runs quite happily at 220mhz and gives a memory bandwidth of 6gbs in sandra memory benchmark stock timings of 3-3-3-7,the xms xl comes at stock timings of 2-2-2-5 which will give around an extra gbs more bandwidth at 220mhz,if you drop the timings down to 3-3-3-7 you could possibly leave the ram running in a 1\1 ratio with a fsb up to around 250mhz

check this guide out

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20823

A few essential programs for testing memory prime for stability and sandra for bandwidth,before you do any modification you need to test the bandwidth to make sure any changes are for the better

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4664

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4363

 

I hate to sound like an idiot... but well, here it goes: I honestly don't know much about RAM timings. I know how to get into my BIOS and change them, but as for their clock speeds, I don't know what is high/low and as for the X-X-X-X values, I don't really know what is good, or bad. I assume that the lower the number, the better. So, I am taking a guess here, but are you saying that I should change my timings to 2-2-2-5?

 

Ya dont, an idiot wouldnt ask Good question lower timings are better but overall mhz is even more important,if you drop your timings down the max mhz the ram will run at will also come down

Now if your gonna push your fsb up toward where the ram is becoming unstable then leave the timings at 3-3-3-7 if your leaving your fsb around stock and would like a little more memory performance try lowering your timings one at a time,the timings are all unique but they basically are the amount of time the memory has to wait before moving onto the next task,the first number has the most effect on system performance know as the cas latency this is the one you really want to lower

My best advice is to read the guide and try and take it all in,it may take quite a few days to get your head around it can be quite a daunting amount of information,you also have to decide if you want to overclock fully or just tweak the ram slightly,tweak lower timings,overclock leave stock and go for the max mhz the ram will run at via upping the fsb

 

ian check this - RAM latency

 

$4000 Sorry to hear that

The Somewhat Complete A64 Memory Timings/Settings guide
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=170999

 

after fiddling around with my timings quite a bit ove found that it runs the best with a higher frequence and relaxed timings as already stated before. Im running at pc3800 (dont know the mhz ) with timings of 2.5-3-3-7 on a gig of Crucial Ballistix which defaults to 2-2-2-6, close to yours. If you keep the timings tight and try to up the FSB its gonna end up automatically dropping your RAM speeds

 

On a 64 system, when running 2gig of memory, the memory timming's not really important for real world performance.

What matters most when OCing a 64 is obtaining the max MHz
Find your CPU's max MHz, find your Memory max Mhz, then just use a divider

I have a DFI NF4 Ultra D with an Opteron 146 10x276 at 2760MHz 1.4v (stock is 2000Mhz) I can do 3Ghz but need more voltage & she make's more heat, IMO not worth the extra 240mhz for everyday use.
My memory is running at 250 MHz, 3-4-4-8 (G.Skill pc4000 HZ's 2x1gb dual kit) I use a 9/10 divider