RAM timing setup in UEFI BIOS

I recently upgraded my mobo, CPU & RAM from AM2+->AM3+, DDR2/SATA2->DDR3/SATA3 & the gaming performance is a little disappointing, it's better... just not much better :-o

I think this has allot to do with my RAM after looking at the details in CPU-Z:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/33/gwwd.jpg

It's set to 1600MHz in the UEFI (BIOS), but as you can see it's actually running at around 800MHz also it's running at strange timings.

Ok so to start off I'm not sure exactly what info you guys will need but here's what I can think of initially:

Mobo:ASUS Sabertooth 990FX R2.0 (BOIS: latest 2104)
RAM: Corsair Vengence Pro Series Red DDR3 1600MHZ (CMY8GX3M2A1600C9R)
CPU: AMD FX 8350 Black Edition (FD8350FRHKBOX)
PSU: SilverStone Strider 700W
GPU: AMD Sapphire 7870 GHz Edition 2GB
Shoe size: UK 10-11


I have a feeling you guys will need BIOS picks, I can take screenshots in the BOIS so that's no problem, just let me know what you need & I'll post

I actually plan n upgrading the GPU to the R9 280X (which is essentially a re branded 7970 ), but i'll be doing that once I sort out my RAM.

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

Set the RAM manually to the Corsair tested specifications in the BIOS:

Once that's confirmed and tested for stability, you can begin carefully overclocking it or reducing the latency, maybe a combination of both.

(DDR= Double Data Rate, in your case, 800 is doubled internally to 1600.)

The high end HD R9's are pretty expensive, coin miners have pushed the retail prices up

 

I tried & got confused, as the names I'm looking for don't correspond with the UEFI names :confused

This is what I've ended up with:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/401/ryy7.jpg

This is what it looks like in the UEFI:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/827/qrnc.png

I'm pretty sure "DRAM RAS# ACT Time" Is "tRAS", but I have no idea which is tRC.

Even the Speed info section has them listed as you would expect:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/545/a6sw.png

I thought that number seemed odd :-D

I think they're pretty cheap here, cheaper than their 7970 counterparts.

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

I know very little about the technicalities of tweaking memory settings (esp. on recent AMDs) :major but your current settings look better, time to do some stress testing and benchmarking comparisons (while we wait for someone who knows about AMD memory overclocking)?


Sapphire haven't had the best reputation for their graphics cards recently, returns are pretty high compared to some of the other big names: http://www.hardware.fr/articles/911-5/cartes-graphiques.html it might be better to look at something like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-246-MS ?

 

It's annoying as hell. I can set it to run at 1600MHz & it does with some wacky timings, if I set it to auto (to let me do the timings) I can get 9-9-9-9-24, but it runs at like 1200MHz. If I set them manually & at 1600MHz it refuses to boot & I have to hit the Mem OK button on my mobo :confused

Yeah my last Sapphire card won't accept a driver, I imagine it's BOIS is in need of replacement. I'll be selling that on eBay as faulty soon, as I can't find a BIOS for it or a way to flash it if I had one lol

I've been looking at the MSI card actually, it's a shame I've used Sapphire since the 3870X2 :cool It seems like the logical time to move on though.

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

Can you not set the UEFI/BIOS to use the XMP profile (and save that profile to regain the settings quickly)? How about using a single stick, single channel, does the setting stick then?

EDIT: AMD systems do not support XMP, shows how much I know

 

I've been mega busy the last 2 days, but I got some things done :cool

I tried a single stick & both together using all configurations except the 1st & 3rd slots (I have space issues):
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1280x1024q90/853/h5ya.jpg]
Is it worth trying them in the other channel? I would have to remove the fan from my CPU cooler, it's currently running push & pull, I'm sure it'll be fine to run just pull for the testing period if necessary


Back to what I've done in the last 2 days, I've tried the "DRAM O.C Profile":
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/198/fsu.BMP
As you can see that has the correct timings & voltage.

But I made sure I had the right Voltage:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1280x1024q90/823/7e1a.png
And timings:
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1280x1024q90/163/m0sy.png

To no avail, it says Overclocking failed on the Post with an F1 command to fix "my" error... if only I knew what that error was :confused

Am I at the point where I send them back to get a replacement? I feel pretty close to that.

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

I think I'd give it one more shot, set it to optimized defaults (F5), reboot and only adjust what's needed to get 1600 @ 9-9-9-24 @5V.

If it doesn't stick then, I'd go for an RMA replacement pair. It's likely that they might ask you to try it with the 5V increased a few notches - for me, that's a workaround but it still indicates that the RAM isn't fit for the specifications it's classed as and sold under.

 

Tried optimised defaults & it's the same, I'll try the vendor first. I don't really want to be without a PC for the amount of time it'll take to RMA. I'll link them this thread so they can see I've done all I can really to get them to work.

Thanks for the help though

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

Yes, of course, if it's new hardware then the vendor should sort you out.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Some memory companies let you do an advance exchange if you give them a credit card to charge for the replacements. Then once you have them and you know they work, you can send your memory back to them for the RMA and they refund the charge. I don't know if Corsair offers that, but if the vendor can't help you it definitely won't hurt to ask.

 

That'd be ideal! They haven't gotten back to me yet, hopefully I see something by Tuesday

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

Well this is embarrassing, the reason I was getting no POST was because I was basing the timings off of CPU-Z (CPUID), there they have 5 timings & you only need 4... obviously.

So I was using 9-9-9-(9)-24 when I should have been using 9-9-9-24 as seen below.

We can all pretend this didn't happen now, since non of you guys spotted it either :-D

Live, learn, forget, mistake, repeat!

:major2-BIT-GEEK:major

 

It's obvious now you've pointed it out :major

Good work in going back through it and spotting it.