Memory Timing Question

techead

techead

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Right... Ive eventually got my new system up and running

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?220392-So-I-fried-my-BRAND-NEW-pc...

but now Im puzzled by a memory issue. omg its always something... :wtf:

In the BIOS I have the speed set to 1600, thats right. All the memory timings are set to auto, which results in the current timings

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3758/currentkh.jpg

According to Corsair, the Frontosa price list, and google, and the SPD below I should be running this (far right column)

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2316/spdl.jpg

While running 3dmark I found that the RAM was getting a little toasty, so do I bother screwing with these timings? Is it going to make that much difference? AM I GOING TO FRY SOMETHING AGAIN?

Your thoughts and advice is appreciated
 
HTC_guy said:
Right... Ive eventually got my new system up and running

http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?220392-So-I-fried-my-BRAND-NEW-pc...

but now Im puzzled by a memory issue. omg its always something... :wtf:

In the BIOS I have the speed set to 1600, thats right. All the memory timings are set to auto, which results in the current timings

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3758/currentkh.jpg

According to Corsair, the Frontosa price list, and google, and the SPD below I should be running this (far right column)

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/2316/spdl.jpg

While running 3dmark I found that the RAM was getting a little toasty, so do I bother screwing with these timings? Is it going to make that much difference? AM I GOING TO FRY SOMETHING AGAIN?

Your thoughts and advice is appreciated
Click to expand...

That timings column on the far right of the second picture is for Intel XMP enabled chipsets. If you want that timings you must set it manually in the bios. Afaik (correct me if I'm wrong) the worst that can happen with wrong timings is failure to boot which will result in reverted settings. Don't worry about memory temps, if the system doesn't lock up, BSOD or reboot it's fine I think. Test it with memtest or something similar for a while if you're paranoid.
 
Last edited:
I second what D4N said. Your current timings are 'looser' and so are easier to maintain. Run memtest / intelburnintest / prime95 and if you dont get errors you're fine. Setting the memory to the tighter timings will only get you a tiny amount of extra performance anyway, so if everything is working and stable I'd leave it for now. Oh, memory will get bit hot during stress testing. I wouldn't say too hot to touch, but it does heat up, so don't worry too much about that.
 
The heat is most likely due to excess voltage. Go into your bios and manually set the voltage and timings to what the specs from Corsair are
 
how can I check what the current voltage the memory is using? in the BIOS its set to AUTO?

cheers
 
Just set it in the BIOS, then it wont matter what the auto setting used to be. If its DDR3, the it will most likely need to be set at 1.5V
 
i bought the G.Skill ripjaws memory and it says in order to get it to run @ DDR3 1600, you need to put the timings on 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5v....when i did that, on my Crosshair III Formula (BIOS v1403) i keep on getting BSOD's just after bios loaded. . . i left everything else on auto, just tuned the first 4 timings.. the bios is so full of tweaking features, i'm confused to what is what... can any myBB expert maybe assist me with this matter plz ???? :D
 
LoneWolf said:
i bought the G.Skill ripjaws memory and it says in order to get it to run @ DDR3 1600, you need to put the timings on 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5v....when i did that, on my Crosshair III Formula (BIOS v1403) i keep on getting BSOD's just after bios loaded. . . i left everything else on auto, just tuned the first 4 timings.. the bios is so full of tweaking features, i'm confused to what is what... can any myBB expert maybe assist me with this matter plz ???? :D
Click to expand...

That should work for you. Dont worry about the 100 other settings, as long as your voltage is right, and the 9-9-9-24 is set right you should be ok. But check the easy stuff first, are you using the right slots? Sometimes motherboards prefer you to use slots 1,2 (double check what your mobo wants) if you go over 1333mhz. after that, try booting with just one memory dimm to check if the memory is ok. You can then try setting the voltage to 1.55 to give it a bit of a boost. Let us know what happens.
 
there is 4 DIMM slots, A1 B1 , A2 B2 so i figured that in order to run dual channel, i have to put 1 module in A1 and the other in A2??? also, there is a setting where you can change "1T" or "2T" . . .i've read somewhere that you should choose the 2T option... what is this for?? and what about the other timings, should you change them aswell???
 
1T and 2T is the command rate. Memory is more stable at 2T, so set it to that for now. The only timings to change are CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS. They are in that order for the 9-9-9-24. As for dual channel I'll look for your mobo manual later and get back to you. Have you been able to get the system to boot when you set the speed to 1333 with all other settings to auto?
 
yes i have, it currently runs @ setup defaults...everything is in auto mode...exept for memory remap which is disabled so that win 7 can see my full 4GB.... it says in the 1st page of bios cpu running @ 3400mhz, dram 1333mhz... i am @ work now so i am not sure as to what the specifics are...:o
 
Ok, and @1333 the memory checks out, no random resets/BSODs? You run any stability tests?
 
I prefer Intelburntest, and there is also prime95 (cant find a link right now). Set intelburntest to test 4 threads, as much memory as you can (it'll tell you how much is free, then set it to 250mb less) and run it 5-10 times. I find 5 is fine since if there is an error, it comes up on the second attempt 99% of the time. Takes about 10min to finish on my rig which isnt that bad i think (as opposed to running prime95 for 1+ hrs).
 
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