Fast & Flashy 2GB from Corsair ---> TWINX2048-4400PRO OCing report!!!

I won't go as far as to call this JUNK ram, but I will go as far as to state that this ram should be pulled from the market as it is currently advertised.

This second set performs identically to my first set - 3D stable @ around 265 fsb or so. Running my CPU @ 2920 with 1:80 on ram (ram at 265.5) and I am 3D stable, 2.6v on ram. This is as high as I can go and remain 3D stable.

This ram is sold as PC4400 and yes, I can do that with 2D stability (I won't even bother to find max 2D) but again, I am not interested in 2D benchmarks. I wan't PC4400, or better. I want to game with PC4400 ram.

Aint happening here.

Someone slap me upside the head, please.

@Slammin,

I really thought I said that before... Just forget about their PC4400 rating, seriously. I was saying that long time ago when I tested this particular set and will repeat AGAIN - rating and guaranteeing Infineon Rev.C based DIMMs at 275MHz is NOT a good idea, regardless if it's 2T or 1T. Corsair chose to do this, oh well... What can you do? :)

Now, I will say that AGAIN! 267MHz 5-2-3-3.0-1T "3D stable" is considered better than average for Infineon Rev.C. So don't say it's junk only because it does not meet rating that Corsair chose to use. This RAM clocks very good, just look around Xtreme Bandwidth section and see for yourself.

Thanks for your insight on the chips bachus. I was having 'trouble' with mine also, and didn't realize I was definitely not alone. Mine at not 3D Stable by any means at 275MHz but are at 266MHz.

They are rock solid at 266MHz 3-3-2 with only 2.8v. At those speeds, the performance _almost_ matches 275MHz 3-4-4-8. I am sure with a little more tweaking it will match up.

These sticks offer some incredible performance so far.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bachus_anonym

@Slammin,

I really thought I said that before... Just forget about their PC4400 rating, seriously. I was saying that long time ago when I tested this particular set and will repeat AGAIN - rating and guaranteeing Infineon Rev.C based DIMMs at 275MHz is NOT a good idea, regardless if it's 2T or 1T. Corsair chose to do this, oh well... What can you do? :)

Now, I will say that AGAIN! 267MHz 5-2-3-3.0-1T "3D stable" is considered better than average for Infineon Rev.C. So don't say it's junk only because it does not meet rating that Corsair chose to use. This RAM clocks very good, just look around Xtreme Bandwidth section and see for yourself.

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Then Corsair should take this ram off the market, or label it properly.

They waste my time and money. I paid a premium for guaranteed 275 on this ram yet I should EXPECT TO NOT GET ANYWHERE NEAR THAT?

Nope. Will get my refund instead.

How can you, or Corsair expect me to be satisfied with this ram when it won't do what it says it will do?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slammin

How can you, or Corsair expect me to be satisfied with this ram when it won't do what it says it will do?

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I am not trying to defend anyone or any company here, but bear in mind that it _could_ have something to do with the DFI Ultra-D/SLI-DR being fussier than a woman when it comes to memory.

I had these modules around 98% stable at stock speeds, but I did a lot of tweaking in the Ultra-D BIOS. If you would like the settings I used, let me know and I can post them later.

@Deathspawner,
I'm sure you're going to like it. My set is fully stable, including 3D @ 270Mhz so we're not far off eachother, I guess :)

@Slammin,

I totally agree with you as far as rating goes and If you read all my posts in this thread since last December, you would have known that I have had exactly same feeling about the idea behind DDR550 rating. To make it clear, standard testing equipment and tests performed after DIMMs come out of the oven do not seem to catch that "3D side effect". In order to detect that, they would need to test each stick individually in 3D apps - not going to happen :fact:

My advise to you - return it and get a refund. This type of memory needs a user that understands what's happening with Infineon Rev.C chips as far as 3D at high frequencies and how high they clock in general. If you can't accept it, then there is no hope ;)

Slammin, if you want to give one more thing a try, give my settings a shot. I couldn't duplicate my 275MHz settings, but 272MHz worked flawlessly.

Quote:

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DRAM Ratio: 1:1
CPC: Enable
CAS: 3
tRCD: 4
tRAS: 8
tRP: 4
tRC: 13
tRFC: 16
tRRD: 3
tWR: 3
tWTR: 2
tRWT: 3
tREF: 3120

DRAM Drive Strength: Normal4 (Level 8)
DRAM Data Drive: Auto
Max Async: Auto
DRAM Response: Normal

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I consider these stable because I played Half-Life 2 and Battlefield 2 for a half hour each without one single sign of an artifact or any other oddity.

Here is a reference screenshot of my settings and quick benches. If you can get a 3GHz OC out of your CPU, then 299*10 9:10 would give you 272MHz also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deathspawner

Here is a reference screenshot of my settings and quick benches. If you can get a 3GHz OC out of your CPU, then 299*10 9:10 would give you 272MHz also.

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Ouch :D If you can do 3D @ 271Mhz 8-4-4-3.0-1T then I'm 95% sure that you can do the same 271Mhz but with 5-2-3-3.0-1T :fact: Give it a try, please because my eyes hurt when I look at those latencies on that 4400PRO :lol:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bachus_anonym

Ouch :D If you can do 3D @ 271Mhz 8-4-4-3.0-1T then I'm 95% sure that you can do the same 271Mhz but with 5-2-3-3.0-1T :fact: Give it a try, please because my eyes hurt when I look at those latencies on that 4400PRO :lol:

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Haha no doubt man. I'm done for tonight but I will be doing more tweaking tomorrow. Either way, as it stands.. those settings are definitely the sweet spot for me. I felt no lag in HL2 at _all_, and that's actually rare for me. I usually have some sort of skipping action going on.

Just to make sure, your timings are tRAS-tRP-tRCD-CAS right?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deathspawner

Just to make sure, your timings are tRAS-tRP-tRCD-CAS right?

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Yes Sir! :up:

Just thought I'd add some more information about these sticks. I got a pair recently after I saw BA's results. Can't shed any light on the 3D bug @ high frequencies, but I can confirm they do OC well at fairly tight timings.

Results: 250FSB 3D stable @ 2.5,3,2,5. Running on P4C800E with a 3.0C @ 3.75. Haven't upgraded in quite a while as you can probably tell, grabbed these sticks mainly for the low latencies @ DDR500 speeds. 2,3,2,5 @ DDR400 was also confirmed stable but I didn't test further as I doubt anyone will be running them @400 anyway.

Was planning on doing a little write up but it doesn't seem to like my humble test rig. It's a 2Ghz P4 Mobile chip + Epox 4PCA3+ that runs the memory @ 3:4. The memory simply does not like the 3:4 setting and isn't stable for every setting that I tried. :slapass: Might have another play later, great thing about these infineon chips is that they don't discriminate between platforms. Anyone with a DDR system should be able to emulate bachus' results :toast:

I guess I'm just a little frustrated with this ram, especially seeing as Mushkin seems to have found a way to resolve the 3D issue with this IC.

On the other hand, I am am currently running 292 fsb w/180 divider and memory is at 265.5Mhz 3-3-2-5 and producing very nice results. Of course I feel like I'm missing something since this CPU is 100% stable at 300fsb.

I know I can probably squeeze 1 or 2 more Mhz from this ram and be 3D stable, but I doubt I'll be able to reach my goal, which would still be running the ram slightly below PC4400, so I don't think I was expecting too much. I only need about 272Mhz from the ram, so I think I will refund and try Mushkin's PC4000 as there seem to be some good things happening with that ram right now.

Deathspawner, thanks for the settings, but no dice so far. I was only using 2.6v on them though, so maybe I should go higher on the vdimm? What vdimm are you using?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slammin

Deathspawner, thanks for the settings, but no dice so far. I was only using 2.6v on them though, so maybe I should go higher on the vdimm? What vdimm are you using?

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According to the spec PDF, the modules require 2.8v for DDR550, 3-4-4-8. All of my tests so far have been with 2.8v, and I haven't had any sort of overheating issues.

Edit: I have found that the DRAM Drive Strength and DRAM Response have played somewhat of a big role in this OC also. I found that tweaking with those settings would affect how stable the OC was overall. Chances are your results with those settings may vary.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slammin

I guess I'm just a little frustrated with this ram, especially seeing as Mushkin seems to have found a way to resolve the 3D issue with this IC.

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It's not that they solved the "3D issue"... It's still there (my evaluation XP4000 Redline set does 285MHz/295MHz in 3D and 2D respectively. Mushkin got a hold on a very good week-code of Infineon CE-5 chips that apparently performs better and higher on average in 3D, compared to what we've seen so far.

Well, this set is looking better thanks to you guys. I'm currently at 268.2Mhz 3-3-2-5 @2.8v and seems 3D stable so far. I've always had a 120m fan blowing on my ram, and these do run as cool as the first set but are clearly doing a lot better. I haven't had much time to tweak these but I'm betting they can go a little further.

I'll push them a little further later today when I get time and post results.

Guys, I am trying to set up a new screen here to see what problem you guys are having with 3D stability at 275 MHz. I have been running 3DMark05 and other apps at 275 on the DFI NF4 Ultra, and have had no problems with stability of yet.

Is there something specific that I should be testing? I want to fix this so that anybody who bought a 4400 Part gets a 4400 part, not a 4200 or something.


Here are the settings I'm using on the DFI NF4 SLI-D (06/23 BIOS)

DRAM Ratio: 1:1
CPC: DISABLE
CAS: 3
tRCD: 4
tRAS: 8
tRP: 4
tRC: 13
tRFC: 16
tRRD: 3
tWR: 3
tWTR: 2
tRWT: 3
tREF: 3120

DRAM Drive Strength: Normal4 (Level 8)
DRAM Data Drive: Auto
Max Async: Auto
DRAM Response: Normal

As you get near the 3D limit, the first thing you may notice is slight stuttering. Getting even closer to the limit, the stuttering turns in to long pauses. I actually thought it was my video cards overheating or something at first. Usually if I don't bring up taskman during the long pauses, the machine will BSOD indicating a problem with my video card driver.

Yeah I had the same problem Slammin. I have been using HL2 as my testing program... usually it won't stutter for me though, it will just completely halt for a few seconds or indefinitely.

Out of curiosity, have you been using 2T? That's what these modules are guarenteed for.. not 1T. Maybe if you switch to 2T you will have better luck.

Yes, been trying 1T, 2T, several different bios's. Just not having much luck getting any 3D stability above 267 or so.

Did you happen to try your DRAM Response on Fastest? Usually that's not really needed, but I found it helped get a better clock.

Very interesting you mention that because I've found that setting to normal mostly resulted in not being able to boot, and that I had best results by setting it to Fast. I thought that was a little strange, but this ram does seem to prefer tighter settings.

Oh well, it's back in the box to be sent back since I only have 5 days remaining on my newegg 30day refund option.

Though I want to stretch this machine out as far as possible, tossing more $$$ at it at this point with all the new stuff coming out is probably not a great idea anyway.

I'm back to running my 'old' G.Skill LE's along with my 'new' G.Skill HZ's and after getting some motivation from others running with all 4 slots filled, I am doing 3-4-3-5 @269Mhz on the ram, 296Mhz on the cpu, at 2T of course. It did do dual Prime95 @ 300fsb for 35 minutes though, but it's kind of hot here now, and I don't like those fans all running a LOUD spped anyway. Trying to find a happy medium now.

The only thing I use that needs more than 2G is X-Plane, so really, I'd settle for some good 2gig PC4400 lovin (if it exists) but at this point, I think I'll just go with what I have. Works great and may hold me for awhile.

Btw, 4 sticks @ PC4000 may make you dig out some 'old' ram too!

i have a feeling that the mobo or psu is the cause of the ram not to hit its rated speeds. the fact that it works flawlessly in 2d but not in 3d suggests a power problem.

i have a great idea for you guys why dont you try a x300 graphics card or a geforce 2 or a 9600 le or some piece of crap graphics card that uses no power and see if they are 3d stable like that.

would be an interesting test no? ...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brandinb

i have a feeling that the mobo or psu is the cause of the ram not to hit its rated speeds. the fact that it works flawlessly in 2d but not in 3d suggests a power problem.

i have a great idea for you guys why dont you try a x300 graphics card or a geforce 2 or a 9600 le or some piece of crap graphics card that uses no power and see if they are 3d stable like that.

would be an interesting test no? ...

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does a geforce4mx count? the 3d stability issues are still there with some pc4000EB, with a board that is known to be able to power 4x1gb at 275mhz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ozzimark

does a geforce4mx count? the 3d stability issues are still there with some pc4000EB, with a board that is known to be able to power 4x1gb at 275mhz

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lol well that pretty much shoots my guess out of the sky.

oh well ill think about it some more haha

I thought I would just add in here.

Corsair sent me a hand-picked 4400PRO kit, that proved to be 100% 3D stable at 275MHz, 3-4-4-8 1T. I've actually been running it stable with 3-3-2-0 timings for a few days.

So, it really is 'luck of the draw' when you get a kit that will work perfectly at stock settings.