[Update 25/11] 2GB of DDR2 for overclocking what to buy

Alright guys my Ballistix sold yesterday and I would like to order a new kit on or before Monday (buyer agreed to wait until I can find new kit since Ballistix are my only kit)! I have already tried researching these kits on my own but reviews and info seem to be hard to comeby for whatever reason?

1) GSKill PC2-8000 2GBHZ (4-4-4-5)
a. The RAMlist says that these modules are now shipping with both GKX and GCT, well has anyone recenlty bought this stuff or have any info on them?

2) GSkill PC2-8000 2GBZX (5-5-5-15)
a. Most RAMlist say this RAM is running GKX but I cannot find a single review of this stuff anywhere? If anyone can either confirm or deney this stuff if GKX it would be greatly apprecaited!

3) Wintec Ampx PC2-8000 (5-5-5-15)
a. Same question as Apothsosis, does anyone know anything about these besides that they have GKX IC's?

4) Cell Shock PC2-8000 (4-4-4-12)
a. This is the kit I'd like the most but it's also about $150 more than any of the other 3 kits so I'm not sure its' worth the extra money? I'm sure these are GKX and also have 8-layer PCB's which are all great things, but again that is a big price premium for the difference!

Thanks for any help anyone can give, much appreciated guys!

See you don’t follow the ram list literally, follow your sense. If GCT has been reported in the HZ then it can be found in the ZX (just logic).but according to G.S T GCT is very rare even in the PC6400HZ and he don’t think that it been used on any PC8000 so I would say go with PC8000HZ you will either get GKX or high Bin GMH and that memory comes already with very good timings
Take a look at this
http://www.tankguys.biz/2x1gb-cell-s...17c6f0cb7f14b7

Cell Shock @ stock , I got go update the first post :banana:

GSkill tech says HZ's use MT... I assume he meant D9GMT

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...6&postcount=18

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shimmishim

GSkill tech says HZ's use MT... I assume he meant D9GMT

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...6&postcount=18

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By 'MT' he meant Micron Technology. ;)

@Roger_D25:
All of the kits you mentioned use D9Gxx. D9GCT is rare on G.Skill.
Both the Wintec and CellShock are guaranteed to be D9GKX.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by r00n

By 'MT' he meant Micron Technology. ;)

@Roger_D25:
All of the kits you mentioned use D9Gxx. D9GCT is rare on G.Skill.
Both the Wintec and CellShock are guaranteed to be D9GKX.

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thanks for clarification...

i have a set of these (8000HZ's) coming in...

Thanks for the replys guys, much apprecaited! Although it sounds stupid this is a big desicion for me (my friend is pretty sure I made a bad choice selling my Ballistix because it will be hard to upgrade from them)? By the way Kemo your right about the RAMlist, I probalby should have taken a step back and used my common sence instead of taking it literally?

Also thanks for the link to those CellShock PC2-8000 (5-5-5-15) modules over at Tankguys (they seem to be great modules and much cheaper than the (4-4-4-12 modules). I've been messaging back and forth with a guy named Ben over there who says there instock (nice guy by the way)! If I don't get those I'm gonna give the GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's a shot and hope for the best! Thanks again guys for all the help!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

Thanks for the replys guys, much apprecaited! Although it sounds stupid this is a big desicion for me (my friend is pretty sure I made a bad choice selling my Ballistix because it will be hard to upgrade from them)? By the way Kemo your right about the RAMlist, I probalby should have taken a step back and used my common sence instead of taking it literally?

Also thanks for the link to those CellShock PC2-8000 (5-5-5-15) modules over at Tankguys (they seem to be great modules and much cheaper than the (4-4-4-12 modules). I've been messaging back and forth with a guy named Ben over there who says there instock (nice guy by the way)! If I don't get those I'm gonna give the GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's a shot and hope for the best! Thanks again guys for all the help!

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No problem
Why your friend thinks that this is a bad choice?
And yes Ben is a very nice guy and he is registered here also

I'm not exaclty sure why my friend thinks I'm making a bad choice except that my Ballistix were pretty capable! I was able to run 24/7 at 1145Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 on 2.4v with no problems which is pretty decent. Even if the next kit I get isn't as good, it's just fun to get new hardware to test and play with! Plus whatever kit I get I'll put together a review on them since I havn't read many on the GSkill 8000PHU2-2GBHZ.

Depends on few things
1) Revenue you got from selling your kit
2) Have you been using them at full potential
3) How lucky you gona be with your next kit
And I foresee 1200MHZ cas4 with 2.4V on your new GKX :p:

Are the D9GCT being used mostly on 2x512mb kits? Since it's easier to hit higher clocks with 512 sticks it'd make sense...

I'm sending back my Corsair XMS2 C4 PC2-6400 because it needs 2.25v to be stable (2.1v is specified) and I'll haggle with newegg to give me back my restocking fee (was successful in December)


I want to order the G.Skill PC2-6400 HZ (Cas4 kit) and I'm wondering if that's my best choice for quality Micron RAM at $250 or so? I know the Firestix is about $50 cheaper but people report other IC in those kits

kenton, those are with spd timings? any way you could run memset to see what the actual set subtimings are? Eitherway, it's a slim margin of error that shouldn't be happening, but I have seen it set certain subtimings way too aggressively.

With the ds3, they were always very loose. But on my p5b, I noticed it gave better timings for my kingston valueram, which I need to loosen up if I want to overclock.

@ Hutch that is not always the case there is lots of GMH on 2X512MB
@ Kenton yes the HZ is the best high quality D9s right know

ziddey - I set timings manually according to Corsair's specficiation for 2.1 volts. It would reboot memtest or orthos randomly, once voltage increased to 2.25 I was 30 hours stable in Orthos w/ over 2000% memory coverage (memtest for Windows) at 3.2GHz @ 1.34v

kemo - Well I probably didn't get as much for my Ballistix as I could have but I was looking for a quick sale (sold for $200 shipped). I'm pretty sure I didn't push them to their full-potential except at 4-4-4-5 (at least up to 2.45v anyways). It was difficult because at any memory speed above ro equal to 1200Mhz and the motherboard goes into "Safemode"?

In anycase I decided to get the GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's from the egg and the'll be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I think Ben from Tankguys is going to be pissed because he put alot of effort into answering my questions about the Cellshocks? Although most people are sure their running GKX (or decently binned GMH), I'll post back as soon as I can verify the IC's used in my kit!

On a separate note can anyone post a linky to "Memtest for Windows" please? I didn't even know there was such a program available. For testing purposes is "Memtest for Windows" as good as the regular bootable version of Memtest?

It's probably not as good but it's better than nothing :). I just found out about it too a few days ago. I love it!! Definitely still can pick up problems. Real nice for when you're manipulating with memset

Memtest for Windows?

Google "memtest" and it's like the third or fourth link down.

I like to run it while I'm running a CPU small FFT w/ Prime/Orthos

Thanks kemo6600 for all the ram info! I jumped in on the Gskill HZs, a new e6600, and IN9-MAX...haven't had an Intel chip since 486DX...wish me luck.

I just got the 1000HZ's and they booted up on first try on my badaxe which the 10th anniversary special's wouldn't do :(
.... but i found out that 1 of my 10th anniversary sticks actually died (found this out when i booted up, went into bios and saw that the board only detected 1 stick).

**WARNING**
if you decide to RMA your 10th anniversary sticks, they will replace it with PC2-5300 BALLISTIX as they no longer carry or plan on ordering anymore 10th anniversary special... the CS guy said that they use the exact same memory modules... of course he wouldn't say that the 10th anniversary were handpicked.
**END WARNING**

anyone know if the egg delivers in europe ?
i just paid 266 € (=360 $) for the 800hz from gskill whereas the 1000hz goes for 299$ in the us of aai ... :( or anyone know any european shops that have them cheaper ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shimmishim

I just got the 1000HZ's and they booted up on first try on my badaxe which the 10th anniversary special's wouldn't do :(
.... but i found out that 1 of my 10th anniversary sticks actually died (found this out when i booted up, went into bios and saw that the board only detected 1 stick).

**WARNING**
if you decide to RMA your 10th anniversary sticks, they will replace it with PC2-5300 BALLISTIX as they no longer carry or plan on ordering anymore 10th anniversary special... the CS guy said that they use the exact same memory modules... of course he wouldn't say that the 10th anniversary were handpicked.
**END WARNING**

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This exact same thing happened to me this weekend. I haven't received a response yet on my rma claim. Did you rma yours? I was only running 2.1v, can't believe the one died. I doubt I'll get as good of sticks back :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 4X4N

This exact same thing happened to me this weekend. I haven't received a response yet on my rma claim. Did you rma yours? I was only running 2.1v, can't believe the one died. I doubt I'll get as good of sticks back :(

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I called and had to wait on hold for about 10 minutes but I got my RMA # already.

Give them a call, it's the best way to do it.

I was only running 2.28 which is only slightly above stock.... :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bladebel

anyone know if the egg delivers in europe ?
i just paid 266 € (=360 $) for the 800hz from gskill whereas the 1000hz goes for 299$ in the us of aai ... :( or anyone know any european shops that have them cheaper ?

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No... but i hear they are opening a European equivalent of newegg sometime in the future if i remember correctly

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shimmishim

I called and had to wait on hold for about 10 minutes but I got my RMA # already.

Give them a call, it's the best way to do it.

I was only running 2.28 which is only slightly above stock.... :(

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Thanks for that. Called and got a rma# right away. Also was told the same as you, no more 10th anniversary sticks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

kemo - Well I probably didn't get as much for my Ballistix as I could have but I was looking for a quick sale (sold for $200 shipped). I'm pretty sure I didn't push them to their full-potential except at 4-4-4-5 (at least up to 2.45v anyways). It was difficult because at any memory speed above ro equal to 1200Mhz and the motherboard goes into "Safemode"?

In anycase I decided to get the GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's from the egg and the'll be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I think Ben from Tankguys is going to be pissed because he put alot of effort into answering my questions about the Cellshocks? Although most people are sure their running GKX (or decently binned GMH), I'll post back as soon as I can verify the IC's used in my kit!

On a separate note can anyone post a linky to "Memtest for Windows" please? I didn't even know there was such a program available. For testing purposes is "Memtest for Windows" as good as the regular bootable version of Memtest?

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I have the identical kit coming in tommorow. I will pop the heat spreaders and report the chips.

Spazilton,
Thanks, we're both getting them tomorrow so I image we'll both get the same IC's? Unfortuenlty these heatspreaders are a bit different than the ones on the Ballistix, much harder to pull without VOIDING warrenty. I'm going to try just pullling enough of the spreader up to check the IC's. If I can't do it I'll have to be content not knowing, lol! Did you order your from the egg?

I'm sorry to hear about your Aniversary sticks guys, bummer! I wonder if it's worth putting up a stink since their obviously better than the PC2-5300 Ballistix are? Back in the DDR1 days I had to RAM my Mushkin Redlines XP's (UTT's) about 4 times in 2 years and by the last time I RAM'ed they didn't have any left so they upgraded and gave me the 2GB Redlines which was awesome! It's worth a shot guys?

post your results guys.. so that we can confirm on the chips on the memories.. :)

You got it, tomorrow night for sure! I'll post some pictures and preliminary results! Can't wait!

@ Roger_D25
Why the rush?
Don’t worry about Ben he won’t be pissed off. Just send him a note that you are not going to buy Cell Shock.
@ FlyBoyGeo
You’re welcome and good luck
@ bladebel
To buy from the egg you need verified address in USA and you need to use American bank account thus you need an agent in the US to buy stuff for you and ship it to Europe
@shimmishim
Sorry about your stick hopefully you can get better one

And for those willing to remove the heat spreaders thank you guys we really appreciate it

BTW I was banned for long time yesterday so I dropped the idea of trying to log in again and thus my late replies, sorry guys

Hey guys I have read every page of the thread and I wanted to thank kemo for making it. Its the best memory guide i have found. Anyway I'm trying to decide between these to go with the rig listed in my sig. I'm about to pull the trigger on the Alphas because of that sweet price. What do you guys think? What kina difference in performance am I going to see for the extra 65$?

OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 265$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227138

G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK 200$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231114

G.SKILL F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ 250$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231065

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TeRm

Hey guys I have read every page of the thread and I wanted to thank you kemo for making it. Its the best memory guide i have found. Anyway I'm trying to decide between these to go with the rig listed in my sig. I'm about to pull the trigger on the Alphas because of that sweet price. What do you guys think?

OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 265$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227138

G.SKILL F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK 200$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231114

G.SKILL F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ 250$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231065

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OCZ hands down
Why I didn’t notice that deal yesterday :slapass:

Edit: this time is not about performance difference you are getting a high end kit that used to retail for 450$ back in October for only 265$
Still you need to list all your build specification and you’re over clocking plans

thanks for the reply guys,

i ordered some cell shocks pc6400 that at first were no longer available; I tried changing them for the g.skills pc6400 gbhz that were on stock but now they tell me the cell shocks ARE on their way to te store and will be sent to me as soon as they arrive :-)

which of these are the better choice (cell shock pc6400 cas 4 or g.kill pc6400 cas 4 gbhz)? I think i can still deceide between the two ... (gskills are even 20€ cheaper)

thanks for your input !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bladebel

thanks for the reply guys,

i ordered some cell shocks pc6400 that at first were no longer available; I tried changing them for the g.skills pc6400 gbhz that were on stock but now they tell me the cell shocks ARE on their way to te store and will be sent to me as soon as they arrive :-)

which of these are the better choice (cell shock pc6400 cas 4 or g.kill pc6400 cas 4 gbhz)? I think i can still deceide between the two ... (gskills are even 20€ cheaper)

thanks for your input !

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Cell Shock makes a great ram and gives you 8 layers PCB and that somehow helps in OC and for 20 € difference I take the Cell Shock

For the sub 300$ range you think the OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 is the best deal?

ok thanks,
btw, in the original list (page 1, the cellshocks at the bottom are 277€ WITH vat at that store; they can even be found cheaper (269+s/h) at this location http://www.gamespirit.de/advanced_se...s=3135&x=0&y=0 that also ships within europe); just a small heads up ;-)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TeRm

For the sub 300$ range you think the OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 is the best deal?

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Yes it is
IMO that is the best deal in the list, you know you cannot beat OCZ service and quality , also I would suggest getting that OCZ ram cooling fan for extra 20$ , I does really a great job

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bladebel

ok thanks,
btw, in the original list (page 1, the cellshocks at the bottom are 277€ WITH vat at that store; they can even be found cheaper (269+s/h) at this location http://www.gamespirit.de/advanced_se...s=3135&x=0&y=0 that also ships within europe); just a small heads up ;-)

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I am listing memory configurator because it ships worldwide and doesn’t charge vat for international shipping and A+ service.

Thanks any way :)

Edit: Oh you see the price including vat I see it excluding VAT :)

Ok thanks kemo. Do you know how loud it is? Im trying to run my case as quiet as possible. Those tiny fans look noisy. I was thinking about putting a 80mm fan on top of them. Where can I find that cooler anyway?

ah, didn't know they shipped without vat internationnally :( if only I had known :-) , i see: 229 excluding vat, 277 including vat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TeRm

Ok thanks kemo. Do you know how loud it is? Im trying to run my case as quiet as possible. Those tiny fans look noisy. I was thinking about putting a 80mm fan on top of them. Where can I find that cooler anyway?

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You will find lots of input here and here

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=134349

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=125782

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bladebel

ah, didn't know they shipped without vat internationnally :( if only I had known :-) , i see: 229 excluding vat, 277 including vat

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No problem that was one of the first ram stores I found that ships internationally and it was the best

yup yup OCZ quality and service is one of the best.. :) your lucky you can buy @ the egg.. :(


please post some results of OCZ Titanium Alpha VX2 :D

I will when i get them, cant order for a few days. Hopefully they wont go out of stock by then.

I know you had suggested the OCZ AlphaVX2 in your PM but for some reason I thought they were much more at newegg just a couple days ago? At the moment their $299 (before rebate) but on Sunday they were much closer to $400 I thought? In anycase if I would have known the price was going to come down than I'm pretty sure I would have taken the OCZ over the GSkills? O-well, like everyones says, it pays to be patient!

Who knows the OCZ on GMH and with the G.Skill you might find GKX , 2 days ago the OCZ was 360 after MIR back in Jan they was 450$ so yes it pays to be patient but not always

I got my G.Skill 800-HZ today and I was unable to pry off the heatspreaders so I quit trying.

Didn't want to leave any marks on it. Though, in this same forum, maybe 6 or 8 threads down there's one called "Can I tell what IC I have without taking off heatspreader" and a guy posted a picture of a D9 chip.


My G.Skill looks identical to the picture he posted, I got a flashlight and looked. My Corsair (ProMOS) does NOT look like that.

My GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ just got delivered about an hour ago and I was able to fully remove the heatspreader without messing anything up (really took my time thought so that sticker wasn't even scratched)! Unfortuenlty their not D9GKX but at least their not D9GCT! They came with D9GMH so I'm pretty happy about that because I would image their binned pretty good for 1000Mhz at 4-4-4-5? I've also got a handful of pictures which I'll post in the next few mintues. I still havn't installed them yet but I'll do it soon!

Thanks man finally someone did it
And oh my ban session is over


@ Kenton
We are 100% sure that the new patches of the PC6400HZ are D9GMH (very few GCt)

NOTE: Pictures tempararily removed to edit, will post back ASAP.


I just barely finished completly removing the heatspreaders on my new GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's. By taking my time I was able to pull them without scratching the spreaders or ripping the stickers (that way I can easily put the spreaders back on with no problems)! Anyway here are a few pictures of the modules, IC's, and heatspreaders (enjoy)!

Side By Side Shot:
http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/6703/memoryiczd3.jpg

Closeup of IC:
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9...pictureob6.jpg

PCB Markings:
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/1...arkingsqx0.jpg

Various Pictures:
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/1...turekx1.th.jpg
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7...belwlt8.th.jpg
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/8...shotee1.th.jpg

I compared the D9GMH IC's from my Ballistix to the D9GMH IC's in my new GSkill modules and there different looking. Does anyone know why my Ballistix IC's had a small "-2F" in the lower right-hand corner of the IC which is missing on my GSKill IC's?

Ballistix's:
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4...0086aq4.th.jpg

GSkill's:
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/9...tureob6.th.jpg

"I compared the D9GMH IC's from my Ballistix to the D9GMH IC's in my new GSkill modules and there different looking. Does anyone know why my Ballistix IC's had a small "-2F" in the lower right-hand corner of the IC which is missing on my GSKill IC's?"

Wouldn't that "-2F" represent further binning by Crucial (for the purpose of which modules to use the ICs on) beyond the binning done by Micron. What speeds were those Ballistix rated at on their labels?

Nice job on confirming it. The Gskill's heatspreader is a pain to get off. It's not like Crucial, OCZ, Wintec or Buffallo which is much easier. How do the clock so far? I would imagine they are the same as the Crucial.

I cant seem to decide what to buy the gskills look very tempting for the price so does the ocz.

which would be a better choice for my new build which will have P5B-Deluxe, E6600, overclocking in mind?

Reefa,
I didn't even consider that, good point! That is probably exaclty what it is. To answer your question my Ballistix were PC2-8000 (1000Mhz). With that said has anyone else with Ballistix ever pulled the spreaders off and taken a look? If so did you also have a number in the lower right-hand corner of the IC?

syne_24,
Thanks for your reply, you weren't kidding about removing the heatspreaders! I really had to take my time to remove them without messing them up. Plus the spreaders on these modules are different than the ones posted at newegg for any of their modules. The two clips on each modules are silver and are only about half as long, that probably makes these spreaders easier to remove than the older ones?

akajay,
That is a tough desicion to make, I was just going through the same thing before I decided on the GSKill modules. If I had to do it over I'd probalby go with the OCZ modules because of their great customer service and EVP (2.52v) and still covered under warrenty!

I finally installed my modules, before doing so I set all the memory settings to "Auto" except for votlage which I set to 2.2v. I was pretty happy because it booted up at 1000Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 2T, not bad! Later tonight I'll post back with more results on them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akajay

I cant seem to decide what to buy the gskills look very tempting for the price so does the ocz.

which would be a better choice for my new build which will have P5B-Deluxe, E6600, overclocking in mind?

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I vote OCZ, I like them:D


@ Roger_D25 got my PM; you have to be prepared for anything

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

NOTE: Pictures tempararily removed to edit, will post back ASAP.


I just barely finished completly removing the heatspreaders on my new GSKill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's. By taking my time I was able to pull them without scratching the spreaders or ripping the stickers (that way I can easily put the spreaders back on with no problems)! Anyway here are a few pictures of the modules, IC's, and heatspreaders (enjoy)!

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Thanks, I am not going to bother ripping the Heat Spreaders off mine.

Spazilton,
I think it's safe to assume that your modules have the same IC's as mine do since they were both bought at about the same time from the same place?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

Spazilton,
I think it's safe to assume that your modules have the same IC's as mine do since they were both bought at about the same time from the same place?

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i'm assuming I have GMH as well as I ordered around the same time too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kemo6600

I vote OCZ, I like them:D

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Titanium Alpha VX is on GMH or GKX ?

I'm almost positive their D9GMH Kas, can anyone confirm this?

I think most of the popular brand names that used to have GKX dont have it no more, like Gskill, OCZ, and Corsair. You have a better chance finding GKX on brands that not many people buy like Wintec, Buffalo, etc..But in all honesty I think a good batch of GMH still beat a lot of GKX so it's really not that important but just how good it overclocks. I know this because my Tracers are actually better than some GKX that I've tried. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by syne_24

I think most of the popular brand names that used to have GKX dont have it no more, like Gskill, OCZ, and Corsair. You have a better chance finding GKX on brands that not many people buy like Wintec, Buffalo, etc..But in all honesty I think a good batch of GMH still beat a lot of GKX so it's really not that important but just how good it overclocks. I know this because my Tracers are actually better than some GKX that I've tried. :)

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yep...but statistically GKX is better than GMH and if I want sell memory probably I get better price selling ram on GKX :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kas

yep...but statistically GKX is better than GMH and if I want sell memory probably I get better price selling ram on GKX :)

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Titanium Alpha VX2 can be both. Either way, I don't think you're going to have much trouble selling it as people pay just as much for D9GMH.
In many cases D9GMH even overclocks better than D9GKX, so it's not really an issue.

Of course there is the possibility someone only goes by the fact it's D9GKX and is willing to pay more for it, but the same is true for D9GMH-based modules.

What are you guys running for Memest these days? I havn't run that program since I had my old DFI Expert motherboard along with my Mushkin Redline UTT RAM (its' been a while)! Well now that I'm running an Intel system and 680i chipset do I need to use a special verson of Memtest or do I just use the regular version (Memtest 68+)? Also I think I heard someone say they used a Windows based Memtest program, does anyone know anything about that and is it accurate and useful? Thanks for any help you can give!

With voltage set to 2.2v and running RAM at 1000Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 2T I'm having some stability problems (firefox keeps crashing on me along with other weird issues). I just bumped the voltage up one tick and the problems are gone but I wanted to test thoroughly with Memest. Thanks again.

crap, doubled posted by accident (firefox is continueing to act weird)?

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/ for windows memtest.

It's actually quite decent. Using that and memset in windows to adjust timings on the fly, it's quite quick to pick up errors it seems. I wouldn't use it as an end all be all but it definitely makes tuning timings a million times easier. When all is said and done, it still wouldn't hurt to use memtest86+. I think the newest version is 1.70 or something.

Just wanted to stop and thank all the folks involved with this thread for the continued work and support to keep it going. We are all indebted to you. :)

Thanks ziddey, much apprecaited! So I take it that Memtest 86+ (v1.70) is perfeclty compatable with Intel/680i hardware? I'll give that Windows based Memtest a run, thanks again.

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Just wanted to stop and thank all the folks involved with this thread for the continued work and support to keep it going. We are all indebted to you.

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I'll second that NIVO, great point!

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

What are you guys running for Memest these days? I havn't run that program since I had my old DFI Expert motherboard along with my Mushkin Redline UTT RAM (its' been a while)! Well now that I'm running an Intel system and 680i chipset do I need to use a special verson of Memtest or do I just use the regular version (Memtest 68+)? Also I think I heard someone say they used a Windows based Memtest program, does anyone know anything about that and is it accurate and useful? Thanks for any help you can give!

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That's MemTest from HCiDesign. You can specify the amount of RAM to test in MBs, but it's limited to all memory that isn't used by any other programs (including Windows).

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With voltage set to 2.2v and running RAM at 1000Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 2T I'm having some stability problems (firefox keeps crashing on me along with other weird issues). I just bumped the voltage up one tick and the problems are gone but I wanted to test thoroughly with Memest. Thanks again.

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The more programs you use to test your memory, the more chance you have in bumping into errors.
So basicly, to get the best indication as to whether or not you memory is stable at a given configuration, use as many testing software as you can find (MemTest, Memtest86++, SP2004, GoldMemory, etc.)

I popped in my G.Skill PC2-6400 "HZ" today that looked identical to the Micron picture a guy posted in another thread "Can I know my IC without removing heatspreader"


I'm at 3400MHz; 425x8 with RAM voltage set at 2.1v and timings at 5-5-5-15. Do you think I'll be able to tighten the timings back to 4-4-4-12? I didn't even try to boot at 4-4-4-12, went straight for 425FSB and 5-5-5-15


Also my P5B-Deluxe has the following settings that I don't know what to set:

TRFC: 20, 25, 30, 35, 42
TRRD: 0-15
Rank Write to Read Delay: 0-31
Read to Precharge Delay: 0-15
Write to Precharge Delay: 0-31


I haven't messed with any of them, I've left them how ASUS set it default.

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

Spazilton,
I think it's safe to assume that your modules have the same IC's as mine do since they were both bought at about the same time from the same place?

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That was my thought as well. Windows is loading on the new rig now, so we will see how they do.

I am still trying to learn Intel OCing all over again.

Been so used to AMD, my last Intel OC was on my IC7-MAX3

**Edit**

Having a hell of a time to get these sticks going. IN9-32X Max is NOT correctly decting SPD or Subtimings :(

I cant seem to find a list of subtimings on Gskills site.

Kenton, you should def be able to keep 4-4-4-12. My 6400HZ was running 451 4-4-4-12 at the same volts without a sweat.

Spaz,
Interesting, my board pulled all the SPD timings correctly (well the main timings anyway, 4-4-4-5). I'm not sure about the "Subtimings" as I just leave them all set to "Auto" and don't touch them. The truth is I don't know enough about them to start messing around yet? With that said I only have 5 different "Subtimings" anyway. Infact this is probably the first kit of RAM I've ever had that picked up correct SPD timings in BIOS, lol! Then again these modules aren't EPP so the SPD only has one set of timings to pull, lol!

I'm not very knowledgable with that new Abit board of yours (although I'd like to be), lol! You might have many more timing settings than I do? Now are you having a tough time getting the board stable or just getting BIOS to pick up the SPD timings?

Roger - Check the G.Skill subforum here for subtiming information. I just found it for my P5B Deluxe.

Halvie - Thanks! I'm currently 8hr Orthos stable at 3400MHz/850MHz DDR2 so when I'm 24 hours stable I'll screen shot and then I'll reboot, 4-4-4-12 and run memtest bootable iso 1.70+

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

Spaz,
Interesting, my board pulled all the SPD timings correctly (well the main timings anyway, 4-4-4-5). I'm not sure about the "Subtimings" as I just leave them all set to "Auto" and don't touch them. The truth is I don't know enough about them to start messing around yet? With that said I only have 5 different "Subtimings" anyway. Infact this is probably the first kit of RAM I've ever had that picked up correct SPD timings in BIOS, lol! Then again these modules aren't EPP so the SPD only has one set of timings to pull, lol!

I'm not very knowledgable with that new Abit board of yours (although I'd like to be), lol! You might have many more timing settings than I do? Now are you having a tough time getting the board stable or just getting BIOS to pick up the SPD timings?

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I can get into the bios just fine at 667 1.85v with SPD timings.

Problem is as soon as I go to do the windows setup it resets.

I did manage to get it past the basic install, and when it goes to the second part, I get the repeating loop of resets... BIOS--> XP Splash Screen---> Bios etc..


The amount of settings available is no where near as indepth as the DFI.

Right now I would just settle for getting windows loaded.

I think I am going to make a Memtest ISO disk and see what happens.

You have to run much more voltage Spaz, this stuff if supposed to run at 2.2v-2.3v at stock timings and speed. What speed are you running the memory at right now? I've actually had to up the voltage a bit to get stable at this memories stock speed and timings (2.75v). My board also wouldn't boot at default voltage! Up the voltage and I bet you'll be good to go!

By the way I just actually checked out what my subtimgs were and although their set to "Auto" like my Ballistix were their much tighter than my Ballistiz were!

NOTE: Just reread and realized that your running at 667Mhz, I woudl still suggest upping the voltage to 2.2v.

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

You have to run much more voltage Spaz, this stuff if supposed to run at 2.2v-2.3v at stock timings and speed. What speed are you running the memory at right now? I've actually had to up the voltage a bit to get stable at this memories stock speed and timings (2.75v). My board also wouldn't boot at default voltage! Up the voltage and I bet you'll be good to go!

By the way I just actually checked out what my subtimgs were and although their set to "Auto" like my Ballistix were their much tighter than my Ballistiz were!

NOTE: Just reread and realized that your running at 667Mhz, I woudl still suggest upping the voltage to 2.2v.

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Ive been running it at 2.2 Still didn't have any effect.

I am going to try to see if the memory is defective by running some passes of Memtest.

Oh, I thought you had the voltage set to 1.85v? I think testing it would be a good idea. I tested with Memtest earlier today at 1000Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 2T on 2.2v and got hundreds or errors very quickly. But with every every increase in voltage (.25v at a time) the errors went down until I got to 2.275v when the errors stopped altogether.

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Originally Posted by Roger_D25

Oh, I thought you had the voltage set to 1.85v? I think testing it would be a good idea. I tested with Memtest earlier today at 1000Mhz with timings of 4-4-4-5 2T on 2.2v and got hundreds or errors very quickly. But with every every increase in voltage (.25v at a time) the errors went down until I got to 2.275v when the errors stopped altogether.

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I just used 1.85 because thats the stock VDimm for this motherboard. It does let me into the bios so I dont have to worry about having spare sticks handy.

What test were you getting the errors on?

And whats the best verison of memtest to be using with the C2Ds? Im using 3.2

This has to be the most frustrating board I have ever worked on.

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Originally Posted by syne_24

I think most of the popular brand names that used to have GKX dont have it no more, like Gskill, OCZ, and Corsair. You have a better chance finding GKX on brands that not many people buy like Wintec, Buffalo, etc..But in all honesty I think a good batch of GMH still beat a lot of GKX so it's really not that important but just how good it overclocks. I know this because my Tracers are actually better than some GKX that I've tried. :)

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QFT

Any way I am 100% sure that the OCZ you can buy right know uses GMH


@ Spazilton
Please calm down so we can help you
And give me more details

I'm so glad I jumped on that OCZ deal! I was thinking about waiting until march 1 when i figured it would be $265 with no rebate, but after newegg's price mistakes (or bait and switch?!) I thought i better grab it. Less than 4 hours after I ordered the price went wayyy up.

Sticks are now $354 AR, $389!!! before

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Originally Posted by Wildcat293

I'm so glad I jumped on that OCZ deal! I was thinking about waiting until march 1 when i figured it would be $265 with no rebate, but after newegg's price mistakes (or bait and switch?!) I thought i better grab it. Less than 4 hours after I ordered the price went wayyy up.

Sticks are now $354 AR, $389!!! before

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Well you made your decision in the right time
Thanks
Updated the first post

d@mn newegg mm... I think they are watching xs forums.. waaaaa.....

hey Wildcat293.. please post some results when you get them.. :)

Roger, your running 2.75v on the memory? That seems crazy high...you have fans on them at least?

I'm sorry about the typo guys, I'm only running 2.275v to the modules (definelty not 2.75v)! I've been testing at stock speeds and timings (1000Mhz, 4-4-4-5, 2T) to get the lowest voltage possible while still being stable. Using Memtest 86+ (bootable version), SuperPI 32M, and Orthos Blend Test I ended up needing 2.275v to run stable. I should add that I ran in "Unlinked" mode and set CPU speed and FSB to stock levels (2.4Ghz and 1066Mhz FSB). Since the modules are rated for between 2.2v-2.3v I'm happy with needing only 2.275v.

This last Sunday was the day I bought these modules and at that time the OCZ modules were $374 (or something close to that, hence why I didn't get them), to bad they went back up to regular price! Was it really a mistake by newegg or did the price just get lowered for a few days (sale)? Just curious..

I think a couple people were interested in what sub-timings the GSkill F2-8000PHU2-2GBHZ's ran at since your motherboards didn't pull the SPD timings correclty? Hope this helps a bit!

tRRD: [Auto(3)]
tCR: [Auto(12)]
tWR: [Auto(6)]
tWTR: [Auto(9)]
tREF: [Auto] 7.8uS

@ Roger_D25
I also ordered the G.skill 8000HZ on Last Sunday the 11th From Newegg
And Mine have the all black heat spreaders different from yours. I wish I could figure out what they are :(

Scratch that ^^^ they are D9GMH :D . I started looking at them closer and the end of the heat spreader was not on the last chip and it I was able to see what it was. Shouldnt the heat spreader be making better contact on the ends ?

Just got this in the email. If you are buying Buffalo Firesticks from newegg the DDR2 800 then the is a $20 promo code for it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820150054

code.
EMC220BUFFLO

SnipingWaste, wish I had seen this on Monday. Though, I do love my G.Skill PC2-6400 "HZ"

why are those buffalo timmed at 5-5-5 if they are using basically the same chips as the gskill at 4-4-4-? I am with you kenton...just saw those after I ordered the gskill I got today.

wow just noticed the extra 20 bucks off..that is a really good deal

$80 frickin bucks I overpaid for those Firestix, by 30 days. Oh well.

lol, me too. but still a good deal man.

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why are those buffalo timmed at 5-5-5 if they are using basically the same chips as the gskill at 4-4-4-

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There is chips ratting by micron and then there is manufacturer rating so basically those are pre overclocked modules, and every company over clock and test them as much as they want as long as they providing guarantee for specific timings with specific voltage

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Originally Posted by SnipingWaste

Just got this in the email. If you are buying Buffalo Firesticks from newegg the DDR2 800 then the is a $20 promo code for it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820150054

code.
EMC220BUFFLO

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Thanks man

Buffalo Firestix at Newegg with coupon now out of stock!
:mad:

Excellent thread!

Was planning on buying OCZ pc8800 but might switch to wintec apmx pc8000.
Seems like waiting to take a decision on this matter could be benificial as prices continue to fall rapidly on ddr2

i don't recommend that wintec
we don't know anything about their quality, service and support
on the other hand the OCZ gives you great support and warranty + over voltage protection up to 2.52V , i highly recommend that OCZ for this price

kemo6600
Thanks for the advice!
Went ahead and ordered the OCZ memory that is a nice price for micron with such support.
The lose timing is a concern but at slightly lower speed perhaps it will run tighter.

However having spent $400 to buy E6400 and 680i mobo spending big money on ram doesn't add much value.

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Originally Posted by sbin

kemo6600
Thanks for the advice!
Went ahead and ordered the OCZ memory that is a nice price for micron with such support.
The lose timing is a concern but at slightly lower speed perhaps it will run tighter.

However having spent $400 to buy E6400 and 680i mobo spending big money on ram doesn't add much value.

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your welcome
you can run same speed with tighter timings but it depends on how much voltage you are willing to push
In case you want to use 2.3V or higher i recommend buying the OCZ memory cooler for 20$

can you move the mushkin DDR2-1066 down into the >300$ category?
you can get them for ~270$ from the mushkin website w/ VIP code xtremesystems.com.
Mushkin Xtreme ddr2 800 at 4-4-3-10 is also D9GMH, as far as I know. Note that this isn't the same as the ddr2-800 4-5-4-11 that was discovered to be generic.
mushkin DDR2 800 @ 4-4-3-10 can be had for ~240$ with discount code.

Thanks that never came to my mind
Added in the first post

good work kemo6600 :toast:

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Originally Posted by erwinz

good work kemo6600 :toast:

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Thanks man :toast: