X48 Rampage Formula Preview.

[bigslappy]

Brama and Mikeyakame-

Thank you for taking to time to explain some of these things. It is so had to find information about all these settings. I'm guessing that you guys have some formal education in this stuff? The problem is that the explanations that I can understand don't tell me what I want to know. The articles that tell me what I want to know are way over my head.

It is also very difficult because this stuff is so spread out over the web.

I guess the easiest thing would be for me to eat your brain . . .mmmmmmmm, brains.

(smiley added to not freak you out )

I Ditto ^^^^^^ that feeling !!
But keep up the great work & we low brain fuctions ppl really are trying to understand all this & thanx to you'all many times over
the learning curve is steep but i'm up for it !

[mikeyakame]

Mikeyakame: Thank you TONS for the reply. I'll be back with questions, I'm sure. I just need time to read, digest and test out all of the information you've provided.

In addition to all of the great information you've provided, I guess I'm also looking for how each of the settings would benefit my o/c one way or the other. For example, how to I diagnose whether or not bumping a setting one way or another is going to be the thing I need in order to fix my lack of stability.

IE: What feedback, in terms of instability, would I get that would tell me, "Hey, you need to bump your CLK Skew down one ps or up one ps."?

Once you reach the limits of your current DRAM frequencies on sane voltages, and limits of timings, skewing the clocks correctly will let you push farther on this bound at the same or less voltage. Basically it will boot or it wont with advance or delayed skews at a DRAM frequency greater than the limit without any skew adjustment. It may also get rid of persistent errors, I use Memtest86+ to see what kind of results clock/cmd skew adjustment has for a given value. If i know the DRAM frequency turns up errors, adjusting the skews either way will either make these errors become fewer to none or increase even more. I use tests 5/6/7 for the most part. These seem to find errors in memory quickly. You press 'c' for configuration, '3' for test select, 'x' for individual test, then '0' to go back to testing.

Saves running repeated tests which you know pass. 32bit integers, memory moving and random number generation are all critical of bit for bit correct read/writes.

[mikeyakame]

This is not well explained
Normally the clocks are pure single frequency signals with very low sideband noise.
On a spectrum scope they appear as a vertical line very thin and clean. As on spectrum scopes monitor the X-axis represents frequency and the Y-axis signal's voltage, a very high and clean vertical line means a clean and powerfull clock signal on a single frequency.

This is the best clock that enables the digital components to work at their best.

Unfortunately this very clean and high signal could overcome the limits written in FCC and EC rules about EMC. If this occurs, the system can not obtain the FCC/EC mark and can not be sold.

As these rules measure the EMC level with a quasi-peak filter, it is better to use a clock not so clean. In the spectrum scope it will be no more a vertical line, but a very thin gaussian curve. It means that all the energy of clock is not on one frequency, but is spread a little around the central frequency of signal.

This is very easily done by modulating in frequency the clock signal.

This trick fools the quasi-peak detector of receiver used to test the EMC and, even if not perfect, allows the normal working of the device.

As in normal offices or houses environments the EMC is not so important, it is better to disable the spread spectrum of clocks to have the best performances in overclock.

I hope I have explained a little this difficult argument

Awesomeness. Thanks for explaining the principles behind spread spectrums! I knew what they did but not how they did it.

[hartigan]

I use tests 5/6/7 for the most part. These seem to find errors in memory quickly. You press 'c' for configuration, '3' for test select, 'x' for individual test, then '0' to go back to testing.

Saves running repeated tests which you know pass. 32bit integers, memory moving and random number generation are all critical of bit for bit correct read/writes.

Great overall information. So, to sum up, most of what you were discussing regarding CLK Skew, CMD Skew and all other items involving RAM can be addressed using MemTest. Thereby, avoiding the Windows boot altogether until the settings are successfully stable according to MemTest.

Is there any way you can give me a similar diagnostic tool to really help me peg exactly what the best FSB/Multi/Voltages (NB, SB, SB 1.5, PLL, Vtt, etc.) would be for my setup as well.

You've been AMAZING with all of the information you've provided thus far and I know it takes a lot of your time to do so. If you want to take a break and get back to me when convenient, I understand. You've really aided me in addressing my RAM based questions and I genuinely appreciate it.

Thanks also to Brama for the great information on Spread Spectrum.

I know I'm compiling all of this information into my own little guide of the various settings I'm confronted by with this ASUS BIOS. All of the options for tweaks to my system are fantastic to have available, they're just rather daunting when addressed as a whole.

Thanks again for all the help and enjoy your weekend!!

ADD: What is the best ver. of MemTest86+ to use? The one at MemTest.org (V2.01) or the one at MemTest86.com (V3.4)? I've read that it's better to use the one from MemTest.org (V2.01) but, I'd like a second opinion. THX

[hartigan]

First off . . .

Sorry for the double post.


Alright . . .

I've tried to set up a configuration I thought would work and I get an error in MemTest86+ v2.04

Here's the settings I'm using:

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   7.5
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   500MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 1002MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   AUTO
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control..............................   AUTO
AI Clock Twister..........................................    LIGHT
AI Transaction Twister.................................    AUTO

CPU Voltage...............................................    1.35000V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.52V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.63V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.00V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.40V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.050V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.50V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     AUTO
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

The result I get in MemTest86+ can be seen below.


I know there must be some settings that I can change to help fix this. I'm just unable to narrow down specifically what they are.

I'd really appreciate any help.

TIA.

[GAR]

First off . . .

Sorry for the double post.


Alright . . .

I've tried to set up a configuration I thought would work and I get an error in MemTest86+ v2.04

Here's the settings I'm using:

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   7.5
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   500MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 1002MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   AUTO
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   AUTO
DRAM Static Read Control..............................   AUTO
AI Clock Twister..........................................    LIGHT
AI Transaction Twister.................................    AUTO

CPU Voltage...............................................    1.35000V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.52V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.63V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.00V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.40V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.050V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.50V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     AUTO
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

The result I get in MemTest86+ can be seen below.


I know there must be some settings that I can change to help fix this. I'm just unable to narrow down specifically what they are.

I'd really appreciate any help.

TIA.

I dont think you will get any board thats gonna do 500fsb with a quad and 8gb of mem.

[alexlyc]

I just got my TRUE black today and decided to apply some AS5 to the NB/SB.
I thought it's gonna be tough to remove the assembly since I have been using my RF for almost a month now. But it was actually very easy, the NB part came right off when I unscrew the screws on the NB, SB is a bit tricky but doable. What surprise me is that the NB/SB heatsink doesn't actually attach to the mosfet heatsink part (pg 3 of this thread said it's all in one piece).





Can someone tell me what the heck are all these, should I clean both materials out? Do I have to keep the thin plastic layer whatever that is???

[mikeyakame]

id go ahead and say no, should just be able to apply as5 to the Southbridge with a razor full coverage once u clean it. It was like that for the last X38 i did. I haven't gotten around to doing my own yet, need to buy more AS5.

Hartigan,

Thats a hell of a lot of errors so earn in. I've never even seen such severe errors before!

To start with, try getting it working at < 450mhz fsb. Until you get that stable, don't even bother with higher using 2 x 2gb dimms.

NB voltage seems a lot too high. I can run 495mhz fsb with 1.53 - 1.55v.
FSB Termination also too high, try dropping to 1.36v.
CPU PLL might be too low, I don't have all that much experience with Penryns to say yes or no. Others who do may be able to give u more advice on that.
DRAM voltage too low, I dont know what your recommended voltage is from G.Skill but I can imagine it'd be at least 2.2v at DDR2-1066 for 2gb dimms.
Disable static read control.
Enable AI Transaction booster, set common performance level to 10. and leave all pull in disabled.
AI clock twister = Moderate or Strong
CPU GTL Ref, try 0.62 or 0.63
NB GTL ref, try 0.60 or 0.63
DRAM Command Rate, 2N
DRAM timing control, enable.

CAS = 5
RAS to CAS = 5
RAS PRE time = 5
RAS ACT Time = 16 - 18
RAS to RAS = 4 - 5
Ref Cycle Time = 60+
Write Recovery Time = 7
Read to Pre time = 4
Read to Write Delay (Same/diff) = 9
Write to Read Delay (Same) = 4
Write to Read Delay (Diff) = 6
Read to Read Delay (Same) = 4
Read to Read Delay (Diff) = 7
Write to Write Delay (same) = 4
Write to Write Delay (diff) = 7
Write to Pre Delay = 15
Read to Pre Delay = 6 - 7
Pre to Pre Delay = 2
All Precharge to Activate delay = 7
All Precharge to Refresh delay = 6

See if that helps any. Thats pretty loose timings, but it'll help eliminate memory errors first and foremost, once you get the frequency stable at loose timings then you can proceed to tighten them up, increase PL, tighten clock twister, etc.

[alexlyc]

I added AS5 but temp doesn't seem to drop a bit ... NB still idle around 54 degree w/o any fan at stock voltage (haven't put my side panel fan yet).

UPDATE:
I realize I wasn't actually running at stock voltage. NB voltage auto setting actually runs at 1.616V, so temp was high at idle.
Right now NB is idling at 42c @ 1.39v with two asus blower fans @ 70&#37; fan speed,

[mikeyakame]

So you've got something to compare to. I have a 40x40x20mm fan sitting on top of NB heat sink via custom cable tie arrangement and NB Core Voltage = 1.44V real, bios is 1.43 or 1.45V, temp runs around 38c idle. It's about 4-5c cooler than it was without a fan. I need to put AS5 on. I'm sure once you put a fan on it, the AS5 will make a lot more difference.

[Zucker2k]

I dont think you will get any board thats gonna do 500fsb with a quad and 8gb of mem.

Erm... that's not necessarily true.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=187947

[bigslappy]

Erm... that's not necessarily true.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=187947

Yeah i had mine up there with 8gb of 1066 but that's the QX9770=R/F board of mine & it's down right now gettin' watered up .. i'll post pix later today when i get the chipset brass hold down mod done & I'll take suggestions/comments on how i should run the tubing ---
soo far Vtec V2 cpu , modded DD MPC block X48 , EK for the mosfets & the rest , waiting on the 4870X2 card for the Vid Gonna do C/F with those full block cover maybe ? of GPU blocks ?? don't know till i get cards in hand will use my 3870 till then on air

& no i didn't document it with a screen shot was just messing around not really knowin' what i was doing .. sure wish i had kept the setting wrote down BUt will do that in the future .We will see if I can do it agin ..when i get it all watered up & with dual awaki's & dual GTX480's on a blower with a 50 f ambiant air temp running thru the GTX480's

[Zucker2k]

Yeah i had mine up there with 8gb of 1066 but that's the QX9770=R/F board of mine & it's down right now gettin' watered up .. i'll post pix later today when i get the chipset brass hold down mod done & I'll take suggestions/comments on how i should run the tubing ---
soo far Vtec V2 cpu , modded DD MPC block X48 , EK for the mosfets & the rest , waiting on the 4870X2 card for the Vid Gonna do C/F with those full block cover maybe ? of GPU blocks ?? don't know till i get cards in hand will use my 3870 till then on air

& no i didn't document it with a screen shot was just messing around not really knowin' what i was doing .. sure wish i had kept the setting wrote down BUt will do that in the future .We will see if I can do it agin ..when i get it all watered up & with dual awaki's & dual GTX480's on a blower with a 50 f ambiant air temp running thru the GTX480's

bigslappy, you have to be the main hardware guy on XS. Nice systems you got there.

[hartigan]

sure wish i had kept the setting wrote down BUt will do that in the future .We will see if I can do it agin ..

anxiously awaiting those settings. I'm still havin' a bear of a time getting this locked down. I used the settings suggested by mikeyakame and I'm not getting anywhere. I'm definitely not blaming mikey. I realize it's a hit or miss type thing and especially challenging when you're not even physically in front of the PC.

I can't even get past DET DRAM with the following settings.

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   7.0
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   500MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 1002MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   2N
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   AUTO
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   Manual
CAS# Latency...............................  5
RAS# to CAS# Delay......................  5
RAS# PRE Time.............................   5
RAS# ACT Time............................   18
RAS# to RAS# Delay.....................    5
REF Cycle Time............................    65
WRITE Recovery Time...................     7
READ to PRE Time........................     4
READ to WRITE Delay (S/D)...........     9
WRITE to READ Delay (S)..............     4
WRITE to READ Delay (D)..............     6
READ to READ Delay (S)................     4
READ to READ Delay (D)................     7
WRITE to WRITE Delay (S)............     4
WRITE to WRITE Delay (D)............     7
WRITE to PRE Delay.....................    15
READ to PRE Delay.......................     7
PRE to PRE Delay.........................     2
ALL PRE to ACT Delay...................     7
ALL PRE to REF Delay....................     6
DRAM Static Read Control..............................   Disabled
AI Clock Twister..........................................    Moderate
AI Transaction Twister.................................    Manual
Common Performance Level..............10
Pull-Ins.........................................Disabled
CPU Voltage...............................................    1.47500V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.58V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.63V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.10V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.40V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.050V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.50V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     0.63x
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     0.63x
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

I know the specs on the G.Skill are 2.0-2.1V so I'm at the top end of spec. Other than that, I can't figure out why these settings won't boot.

The following adjustments allow me to POST but not boot:

CPU Voltage..................... 1.35000V
CPU PLL Voltage............... 1.50V
North Bridge Voltage......... 1.65V
FSB Termination Voltage.... 1.42V
CPU GTL......................... 0.67x
NB GTL........................... 0.67x



I'm concerned about going any higher with the Vtt because I've read in this thread that above 1.40V is dangerous for 45nm CPUs. I'm not too happy about the 1.65V for NB either, but it's what allows me to POST.

The modded settings also allow Memtest86+ V2.01 to Pass with flying colors. I just can't boot Vista.

Any ideas?


EDIT:

OK. I found THIS post and I've tried these settings for my voltage

Here's my new BIOS Config:

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   8.0
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   475MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 1002MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   2N
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   AUTO
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   Manual
CAS# Latency...............................  5
RAS# to CAS# Delay......................  5
RAS# PRE Time.............................   5
RAS# ACT Time............................   18
RAS# to RAS# Delay.....................    5
REF Cycle Time............................    65
WRITE Recovery Time...................     7
READ to PRE Time........................     4
READ to WRITE Delay (S/D)...........     9
WRITE to READ Delay (S)..............     4
WRITE to READ Delay (D)..............     6
READ to READ Delay (S)................     4
READ to READ Delay (D)................     7
WRITE to WRITE Delay (S)............     4
WRITE to WRITE Delay (D)............     7
WRITE to PRE Delay.....................    15
READ to PRE Delay.......................     7
PRE to PRE Delay.........................     2
ALL PRE to ACT Delay...................     7
ALL PRE to REF Delay....................     6
DRAM Static Read Control..............................   Disabled
AI Clock Twister..........................................    Moderate
AI Transaction Twister.................................    Manual
Common Performance Level..............10
Pull-Ins.........................................Disabled
CPU Voltage...............................................    1.38750V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.58V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.55V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.10V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.32V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.050V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.50V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     0.63x
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

This allows me to boot into Windows but prime 95 fails Core 1 immediately.

I feel like I'm getting close to a very nice O/C with tolerable voltages. I just need to tweak it and I don't know what exactly to tweak in order to get it stable.


Sorry for posting two full BIOS settings but I'm trying to provide as much diagnostic information for anyone willing to help me.

Thank you!!

[Zucker2k]

anxiously awaiting those settings. I'm still havin' a bear of a time getting this locked down. I used the settings suggested by mikeyakame and I'm not getting anywhere. I'm definitely not blaming mikey. I realize it's a hit or miss type thing and especially challenging when you're not even physically in front of the PC.

I can't even get past DET DRAM with the following settings.

The X3350 is a Q9450 variant for the server right? If so, there's your answer. It's almost impossible to run these chips at those fsb rates even with extreme cooling; unless you got a cherry chip. I can go all the way 488 (stable) but it takes too much VFSB, and VNB to get stable. If you really got balls, give it 1.5+ on VFSB and 1.7+ on the NB. I run my fsb at 1.5 for 3.8Ghz.

[hartigan]

The X3350 is a Q9450 variant for the server right? If so, there's your answer. It's almost impossible to run these chips at those fsb rates even with extreme cooling; unless you got a cherry chip. I can go all the way 488 (stable) but it takes too much VFSB, and VNB to get stable. If you really got balls, give it 1.5+ on VFSB and 1.7+ on the NB. I run my fsb at 1.5 for 3.8Ghz.

Thank you for the reply! I really appreciate everyone's help with getting me through is. I'm hoping this documentation of my progress will help others with this board, the G.Skill RAM and an X3350

And yes, the X3350 is a server variant of the Q9450. I chose this CPU because I figured the server variant is designed to handle more extreme heat and voltage situations than the desktop variety.

Ballz, I do not have. After reading the Anandtech article regarding 45nm chips and Vfsb beyond 1.4V I'm definitely hesitant to go or 1.5+. I just don't have the $$ for that.


Therefore what would you suggest as a comfortable voltage config. for the 475x8 that I'm trying to run? With my luck, there's no way I got a cherry chip but, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect 475x8 out of this chip.

I can get Windows to boot and 1M Pi runs fine but 32M kicks an error. I'm just not experienced enough to know where to go from here.


ALSO . . . I have a Q6600. I figured the 12MB cache on the X3350 would be better than the 2x4MB on the Q6600 but I'm wondering whether I'd be able to get more performance out of the Q6600. What are your thoughts on the Q6600 vs. the X3350? Should I stick with the X3350 because it's 45nm?

[doodah10]

Thank you for the reply! I really appreciate everyone's help with getting me through is. I'm hoping this documentation of my progress will help others with this board, the G.Skill RAM and an X3350

And yes, the X3350 is a server variant of the Q9450. I chose this CPU because I figured the server variant is designed to handle more extreme heat and voltage situations than the desktop variety.

Ballz, I do not have. After reading the Anandtech article regarding 45nm chips and Vfsb beyond 1.4V I'm definitely hesitant to go or 1.5+. I just don't have the $$ for that.


Therefore what would you suggest as a comfortable voltage config. for the 475x8 that I'm trying to run? With my luck, there's no way I got a cherry chip but, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect 475x8 out of this chip.

I can get Windows to boot and 1M Pi runs fine but 32M kicks an error. I'm just not experienced enough to know where to go from here.


ALSO . . . I have a Q6600. I figured the 12MB cache on the X3350 would be better than the 2x4MB on the Q6600 but I'm wondering whether I'd be able to get more performance out of the Q6600. What are your thoughts on the Q6600 vs. the X3350? Should I stick with the X3350 because it's 45nm?

I was stuck at 3.5/3.6 Ghz for a while, then 2 things changed. First was the 0406 bios. I tried 0403 but it was slower than 0219 so I tried 0406 and went faster immediatly. Then I saw a post in this thread linking to an OCZ forum thread on R/F bios settings and some of thier advice and settings really helped me. I now am using DRAM clock skew (advance 300ps A & B) Ai transaction booster (8, use lowest # that will boot) and am keeping volts low. CPU 1.35v, DRAM 2.14v, NB 1.49v. Memtest 86+ shows no errors and Everest benches are Read 9434, Write 10092, & Copy 9761MB/s. Stick with the Xeon.

[mikeyakame]

Nice write speeds there! At the moment with 480FSB on Q6600 and 1152mhz DRAM 5-5-5-15-3-50-2N-PL7 I'm getting 9572mb/s READ, 8658MB/s WRITE, 9375MB/s COPY, 53.4ns Latency. I set AI twister to Moderate till I completely stabilize memory timings and down adjust some voltages, it was crossing 10000MB/s on one of them also with Twister Stronger, but no good for fine tuning stability.

The perfect skews for my board are 50ps Delay Ch. A, 200ps Advance Ch. B, Dram REF -10mv, Dram Ch. A Ref V DDR_REF, Dram Ch. B Ref +10mv. Its working really good like that at 2.26v Vdimm with 4 1GB sticks.

Hartigan, If you are getting one core failing, your clocks are either out of sync or you need more vNB/vCore/GTL. Only way I got around random cores failing was figuring out the correct skewing values for the DRAM Clocks, but even 50ps is too large an adjustment. I needed around 10-15ps more delay for synch to be near perfect, had to find other ways to delay the MCH / DRAM clocks. There are plenty once you realise each timing / voltage can have a minute or major effect on clock timings between domains. tRFC is your friend if you figure out the right value. For your 4 x 2gb, I'd dare say push it up to 70 at most. If you time tRFC correctly no matter how large it is, the performance gains are more than all the other sub memory timings being tight combined.

[DEFLORATOR]

mikeyakame
So you've got RF rev. 1.01G right? Can you confirm? Is the revision number imprinted on the PCB or sticker under which it's still 1.00G?

[mikeyakame]

Just double checked, it is actually 1.00G. It was shipped from Taiwan mid april from what I can tell. Had 0308 Bios on it when i got it. Must be going blind! I was sure I saw 1.01G when I put it in!

[Takle]

So you've got something to compare to. I have a 40x40x20mm fan sitting on top of NB heat sink via custom cable tie arrangement and NB Core Voltage = 1.44V real, bios is 1.43 or 1.45V, temp runs around 38c idle. It's about 4-5c cooler than it was without a fan. I need to put AS5 on. I'm sure once you put a fan on it, the AS5 will make a lot more difference.

Thats quite impressive - I've added 2x40mm fans on the Northbridge and i get 40c idle at stock voltage. I also added 3x120mm Scythe Ultra Kaze 2000 to my p182 and lapped my TRUE which allowed me to drop my vcore significantly

Think i should try what Abducted did
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=427

Since it seems like there a big difference in the mount quality of NB/SB heatsink.

[Zucker2k]

I've had a few peeps in here pm me for my settings... I've had so many toys to play with I didn't have the chance. Here are my settings for 3.8Ghz stable.

CPU =
CPU PLL = 1.584v (1.50v set in bios)
FSBT = 1.520v (yes, most people would say this is high, but this is very much cpu dependent, yours may need less).
DRAM = 2.00v (1.940v set in bios)
NB = 1.650v
SB = 1.136v (1.100v set in bios - this could help for ich stability especially if you have a lot of stuff hooked up ie. I have 4 HDDs in raid 0, lots of peripherals on USB hubs)
SB 1.500v = 1.664v (1.600v set in bios

DRAM Skew = Advance 350 (for both A/B) - 300 is fine too, I noticed no difference between the two
DRAM Static Read = Enabled, this has little effect on this particular configuration so you can set to Disabled or AUTO
Ai Clock Twister = Stronger


Now some pictures.....

Quad 32M of Superpi



Everest screenie showing timings and latencies as well as performance level

http://www.hostthenpost.org/uploads/...cb4fd4c410.jpg

Everest RAM Bandwidth

http://www.hostthenpost.org/uploads/...82207d8177.jpg

Thanks.

Richard.

[Zucker2k]

I've had a few peeps in here pm me for my settings... I've had so many toys to play with I didn't have the chance. Here are my settings for 3.8Ghz stable.

CPU =
CPU PLL = 1.584v (1.50v set in bios)
FSBT = 1.520v (yes, most people would say this is high, but this is very much cpu dependent, yours may need less).
DRAM = 2.00v (1.940v set in bios)
NB = 1.650v
SB = 1.136v (1.100v set in bios - this could help for ich stability especially if you have a lot of stuff hooked up ie. I have 4 HDDs in raid 0, lots of peripherals on USB hubs)
SB 1.500v = 1.664v (1.600v set in bios

DRAM Skew = Advance 350 (for both A/B) - 300 is fine too, I noticed no difference between the two
DRAM Static Read = Enabled, this has little effect on this particular configuration so you can set to Disabled or AUTO
Ai Clock Twister = Stronger


Now some pictures.....

Quad 32M of Superpi



Everest screenie showing timings and latencies as well as performance level



Everest RAM Bandwidth



Thanks.

Richard.

[hartigan]

Thank you so much for providing that information!! Very useful.

I was wondering if you could post a screenshot of your Computer>Sensor screen in Everest. I want to compare my voltages being reported to what you have.

One thing that's really weird is my WRITE to READ Delay (S) is set to 11T in my BIOS but Everest is reporting it as 3T.


I was also wondering how you set your tREF in the BIOS. I can't find the setting anywhere.

Here's what I have running currently, trying to match your settings best I can:

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   8.0
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   475MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 951MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   2N
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   Advance 300ps
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   Advance 300ps
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   Manual

    CAS# Latency............................... 5 
    RAS# to CAS# Delay...................... 5 
    RAS# PRE Time............................. 5 
    RAS# ACT Time............................ 15
    RAS# to RAS# Delay..................... 3
    REF Cycle Time............................ 45
    WRITE Recovery Time................... 14
    READ to PRE Time........................ 5
    READ to WRITE Delay (S/D)........... 8
    WRITE to READ Delay (S).............. 11
    WRITE to READ Delay (D).............. 5
    READ to READ Delay (S)................ 4
    READ to READ Delay (D)................ 6
    WRITE to WRITE Delay (S)............ 4 
    WRITE to WRITE Delay (D)............ 6
    WRITE to PRE Delay..................... 14 
    READ to PRE Delay....................... 5
    PRE to PRE Delay......................... 1
    ALL PRE to ACT Delay................... 7 
    ALL PRE to REF Delay.................... 6

DRAM Static Read Control..............................   Disabled
AI Clock Twister..........................................    Stronger
AI Transaction Twister.................................    Manual

    Common Performance Level..............8
    Pull-Ins.........................................Disabled

CPU Voltage...............................................    1.41250V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.50V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.65V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.10V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.52V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.100V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.60V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     AUTO
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

I'm able to get Prime95 to run for 4 minutes until Core 4 fails.

If you have any suggestions as to what will help, I'm open to anything. I'm still unsure as to how to set the tREF.

Thanks again for sharing your settings with us!! It has been very useful.

[Zucker2k]

Thank you so much for providing that information!! Very useful.

I was wondering if you could post a screenshot of your Computer>Sensor screen in Everest. I want to compare my voltages being reported to what you have.

One thing that's really weird is my WRITE to READ Delay (S) is set to 11T in my BIOS but Everest is reporting it as 3T.


I was also wondering how you set your tREF in the BIOS. I can't find the setting anywhere.

Here's what I have running currently, trying to match your settings best I can:

AI Overclock Tuner.......................................   Manual
CPU Ratio Setting.........................................   8.0
FSB Strap to North Bridge..............................   333MHz
FSB Frequency............................................   475MHz
PCI-E Frequency..........................................   100MHz

DRAM Frequency..........................................   DDR2 - 951MHz
DRAM Command Rate....................................   2N
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel A........................   AUTO
DRAM CMD Skew on Channel B........................   AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A.........................   Advance 300ps
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B.........................   Advance 300ps
DRAM Timing Control.....................................   Manual

    CAS# Latency............................... 5 
    RAS# to CAS# Delay...................... 5 
    RAS# PRE Time............................. 5 
    RAS# ACT Time............................ 15
    RAS# to RAS# Delay..................... 3
    REF Cycle Time............................ 45
    WRITE Recovery Time................... 14 (3)
    READ to PRE Time........................ 5 (3)
    READ to WRITE Delay (S/D)........... 8
    WRITE to READ Delay (S).............. 11 (3)
    WRITE to READ Delay (D).............. 5
    READ to READ Delay (S)................ 4
    READ to READ Delay (D)................ 6
    WRITE to WRITE Delay (S)............ 4 
    WRITE to WRITE Delay (D)............ 6
    WRITE to PRE Delay..................... 14 
    READ to PRE Delay....................... 5
    PRE to PRE Delay......................... 1
    ALL PRE to ACT Delay................... 7 (6) 
    ALL PRE to REF Delay.................... 6

DRAM Static Read Control..............................   Disabled
AI Clock Twister..........................................    Stronger
AI Transaction Twister.................................    Manual

    Common Performance Level..............8
    Pull-Ins.........................................Disabled

CPU Voltage...............................................    1.41250V
CPU PLL Voltage..........................................    1.50V
Northbridge Voltage.....................................    1.65V
DRAM Voltage.............................................    2.10V
FSB Termination Voltage...............................    1.52V
South Bridge Voltage....................................    1.100V
SB 1.50V Voltage.........................................    1.60V
Loadline Calibration......................................     Disabled
CPU GTL Voltage REF...................................     AUTO
NB GTL Voltage REF.....................................     AUTO
DRAM Controller Voltage REF.........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF........................     AUTO
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF........................     AUTO

CPU Spread Spectrum.................................     Disabled
PCI-E Spread Spectrum...............................     Disabled

I'm able to get Prime95 to run for 4 minutes until Core 4 fails.

If you have any suggestions as to what will help, I'm open to anything. I'm still unsure as to how to set the tREF.

Thanks again for sharing your settings with us!! It has been very useful.

What RAM do you have? Some of your settings are off. To get a higher TREF, you'll have to revert to bios 0308. 0219 also has a higher TREF. Under hardware, what voltages is your bios reporting?