X48 Rampage Formula Preview.

[kuebk]

A-Grey - why are you using so low voltage on ram? From what I've read everywhere they are rated @ 2.1v. If you are trying to achieve 1200+ with lower than rated volts I'm not confused why you can't get them stable. If I were you I would try to volt up to 2.4 - 2.5.

[Alien Grey]

A-Grey - why are you using so low voltage on ram? From what I've read everywhere they are rated @ 2.1v. If you are trying to achieve 1200+ with lower than rated volts I'm not confused why you can't get them stable. If I were you I would try to volt up to 2.4 - 2.5.

I tried with higher voltage. It's worse. It fails immediately or ends up with a crash.

The voltage isn't the problem that I know for sure. The memory isn't causing problems. It's the combination of the hardware that makes the problems.

I tried with DDR 1117MHz too and I have the same problem.

I can change the amount of stable passes in LinX with changing the NB Voltage but I can't make it complete stable.

This makes me believe that it's a problem with the BIOS and my hardware.

[Alien Grey]

What the hell is going on at ASUS.

They released a BETA BIOS for the Rampage II Extreme to have better OverClock support for XEON CPU's that officially aren't supported.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=224144

All that we get is that stupid answer to " Trial and ERROR " by yourself and don't see any changes in the ASUS Rampage Formula BIOS for OverClocking our official supported hardware.

Perhaps we should all buy a XEON CPU. Maybe than we will get some changes in the BIOS for OverClocking our unsupported XEON CPU.

[greg.m]

[QUOTE=greg.m;3797693]

Well i found out the volts i can run stable/errorfree 8.5x485fsb @ 1213.
My system likes normal skews only. After many many combinations i realized that the most important setting was nbv. In the beginning i started with 1.51nbv and i got a lot of errors and lock ups. I thought it was fsbv, vcore or ramv. I played with skews but nothing. I raised nbv a little @ 1.53 and then @ 1.55 but i kept getting lock ups during memtest without giving any errors before.The reason i raised nbv so little was that @ 8.5x480(only 5mhz lower than 485) i needed 1.49 to have a stable system. I went up @ 1.61v and i run 70-80%memtest without errors before my system freezed again. Finally i managed to find the magic - almost skyhigh - nbv setting...and that is...1.65. after that i could lower vcore from 1.325 to 1.29... Now ill try to lower ramv and see how itll go.

QUOTE]


bios 0803 settings:

Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [485MHz]
PCIE Frequency [105MHz]

DRAM Frequency [1216MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A/B [Auto]
DRAM TimingControl [Manual]-5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control [Enabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Moderate]
Ai Transaction Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Level [07]
Pull-In of CH A/B all disabled

CPU Voltage [1.29375]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.50V]
North Bridge Voltage [1.65V] - 1.63V real
DRAM Voltage [2.10V]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.46V] - 1.38V real
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
SB 1.5V Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.63X]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67X]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [Auto]
DRAM Channel A/B Voltage REF [Auto]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Auto]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Auto]
CPU Clock Skew [Normal]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]


CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech. [Disabled]

Here i am now having again the same "old" instabilities. Yesterday i was stable with settings you see above, doing 700% memtest errorfree and 3 cycles primesmall and today with exactly the same settings im getting BSODs and lock ups. Now im back again trying to find which setting causes the prob. A-Grey it seems that we didnt have so much luck with our hardware choices

[Chemjsal]

[QUOTE=greg.m;3799984]

Here i am now having again the same "old" instabilities. Yesterday i was stable with settings you see above, doing 700% memtest errorfree and 3 cycles primesmall and today with exactly the same settings im getting BSODs and lock ups. Now im back again trying to find which setting causes the prob. A-Grey it seems that we didnt have so much luck with our hardware choices

Let me give you a hand. Chances are the Loadline Calibration thing is at fault. If I were u, I would disable it for good! Speaking from personal experience here.
Moreover, Asus boards, as ya'll may heard, are "finicky" about memory. Why be stubborn about it?
I hope I make some sense.

____________________

Rampage Formula @0902
4x2GB G.Skill PC2-8800 (1117 MHz, 5-5-5-15, 2N) at 1.90V (AI Clock Twister: Stronger, NB Voltage: 1.49V, PL7)
Q9650 ES(E0) @4.19 GHz (465x9) at 1.4125V (1.38V real, 1.30V load) on water, FSB Strap: 333, LLC disabled!
Asus 4870 TOP 512MB @880/1180 MHz on water
Areca ARC-1210, ATI Theater 550 Pro, Dell 2405 FPW,
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W red - positioned outside the case
Lian-Li PC-V2000 black - both side panels off

[Alien Grey]

I think that we've got compatibility issues with this memory and the board.

Since when is 8 X 465MHz = 3.74GHz. That's what it says in the post screen. Not always most of the times it says 3.73GHz and that's a little bit closer to 3.72GHz.

[greg.m]

[QUOTE=greg.m;3799984]

Here i am now having again the same "old" instabilities. Yesterday i was stable with settings you see above, doing 700% memtest errorfree and 3 cycles primesmall and today with exactly the same settings im getting BSODs and lock ups. Now im back again trying to find which setting causes the prob. A-Grey it seems that we didnt have so much luck with our hardware choices

well after doing some tests without success i decided to raise nbv one more time from 1.65 @ 1.69, i lowered my vcore @ 1.2875 such as ramv@ 2.00 and abracadabra:



0803 bios settings:

Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [485MHz]
PCIE Frequency [105MHz]

DRAM Frequency [1216MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A/B [Auto]
DRAM TimingControl [Manual]-5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control [Enabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Moderate]
Ai Transaction Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Level [07]
Pull-In of CH A/B all disabled

CPU Voltage [1.28750]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.50V]
North Bridge Voltage [1.69V] - 1.66V real
DRAM Voltage [2.00V]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.46V] - 1.38V real
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
SB 1.5V Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.63X]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67X]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [Auto]
DRAM Channel A/B Voltage REF [Auto]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Auto]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Auto]
CPU Clock Skew [Normal]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]


CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech. [Disabled]

for one more time i see that nbv is the most importand setting, at for me

[greg.m]

The thing how safe is 1.69nbv? As you can see i dont have temp problems but is it enough for not damaging the nb?

[Zucker2k]

No, these are built on 90nm process node. You're fine.

[greg.m]

No, these are built on 90nm process node. You're fine.

Nice!!!

[Zucker2k]

I tried with higher voltage. It's worse. It fails immediately or ends up with a crash.

The voltage isn't the problem that I know for sure. The memory isn't causing problems. It's the combination of the hardware that makes the problems.

I tried with DDR 1117MHz too and I have the same problem.

I can change the amount of stable passes in LinX with changing the NB Voltage but I can't make it complete stable.

This makes me believe that it's a problem with the BIOS and my hardware.

Higher ram volts need higher NB volts as well. Also, what power supply are you using?

[greg.m]

A-Grey - why are you using so low voltage on ram? From what I've read everywhere they are rated @ 2.1v. If you are trying to achieve 1200+ with lower than rated volts I'm not confused why you can't get them stable. If I were you I would try to volt up to 2.4 - 2.5.

You can see that ramv are not a prob with these sticks. It has mostly to do with the nb or with other words with our x48 chipset. If we had a p45 then maybe we would talk for other probs

[RedBull1985]

Pump up the NB volt a bit more guys, i am able to attain long term stability only at 1.69-1.73 volts.I have ZIP tied a 120MM Thunderblade and temps hover in the 60s for the NB.So, i think it needs insane voltages to keep stable at the NB.

[kuebk]

You can see that ramv are not a prob with these sticks. It has mostly to do with the nb or with other words with our x48 chipset. If we had a p45 then maybe we would talk for other probs

Not really, it may cause some really odd behaviours. For so high rated sticks I wouldn't go lower than rated voltage. Anyway does lowering voltage by 0.1v gives you any visible drop in temps on ram?

[DaLiu]

I have a problem with my rig, i have a Rampage Formula with Q9450 and 2 x 2 GB OCZ at 1150 Mhz running for more than 1 year perfect overclocket at 3600 Mhz with 1,28 V in bios (real around 1,26 V with LCC enabled). From yesterday i started to get freeze on games and i tried to check the system using Prime95, Linx and Intel Burn Test. With Prime95 on Blend everything was fine for more than 2 hours, i checked the memory with memtest and everything looks just fine, when im doing Small FFS a core is failing after 15-20 min, Intel Burn Test and Linx is failing after 3-4 loops, do you think i need to give a little more voltage to my cpu?

[Ghostleader]

Probably, what´s about the rest of volt and GTL settings?

Please show us, it´s easier to help then.

[neo_rtr]

If you change PCI-E frequency, you should slightly raise Vsb same time since higher PCIE clock results in higher DMI clock since same clocking source, and believe me you don't want to cause instabilities whether constant or random there. DMI carries all SB inbound traffic, for all devices attached to the root hub or branching off.

Thanks for the post. very good info..

Can one assume that at the same time the SB should get higher volts as well.

I was running 105 on the PCI change it to 110. i could not see any difference
but then again i did not try the +1,+1 stepping so its my bad.

[DaLiu]

Probably, what´s about the rest of volt and GTL settings?

Please show us, it´s easier to help then.

I have a problem with my rig, i have a Rampage Formula with Q9450 and 2 x 2 GB OCZ at 1150 Mhz running for more than 1 year perfect overclocket at 3600 Mhz with 1,28 V in bios (real around 1,26 V with LCC enabled). From yesterday i started to get freeze on games and i tried to check the system using Prime95, Linx and Intel Burn Test. With Prime95 on Blend everything was fine for more than 2 hours, i checked the memory with memtest and everything looks just fine, when im doing Small FFS a core is failing after 15-20 min, Intel Burn Test and Linx is failing after 3-4 loops, do you think i need to give a little more voltage to my cpu?

My settings:

*Extreme Tweaker*
Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [08]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [450]
PCIE Frequency [100]

DRAM Frequency [DDR2-1140MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [2N]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal A [Greyed Out]
DRAM CMD Skew on Channal B [Greyed Out]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal A [Delay 300ps]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channal B [Delay 300ps]

DRAM Timing Control [Manual]
1st Information
CAS# Latency [5]
RAS# to CAS# Delay [5]
RAS# PRE Time [5]
RAS# ACT Time [15]
RAS# to RAS# Delay [3]
REF Cycle Time [65]
WRITE Recovery Time [6]
READ to PRE Time [3]
2nd Information
READ to WRITE Delay (S/D) [8]
WRITE to READ Delay (S) [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 Dealy (D) [6]
3rd Information
WRITE to PRE Delay [14]
READ to PRE Delay [5]
PRE to PRE Delay [1]
ALL PRE to ACT Delay [6]
ALL PRE to REF Delay [6]

DRAM Static Read Control [Enabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Moderate]
Ai Transation Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Booster [7]

Pull-In of CHA PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH4 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH5 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHA PH6 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH1 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH2 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH3 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH4 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH5 [Disabled]
Pull-In of CHB PH6 [Disabled]

CPU Voltage [1.2850]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.60]
North Bridge Voltage [1.55]
DRAM Voltage [2.16]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.32]
South Bridge Voltage [1.05]
SB 1,5V Voltage [1.50]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [Auto]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [Auto]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [AUTO]
DRAM Channel A Voltage REF [AUTO]
DRAM Channel B Voltage REF [AUTO]

CPU LED Selection [CPU Voltage]
NB LED Selection [North Bridge Voltage]
SB LED Selection [South Bridge Voltage]
Voltiminder LED [DISABLED]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Disabled]
PCIE Spred Spectrum [Disabled]
CPU Clock Skew [Normal]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]


*Advanced settings*
CPU Ratio Setting [08]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [AUTO]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech. [Disable]


I used this settings for more than 1 year with problems till yesterday.

[Alien Grey]

Thanks for the post. very good info..

Can one assume that at the same time the SB should get higher volts as well.

I was running 105 on the PCI change it to 110. i could not see any difference
but then again i did not try the +1,+1 stepping so its my bad.

I'm surprised that it runs so well with the PCIE frequency at 110MHz. I tried to change the frequency with one of the previous BIOSes to 101 or 102MHz but my stability was gone.

With BIOS 0902 it works very well at 110MHz but I should run some more tests to see that everything is really stable at that frequency.

I didn't change my SB and SB 1.5V voltage. I left it on auto and the voltage didn't change so I think that it isn't necessary to change the voltage.

[neo_rtr]

So i did this PCI starting at 100, 106, 108, 109, 100 and 112
I would think from the results that 110 is better,

PCI at 100

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21
PCI at 106

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21

PCI at 108

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21

PCI at 109

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21

PCI at 110

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21

PCI at 112

By neo_rtr at 2009-05-21

[screwtech02]

You guys that are upping the pci-e freq are using single vga cards??? Try it with a pair of cards, bet it doesnt happen....

[neo_rtr]

You guys that are upping the pci-e freq are using single vga cards??? Try it with a pair of cards, bet it doesnt happen....

i dont know.. if it will work either.

but this test comes in in reply to a previous post.

[greg.m]

new stable bios 0803 settings:

Ai Overclock Tuner [Manual]
CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
FSB Strap to North Bridge [Auto]
FSB Frequency [485MHz]
PCIE Frequency [105MHz]

DRAM Frequency [1216MHz]
DRAM Command Rate [Auto]
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A/B [Auto]
DRAM TimingControl [Manual]-5-5-5-15
DRAM Static Read Control [Enabled]
Ai Clock Twister [Moderate]
Ai Transaction Booster [Manual]
Common Performance Level [07]
Pull-In of CH A/B all disabled

CPU Voltage [1.29375]
CPU PLL Voltage [1.50V]
North Bridge Voltage [1.63V] - 1.62V real
DRAM Voltage [2.10V]
FSB Termination Voltage [1.46V] - 1.36-1.38V real
South Bridge Voltage [Auto]
SB 1.5V Voltage [Auto]
Loadline Calibration [Enabled]
CPU GTL Voltage Reference [0.62X]
NB GTL Voltage Reference [0.67X]
DRAM Controller Voltage REF [Auto]
DRAM Channel A/B Voltage REF [Auto]

CPU Spread Spectrum [Auto]
PCIE Spread Spectrum [Auto]
CPU Clock Skew [100]
NB Clock Skew [Normal]


CPU Ratio Setting [8.5]
C1E Support [Disabled]
CPU TM Function [Disabled]
Vanderpool Technology [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit [Enabled]
Max CPUID Value Limit [Disabled]
Intel(R) SpeedStep (TM) Tech. [Disabled]

I could do 25 pass linx, run 200% memtest double instances and run 3 cycles prime95small. I changed CPU GTL Voltage Reference from 0.63x to 0.62x and set cpu skew @ 100. I dont know if its my idea but now all core temps are the same under load. Before these changes the core 0 was 2-4 degrees higher than core 2 and 3 and core 1 was always 1-3 degrees lower core 2 and 3 - under load.

[Alien Grey]

new stable bios 0803 settings:

Nice clocks.

[greg.m]

Nice clocks.

Thanks mate Ill try now - one more time - to lower ramv and see...