F2-8800CL5D-4GBPI w/ EP45-UD3P

[capttyler1]

I saw the thread regarding these two but was wanting a clearer explanation, if possible, of integrating this RAM with this motherboard (rev 1.6) so that it achieves its capabilities. So can anyone give me the prescribed BIOS settings for this RAM on this MOBO please? I am running everything auto with an Intel Q9550 CPU.

[Tradesman]

This should be pretty much plug and play, but you will want to enter speed, base timings 5-5-5-15, DRAM voltage to 1.9 and Command Rate at 2T, if there is a problem beyond that, let us know and if you can post your BIOS settings, particularly voltages and advanced DRAM timings

[capttyler1]

I made all of the changes and it posted fine. I just wanted to make sure I had everything right because I thought I had read somewhere that this RAM would only be 6400 until the settings were applied. What could/should I do, if anything, next? Memtest maybe?

[capttyler1]

What if I wanted to overclock the Q9550 to 3.8? What, if any, changes would I have make to the recommendations you gave or what additional changes to the RAM would I have to make? I think the timing and DRAM voltages would probably stay the same.

[genetix]

If you OC You would anyway be wanting to go as low as you can and as low latencies as you can. Something like Q9550 at 3,8Ghz would mean in english that you should be attempting to run something like 4-4-4-12 at 900Mhz with in 333Mhz memory 1:1 ratio.... (not gonna dis this subject, but you could even on there try where I failed. Dump an clean functional 1081Mhz or 1200Mhz from board at 450FSB, perhaps it works on Gigabyte who knows.)

There's post I wrote above on this subject however it's done with Q9450 shouldn't be too much of an difference.. ;P

[Tradesman]

Genetix summed it up nicely. With the timings you currently have you can gradually take your OC up (wouldn't suggest a single jump all at once). Once you get to a speed your happy with then you could start adjusting the RAM, a slower peed but with tighter timings can and often will outperform the stock spped and timings.

[capttyler1]

Ok, so I set up the timings manually at 5-5-5-15, the DRAM voltage around 1.9 and the Command Rate to 2T. That stuff is fairly simple of course. If one of you guys could explain to me what exactly to do as far as the tighter timings go in more detail or reference me to source where I can read into this more? Also, CPU-Z identifys my RAM as the 8800s but says they are 6400. Do I still have an issue or is CPU-Z just stupid?

[Tradesman]

6400 is the default setting for RAM on the mobo, which is what CPUz is coming up with.

As to tightening the timings, making them tighter will increase performance, but it will be an increase you see in benchmark scores and possibly a gain of a framerate or so, it won't actually be something you'll really notice when using the system. There are a few possibilities as to increasing RAM performance, you can leave it with the set timings and try increasing the speed, till it starts crashing, at which point you can stay at the speed you are crashing at and try loosening the timings to say 5-6-6-18 or 6-6-6-18 (or there abouts). Other option would be to stay at current speed and try tightening the timings maybe to 4-5-5-15 or 5-4-4-15 and then go progressively from there. The third option would be to drop the speed to maybe 900 or 800 and see if you could tighten down to maybe 4-4-4-12 or in that area (the last might be your best bet for a performance boost).

[genetix]

might add to that, that only thing you need to worry about is tRD or Performance Level. This is the only individual setting which boosts read access to the sticks.

Idea of tRCD/tRC is common read/write/copy, but hell I'd almost bunch them all down, if I could get -2T to tRD. on 4-4-4-12 decently tweaked system the tRD will be 6T which is fast as hell 333Mhz strap 1:1 memory ratio way faster than 1066Mhz or something like 1200Mhz. While something like CL5-6-5-17 at 1066Mhz(PC8500) the 'tRCD' in 6T would slow down so much that it would show the hardest but yet tCL 5T would allow you to run the RAM at 7-8T tRD would improve the actual performance of RAM while high speed in RAM would improve copying speed inside the RAM, but none of other values will not improve your actual performance in read/write which you need on '2nd or 3rd' set of timings only improves stability. tWRRD style latencies only of course improves copying speeds and as Stability something like tRFC or tWR improves stability in a sense that those makes the memory wait longer for execution <whatever> with enough ram in use there's always room for next execution in empty space killing the idea of slow down.

hope that clears or mixes the thinking what's ideal a little.