Ram efficiency

[davidmtml]

I just got 16GB of Gskill Ram (F3-12800CL9Q-16GBXL ) for my Asus m4a79XTD motherboard. I installed using the recommended settings in the stickied thread above (9-9-9-24-2T) When I run SiSoft, it reports my Ram Efficiency as 48%, and tells me this is low, and to check my timings.

Is this normal, and what should I do??

Thanks!

[Tradesman]

What Cpu are you running, do you have the latest BIOS? and what is your OC (if any)? and what are your systems voltages at (CPU, DRAM, CPU/NB)?

[davidmtml]

My CPU is a AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

My DRAM Frequ is set to 1600, CPU-NB freq is 2400, HT Frequency is 2400, Timings are 9-9-9-24, DRAM Voltage is 1.5

Everything else is set to auto

Here are my SiSoft Sandra results
SiSoftware Sandra

Benchmark Results
Aggregate Memory Performance : 14GB/s
Integer Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 14GB/s
Float Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 14GB/s
Results Interpretation : Higher Scores mean Better Performance.
Binary Numeral System (base 2) : 1GB(/s) = 1024MB(/s), 1MB(/s) = 1024kB(/s), 1kB(/s) = 1024 bytes(/s), etc.

Benchmark Timings
Time to Copy Capacity : 1.14ms
Results Interpretation : Lower Scores mean Better Performance.

Performance per Thread
Aggregate Memory Performance : 3.5GB/s
Integer Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 14GB/s
Float Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 14GB/s
No. Threads : 4
Results Interpretation : Higher Scores mean Better Performance.
Binary Numeral System (base 2) : 1GB(/s) = 1024MB(/s), 1MB(/s) = 1024kB(/s), 1kB(/s) = 1024 bytes(/s), etc.

Performance vs. Power
Chipset(s)/Memory Power : 50.340W
Aggregate Memory Performance : 284.88MB/s/W
Integer Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 285.28MB/s/W
Float Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 284.51MB/s/W
Results Interpretation : Higher Scores mean Better Performance.

Capacity vs. Power
Memory Capacity : 325MB/W
Results Interpretation : Higher Scores mean Better Performance.

Performance vs. Speed
Aggregate Memory Performance : 8.96MB/s/MHz
Integer Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 8.98MB/s/MHz
Float Memory Bandwidth B/F SSE2/128 : 8.95MB/s/MHz
Results Interpretation : Higher Scores mean Better Performance.

Integer Memory Bandwidth
Assignment : 13.56GB/s
Scaling : 13.69GB/s
Addition : 14.41GB/s
Triad : 14.44GB/s
Data Item Size : 16bytes
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 52.86%

Float Memory Bandwidth
Assignment : 13.45GB/s
Scaling : 13.68GB/s
Addition : 14.33GB/s
Triad : 14.49GB/s
Data Item Size : 16bytes
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 54.57%

Benchmark Status
Result ID : ATI (AMD) RD780 GFX Dual Slot; 2x 8GB G.Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBXL DIMM DDR3 (1.6GHz 128-bit) PC3-12800 (9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6)
Computer : ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Platform Compliance : x64
Total Memory : 16GB
Memory Used by Test : 8GB
No. Threads : 4
Processor Affinity : U0-C0T0 U1-C1T0 U2-C2T0 U3-C3T0
System Timer : 3.13MHz
Page Size : 2MB

Features
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions : Yes
SSE2 - Streaming SIMD Extensions v2 : Yes
SSE3 - Streaming SIMD Extensions v3 : Yes

Computer
Name : ASUS M4A79XTD EVO
Computer BIOS : 0704

Latest BIOS
Version : 2102
Date of Manufacture : Friday, January 11, 2013
Update URL : Not available in this version (Lite).

To enable it, get support and other benefits, please upgrade.

(Goto 'Help - Get More: Upgrade')

Chipset
Model : ASUS RD780 GFX Dual Slot
OEM Device Name : ATI (AMD) RD780 GFX Dual Slot
Revision : A1
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.4GHz (4.8GHz)
Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 18.75GB/s

Chipset
Model : AMD F10 Athlon 64/Opteron/Sempron HT Hub
Revision : A1
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 2.4GHz (4.8GHz)
Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 18.75GB/s

Logical/Chipset Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 1 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 2 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 3 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 8 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 9 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 10 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Bank 11 : 2GB DIMM DDR3 9-9-9-24 5-39-10-6 1T
Channels : 2
Bank Interleave : 4-Way
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 800MHz (1.6GHz)
Multiplier : 4x
Width : 64-bit
Integrated in Processor : Yes
Cores per Memory Controller : 4 Unit(s)
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 25GB/s

Memory Module(s)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)
Memory Module : G.Skill F3-12800CL9-4GBXL 4GB DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800U DDR3-1600 (11-11-11-29 5-40-13-6)

Performance Enhancing Tips
Tip 1100 : System BIOS update available. To update, visit the manufacturer's website.
Tip 2 : Double-click tip or press Enter while a tip is selected for more information about the tip.

[Tradesman]

I'd try the BIOS update, and if no help, am guessing your MC (memory controller) is geting by, but straining. I normally suggest a minimum of a 965 Rev C to run 1600 (let alone 16GB of it), so your 955 is fairly strong, might want to think of dropping to 1333 or so and try at 8-8-8-25, might actually get better performance than pushing the sticks at 1600

[davidmtml]

I'd try the BIOS update, and if no help, am guessing your MC (memory controller) is geting by, but straining. I normally suggest a minimum of a 965 Rev C to run 1600 (let alone 16GB of it), so your 955 is fairly strong, might want to think of dropping to 1333 or so and try at 8-8-8-25, might actually get better performance than pushing the sticks at 1600

I updated the BIOS to the newest version...no luck there. This time it came out to 52% efficiency. Is there a different program/test that I could run to verify these results??

[davidmtml]

I'd try the BIOS update, and if no help, am guessing your MC (memory controller) is geting by, but straining. I normally suggest a minimum of a 965 Rev C to run 1600 (let alone 16GB of it), so your 955 is fairly strong, might want to think of dropping to 1333 or so and try at 8-8-8-25, might actually get better performance than pushing the sticks at 1600

I dropped to 1333 with 8-8-8-25. I didn't change any other settings...did I need to?

This did up my efficiency...but only to 62.9%.

Hmmm....

[Tradesman]

May just be your combo, AMD isn't known for having strong MCs (memory controllers) so that may be about it....If you have, or could borrow another set of similar sticks, could see how they do....could also try running with just 2 (which AMD CPUs favor) and see how it does that way

[davidmtml]

May just be your combo, AMD isn't known for having strong MCs (memory controllers) so that may be about it....If you have, or could borrow another set of similar sticks, could see how they do....could also try running with just 2 (which AMD CPUs favor) and see how it does that way

So the issue is probably my MC, upgrading the mobo would fix this??

[Tradesman]

Can't say yes or no, it might, or you might even get a brand new model that has a terrible BIOS or not really tuned for the FX CPUs....I can drop GSkill Tech a note to see if they have any ideas....but while I myself work on AMD system a pretty fair amount of time, I don't do any builds on the AMD platform, I quit using them a few years back because (to me anyway) they don't put enough time and R&D into their CPUs, they sort of skimp there in oprder to have something that is pretty fast at a low price point, so things like DRAM (which to me is very important) is sort of left by the wayside. The highest end FX 8350 is rated up to 1866 at 1 stick per channel (and that testing was done with 4GB sticks - yet today 16GB is rapidly becoming the entry point for mid to higher end systems and 32GB is becoming very normal - and folks want fast DRAM - AMD is hard pressed to run 32GB of 1600 with the 8350 while INtel can run that and plenty more (up to 2133) even with 2nd Gen CPUs (25/26/2700Ks) and the 3rd gen CPUs (3570/3770Ks) can run 32 at 2400-2800)....

[davidmtml]

At this time I am not going to be upgrading my CPU or mobo, so I am going to try to get the most out of what I have. I've got some OC'ing experience, but I'm no expert. Am I right in assuming that I may get more out of my RAM by leaving it set at ddr1333, and overclocking my FSB? Will increasing my processor speed by also increasing the multiplier impact the performance I can get out of my RAM?

I really appreciate all of your help!

[Tradesman]

Yes, increasing the FSB increasing the processing speed of all concerned, Ocing the CPU also increases the overall efficiency of the system -