• Welcome to Overclockers Forums! Join us to reply in threads, receive reduced ads, and to customize your site experience!

confused about P4P800 mem timings

Overclockers is supported by our readers. When you click a link to make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn More.

guppie

Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2001
Location
Miami, FL
OK, I've laid down the money to get myself the Asus P4P800 and P4 2.4C 800FSB chip. I'm going to use my existing Kingston Hyper-x DDR's and I;m going to be installing SB Live! and FireWire PCI cards. Also bought myself some AS "Ceramique" and the Fortron 350W PSU. Please give me your thoughts on this rig. This rig should keep me smiling for quite some time.

My concern is: I've read posts about using the 4:5 vs 1:1 memory ratio and FSB speeds of like 250 (or whatever). Someone please explain how you get 250+ FSB speeds... I haven't been keeping up with the technology lately. Given the cpu that I'm going to use, what are my best setup parameters for a solid/fast system? I'm not liquid cooling, so I'm not going for 3.0GHz OC, but something subtle like 2.7 or 2.8 (air cooling). Do I use 1:1? What RAM timings are the most stable (i.e. 5 2 2 2)? This Hyper-X RAM isn't as solid as Corsair XMS, but it comes in a close 2nd place!

Someone just please tell me how you would set ii up if it were yours given the same exact parts...

Thanks in advance
 
I'm almost going for the same setup except a 2.6c and HyperX 3500 memory and a Antec PSU. Ok, it's different. ;)

You most likely will have to use the 5:4 dividers (or DDR333, not sure how it is in the P4P800 bios) even when going to 2.7 or 2.8GHz. At 1:1 your memory would be running at 450Mhz or 467Mhz and that's probably asking a bit too much for your DDR400 memory even at slow timings. But it may work if you get lucky.

With 5:4 timings at 2.7 or 2.8GHz your memory speed would be 360Mhz or 373Mhz. You could run your memory at the fastest timings with these speeds AND also increase your fsb speed further to 250MHz to get 400MHz for your memory speeds if your temps are to your likeing.

I think even with the stock Intel HSF, you should have a stable system at 250MHz fsb (3GHz) with 5:4 memory running at the fastest timings for the HyperX 3200 memory, and it would be significantly faster than running a slower fsb with the 1:1 ratio.

If you get a good HSF you can probably run even higher speeds but might have to slow down your memory timings.
 
guppie

I think you should think twice about using that 350 watt power supply.

I say that because these 2.4Cs tend to want plenty of voltage especially when you O/C them past 3Ghz.

that being that, I'd recommend getting at least a 400W (or more) unit just to be safe. otherwise you could have all kinds of little Gremlins running around in your system from the very start.
 
The fortron 350w PSU is more than enough i think they rated it close to 500 watts. Fortron makes some good PSUs.
 
I agree with most of what Trashcan said. There is no reason not to run at least 250 FSB for a nice o.c of 3.0 gig. You'll have no problem at that speed, trust me. I'm guessing you can even use default voltage. You'll want to use the 5:4 mem ratio which at 250 FSB will give you DDR400, exactly what your RAM is rated for. The most stable RAM timings will be setting them all to the highest number possible. But, the lowest numbers will give you the best performance. You'll need to play around with the RAM timing to see what will work the best for you. Initially, I would just leave the RAM setting at SPD until you get your system running smoothly. You'll want to use the"fix" setting for the PCI/AGP.
 
thanks guys! Input helps alot! The Fortron 350 W PSU is actually rated to 400+W, so I'm sure this should be sufficient, besides, I don't think I'm going to go for 3GHz as several people have suggested, just because I'm using stock HSF and I'd rather have the peace of mind that the PCU is not pushing too close to its limits... Call me a chicken, but I tend to lean towards the stability crowd. I'll post my results as I make progress and I'm sure I'll be asking for more help.

By the way, when you say SPD mem timings, those will automatically be set by the BIOS when I first boot up? (Not agressive I assume).
 
Yes, the SPD RAM setting is default in the BIOS when you first set the mobo up..

There is no harm trying 3 gig and see if it'll be stable at default voltage and to check temps to see what you're getting. As long as you have a little case ventilation, I'm sure you'll be perfectly ok at 3 gig. If you're rock stable and if the load CPU temps look good, then why not run 3 gig?
 
hey, hey (Power Supplies !)

Hey, guys...

let me comment on your discussion on power supplies...

The fact that a P/S is rated at 350W, 400W or 450W does not mean much... This is, usually, the total output capability and NOT really what it can do under continuous load.

And then, there are many P/S out there that are OLD designs - their maximum load capability is on the +5V and 3.3V lines.

New P4's and all Athlon CPU's run ENTIRELY ON +12V line ! That's why when buying a PS take a close look at the +12V load.

I have seen 400W PS's that are cheap (PowMax) and have PRETTY GOOD load on +12V (25A) while very expensive ones 450W or 500W (!) have only modest 11-16Amps....

So, be careful !
Good luck !
;)
 
Back