KT333 Memory BOOST DDR 266 vs 333

Found out something interesting last night while messing with my memory timings. My Athy (specs below) runs at a 266Mhz FSB and my PC2700 memory of course is 333Mhz, and I had them running at those speeds. The best I could time my memory was Cas 2.5 - 5 - 3 - 3 T1 Bank Interleave 4-way. Now I was reading about how running non sync could have a negative impact on performance so I went ahead and underclocked my memory to the 266Mhz speed and lowered the timings down. I am running now at 266Mhz Cas 2 - 5 - 2 - 2 T1 Bank Interleave 4-way and im benching faster! Here are some Sisoft numbers...

DDR 333 speed memory scores
1960 ALU
1836 FPU

DDR 266 speed (maximum aggresive timings)
1978 ALU
1853 FPU

Not a HUGE boost but hey its faster then it was! Now my mobo doesnt allow me to change the voltage but I did go ahead and overclock to AXP 2200+ speeds, after that I achieved a memory score of..

DDR 282 speed (maximum aggresive timings)
2094 ALU
1967 FPU

Here are some pics





Well I am happy, interesting how running in sync at a lower Mhz but with more aggresive timings actually performs better! Hope this helps someone

I wonder if any of you other KT333 motherboard owners could post your Sandra scores here as well?

Hmm, guess everyone is using Nforce2 boards now

Found out something interesting last night while messing with my memory timings. My Athy (specs below) runs at a 266Mhz FSB and my PC2700 memory of course is 333Mhz, and I had them running at those speeds. The best I could time my memory was Cas 2.5 - 5 - 3 - 3 T1 Bank Interleave 4-way. Now I was reading about how running non sync could have a negative impact on performance so I went ahead and underclocked my memory to the 266Mhz speed and lowered the timings down.

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Um, i don't quite follow. Why exactly did you underclock your ram to sync with the fsb, rather than O/C the fsb? Is there some reason you can't run 166/333 ? I'm sure that crucial will do fine timings at 333, and i'm also sure you could run that chip @ a setting like 12X166 for right around 2000. If you just aren't comfortable running your chip that fast (for whatever reason) then drop the multi down to 10. After all that is the reason for having a kt333 and ddr333. .

btw, i have a 2nd pc using an epox 8k5a2+ (kt333) but it has pc2100 in it, i run it sync 166X12 for 2ghz 333mhz DDR. Pretty good for sum cheap pc 2100 . The chip in there is a 1700 B DLT3C same as this rig.


J

I own an ECS board and it does not have voltage settings I can play with...so Im stuck with stock voltage for vdimm and vcore. I tried to clock it to 166 (CPU) and it posted fine, just didnt get into windows

I did email ECS about getting a service BIOS that does allow for voltage adjustments But for right now I am tweaking for the best possible performance with what it can do.

well still though, you should be able to drop the multiplier down enough to keep the chip within range, right now i see you have it around 1760, so try something like 166X10.5(1743), or is it that your board does not have multiplier adjustments either?


J.

juliendogg said:

well still though, you should be able to drop the multiplier down enough to keep the chip within range, right now i see you have it around 1760, so try something like 166X10.5(1743), or is it that your board does not have multiplier adjustments either?


J.

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Nope, no multiplier adjustments here I actually have it @ 145x12.5 = 1.8Ghz right now. I slowly inching it up. Im still hoping ECS email me back about a service bios for this mobo (those unlock all the hidden features).

Wow, bummer. I used to have an ECS board, actually i bought 5 or 6 of the ECS k7s5a, back when 266 was the top end stuff. . I thought they were excellent boards, stable as all get out. Only lacking the multi's and voltage adjustments, so i understand your situation.

In light of that, I am not suprised that you get better performance from underclocking your ram rather than running out of sync. Perhaps you could pick up a 1700 or something with a lower multi.. but then you still face the voltage issue. Hmmm. Well, i sure hope ECS will hook u up with that bios. .


good luck bro,


J.

Thanks bro, I am still waiting for them to email me back, I have sent 2 emails so far and got nothing back...maybe I should send an email to the TW website instead of the USA site.