very confused and frustrated

[hunka27]

I read that Hyperram was supposed to be really good.. I just bought 2x256 chips of ddr533 and i can't even get my FSB past 255. I was doing better with my 512 DDR400 cosair value select. I have my voltage at 1.68 and any higher doesn't do anything. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments on this RAM?

by the way i have a gigabyte board and a 2.6C cpu.

[flapperhead]

i bought some pc4000 hyperram from them about 2 mo ago. here are some tips and advice on how test out this ram... Everything i will be suggesting is with the following assumptions: 1 your cpu can in fact go over 255 fsb. 2. you are testing with a 1-1 ratio of fsb to memory. 3 all testing done with loosest timings 3-4-4-8 ( this memory is not designed for tight timings and likes higher voltage). 4. you bought the ram as a dual channel set.ok here we go...

set the vmem voltage to 2.8v and test each stick in single channel mode. start out at 250 then jump up about 5mhz increments till it fails then back down 2mhz till it works.
With this testing method i found out that 1 stick ran like a bat outta hell (over 290 1-1 @2.8v) but the other sucked (258). therefore when i used them together in dual channel it only ran to about 255.
Since u purchased pc4200 hyperram each stick should run at a minimum 266.so i suspect 1 stick is not running correctly or u need more juice to make them run at their rated speed.
i suspect that once u boost up the volts they'll run much better.


Since i bought my hyperram as a dual channel setup i emailed randy lo (tech support). i told him that even tho the memory ran at the rated speed (250) , 1 stick was over 30 mhz faster and i had hoped for a more evenly matched pair. even tho it was past the return date he was very nice and worked out a deal for a reasonable price to return the slow stick for another one. the new one runs much better( 277)

so anyway test out your 2 sticks, if 1 or both does not run to spec. give randy an email. I have found that by being polite and providing good info and testing specs helps when you are asking to return an item.. goodluck, keep me informed flapperhead...

[hunka27]

i did what you said, i tested each seperatly and i only tested to the point of entering windows with no problems. one stick went to 264, the other 262. together only 255. Voltage was at 2.8 any higher cpu voltage made no difference.

I'm not sure what you mean by my cpu can go above 255FSB but i have 2.6C P4 and others go much higher. I did by a dual channel set, i was testing at 1:1 and the loosest timings....

do you think that there's something else i can change or are both of these shot? neither one works at its rated speed...

[flapperhead]

ok, my 255 question was aimed at the maximum speed of your cpu. if your cpu cant go over 3315 stably (255 fsb- where your comp. fails) then it may not be the memory.. most 2.6 cpus oc around 3.2-3.4., which would be 245 - 260 fsb. b4 u rma lets do a oc test first. find out how fast you cpu can actually oc,by taking your memory out of the equation ( this is a quick test not a total stability test). you can do this using 1 stick of memory setting it to 5/4 ratio with loose timings. then start out with a reasonable fsb, lets say 240 fsb. then keep going up in 5mhz increments till it fails to boot. then start adding voltage to the cpu
in 05 incrememts.DO NOT GO ABOVE 1.85V. (Most people find that above 1.6-1.7 doesnt provide much more help)
once u find a maximum overclock using the best combination of voltage and fsb that lets u boot into windows, you will have a reasonable idea of how fast our cpu is. It may be that 264 is the limit of your cpu(3445). that is getting on the high end of an average 2.6C chip, and could be the reason it is failing b4 you reach a 266 fsb.also you have to remember that all components- memory, cpu, memory,northbridge,mem controller, etc, are stressed differently depending on how you overclock your system. the fact that you"re are running your memory 1-1 at higher speeds could easily account for a failure at 255 even tho in single channel u can boot to 262-264, because you are introducing extra stress to the system memory controller in dual channel mode and if the cpu and mb are not totally stable, the extra stress can cause it to fail..
that is why most people buying the the pc4000 and 4200 are using the 2.4c to get high fsb speeds .It has a lower multiplier of 12 and it starts out slower which gives you a better chance of achieving a high fsb.
if your cpu runs stable at over the 264 fsb(lets say 270), with the memory taken out of the question at a 5/4 ratio. then it may in fact be the memory, or it may be mb just wont go any higher in dual channel mode. since my cpu will run over 290 fsb if u want, i will test a stick for u (pm me). Or u can request an rma.
lastly, if your cpu doesnt run stable at a 266( prime95 for at least 12 hrs) or higher fsb it may not be cost effective to run only a 255 fsb 1-1 and maybe work out a deal to get some good pc3200-3500 that will run tight timings.
anyway sorry for the long winded response. but there are so many variables in the art of overclocking, that unless each component overcloked is tested seperately it is sometings very difficult to find what is actually failing. this can lead to wasted money, time and hard feelings when a vendor returns the component and says they cant find a problem.... goodluck( like i said if u want me to test a stick i'll do that for u) and keep us informed of your on your progress... flapperhead..

[hunka27]

well i tried doing what you said and put one stick in, lowered the ratio to 5/4 and it only would post up to 220. for some reason it does not like that setting. I am using watercooling so i tried filling bucket with ice water, got the temps down to 3 degrees and it didn't do anything.

i was thinking about what you said and the last piece of memory i had went to about 260 also. so i guess thats about my limit with this CPU... I appreciate you willing to test my memory but i think your right and my CPU just doesn't go higher.

So what do you suggest i do, try and sell my CPU and get a 2.4 or sell my memory and get different memory, or just not bother because the difference isn't worth the hassle?

here are some results from sandra... just wondering what thought of them and if you could give me an idea of what other systems are getting...



http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/mhunkler/1.JPG



http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/mhunkler/2.JPG

[flapperhead]

far as i see your test numbers are reasonable....as for what u should do, its really up to you. If it were me, since i like the idea of hi fsb overclocking id sell the cpu and get a 2.4c. also im not real impressed with your mb it seems to have a few issues as far as memory ratios are concerned. you may want to sell the cpu and mb as a set and use the money to get an asus or abit. in my opinion they are the best overclockers. If you dont like that idea then maybe just sell the pc4000 and get some real good pc3200-3500 and run it at 5/4 ratio at real tight timings. those are a couple of options but ultimately the decision is what u feel the most comfortable with... flapperhead