Mushkin lvl 2 PC3500 problems

necromanx13x · Dec 12, 2003

I just got my new Mushkin Lvl 2 PC3500 from newegg yesterday. Im currently running it on the system in my signature at 225x11. I set the ram to 1:1 ratio 2.9V which actually is like 2.94V and I had the timings at 2,2,2,5. I ran the first series of tests in memtest86 and it came up allright, no errors. I then went to run 3dmark01 and after the low detail first game 3dmark01 closed. I then raised the timings to 2,3,3,6 and now it closed after the low detail lobby test. I was under the impression that I could run the ram at 225fsb 1:1 2.9V 2,2,2,5 and was very supprised when it still didnt work at 2,3,3,6. Also, at 2,2,2,5 prime95 failed after about 3 hours. How can i fix these problems?

Grandpa Dan · Dec 12, 2003

To get 225 or above I needed 3.05v. 2-3-2-6

necromanx13x · Dec 12, 2003

what was the highest you could get with whatever timings were needed to be stable and 2.9V?

sp00L · Dec 12, 2003

Try 2-3-3-11. U have an nForce2 board which is infamous for needing the 11. My mushkies (before one expired) did 225 at 2.8v but at 2-3-3-7. 225 needs 3.0 volts now but that's the OCZ Plats. Grandpa Dan is about on target. You need more vdimm or try the settings I listed first. Or back off your overclock to 220.

For a quick memtest, run test #5 of memtest86 and see if it will go 10+ loops. Ideally loop tests #5 & #6 100 times each, then run it through dual prime for 12 hours.

Grandpa Dan · Dec 12, 2003

sp00L said:
Try 2-3-3-11. U have an nForce2 board which is infamous for needing the 11. My mushkies (before one expired) did 225 at 2.8v but at 2-3-3-7. 225 needs 3.0 volts now but that's the OCZ Plats. Grandpa Dan is about on target. You need more vdimm or try the settings I listed first. Or back off your overclock to 220.

For a quick memtest, run test #5 of memtest86 and see if it will go 10+ loops. Ideally loop tests #5 & #6 100 times each, then run it through dual prime for 12 hours.

My experience w/amd's is minimal. These timings work best in your situation is my understanding.

I can get about 223fsb @ 2.95v.

necromanx13x · Dec 12, 2003

Well, it didnt work at 2,3,3,11 @ 1.9V. I guess ill have to do a vdimm mod, damn. I did get it to work at 2,3,3,11 @ 1.9V with a 223fsb but I really want to run it at like 228fsb with no looser timings.

Surfeit00 · Dec 13, 2003

I would try each stick out individually in MemTest. I recently got some mushkin pc3500 level II & one stick was defective.

necromanx13x · Dec 13, 2003

Both stick pass memtest alone at 227 1:1 2,2,2,11 @ 1.9V. They also both can successfully complete 3dmark01 at these settings. Why wont they work at these settings when I use them both together in dual channel?

necromanx13x · Dec 13, 2003

Alright I finally got it to work stable (i think) at 227 1:1 2,3,2,11 @ 2.9V, yay!

Eroc · Dec 13, 2003

necromanx13x said:
Alright I finally got it to work stable (i think) at 227 1:1 2,3,2,11 @ 2.9V, yay!

That is still pushing that memory at such tight timings. I read at overclockers New Zealand is PC 3200 which had the same Windbond BH-5 chips and they were able to get around 218 at 2.5-3-3.

As far as I am concerned pc3500 is oc'd 3200 already so you may not be able to push much more with those timings.

Also, it may not be your ram that is causing probs. Your chipset may be holding you back. What voltage is your nb running? What kind of cooling on the nb, mosfets, and case flow in general?

I can't go much faster on mine because I will need more voltage and I have heat issues and will have to resolve these before I can go further.

Good luck and keep us updated!

Surfeit00 · Dec 13, 2003

necromanx13x said:
Both stick pass memtest alone at 227 1:1 2,2,2,11 @ 1.9V. They also both can successfully complete 3dmark01 at these settings. Why wont they work at these settings when I use them both together in dual channel?

It is good you did that test

All I can say is that your sticks are voltage hungry. Any experience with vdimm mods?

necromanx13x · Dec 13, 2003

Well, its not stable at those settings i had above

, but it is stable at 223 2,3,3,11. The Vcc is at 1.7V which is the highest and I have a coper vantec iceberg which i just got with the ram to cool it. I also cut up one the extra heatsinks to make mini heatsinks for my mosfets which are under a 60mm fan that came with the stock cpu heatsink. I have no real experiance with Vdimm mods but I am considering doing one, maybe over christmas break. Also, my case flow is pretty good. Ill post a pic of my setup in a little while.

Another is that my 12V seems to be VERY low and i think that could be hurting me also. the +12V is at 11.73ide and drops to 11.61 with prime95 with a Vcore of 2.0V. However, if i raise the core above 2V the idle and load voltages drop even lower on my 12V rail. This is with a 420W Thermaltake psu. Im considering getting a 480 Antec Truepower to replace it.

*edit* I just made and installed the mosfet heatsinks a few minutes ago and now, after running p95 for the first time after installing the heatsinks I find that my +12V stays pretty stable at +11.73V.

G|-|oST · Dec 15, 2003

One thing to try is different DIMM slots. On my NF7-S slots 2 & 3 (dual channel) work pretty good (230 x 9.5 2-2-2 @ 2.9V Vdimm) but slot 1 is nothing but problems at higher FSB.

Check your +3.3V power rail - if it is unstable or low, that will affect your Vdimm satbility as well. This will become even more important after you do the Vdimm mod. The +3.3V shoul read around 0.1 or 0.2 higher than actual Vdimm.

Also, in some NF7-S 2.0's (like mine) higher Vdd voltage actually makes it less stable. Strange but true. On mine the sweet spot is at 1.5V only. Any more and it becomes unstable.

Good luck.
Good luck.

necromanx13x · Dec 15, 2003

I tried different dimm slots and its most stable in slots 1+2 (counting from the right). I can get it to complete 3dmark01 at 227 2-3-3 with 2.9V. The actual vdimm is 2.94V and the +3.3V is usually at 3.39V. However, when i run the blend test in p95 it fails right away. Also, now that i raised my Vcore up to 2.03, during p95 my +12V drops to 11.55 at times, that cant be too good.

necromanx13x · Dec 25, 2003

Well I just did the vdimm mod and now im having a lot of trouble getting it to run at 223 2,2,2,11 at any voltage. I thought that this would be very easy to do with a slightly increased voltage but now p95 fails before it completes the first test and IE seems to crash randomly and when I try to start up 3dmark01 or anything like that it takes like a minute for the program to start up. Whats the deal? Also, how can I actually check the vdimm and the 3.3V rail with a multimeter just so I can make sure that bios and mbm5 are showing me the right voltages. Thanks.

Eroc · Dec 26, 2003

11.55 on your 12V is not that bad under load. It is ok as long as you. As long as the rails are fairly consistent...not too erratic.

That 550W Antec is plenty of power and has good rails.

necromanx13x · Dec 26, 2003

Yeah now that I have the Antec 550 thats not a problem anymore but everything in that post above eroc's still applies.

StinkNBreff · Dec 26, 2003

If you ahve a 1t/2t option in your bios , set it to 2t . Mushkin doesnt like 1t at all ..

necromanx13x · Dec 26, 2003

I dont have it in my bios. I just tried running p95 at 217fsb which is stock settings for the memory and it still failed after 4 hours, damn.

Eroc · Dec 26, 2003

You may have to go 2.5 on the cas for that high of speed unless you go over 3V

My corsair 3500C2 can't do that either. You may have to slack that Cas.

I plan on trying as well in both of my rigs to rule out a chipset problem.

Mushkin lvl 2 PC3500 problems

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Disabled

Member

Member

Member

Disabled

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads