Is OC'ing from DDR266 -> DDR333 possible?

(i've done searches on this topic but have come up empty)

I just got a NF7-S with a complementary 2500+ Barton(unfortunately locked) but am stuck with 768MB's of Crucial PC2100 ram until I purchase two PC3500 XMS' after the holidays. Now being the impatient person that I am, I was wondering if there was a way to juice up these two sticks(running in dual channel) to match the Bartons default 333MHz? My first attempt at setting a 1:1 ratio FSB/DRAM failed, resulting in frequent crash/reboots. AND, being so damn overly-anxious, I ran that ratio OTB, BEFORE reformating my HD and re-installing XP, which resulted in a corrupted XP installation. Had to underclock to Barton to 133MHz and once again reformat/reinstall.

Now, my timings are apparently very relaxed (set at an assumingly lethargic 3-4-4-8) and VDIMM has been boosted to 2.7v). At these settings, I've succeeded in OC'ing to a sync'd up 150MHz. Been running pretty stable for over 3 hours(including 30 or so Halo-playing minutes) so after I post this, I'm going try raising the FSB to 155. Would be greatly appreciative if I could get some assistance in achieving that 166 goal. For instance:
1) Should I lax the timings even further?
2) Would uping the VDIMM to 2.8v(I think the mobo's limit) fry my memchips? I would hate to go without a computer for two weeks. It might get kind of 'dangerous' for the people around me.

Thanks in Advance!

Tried an FSB of 155 with a VDIMM of 2.7v, got memtest errors only 3 minutes in and a crash in Halo benchmark.

Upped the VDIMM to 2.8v(discovered 2.9v is the highest for this board) and go no errors after a complete 25 minute pass in memtest. Ran Halo benchmark and completed successfully.

Timings still set to 'Optimal'(3-4-4-8). yuk.

Will do some searching to see if a VDIMM of 2.9v would be detremental to the health of my PC. I'm really beginning to realize the addictiveness of OC'ing.

[color=dark-blue]WELCOME TO THE FORUMS[/color]

heh, i think you answered your own question now

youve found the max of your current RAM, so i think id stop playing around with it, or try with one stick, so if one dies, u have a back-up

tip: dont go for pc3200XMS, get some quality Mushkin lvl II pc3500 it can run 2-2-2-6 at over 200mhz (more than enough for a barton methinks), you can also try the mushkin lvl II pc3200, since i doubt youll OC the barton over 200mhz fsb.. (and the pc3200 can handle over 200)

You should be able to do it with FSB/RAM ratios, check the manual on page or section 4-4 at the bottom for a good explination of how it works. I have heard that it reduces preformance but in this case it may improve it. I agree with Jognt on what memory to get as well, if you have the money anyways.

You could relax the timings even furthing if you wanted (instead of using ratios maybe) but having slower (higher) timings will give less memory bandwidth than the extra FSB. If you decide to do that you should raise the last one a good deal too (could go up to 11 and keep the others a littel faster if you can).
Also if your chip is not locked you could just change the multiplier to compensate for your slower FSB.

and a welcome too
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Thanks for the welcome guys .

I got up to a stable 155Mhz @ 2.8v. Tried 160 @ 2.9 but got too many memtest errors. Think I'm just going to hold it at 150/2.7v for the time being as there's no need to risk it sick I'll have some new sticks in a couple of days. And yea, I just finished reading that 'bh-5' thread and focused on getting a pair of Mushkins. My only ponderance is what Speed. Will it be easier to OC passed the 200Mhz barrier with the 3500's over the 3200's? Is the $16 price difference(total for the pair) worth it? $16 isn't alot, but I'm kind of a stickler for getting the most bang out of my buck.

Arghhh. So many questions.

If you don't mind paying the extra bit of money get the 3500s but then again they might be the exact same sticks with a differnet heatspreader... Hrm.. I don't know... anything in that thread about them being the same or differnt in any way other than their rating? (I see you posted there too ) I don't see anything with a quick skim over it or remember anything. If they are the same deffinatly get the 3200, you might check the mushkin forums as well.

the 3200 will do 220 2-3-2 easily anyway... so the 3200 should do the trick for you

the "matched pairs" are pairs that are tested together, to ensure dual channel works at the RAMS rated speed... since AMD rigs dont have that much of a performance gain from DC, id go for non matched pairs... (if this was your question, didnt fully understand )

Jognt said:

the "matched pairs" are pairs that are tested together, to ensure dual channel works at the RAMS rated speed... since AMD rigs dont have that much of a performance gain from DC, id go for non matched pairs... (if this was your question, didnt fully understand )

Click to expand...

And I think they are just a Gimmic and you shouldn't ever bother with them ( I would rather take my chances since I have no money ever...)

CrashOveride said:

If you don't mind paying the extra bit of money get the 3500s but then again they might be the exact same sticks with a differnet heatspreader... Hrm.. I don't know... anything in that thread about them being the same or differnt in any way other than their rating? (I see you posted there too ) I don't see anything with a quick skim over it or remember anything. If they are the same deffinatly get the 3200, you might check the mushkin forums as well.

Click to expand...

No reports of receiving wrong sticks in that thread. I searched through the Mushkin board and one person said

"PC3500 is guaranteed to overclock to DDR433 at rated timings, PC3200 is guaranteed to run ad DDR400 at rated timings, that's it. Otherwise it's identical memory that has been selected for it's overclockability."

So by his response I'm guessing that it would be harder to run PC3200 sticks @ 433Mhz with 2-2-2 timings than it would be fore PC3500 sticks since they 35's are advertised to do so, and if not I could RMA. Think I'm going to take a change on the 35's then.

And Jognt, like you and Crash adviced, I think I'll take the risk by getting them individually.

I would get PC 3200 if the person who said they are the same just selected differntly is right, maybe they tested badly

I am running 2x256mb sticks of pc2100 kingston value ram at 189Mhz with 8-3-3-2.5 timings. They really underemphasized the "value" in that one, eh?