memory cas problem.

hi all
i have 4x256mb Geil dual channel DDR400 PC3200 memory stick on my system
the sticks have this latencys 2,6,3,3.
in my bios default settings for the latencys are 2.5,4,4,8 , i tried to lower the cas from 2.5 to 2.0 but when i save the new bios settings and reboot the system doesn't boot at all , so i have to manualy take of the bios battary wait for 30secs and then system will reboot after bios is reset to default.

why is this happening? my ram is cas 2.0 for sure so maybe its the other values the RAS# to CAS# etc that arn't good?
maybe you can help?

TIA . ledzep.

make sure you have your ddr voltage set to the reccomended amount for your ram. or if it is, bump it up a notch but unless you really wanna push it dont go over 2.8 volts.

of that still doesnt work, then the ram looks like a problem

Have you tried upping the dram voltage to 2.7 or 2.8?

* edit:great minds think alike*

no i didn't change the dram voltage , i left it at the default of 2.6.

i will try to volt it up a notch, hope i won't ruin anything

Archangel4life said:

make sure you have your ddr voltage set to the reccomended amount for your ram. or if it is, bump it up a notch but unless you really wanna push it dont go over 2.8 volts.

of that still doesnt work, then the ram looks like a problem

Click to expand...

how do i know whats the recomended voltage for my amount of ram?

ledzep said:

how do i know whats the recomended voltage for my amount of ram?

Click to expand...

Not for your AMOUNT of ram, for your brand/type of ram. It depends on the chips used, but if you go to Geil's site or a vendor site like ZipZoomFly which provides links to the ram's datasheet, you should be able to find the max.

Most boards will max out about 2.8v-2.9v, without mods. From there, with mods or a product like the DDR Booster, you can increase it more. The thing to keep in mind about increasing the voltage is that it will not make your ram run faster, it will just give it stability at higher speeds. Once it reaches its max speed, no amount of additional voltage will let/make it run faster. You could probably go to your board's limit without hurting the ram. If it does start to get hot, mount a fan blowing air over them and they will be fine, although this usually doesn't come into play until you are at 3.0v or plus.

One other thing to consider is that you're running four sticks. Try to run these timings with only two sticks and see if you boot. Sometimes with four sticks, you cannot run quite the same timings as with 2 sticks. If you boot, you will at least have identified the issue.

Another consideration...the CAS 2 vs CAS 2.5 for an Intel rig makes very little, if any, difference so I would sweat that too much. Work on lowering the middle two 4's down to 2 or 3, even if at CAS 3. Your running a 2.4 P4, you should be able to run high fsb (250 or more), even if it is using the 5:4 divider. I believe that you'll just get more out of your system that way than worrying about running fast timings and limiting your fsb in order to get them.

Reefa_Madness said:

Another consideration...the CAS 2 vs CAS 2.5 for an Intel rig makes very little, if any, difference so I would sweat that too much. Work on lowering the middle two 4's down to 2 or 3, even if at CAS 3. Your running a 2.4 P4, you should be able to run high fsb (250 or more), even if it is using the 5:4 divider. I believe that you'll just get more out of your system that way than worrying about running fast timings and limiting your fsb in order to get them.

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Agreed. CAS means squat. Get the middle 2 numbers down as much as you can for the best performance

Steve

mrspec3 said:

Agreed. CAS means squat. Get the middle 2 numbers down as much as you can for the best performance

Steve

Click to expand...

ok but is it pointless to change those other settings if i don't overclock my cpu yet? if i get it right the ram tweaking should come after i find a stable cou overclocking spot withg out voltmod (gonna oc as much as i can but no volt mod thanks) then i can play a little with the ram to find a stable point, but maybe im wrong and i can change my RAS# delays without changing cpu speed.
i will oc the cpu once i get as5/as3 and try to oc on stock cooler as i was advised in this and other forums i can oc w/o voltmod on stock hsf with no probs just get some AS5/3 between the cpu & hsf.

correct me if im totaly wrong.

ledzep said:

ok but is it pointless to change those other settings if i don't overclock my cpu yet? if i get it right the ram tweaking should come after i find a stable cou overclocking spot withg out voltmod (gonna oc as much as i can but no volt mod thanks) then i can play a little with the ram to find a stable point, but maybe im wrong and i can change my RAS# delays without changing cpu speed.
i will oc the cpu once i get as5/as3 and try to oc on stock cooler as i was advised in this and other forums i can oc w/o voltmod on stock hsf with no probs just get some AS5/3 between the cpu & hsf.

correct me if im totaly wrong.

Click to expand...

Even without iOC'ing your cpu, decreasing the latencies in those two middle numbers will increase your system performance. The rule being at the same fsb, faster timings will result in better performance. You might have to increase the DIMM voltage to run at tighter timings, as was mentioned earlier in some of the other posts, but that will pose no significant risks to your ram.

You have, I believe, received correct information...you can overclock with your stock heatsink, and many people do, just keep tabs on the temps.

Reefa_Madness said:

Even without iOC'ing your cpu, decreasing the latencies in those two middle numbers will increase your system performance. The rule being at the same fsb, faster timings will result in better performance. You might have to increase the DIMM voltage to run at tighter timings, as was mentioned earlier in some of the other posts, but that will pose no significant risks to your ram.

You have, I believe, received correct information...you can overclock with your stock heatsink, and many people do, just keep tabs on the temps.

Click to expand...

ok so i decresed those last 3 numbers on my bios so its changed from 2.5,4,4,8 to 2.5,3,3,7 (on my sticks its writen 2,6,3,3), this caused me to get a BSOD quite fast KMODE_EXEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (0X00..1E)
so i went and upped the DIMM volt +0.1 so its noe 2.7v.
hope this will make system stabler , remember i didn't oc the cpu yet.
is this normal? did i do right by upping to volt a notch?

thanks , lz.

ok this didn't help at all im still getting BSOD's , i went back to default memory timings and then got another BSOD
what the hell is happening i had a rock stable system before i changed the timings and volt.
please help.
TIA ,ledzep

Did you try clearing your CMOS? Power off and take the battery out for 30 seconds and then re-install battery. This should return you to default settings. Now try to boot.

What you did should not have whacked out your system to any extent.

And a clarification, I should have suggested that you change these timings, one at a time, not all at one time.

Reefa_Madness said:

Did you try clearing your CMOS? Power off and take the battery out for 30 seconds and then re-install battery. This should return you to default settings. Now try to boot.

What you did should not have whacked out your system to any extent.

And a clarification, I should have suggested that you change these timings, one at a time, not all at one time.

Click to expand...

yes i know about the battary thing , i had no probs returning the cmos to defaults w/o taking the battary out.
if i change the cas to 2.0 system won't boot even after a volt increase to 2.7 so i use the battary trick then. have no idea why system doesn't boot when i lower the cas maybe it needs mnore then 2.7 voltage not sure as i didn't try.

ok i will also try to change those timings one at a time maybe the results will be better.
i will try this metod: change one settings>run system> if BSOD then increase voltage up to 2.8 > if still not stable >back to default settings & volt.

does this sound right?

lz.

I'm sorry, I may have misunderstood the last post. You did state in an earlier one having cleared the CMOS, so I know that you know about taking the battery out. However, my point was that there is a difference between SETTING your timings and voltage back to default and having the system clear everything out internally and returning to ALL of its default settings by clearing the CMOS. If you are seting your values manually, and you are getting BSOD, then in all probability, there is still something that got out of whack. If you haven't done so, and are still getting the BSOD, I would again suggest that you clear your CMOS before you continue. It is just a couple of minutes of your time and it will eliminate unknown variables from the equation. You start fresh.

I would also suggest, if you're not already planning on doing so, to run Memtest86+ and/or Prime95 after each change in order to verify system stability, then run a select few benchies (Sandra, etc) in order to be able to quantify the impact of each change. This will, obviously, allow to measure how much of a performance boost, if any, each change in timings generates. In the end you will be able to select the combination that provides you with the overall best performance, at stock cpu speeds.

One last thing, even though you plan on upgrading your TIM, there is no reason that you can't play with the fsb now, with your retail setup, other than you will, in all probability, find your limit at at lower fsb. It will, however, allow you to establish a benchline, which you can then compare the results to after you have upgraded to AS5.

Unless you know where you started, you won't know how much, if any, a particular change impacted on your system's performance.

Good luck and have fun.

Ok, you are running 4 sticks, so, try this (might take some time but it could well help) Test each of the sticks indivually.(*sp) this should show you if you have a duff one. If it wont run spd timings @ stock fsb with +.2 v then there is summit wrong somewhere

Very valid point, because there could very well be a bum stick in there.

ok i will do that and post back once im done.
so im going to run each copule of sticks on spd settings with +0.2 volts and check for instability or bsod.
by spd you mean default mobo's settings? or default stick settings? as my sticks timings are different then mobo's default.
thanks , lz.

hey..i got the same prob.. i got consair 3200 xms ram.. the good stuff
its 2x512 for a gig in all ..

i might try uping th vottage myself too... thats kind of odd of this to happen ...

ledzep said:

ok i will do that and post back once im done.
so im going to run each copule of sticks on spd settings with +0.2 volts and check for instability or bsod.
by spd you mean default mobo's settings? or default stick settings? as my sticks timings are different then mobo's default.
thanks , lz.

Click to expand...

Highlander's suggestion to run each stick (one stick - single channel) will allow you to determine if any of your sticks are bad, if you run two together you will still not be able to identify the problem child.

To test the sticks, start off with the spd settings and go through the whole process described earlier for each one, and I would start at the ram's stated voltage to begin with. The only reason to add voltage is if the ram becomes unstable. Just take your time with it and record what you do so that you can refer to it later and not have to repeat yourself.

ok.. i had cas 2... at 2.7 vottage.. it booted into windows but when i loged in ..it resterted.