- Joined
- Apr 10, 2003
- Location
- Tallinn, Estonia
I've seen lots of people who were confused as to how this works so I wrote this up. Hope it helps...and if you guys have more questions just ask and I'll try to answer/add them to the FAQ
OCZ vdimm booster FAQ
Q: What is it and what does it do?
A: The vdimm booster has three main features. They are vdimm adjustment, PowerClean Technology that provides smoother and cleaner power to the RAM and LED voltage readout. These three features are both what it is and what it does.
Q: How does it work?
A: The booster draws power from your computers main power supply through an ATX pass-through connector, which it then processes, and feeds to the memory. Since ram draws a great deal of current, you cannot just use to regular Molex connectors to power it. Once the voltage gets to the booster, it goes through a number of components that limit the output voltage, clean up, and smooth the voltage. (Mosfets and the like) The voltage is fed through the teeth of the booster’s PCB into the dimm slot you have it in and power is distributed throughout all the dimms on the motherboard. This means you only need 1 booster for each motherboard.
A: Will it work on All motherboards?
Q:The simple answer is no. Not ever motherboard can use the vdimm booster and that is for many reasons. Some boards have OVP or OCP (over voltage/current protection) which will shut down the motherboard when a certain voltage/current level is reached. In this case, the booster will still work fine, but raising the vdimm past a certain point will shut the board off. Other boards can be damaged because of how they are set up in terms of voltage regulation and other things.
Your best bet is to check the OCZ website where they have a list of motherboards that are listed as compatible or not.
http://www.ocztechnology.com/displaypage.php?name=DDRBoostermobocompatibility
Q: A word about the Abit IC7 (max 2 and 3)
A: This motherboard does have a large design problem that keeps it from tracking VTT voltage properly. VTT voltage is supposed to stay at exactly ½ the supplied vdimm voltage. On these boards, it does not, so added vdimm can cause the motherboard to be more unstable. In this case, what you need to do is a VTT mod. This will allow you to raise the vdimm and still have VTT tracking properly.
Here is a good VTT mod with pictures by MADCAT
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jsemler/message-images/IC7-MAX3_VTT_Mod/Installation_Guide.htm
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jsemler/message-images/IC7-MAX3_VTT_Mod/Construction_Guide.htm
Q: Voltage, voltage and more voltage!!!
A: The vdimm booster allows up to a whopping 3.9Vdimm without mods. This amount of voltage is dangerous to any memory (yes even bh-5/6) so there are some things you should know. First off, running more voltage than your memory maker allows WILL void your warranty so do so at your own risk . But who is kidding who here? We all got this thing to shove voltage up our rams…well you know what. So since we now know everyone and their mother are running 3.6V into their memory do we need to worry? With some precautions and some common sense not really. Adding more voltage to memory will make it run hotter, and hotter electronics are unhappy electronics. (Read: unstable) To combat this we should run a simple low speed 80 or 92mm fan over our memory to keep it cool (read: happy)
Also remember that all memory IC’s respond differently to voltage and that throwing 3.9V into some pc2100 memory is not going to make it run at pc4000 speeds. Similarly, all IC’s can tolerate different levels of voltage and heat so make sure you aren’t pumping more voltage than your ram can take.
Q: My Booster fluctuates between idle and load, is this normal?
A: There are several causes for this, the two most prominent being Voltage and Amperage. When your system is at idle it is not consuming as much power as it would be at load. Due to the load placed on your power supply it may not be able to handle the current demands placed on it, which more often than not result in a voltage drop. The OCZ Booster is based on a linear voltage supply; fluctuations in the voltage supplied to it will result in the output voltage fluctuation. This issue can be resolved by compensating with a slightly higher voltage from the booster or a new power supply. The current load could also overload the wires supplying the booster if your system is highly overclocked and/or you have bad contact at any of the Molex connectors. This will result in heat and/or voltage fluctuations.
Q: Will the booster work in a DDR2, SDRAM or RAMBUS motherboard?
A: No!
Q: How many of these boosters do I need?
A: You only need one. Because the power is connected between the dimm slots on the motherboard, you only need one to power the rest.
Q: My LED screen says 100V what is going on?
A: Put down the BAWLS and step away from the booster. All kidding aside the booster may need some calibration when you get it. Different power supplies and motherboards will effect calibration. Read the manual that came with the booster for the proper tuning methods.
OCZ vdimm booster FAQ
Q: What is it and what does it do?
A: The vdimm booster has three main features. They are vdimm adjustment, PowerClean Technology that provides smoother and cleaner power to the RAM and LED voltage readout. These three features are both what it is and what it does.
Q: How does it work?
A: The booster draws power from your computers main power supply through an ATX pass-through connector, which it then processes, and feeds to the memory. Since ram draws a great deal of current, you cannot just use to regular Molex connectors to power it. Once the voltage gets to the booster, it goes through a number of components that limit the output voltage, clean up, and smooth the voltage. (Mosfets and the like) The voltage is fed through the teeth of the booster’s PCB into the dimm slot you have it in and power is distributed throughout all the dimms on the motherboard. This means you only need 1 booster for each motherboard.
A: Will it work on All motherboards?
Q:The simple answer is no. Not ever motherboard can use the vdimm booster and that is for many reasons. Some boards have OVP or OCP (over voltage/current protection) which will shut down the motherboard when a certain voltage/current level is reached. In this case, the booster will still work fine, but raising the vdimm past a certain point will shut the board off. Other boards can be damaged because of how they are set up in terms of voltage regulation and other things.
Your best bet is to check the OCZ website where they have a list of motherboards that are listed as compatible or not.
http://www.ocztechnology.com/displaypage.php?name=DDRBoostermobocompatibility
Q: A word about the Abit IC7 (max 2 and 3)
A: This motherboard does have a large design problem that keeps it from tracking VTT voltage properly. VTT voltage is supposed to stay at exactly ½ the supplied vdimm voltage. On these boards, it does not, so added vdimm can cause the motherboard to be more unstable. In this case, what you need to do is a VTT mod. This will allow you to raise the vdimm and still have VTT tracking properly.
Here is a good VTT mod with pictures by MADCAT
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jsemler/message-images/IC7-MAX3_VTT_Mod/Installation_Guide.htm
http://home.columbus.rr.com/jsemler/message-images/IC7-MAX3_VTT_Mod/Construction_Guide.htm
Q: Voltage, voltage and more voltage!!!
A: The vdimm booster allows up to a whopping 3.9Vdimm without mods. This amount of voltage is dangerous to any memory (yes even bh-5/6) so there are some things you should know. First off, running more voltage than your memory maker allows WILL void your warranty so do so at your own risk . But who is kidding who here? We all got this thing to shove voltage up our rams…well you know what. So since we now know everyone and their mother are running 3.6V into their memory do we need to worry? With some precautions and some common sense not really. Adding more voltage to memory will make it run hotter, and hotter electronics are unhappy electronics. (Read: unstable) To combat this we should run a simple low speed 80 or 92mm fan over our memory to keep it cool (read: happy)
Also remember that all memory IC’s respond differently to voltage and that throwing 3.9V into some pc2100 memory is not going to make it run at pc4000 speeds. Similarly, all IC’s can tolerate different levels of voltage and heat so make sure you aren’t pumping more voltage than your ram can take.
Q: My Booster fluctuates between idle and load, is this normal?
A: There are several causes for this, the two most prominent being Voltage and Amperage. When your system is at idle it is not consuming as much power as it would be at load. Due to the load placed on your power supply it may not be able to handle the current demands placed on it, which more often than not result in a voltage drop. The OCZ Booster is based on a linear voltage supply; fluctuations in the voltage supplied to it will result in the output voltage fluctuation. This issue can be resolved by compensating with a slightly higher voltage from the booster or a new power supply. The current load could also overload the wires supplying the booster if your system is highly overclocked and/or you have bad contact at any of the Molex connectors. This will result in heat and/or voltage fluctuations.
Q: Will the booster work in a DDR2, SDRAM or RAMBUS motherboard?
A: No!
Q: How many of these boosters do I need?
A: You only need one. Because the power is connected between the dimm slots on the motherboard, you only need one to power the rest.
Q: My LED screen says 100V what is going on?
A: Put down the BAWLS and step away from the booster. All kidding aside the booster may need some calibration when you get it. Different power supplies and motherboards will effect calibration. Read the manual that came with the booster for the proper tuning methods.
