OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Platinum 1GB x 2

I was just wondering if anyone has this in there system. I just bought a pair from newegg, and I think it will be a moderate upgrade from the Mushkin cas 3. Also, what was the most successful overclock were able to get out of it? I am hoping to get 225mhz at the stock timings. From what I have read, this isn't the best ram for overclocking. So I guess we will see. If it isn't good at overclocking, is it possible to tighten up the timings even more. I don't know alot about timings, I have just read that tighter is usually better. Thanks in advance for any extra information on this ram.

Don't expect alot out of this RAM or to do tight timings. Your limit will be around 220 or < but even for that you will need to loosen up some of the timings.

Most likely what you will be looking at is: 2.5-3-3-7 on 220 and anything above that would be a hit or miss.

I'm running mine at 2.5-3-2-5 @ 210MHz I'm happy with it for my old system.

Shmick said:

I was just wondering if anyone has this in there system. I just bought a pair from newegg, and I think it will be a moderate upgrade from the Mushkin cas 3. Also, what was the most successful overclock were able to get out of it? I am hoping to get 225mhz at the stock timings. From what I have read, this isn't the best ram for overclocking. So I guess we will see. If it isn't good at overclocking, is it possible to tighten up the timings even more. I don't know alot about timings, I have just read that tighter is usually better. Thanks in advance for any extra information on this ram.

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find out the highest voltage it spec's. set vdim to mid point and raise the ram speed a little (205-210fsb), then burn-in w/ memtest86 at least 24 hrs. then set the vdim to stock and go to windows and burn-in the ram w/ prime95, torture test for another 24 hrs.
this will break in your ram, thus overclocking better. If you havnt burn-in you cpu, burn-in cpu w/ cpu burn-in 24-48 hrs @ stock vcore.
Are you familiar w/ these processes? if not, there are stickies to guide thru w/ software downloads. Reddragon also has a good instruction how to burn-in ram, here in this forum.
Good luck

I have tried the memtest before on an older system and I don't think I got it working right. But then again I had very crappy ram. Prime95 is awesome. I remember reading somewhere how to unlock the program and run it at some serious settings but I haven't been able to find that post since. I have used that to burn in my cpu, and I have notice that processors threshold is getting stronger with age. Out of the box I wasn't able to get over 2000mhz, now I can but the ram poops out. I guess I will get memtest another shot when I get the ram in. I have read on some posts that people have gotten 225 at 2-3-2-5 and 240 max with 2.5-3-3-5. I don't know we will see. I will just leave it default and turn the frontside up seperate to about 210 to burn it in. Thanks alot for the info. I will post again when I get some results.

you can use SP2004 - just a P95 with a diff. GUI; allows you to choose priority with no unlocking.

speaking of the ram - you saw the sale on the egg, right?

i am running it on my pIV system right now 2.5-3-2-6 at 214 (that's 5:4 from fsb divider). seems ok so far. it boots 2-3-2-5 but Windows crashes. i set 2.9v vdimm and priming with large fft right now with 2.5-3-2-6. i'll give it time to warm-up and then will try to tighten the timings a bit.

seems fine at 2.5-3-2-5 at 214 so far

mcoleg said:

you can use SP2004 - just a P95 with a diff. GUI; allows you to choose priority with no unlocking.

speaking of the ram - you saw the sale on the egg, right?

i am running it on my pIV system right now 2.5-3-2-6 at 214 (that's 5:4 from fsb divider). seems ok so far. it boots 2-3-2-5 but Windows crashes. i set 2.9v vdimm and priming with large fft right now with 2.5-3-2-6. i'll give it time to warm-up and then will try to tighten the timings a bit.

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you might want to raise your tRAS to 7. 2.5-3-2-6 is not going to be stable and at some point will corrupt files or crash, and will not be able to oc higher.
CL+tRCD+2 is always a good setting. in your case,2.5+3+2=7.5, so 1.5 over instead of 2 is still pretty tight but should work. If found not stable or cant oc higher then change it to 8 (2.5-3-2-8) or even (2.5-3-3-8). Both are good timing and might give you higher oc.

oc, thanks for the advice. what about 2.5-3-2-5?
btw, i dropped vdimm to 2.5v, seems to make no real difference.

Thank guys, you have been real helpful. I am going to do what OCHUNGRY suggested with the 48 hour burn in. That way I can also make sure the ram isn't defected in anyway or the cpu. The cpu will be the next upgrade. I want to go with a san diego 4000+ but people I work with are telling me x2 is the way to go. The only way I would go x2 is with a toledo, and right now that is a bit out of my price range. Oh well, we will see what the future brings.

Before I forget, the stock voltage is 2.6. My motherboard supports upto 2.85. I was thinking of changing it to 2.75 to make sure it gets the voltage it needs. Or do you think that is a bit over the top. I have a hard time with this, because I read some people get great overclocks with voltage increases, then other people say voltage doesn't have a lot to do with it, it is all compatibility and luck. I just wish I knew more about timings and voltages so I don't do any damage. Thanks again guys for the help.

Also can you clear one more thing up for me. Does tight timings at 200mhz outperform something like 2.5 at 220mhz. I know the front side is faster, but what do all the other timings do. If it is loose, how does it technically run faster.

Shmick said:

Thank guys, you have been real helpful. I am going to do what OCHUNGRY suggested with the 48 hour burn in. That way I can also make sure the ram isn't defected in anyway or the cpu. The cpu will be the next upgrade. I want to go with a san diego 4000+ but people I work with are telling me x2 is the way to go. The only way I would go x2 is with a toledo, and right now that is a bit out of my price range. Oh well, we will see what the future brings.

Before I forget, the stock voltage is 2.6. My motherboard supports upto 2.85. I was thinking of changing it to 2.75 to make sure it gets the voltage it needs. Or do you think that is a bit over the top. I have a hard time with this, because I read some people get great overclocks with voltage increases, then other people say voltage doesn't have a lot to do with it, it is all compatibility and luck. I just wish I knew more about timings and voltages so I don't do any damage. Thanks again guys for the help.

Also can you clear one more thing up for me. Does tight timings at 200mhz outperform something like 2.5 at 220mhz. I know the front side is faster, but what do all the other timings do. If it is loose, how does it technically run faster.

Click to expand...

If you are planning to buy X2 i have seen members here and at XS(Xtremesystem.com) buy 3800x2, it is aroun $370 and appears to oc decently (30% without extensive cooling).
The ram voltage increase to better oc all depends on the brand. Some memory chips like voltage some like loose timing. I know TCCD has no advantage w/ volt increase but does good w/ loose timing.
about performance: you just have to run test on your system and find the right mark for yourself. Higherbandwidth+ higher latency somtimes is not as good as middle range bandwidth w/ low latency. For AMD, if you keep the latency below 44ns and high bandwitdh then you have done good.
for your ram if you could get up to DDR466 (233fsb) and 43ns latency and 7400+mb/s bandwidth in EVEREST software, you have done good.
if you dont see any improvement in raising your ram voltage, then keep it close to its spec. voltage.

mcoleg said:

oc, thanks for the advice. what about 2.5-3-2-5?
btw, i dropped vdimm to 2.5v, seems to make no real difference.

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It looks like too tight. if you ran tests and all good then it may be fine. But, 2.5+3=5.5 is already .5 over your tRAS . Try 2.5-3-2-7 see if works better. To be honest, thers is not much difference between 2 or 2.5, but makes a big difference having tRAS right timing. other may disagree, but this is what I have learned.

i see, tnx.

First off I would like to post.

I just came back from my first football game ever. I got to see the New England Patriots vs. Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium. Oh my goddamn. My bro-inlaw got us some V.I.P. tickets which means we got to go to the Dana Farbor whatever dome and get free drinks. On top of that, I got my picture taken with two cheerleaders. I have pics to prove it.

Okay, besides being drunk, I recieved my ram a day early because newegg.com (I saw a sign on the side of the road in Mass. that had a newegg logo) has awesome delievery, and I guess UPS also. Anyways, the ram so far is going through a P95 test. I didn't change any of the settings. I just did whatever the default was. And I tried to get the fsb to 210mhz with the stock settings but was unsucessful during boot-up.

I am going to do the burn in on the sticks like ochungry suggested, so I won't be able to mess with the settings right off. I know right off, although I think SiSoft Sandra sucks, and from reading some posts I know other people feel the same way, my OCZ ram didn't out perform my Mushkin at all. Infact my Mushkin value ram is showing up the OCZ ram except for memory size. Oh well, I don't know what the OCZ can do yet until I push it a little. This may sound like a lot of nonsense but I am really drunk and excited coming off of a huge buzz from my first football experience.

shmick,
I forgot you had 2x1gig. its best to burn-in ram one stick at the time.
also for what I read 2x1g arn't as good overclockers. you might have to use dividers if no luck w/ 1:1.

so, i did some testing... this is at 2.5v:



should be good enough i think. what's your results?