Help with tweaking RAM in BIOS MSI Neo2 A64

I've managed to overclock my system from 2.0GHz to 2.65GHz running very well for a few months.. but I know very well that if I tweak the ram settings I can get much faster performance or even go higher. I just don't really know what I'm doing with that stuff. So I took 3 relevant photos of my BIOS and put them on ImageShack.. now I just pray that someone more enlightened than I can guide my system to greater operation -=o)

Cell Menu

Advanced Setting

DRAM Configuration

to the Forum!
It looks like you have done very well with your board and your winchester. I don't know what kind of chips are in your ram, but if they are TCCD you might try them at 2.8 or even 2.85 volts. I don't know how high they will clock. Mine got to about 278MHz with a winchester and the timings were 3-4-4-8. I ended up using the 166 divider in order to run the CPU at 9x282. I had a Winnie 3000 and did not have the advantage of the 10x multi. It might be better to lower your multi to 9 in order to test how high the ram can clock at 1 to 1. Do this with a memtest86 boot disc, so you don't have to worry about corrupting windows. Once you have an idea how high the ram will go, then set it to a 166 divider and put your multi back to 10x to see how high the cpu will clock. Yu\ou are still running at stock vcore as the 1.40 setting really gives the CPU 1/34 volts, which when you add your 3.3% gets you to about a stock setting of 1.4 volts. You might try upping the voltage a bit to see if you can take it a little higher. Good luck with it!

I am not sure what TCCD is, but I don't think that's what I have. These are the chips I have in my system. Also, what is the 166 divider? And finally, how long do you run memtest86 for? My apologies for being so ignorant.

1.) What is your bus speed?

Your timings could be a little tighter. But that depends on your bus, if you are running under 250 bus your tcl could be 2.5 maybe 2. Tras is rated 7. Trcd and Trp could both be set to 4. If you are running 265 x 10 then I would say your settings are pretty good as is.

TheLearnerX said:

I am not sure what TCCD is, but I don't think that's what I have. These are the chips I have in my system. Also, what is the 166 divider? And finally, how long do you run memtest86 for? My apologies for being so ignorant.

Click to expand...

I think the Ultra Platinum series use Hynix chips, but if it is the PC4000 Ultra-X, they are TCCD. Hynix and TCCD are memory chips, which are one of the main components in memory modules. Neither Hynix or TCCD require high voltage - you'd probably find that around 2.8 is the best setting.

The "Memclock index value" in your BIOS is the divider rseven talks about. When set to 200, the divider will stick to the HTT clock (unless you use half multipliers). When set to 166, the memory will run at lower speed than the HTT reference clock.

If you don't get any errors after a few passes of memtest # 5, it means your RAM is pretty stable. SuperPi 32M is a bit more revealing, but Memtest86 is the safest and easiest way to ensure a decent level of stability at this point.

TheLearnerX said:

I am not sure what TCCD is, but I don't think that's what I have. These are the chips I have in my system. Also, what is the 166 divider? And finally, how long do you run memtest86 for? My apologies for being so ignorant.

Click to expand...

You have nothing to apologize for, it is I who needs to give you a clearer explanation. Judging from the specks on that ram, I would say that it is not TCCD but more likely Hynix chips as Damien has pointed out. (All ram is made up of memory chips that are attached to PCB board. TCCD is one of the best, but what you have is still decent. This thread discusses all of the advantages and disadvantages of different ram chips) I would definately try to use a 166 divider. You will find the setting on the top of your Dram Configuration page that you linked in your first post. It says your Memlock Index Value and it is currently set at 200MHz. Just change it to 166MHz. This will make your ram run at a little less than 5/6's of your HTT speed. If this is not clear, please, ask as many questions as you need to ask. That's what we are here for. Good luck.
Rich

update

Quick update

Memtest86 7 passes 2.8v 166 divider <-- all fans off or at lowest

Hah, memtest86 had showed my setup I'd had all along was bad.. I had only used SuperPI at 32M and that was fine.. what fixed memtest86 was setting the Memclock index value from 200 to 166. Funny, the system had fewer errors at 200mhz running at 2.75v than 2.7v. It's currently sitting at 2.8v w/ the divider at 166. I can't "user-feel" much of a difference with increasing the voltage, but the stability is clearly greater with 166 (at least according to memtest. Nuts that I had it running like that for almost a year.

The next two areas to tackle IMHO would be the timings and then setting the multiplier to 9.. any more thoughts? All of you have been extremely helpful

PS - I'm starting to get interested in overclocking the video card too.. can anyone point me to some guide or FAQ for that sort of thing?

PPS Edit - Doesn't even like 9x280. Running at 10x266 now.