FRONTPAGE ADATA Gaming Series DDR3-2400 8GB RAM Kit Review

[hokiealumnus]

OK, sounds good. It would be better to see exactly what we're looking at.

As a side note, some IMC's just can't handle higher frequencies. IIRC, ivy is only officially rated for 2133.

 

[Woomack]

3770K officially supports DDR3-1600 -> http://ark.intel.com/products/65523/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-Processor-8M-Cache-up-to-3_90-GHz

But really nearly all cpus should run up to ~2400. If it's not even booting @2133 then I would RMA cpu. Probably support won't make problems at least to check it on other board with different memory.

Also can try:
- 1.65V memory voltage
- 1.1-1.2V VCCIO and VCCSA ( can be VTT, IMC or something like that, I don't really know ASRock Z77 BIOS )
- Enable Internal PLL
- check on 1-2 sticks in different memory slots
- if you make it run in any memory slot with 1-2 sticks then reseat cpu as maybe there is bad pin contact what sometimes also lowers max memory clock

 

[nitewatch]

Attached Image Notes
nwphoto00: The CR I can only change to "1" or "2"
nwphoto4: DDR-2000 is currently the max speed I can run at
nwphoto5: I maxed VCCSA at 1.2 manually but that did not do anything

Please let me know if you have any suggestions on what settings to try out. I really don't want to RMA the cpu. The DDR3 I bought originally was <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231589> but I later found out that my mobo (1) does not officially support it (2) only runs at 1333 MHz and I tried to OC it. I did the research after I RMA'd it and found out that ADATA was a much better fit. I actually found this site because I was looking for reviews on the ADATA DDR3 and my Mobo. I can say I am much happier because that 1333 to 2000 MHz jump was a big deal in performance. I want to push further, if possible, like what was achieved in the article.

Do you think I need to increase the CPU base clock (Host Clock Override - BCLK) for the DDR3 to run faster?

 

[hokiealumnus]

Don't ever trust auto voltages. Set DRAM Voltage to 1.65V and VCCSA to 1.200V. Set timings manually and also set 2N just to be sure. See if that gets you to 2400.

Also try just two sticks. If you bought them as two different kits, they could have slightly different (not quite matching) ICs, which could lead to inability to run the higher speed. Full DIMMs always puts more strain on an IMC. With Ivy that's not a problem assuming you have matched kits. If you just bought two kits with the same model number there is a slim possibility of differing ICs.

 

[nitewatch]

I'll try what you suggested when I get home tonight. I bought 2 of these <http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211703>. I'll swap some sticks around.

As for the Command Rate, I can only type "2." It doesn't accept "2N" the last time I tried.

 

[hokiealumnus]

2 is fine. It'll understand that as 2N / 2T.

 

[Woomack]

also can try manually tRFC timing to ~250

 

[nitewatch]

1. Last night, I swapped the sticks. Did only a pair. Didn't work.

2. I changed everything to manual settings - timings 11-13-13-35 2, DRAM Freq. 2400 and lower, voltage 1.65-1.75, vccsa 1.2. Even tried tRFC ~250. Didn't work.

3. I was fiddling with stuff and I got it to 2100 MHz. What I did was I increased the CPU BLCK from 100 to 105 and chose the DRAM freq. 2100. Voltage was at 1.65, VCCSA at 1.2, timings at 11-13-13-35 2. But for some reason that only stuck a couple of times. When I rebooted the 3rd time it went back down to 2000 MHz. Have no idea why it worked then stop working. Increasing the voltage didn't help.

I don't know what else to do. Maybe I should just be happy with 2000 MHz and move on.

 

[hokiealumnus]

I'm sorry to say I have no idea why it would act like this. The chances of all four sticks being unable to run 2400 are extremely low. That leads me to think it's the board or CPU. Regrettably there isn't any way to find out without alternatives to swap and try. Got any friends with Ivy Bridge CPUs or Z77 motherboards?

 

[nitewatch]

It's all good. Thank you very much for your help..and great website! I'll keep my eyes peeled. You never know, a new mobo firmware might change things. I agree with you that it's probably the mobo or CPU.

 

[ivanlabrie]

Have you tried only two sticks at a time? Your memory controller must be really bad, or some auto secondary or tertiary timing isn't playing nice.