Explanations of DFI NF3-250GB Bios settings/Ramtimings

[AndreAPL]

i have a kestion.

anyone has tested diferente values in (Write CAS# Latency(tWCL)**= auto /1 ) ?

and in (*DQS Skew Value*), what gains can i possible get ? using 32 / 64 didn't saw anything diferent.

cheers

 

[AndreAPL]

guys, about:

DRAM Drive Strength**= Level 1-4.

I would only suggest using Level 1 or 2, if you have CPC enabled.(although every sysem will react differently, and it is best to try them all) With CPC, anything above level 1 gave me extreme instablility, some reported that level 2 or 3 work good with CPC enabled, although this didnt work for me. Some otheres have had success w/ using level 2-4 if CPC is disabled.

what are you using ? get better performance here with lev1

 

[THunDA]

<bump>

This thread is so helpfull in tweaking those timings it deserves to always be on the first page of the dfi forum..

 

[Grov]

Where is Jess? i ain't seen him for ages.

 

[gundamit]

Jess may be MIA and thats a shame. In the meantime this thread should be stickied.

 

[BSViper]

Up that very useful thread...

 

[Clevor]

Where is Jess? i ain't seen him for ages.

Maybe he went NF4-SLI . Hmmm, what happened to adelphia43 too?

 

[DamienKC]

What's the safest max voltage you'd give a clawhammer CG 3000+? On full load it's at 1.72v but only 41c doing prime95. I figured with such a low load temp it's safe at this voltage. Input? I'd like to give it more to go for 2.55+ghz

 

[fldrice]

this should be a sticky!

 

[tedy]

any settings for TCCD ?

 

[Clevor]

I have this DFI board up again. Earlier I ran it for only 3 days. This time I'm armed with an 430W OCZ Powerstream .

I bumped the 3.3 rail a tad to 3.46, now I can run my 2x512 XMS3500 at 251, 2-2-2-5 @ 3.12 actual VDIMM (3.1 in the BIOS)! Memtest clean and 3D benchable. At 3.22 actual, I got it to 254. This is unreal for 2x512 sticks of BH-5! The VDIMM modded BIOS by Jesse and the OCZ PSU makes things real easy.

This board looks way slower than the Abit NF8 though. I am doing more comparison benching and will post my results on the Abit forum (Nvidia S754 boards). Doesn't look too good considering BH-5 is in the board now . Plus I'm running this DTR at 2600 mhz.

 

[BSViper]

This board looks way slower than the Abit NF8 though. I am doing more comparison benching and will post my results on the Abit forum (Nvidia S754 boards). Doesn't look too good considering BH-5 is in the board now . Plus I'm running this DTR at 2600 mhz.

Are you complitely sure?
It's very strange, cause memory controller integrate in CPU, an other stuff on that two boards looks like identical..

Any way, my guess - too late for Abit with his NF8...
Now, socket 939 boards much more interesting for buyers...

 

[Clevor]

Are you complitely sure?
It's very strange, cause memory controller integrate in CPU, an other stuff on that two boards looks like identical..

Any way, my guess - too late for Abit with his NF8...
Now, socket 939 boards much more interesting for buyers...

If you remember, the same issue occurred between the NF7-S and DFI UltraB: the DFI easily clocked BH-5 to 250, 2-2-2-5 that could barely do 230 on the Abit, but the latter had better benchmarks. It's a BIOS issue.

All the hype consists of screenies of how high ram clock, and maybe a SuperPI 1M time or so. No 3DMark scores. The NF8 came out real late so I guess it was never included in any S754 reviews - if any shootouts were done at all.

I see the DFI S754 down a whopping 300-600 points in 3DMark2000/2001 - Ouch! That hurts, as those are bread-and-butter benchmarks.

I am seriously taking a look at the Abit NF4 board - 2.8 VDIMM and all, in regards to the DFI NF4. Me wonders: the same thing . . .?

 

[THunDA]

Clevor.. What are your other timings besides the normal 2-2-2 ones ?

 

[Clevor]

Clevor.. What are your other timings besides the normal 2-2-2 ones ?

Thunda, do you have a quick link to the settings in A64 Tweaker for BH-5? I run 2-2-2-5 and everything set to AUTO.

I tried the optimum Tweaker settings for TCCD and I could not clock higher or get faster on the DFI, so I'm skeptical such tweaking will make up for that big a diff in the Marks. Mainly the DFI board loses out big time in WRITE bandwidth - like 400 points in Everest.

But figure the NF8 has NO memory settings in the BIOS to tweak, and it is already faster than the DFI UT3 . . .

 

[Clevor]

Actually this thread is so long, recommended BH-5 settings are on the first page by Jesse. I'll try those. If anybody has anything better, let me know.

 

[Clevor]

Anybody using the beta BIOS dated 1-28-05? It is supposed to improve bandwidth, but don't know if it has VDIMM to 4.0. I kinda doubt it as it is from DFI.

 

[THunDA]

Anybody using the beta BIOS dated 1-28-05? It is supposed to improve bandwidth, but don't know if it has VDIMM to 4.0. I kinda doubt it as it is from DFI.

Try Jess's settings.. then you have to use his guide to tweak down what your ram can handle..

1\28 has Bank Interleaving and if your ram likes it then it will boost bandwidth.. unfortunatly my tccd doesnt like it but my bh5 does..

Here is TicTac's forum and a download of the 1\28 with 4v vdimm.. that im using..

edit..

BTW.. this thread is long but very educational.. worth a read.. I did..

 

[Clevor]

Try Jess's settings.. then you have to use his guide to tweak down what your ram can handle..

1\28 has Bank Interleaving and if your ram likes it then it will boost bandwidth.. unfortunatly my tccd doesnt like it but my bh5 does..

Here is TicTac's forum and a download of the 1\28 with 4v vdimm.. that im using..

edit..

BTW.. this thread is long but very educational.. worth a read.. I did..

Thanks, I will give everything a go. For me it's pretty simple: the DTR I have in there now is not very good but manages the highest I can do so far: 2600 mhz. I will set the dividers to get close to 250, 2-2-2-5 there with the different BIOSs and tweaks. If I can't break 27k in 3DMark2000, no good. I got 27,443 at 260x10, 2.5-2-3-5 with the NF8.

 

[Clevor]

Here's the result of testing last night, all are 3DMark2000 scores:

- Jesse's original BIOS plus his BH-5 settings=26,640

- Jesse's BIOS plus 2-2-2-10, rest of the settings on auto=26,600

- Beta 1-28-05 BIOS, 2-2-2-10, auto settings=26,490 (!)

- Beta 1-28-05 BIOS, reinstall latest NF3 drivers=26,500

This is 2610 mhz and a divider to give 237 on the ram. On the NF8, even at 254x10, 2.5-2-3-5 I got 27,007 is 3DMark2000. So much for the latest Beta BIOS boosting bandwidth on the DFI.

I am currently running TicTac's Beta with VDIMM to 4.0. Seems a little stabler than Jesse's. I can run my 2x512 XMS3500 at 252, 2-2-2-10 at 3.12 VDIMM, and 255 at 3.22!!!

I tried running 252x10, 2-2-2-10 but I still cannot come close to 27k in 3DMark2000. I hit my record of 27,447 on the NF8 at 260x10, 2.5-3-3-6 with TCCD. The S939 boards cannot break 27k either (see sig).

I don't know what it is about the NF8 that it gets such great 3DMark2000 scores. That is a CPU and L2 cache extensive benchmark. The board hit the market late, and maybe it uses a diff rev NF3 chipset.

I don't find a whole lot of diff in stability and speed on the DFI by using AUTO settings for the ram or the tweaked settings. Maybe slightly better bandwidth with tweaked settings.

Still, the 3DMark2000 scores on the DFI UT3 are pretty good, almost on a par with S939. It's that 1MB L2 of the Claw.

270x10 on a Winnie at 2.5-3-3-6 with TCCD will net maybe a 26.3 3DMark2001 score (S939). I can get maybe 26,100 on the DFI S754 with BH-5, so not bad.