Need advice on new ram(bios settings)

[Blackweb]

Hello all

Just wanna say I enjoy reading these forums and I've learned alot on overclocking already solely by reading other peoples posts, but I am presented with a small complication due to my purchase on the ram mentioned in the specs below.

Now so far I just wanted a simple OC out of my i7 cpu while still keeping my comp quiet, even when gaming. These very few changes to the BIOS in the Asus P6T Deluxe V2 has given me a stable and quiet oc from 2.8ghz to 3.65ghz, I really haven't changed much but it's definently stable cuz I've been using it for months and tested it several times.

OC Control = Manual
Vcore = 1.2000
CPU Ratio = x22
BCLK = 166

And that's it.

But the thing is, the ram listed in the specs below is the ram I just bought, I had slower (1333mhz) ram before these.

As you can see the specs on the ram I bought allows them to run safely at 1866mhz which is basically what I want to do, while still holding my CPU clock at max 3.7ghz.

I tried various bclk and ratio differences, but my comp won't boot with these ram if I go higher than around 1700 mhz on the ram? I'm guessing I need to change my QPI or Dram Bus Voltage to something else than auto, but I'm having a hard time understanding what they should be set to exactly?

I wanna set the dram bus to 1.64(max before it turns red in bios) and the qpi to something more appropriate to the ram, but I'm not sure what they mean so I'm abit scared to set em so high.

Can anyone give me some advice on how I should set my memory timings(which options it is on this mobo's bios) and on how I should experiment with my QPI / DRAM voltages?

I would apprecaite it greatly if anyone could share some advice!


CASE:
Define R3, No PSU - Silver Arrow
2x120mm front fans(intake)
1x120mm back exhaust
1x120mm top exhaust
(all fractal fans)

PSU:
750W Corsair TX CMPSU-750TXEU 140m

Mainboard:
Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel X58 DDR3
CrossFire/SLI

CPU:
Intel Core i7 930 2.80 GHz 8MB 130W S1366 /w Coolermaster Hyper 212+

GFX:
MSI N480GTX-M2D15 - GF GTX 480 -1.5 GB - DirectX 11 /w Accelero Xtreme Plus II @ VCore=1038, CoreClock=820, ShaderClock=1640(stable)

RAM:
KHX1866C9D3K3/12GX
12GB (4GB 512M x 64-Bit x 3 pcs.)
DDR3-1866 CL9 240-Pin DIMM Kit

(Further ram specs from manufacturers .pdf on my exact ram)
• JEDEC: DDR3-1333 CL9-9-9 @1.5V
• XMP Profile #1: DDR3-1866 CL9-11-9-27 @1.65V
• XMP Profile #2: DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-27 @1.65V

CL(IDD) 9 cycles
Row Cycle Time (tRCmin) 49.5ns (min.)

• JEDEC standard 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V) Power Supply
• VDDQ = 1.5V (1.425V ~ 1.575V)
• 667MHz fCK for 1333Mb/sec/pin
• 8 independent internal bank
• Programmable CAS Latency: 9, 8, 7, 6
• Posted CAS
• Programmable Additive Latency: 0, CL - 2, or CL - 1 clock
• Programmable CAS Write Latency(CWL) = 7 (DDR3-1333)
• 8-bit pre-fetch
• Burst Length: 8 (Interleave without any limit, sequential with
starting address “000” only), 4 with tCCD = 4 which does not
allow seamless read or write [either on the fly using A12 or
MRS]
• Bi-directional Differential Data Strobe
• Internal(self) calibration : Internal self calibration through ZQ
pin (RZQ : 240 ohm ± 1%)
• On Die Termination using ODT pin
• Average Refresh Period 7.8us at lower than TCASE 85°C,
3.9us at 85°C < TCASE < 95°C
• Asynchronous Reset
• PCB : Height 1.180” (30.00mm), double sided component
Refresh to Active/Refresh 160ns (min.)
Command Time (tRFCmin)
Row Active Time (tRASmin) 36ns (min.)
Power (Operating) 1.410 W* (per module)
UL Rating 94 V - 0
Operating Temperature 0o C to 85o C
Storage Temperature -55o C to +100o C

EDIT: I forgot to mention Hyperthreading is disabled! Also my max temps under heavy prime tests no matter how long they run is around 68-72C max on all 4 cores so I consider it stable and cool enough.

 

[redduc900]

At your current BCLK of 166, you won't be able to run the RAM at the modules rated DDR3-1866. You can choose either DDR3-1660 (x10 DRAM mult.) or DDR3-1992 (x12 DRAM mult.). Try setting the BCLK to 186 w/ the multiplier set to 20 = 3.6GHz, this w/ the DRAM mult. set to x10 = DDR3-1866. Then match the timings and voltage to the DDR3-1866 XMP profile of CL9-11-9-27 and 1.65V. And w/ 12GB installed, you'll need to bump QPI/DRAM Core voltage (VTT) from the default to upwards of 1.40-1.45V, or possibly higher at that DRAM frequency. Or you could just try enabling the DDR3-1866 XMP profile, which the BIOS will use to modify the necessary voltages for you automatically. And before attempting to boot into the OS after making the above changes, make sure to test the RAM for stability by booting to Memtest86+ installed to a thumb drive.

 

[Blackweb]

At your current BCLK of 166, you won't be able to run the RAM at the modules rated DDR3-1866. You can choose either DDR3-1660 (x10 DRAM mult.) or DDR3-1992 (x12 DRAM mult.). Try setting the BCLK to 186 w/ the multiplier set to 20 = 3.6GHz, this w/ the DRAM mult. set to x10 = DDR3-1866. Then match the timings and voltage to the DDR3-1866 XMP profile of CL9-11-9-27 and 1.65V. And w/ 12GB installed, you'll need to bump QPI/DRAM Core voltage (VTT) from the default to upwards of 1.40-1.45V, or possibly higher at that DRAM frequency. Or you could just try enabling the DDR3-1866 XMP profile, which the BIOS will use to modify the necessary voltages for you automatically. And before attempting to boot into the OS after making the above changes, make sure to test the RAM for stability by booting to Memtest86+ installed to a thumb drive.

Thanks for the advice I'm gonna start playing around with what you wrote. I'm still curious about the ram timings, how am I supposed to set them exactly? When I enter the ram timing options I see alot of options and I have no idea which of them I should choose the memory timing numbers on?

Guide to making a memtest usb should be easy to find though.

 

[redduc900]

CAS# Latency: 9
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 11
DRAM RAS# PRE Time: 9
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 27

DRAM Bus Voltage: 1.65

Leave everything else in the DRAM Timing Control menu on Auto.

 

[Blackweb]

CAS# Latency: 9
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 11
DRAM RAS# PRE Time: 9
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 27

DRAM Bus Voltage: 1.65

Leave everything else in the DRAM Timing Control menu on Auto.

First off, thanks for this really precise advice, I think it's working with flying colors but I will let you be the judge.

I fought abit with the making of the memtest usb and it was taking too long so I decided to do a memtest run in windows. This should be perfectly doable according to memtest documentation if done right, so I followed the instructions in its manual.

I had 8xxx mb of free memory in windows so I opened 4 x memtest and gave them 2000mb each (1 for each cpu core, since HT is disabled I figure its cool with 4 = 4 treads correct?) leaving a small bit of 2xx mb ram which would continue to be free and untested, documentation said not to let it test more ram than is free in windows and preferably abit less. (very small margin of errors I assume?).

I used these settings:
Vcore=1.2000
QPI=1.42500
DRAM Bus=1.64

Regarding the Dram bus voltage. I couldnt set this to 1.65 it automatically jumps to 1.66 if you type it in for some reason, then turns red and warns about CPU dam due to exceeding the 1.65 limit so I settled for 1.64 and used a 185x20 bclk/ratio setting instead leaving the ram at 1854mhz out of its max 1866mhz.

As you can see in the screenshot here.

I have done at least a 100% coverage test which, which I can understand from memtest documentation, is a basic test to see if the ram is working properly.

Should I continue to fight with the usb booter test and do a at least overnight test or something or what is your opinion on my testing so far, seems pretty stable no?

I should mention windows feels very fast and very stable there's a noticeable difference in everything I do.

EDIT: Forgot to ask one last question, the QPI/DRAM voltage, does this add heat to the CPU or the CPU+RAM or just the RAM?

Increasing this instead of adding more Vcore seems to give me better temps and a more stable CPU OC aswell, can that be true?

MORE EDIT:
I did a 3D Mark test aswell and got this result. If it weights in as any kind of factor in this regard.

Forgot to mention that I also set the timings according to the 1866 XMP profile as you also noted earlier.

Here's also a screenie of the mem info in CPU-Z in windows with the current settings:
http://blackweb.dk/img/mem1.jpg

 

[redduc900]

You just need to make the thumb drive bootable, the easiest way by using the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool available here...

How to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/12/-the-usb-flash-drive.ars

Then download and run the Memtest86+ V4.20 USB installer...

Download - Auto-installer for USB Key (Win 9x/2k/xp/7)

... from http://www.memtest.org/

Next just change the boot order in the BIOS so that the thumb drive is the 1st in the list.

 

[Blackweb]

You just need to make the thumb drive bootable, the easiest way by using the Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool available here...

How to create a bootable Windows 7 USB flash drive
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2009/12/-the-usb-flash-drive.ars

Then download and run the Memtest86+ V4.20 USB installer...

Download - Auto-installer for USB Key (Win 9x/2k/xp/7)

... from http://www.memtest.org/

Next just change the boot order in the BIOS so that the thumb drive is the 1st in the list.

Hi, thanks for all your help! I think I've got it all working now and stable!

I don't get why ppl say you get nothing more out of having fast ram when gaming... I went from 1333 to 185x and I can feel everything being VERY noticeably faster than before. Perhaps it's cuz I didn't have my timings entered manually on my old ram but still, the difference in windows/apps/games is pretty amazing.