Intel Core Ultra 200S Saga: 3 Months of Fixes Benchmarked!

[Woomack]

I didnt notice a difference either.... latency didn't change a lot at all on my end.

I had 91-92ns, and now it's 95-97ns. Maybe something runs in the background. Auto settings with enabled XMP/6400 kit and I just moved from B860M Lightning to B860M Steel Legend. Both mobos are almost the same, only different colors.
The last microcode required some updates, but I can't find anything new today (ME drivers, Windows patches, etc.).

 

[EarthDog]

I was 89-92 in my tests for Z890... the B860 Tomahawk Wifi was 90.8 as well...

....... though, the latest BIOS (2/13) doesn't show that microcode updrade...

... the ASRock B860I Lightning was 89.9.

 

[Woomack]

I'm using a 96GB kit, so the timings are worse.
The B860I Lightning will be the last. I'm curious how far it is from the Z890I Nova. Generally, all ASRock B860 motherboards can make ~8600-8800 Gear 2, which is the best for gaming.

B860M Lightning shows microcode 113 when flashed with BIOS, which is supposed to have 114. B860M Steel Legend shows 118 on the latest BIOS.

All test results are so far +/- the same on 113, 114 and 118 microcodes. There are little differences, but nothing really significant.

 

[unsafesteagle]

Gear 2 8800 mhz?
@Woomack

 

[EarthDog]

Intel memory gearing, also known as memory gear mode, is the relationship between the processor's memory controller and its memory speed. Intel CPUs typically run in Gear 1 mode, where the memory controller and memory speed are equal. Gear 2 mode is when the memory controller runs at half the speed of the memory.

How does memory gearing work?
In Gear 1 mode, the memory and memory controller run at the same speed.
In Gear 2 mode, the memory speed is double the memory controller speed. For example, if the memory speed is 3200MHz, the memory controller runs at 1600MHz.

Why does memory gearing matter?
At low memory frequencies, Gear 1 mode often produces the best results.
Switching to Gear 2 mode can allow a memory kit to perform better than expected. For example, a CUDIMM kit with the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K recorded faster memory read speeds and lower latency when using Gear 2 mode.

 

[unsafesteagle]

Does ddr5 make gear 1?

 

[Woomack]

Gear 2 8800 mhz?
@Woomack

4 memory slot ASRock and Gigabyte Z890 motherboards that I tested, could work at 8800-9000MT/s Gear 2 and up to 9466 Gear 4.
2 memory slot ASRock Z890 motherboards (I had no other brand) that I tested, could work at 9000-9200MT/s Gear 2 and up to 10000MT/s Gear 4.
2 ASRock B860 motherboards that I tested ( 2 on the way) could make 8733-8800MT/s Gear 2, and up to 8933 Gear 4.

On DDR5 motherboards, Gear 1 is not available; you can only set 2 or 4.

On AM5 motherboards, the ratio switch is at 6200-6600MT/s, on Intel, it's above 8000. For example Biostar Z890 couldn't work at Gear 2 at 8200+, while leading mobo brands can make ~8800MT/s (ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI).
As usual, it's more related to memory controller, as not every CPU will make 9000MT/s Gear 2. Most will make 8800MT/s. Top 1% will make 9200MT/s. I don't know if one of my 265Ks degraded or something is wrong with the latest BIOS, but I made it pass 3h of stability test at 9200MT/s Gear 2 when I got it, but I can't make it work like that right now.

8800/9000MT/s Gear 2 is faster than anything up to 10000MT/s Gear 4. Barely any kit will make 10000MT/s+.

In short conclusion, everything above 8800 CUDIMM is a waste of money.
Every CUDIMM from brands other than Crucial is Hynix A/M, and in stores, they are almost only M-die.

Here is one CUDIMM review:

TEAMGROUP T-FORCE XTREEM CKD 48GB DDR5-8400 CUDIMM Memory Kit Review - Overclockers

Overclockers review of the latest and fastest TEAMGROUP memory series - Xtreem CKD DDR5-8400. One of the best memory series for Intel Arrow Lake processors.

www.overclockers.com

Team Group promised that the 8800 kit will be shipped soon (hidden 9466 profile)
G.Skill 8800 kit review will be finished soon.
Corsair 8400 kit just arrived.

 

[unsafesteagle]

Latency of memory above 70 ns shows real world performance decrease with 7900x3d and gskill ripjaws 6000 mhz

System is sluggish across applications compared to below 70 ns

 

[Woomack]

Latency of memory above 70 ns shows real world performance decrease with 7900x3d and gskill ripjaws 6000 mhz

System is sluggish across applications compared to below 70 ns

I can't see any significant difference between anything from 60 to 80ns on AMD. The only real difference, which is visible, is when the ratio goes from 1:1 to 1:2. At least this is what I see in various tests like 3DMark Applications that use MS Office or other things like rendering, compression/decompression and some more.
Some specific applications may react better, but I get totally bored reviewing RAM on AMD, as the results are almost always the same. There are bigger differences on Intel, but it's scaling much higher.

On AMD, I see differences between anything below 6000MT/s and 6000-6400. Then between 1:1 and 1:2 ratio, up to 8000MT/s. You have to try really hard to make 8000MT/s 1:2 faster than 6400MT/s 1:1, and 8200+ is hard to even boot on most CPUs.

 

[unsafesteagle]

memory bandwidth is unbelievable compared to just a couple years ago with ddr4
wow

 

[unsafesteagle]

How's the licensing with aida64 anyway?

 

[EarthDog]

How's the licensing with aida64 anyway?

What are you asking here?

 

[unsafesteagle]

@EarthDog asking opinion on
Price of Purchasing Aida64?
Multiple Windows Installations?
Features enabled compared to the free/evaluation copy?

 

[Woomack]

Install the free version and look at what is locked/hidden. Then you will know what is missing. There are many "little" things everywhere that are locked or part of something is hidden.
There are often promos on a yearly license. You can install it on as many PCs as you want. Actually, you can copy the installation folder on a flash drive and use it/copy to any other PC without the installation. It uses a license saved in a file.
ASUS motherboards get one year of AIDA64 for free. I guess there are other promos, too. The last one was for Valentine's Day, but it expired a week ago.