OCZ PC3200 Plat Rev 2 instability

[Vulcan]

Hey everyone, I've been out of the fold for awhile... but I was in the mood to do some overclocking.

Basicly, my goal is to get my system stable at around 2400-2500mhz, specs are as seen in sig [minus the overclocks, which proved to be unstable long ago].

My current issue is with getting the memory stable. I've based the config of my memory settings around what I found on the OCZ forums, but no dice.

Heres the current settings:

Freq set: 200 [1/1]
CPC: Enable
Tcl: 2.5
Trcd: 04
Tras: 08
Trp: 04
Trc: 08
Trfc: 16
Trrd: 03
Twr: 03
Twtr: 02
Trwt: 03
Tref: 4708
Bank Interleave: enabled
DQS Skew: auto
Skew val: 0
DRAM Drive Strength: weak 4 [have tried weak 2 and weak 3]
Data Drive Strength: Level 2
max asyn: auto
dram response: normal
read preamble: auto
IddleCycle: 256
Dynamic Counter: Disabled
R/W Bypass: 16x
bypass max: 7x
32 byte Gran: Disable

FSB Freq: 250
LDT/FSB: 4x
Transfer Width: 16 16
CPU/FSB: 8x
PCIe: 100
CnC: disabled
Startup: 1.475V
CPU VID: 1.4
VID Control: 110%
LDT Volt: 1.3
Chip Set: 1.7
Dram: 2.8
+.03V: disabled

I know many of you have run similar hardware in the past, so perhaps there is something I'm missing you might see. Thanks for the help.

 

[Super Nade]

Did you check here?
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=379317

A few suggestions would be:

Drive strengths to 8 and 2
tREF to AUTO at first and then pick it off from A64Tweaker.
DRAM response to Fast
Trp to 3.

 

[Vulcan]

Did you check here?
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=379317

A few suggestions would be:

Drive strengths to 8 and 2
tREF to AUTO at first and then pick it off from A64Tweaker.
DRAM response to Fast
Trp to 3.

Thanks for the help/link.

One the drive strength... I thought weaker (3, 5, 7) settings were better for TCC5.

 

[Vulcan]

Well, Thus far I have had no luck in getting the ram even semi stable at 250mhz. (about 1.5 min to error in prime @1024k FFT) Could it be that my memory controller is that bad?

 

[Super Nade]

If it works without errors at stock settings then it is not the RAM. You probably need a week or so of tweaking to get your desired results. It is rather odd that you are having problems at 250 MHz. Try this:

• See how far each stick would clock upto individually.
• Keep the weaker stick in the slot closer to the CPU.
• Use the Orange slots for TCCx stuff.

 

[Vulcan]

If it works without errors at stock settings then it is not the RAM. You probably need a week or so of tweaking to get your desired results. It is rather odd that you are having problems at 250 MHz. Try this:

• See how far each stick would clock upto individually.
• Keep the weaker stick in the slot closer to the CPU.
• Use the Orange slots for TCCx stuff.

I made one last ditch effort, slacking out the timmings more and kicking the voltages up abit... (I also switched over to a 'normal' drive strength like you said) it seems to have worked. Going on an hour now running dual instances of prime.

I don't feel up to testing the sticks individualy tonight, but that might be a good project for next weekend.

And use the orange slots? I could have sworn I was always told the opposite.

 

[Super Nade]

There is no hard and fast rule regarding the slots, but for me TCCD=Orange and BH5=Yellow. The thread I linked to is an excellent resource for timings. Check it out and use A64Tweaker for dynamic tweaking in Windows.

Loosening timings will not really bring out the best with your RAM. You really have to tweak the sub-timings to get the best results. Also, if you are running 2.9V through TCCD, active cooling helps a lot!