4g4a+ 3:4 divider

[ronnie0738]

I can get the 3:4 divider, but my windows locks up when I run anything (i.e. press the start bar). I'm at 150fsb (2.66@3ghz & True DDR400). When I run 4:5 (3.2ghz & DDR400), it works fine. Any suggestions?

 

[Ketchup]

I have the same motherboard, and have pretty much the same problem. I am running the 2822 bios, but the 2424 bios does the same thing. I am running my 2.4B at 2.77 GHz and DDR 410 using the 3:4 divider. It freezes as soon as Windows loads on a cold boot. To fix this, I just hit the reset botton, and it restarts and has no more problems whatsoever. Of course this is a bit annoying, but I only cold boot once or twice a day, so it's no big deal. The kicker is, it performs better at 2.77 and DDR 412 than when I run it at 2.88 GHz and DDR 400 using the 4:5 divider, so I prefer this way as I am not pushing my CPU as hard. I still have found no explanation as to what is causing this strange behavior. If you or someone else out there finds an answer, please let us know about it.

 

[Acer]

I built a system for my son using this board so mind memory banks are a little sketchy, but I do remember there is memory setting adjustments. So, have you fooled with them.....

 

[Wolfsraider]

please answer a dumb question for me

my ram is running at 374 on this motherboard i can change the settings in the bios,i have the 2.8 listed in my sig as "lilo"
what settings do you adjust to get 400mhz?is it the timings the cas?i am new to ddr and confused

i have 2 5 2 2 for the cas
4/5 divider
no extra voltage how far is safe/resonable with corsairxms3000?
can you guys shed some light my way to help me figure out how to set the speed of the ram?

thanks
mike

 

[Johnnychangs]

Overclocking is best defined as both an art and a crapshoot.

I call it an art because of the skill and time it takes to overclock successfully. You have to know what you're doing, and the more you play with it, the better you get at it.

Also, overclocking is a crapshoot because your success is totally random. This has to do with good/bad hardware. One stick of DDR RAM may overlcock like a bitch, but the next stick may be a dog. Perfect example of this...I had the same batch P4 1.6A as a friend of mine. He could clock his up to 2.8ghz no problem. I tried my processor on his mainboard, and it could only get up to 2.4ghz.

So my advice is play with your system. There is no "secret formula" to overclocking on any system. If you're lucky, you may be able to use the same settings someone else is using, but its a rarity.

Basic guideline is not to set Vcore or Vmem too high. Anything else is up to you.

Good luck

 

[Wolfsraider]

your right but by asking what settings i can assume settings at or below those may be safer right?just looking to get a better understanding here and thanks

mike

 

[Ketchup]

Besically, the lower the number in your memory settings, the less of a delay there is for your memory to transfer information from the CPU, and the faster your system will be, theoretically.

At default settings, it is possible to set these numbers to the lowest possible setting with decent memory. As you start overclcocking, you will need even better quality memory and/or more memory voltage to run your computer at these settings. Once you start overclocking, it is really best to leave your memory set to SPD . I have tried adjusting these timinigs to their lowest values while running my memory at DDR 333, and the performance difference between Turbo and SPD is negligible.

SPD (Serial Presence Detection) means that the motherboard will read values that have been present into the DRAM module. These are usually a very stable setting while still offering good performance. Also, when running DDR 400, your memory is being written to at the blistering speed of 200 MHz (400 if you account for the top and bottom of the clock) so lowering the Ras/Cas is going to have less of an effect on performance since your memory is already running pretty darn fast!

 

[Wolfsraider]

thanks ketchup79
what would you say is a safe max voltage for ram is 2.8 safe?

 

[Ketchup]

I've been all the way to 3.2 and back, and haven't had any problems. I probably wouldn't go over 2.9 for extended periods, but from what I understand, RAM is pretty resilient, so use whatever you feel comfortable at. I have never heard of anyone killing their memory with too much voltage.

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: ketchup79
I've been all the way to 3.2 and back, and haven't had any problems. I probably wouldn't go over 2.9 for extended periods, but from what I understand, RAM is pretty resilient, so use whatever you feel comfortable at. I have never heard of anyone killing their memory with too much voltage.

cool thanks

i appreciate the answers and your time
mike

 

[ronnie0738]

ketchup79 - I can't even get that to work. I could run Sandra and then it crashed while running 3dmark.

Update: I tried 2822, but it still does the same thing. I'm going to try another board.

 

[Poohbee]

How do you guys get that 3:4 ratio? I only see the 4:5 ratio. I run a p4 2.53ghz cpu and i set Jumper 1 to be open (133mhz). Did you set it the buss speed to 100mhz? Let me know. Thank you =)

 

[Wolfsraider]

my 3/4 divider is in the bios top right side

it gives you a choice 1/1 3/4 4/5

 

[Ketchup]

If you have a 533 fsb CPU like my 2.4B or the 2.53, you will need to manually set the fsb jumper to 100. Then go into the bios and you should see 1:1 and 3:4 ratios. If you leave it in auto, you probably have 4:3, 1:1, and 4:5. Don't mistake the 4:3 for the 3:4 Wolfradier. Of course, one run of Sandra should tell you if you are using the right one!

 

[Ketchup]

Over in AOA Forums, there is a guy who seems to think there is a "problem" with the way the Nividia Detonator drivers and Intel INF drivers interact. It seems to only show up when running DDR 400 and faster on this chipset, but it is an interesting issue. I have tried overclocking before I installed the Dets, and saw no difference in overclocking, so I am not really sure what to make of it.

Of course, overclocking is a "crap shot" so maybe this guy just got the "crap" side of it. Then again, aren't you running an ATI card Wolfsraider, so maybe this guy has a different issue altogether. It is interesting that his "fix" for the issue has resulted in his system performance going down the toilet. Anyway, here is the article for those who want to read it:

http://www.aoaforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=7b6ca009e590b273b92e8ea293e7a536&threadid=8872

 

[Wolfsraider]

Originally posted by: ketchup79
If you have a 533 fsb CPU like my 2.4B or the 2.53, you will need to manually set the fsb jumper to 100. Then go into the bios and you should see 1:1 and 3:4 ratios. If you leave it in auto, you probably have 4:3, 1:1, and 4:5. Don't mistake the 4:3 for the 3:4 Wolfradier. Of course, one run of Sandra should tell you if you are using the right one!

oops

 

[Wolfsraider]

nice find but yes i am using ati this time around

 

[Tummy]

Guys, this is actually a pretty well known problem with Intel's new memory controller, and isn't specific to the 845g. There is no known work around; basically the gist of the problem is that > 133fsb, 3:4 memory ratio just will not work... it's freeze city.

 

[ronnie0738]

It would seem that if you just use 1 double sided stick of DDR400 in slot 2 or 3, it will work even with the Intel 82845G/GL Processor to AGP Controller installed. I have gotten slot 1 to work, but only with a single sided 256 stick. I'll give this a try.

 

[Ketchup]

Hey Tummy, if the 3:4 ratio "just doesn't work" above 133 like you say, then why am I running 2.82 GHz, 157 FSB, and 418 MHz DDR with the 3:4 divider? Furthermore, my VDIMM is at 2.6, which I think speaks for the stability of this chipset. The only problem is that on a cold boot, it won't POST at first, but after I hit the reset button, it boots and runs perfectly stable. I am getting right at 14,000 3d-Marks. Of course, it shouldn't have this cold boot issue, but it's not like it's anything that I cannot live with. There are plenty of people out there with the Abit IT7 who are running stable well over DDR 400 like me.

I agree there is an issue with the 845 chipset and this particular divider, what I (and most probably the rest of us here) am looking for is an answer as to why this is. What would make a 4:5 ratio work perfectly, but the 3:4 exhibit these glitches, and is this something Intel has fixed with the new PE and GE chipset?

All of you please note that DDR 400 speeds work best if your DIMM is in the second slot. Again, I have no idea why this is, but myself and others in the "the 4G4A+ seems very promising" thread can say so from personal experience.

 

[Wolfsraider]

ketchup79

thanks dude all the timings are in that thread and exactly what i was wanting

thanks man i guess i didn't read far enough

back to my reading

seriously a big thanks
mike

 

[Link]

Ketchup79, the second DIMM slot is no go for me. As soon as I move the module to from the first slot to the second, the system rebooted by itself upon seeing the boot WinXP boot screen. The first DIMM slot is much more stable than the second one with my 4G4A+.

 

[Ketchup]

I am going to post my board specs soon, but every system is different, so do whatever works for you. Getting this board to work right with the 3:4 setting has taken a lot of tweaking, but I love to tweak, so that's fine with me.

To get things stable with the 3:4 ratio, I think you all are going to have to do something like what I did. I started by setting the 3:4 ratio and the fsb to 133, which is default. Once I deemed it stable enough to run 3dMark and my games without freezing, I bumped it up in SMALL incrememts. Many times after I booted up it would crash loading windows. I just hit reset, and it loaded Windows, but then crashed in 3dMark, so reset again, and it doesn't crash, so time to raise the FSB a little. I did this all the way from about 139 FSB to where I am now, 157. My goal is 160, which is the fastest this CPU will run stable with 1.7 volts on the vcore. I think it's a good idea to see what the limit of your CPU is first. That way, when testing the 3:4 ratio, you will know that it's the chipset and not the CPU that is crashing your computer.

I have no idea what is going on inside this chipset, but the more you push it, the better it gets, so keep trying guys! It's worth it!