A Newbie Desperately Needs Your Help....

[SkylineRider]

Hi, I'll make it brief & quick.

I tried to overclock my X2 4400+ Toledo to 260Mhz x10.5 and it's running smooth. However, I figured out that my (2gig) Kingston 400 DDR (pc3200) is detected to be running at 133Mhz when I set it to "Auto" configuration. I tried to force it to 200Mhz (I assume DDR will double that => 400 like manufacture rating) but then realize that the CL would be automatically set to 3.0 instead of 2. Whenever I tried to force the Cas. Latency back to 2.0 the computer would crash!! So I have to live with the setting of 2.5 ....... Can anyone help me out with this problem? What would be the appropriate settings (FSB, multiplier, ect.) to obtain 2.7Gig CPU, 200Mhz (or a lil higher) memory frequency with CL of 2.0 ?? I know there's an equation for this, but I can't locate it anywhere in this forum, yet. I really need your help, this is my first time building & overclocking a computer.
Thanks

F.Y.I

Mobo: ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe Socket 939
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Toledo 2.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache

Memory:
Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel
Capacity 2GB (2 x 1GB)
Speed DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Cas Latency 2
Timing 2-3-2-6
Voltage 2.6V
ECC No
Buffered/Registered Unbuffered
Heat Spreader Yes

 

[lyssword]

When you set ur DDr memory to 200mhz but also running 260fsb, your memory is actually trying to push 260mhz. Get cpu-z program and check what frequency ur memory runs at, and 260mhz is very good for ur memory even @ 3.0 cl. If you want 2.0 cl but down to 200mhz, use the memory divider 5:4. Again you can check the actual frequency of your DDR memory with cpu-z utility

 

[Paperdoc]

Just because your RAM is spec'd to run with CAS 2 at 200 MHz does not mean it must stay at 2 at higer FSB / RAM frequency. The CAS number is how many clock cycles it takes for that part of the RAM's task. If it takes 2½ cycles at a much faster frequency (i.e., shorter time per cycle) that is reasonable. The point to focus on is not the CAS number, but what performance do you get? It is NORMAL when you speed up the RAM frequency to slacken off to longer (i.e. larger) timing parameters. You just need to have a good measure of performance to know if the new combination is actually better.

By the way, with the Ath64 x2 family it is well known that you need to pay attention to the (usually last) spec, called Command Rate, usually written as 1T or 2T. Like other parameters, this one can be made longer to get RAM to run at faster frequencies. BUT because of the Ath64 design, it ALWAYS happens that going from 1T to 2T slows it down so much it wipes out any performance gain from the other changes. So twiddle it all, but be sure to arrange it so you can stick with 1T Command Rate.