Asus P8P67 Pro Rev 3.1 B3 memory questions

[Markbnj]

So, recently did an upgrade from an E8500/P43 to I52500K/P67. I chose the Asus P8P67 Pro because I usually have good results from Asus boards. In order to avoid memory issues I wanted to get 8GB of memory that was listed on the QVL. It turned out there are very few 2x4GB sets listed on the QVL for this board. I chose...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211457

SPD is 9-9-9-24 @ 1.65v. After putting the system together it posted and I got Windows sorted out. I had read that the ram would auto configure to 1333, even though it is 1600 ram. Sure enough checking in the BIOS showed that it was running at 1333, 9-9-9-24. I manually configured to 1600, but pretty soon after had a video driver failure and then the system locked up. I under-clocked to 1333 again and it has so far been stable for 24 hours or so including some game play.

Read up a bit, and noted that while the ram is listed at 1.65v, the spec for Sandy Bridge is supposedly 1.5-1.6v. So I'm a little confused. I'm guessing that the BIOS is running the RAM below 1.65v and perhaps that it why it's choosing to run it at 1333. I guess further that if I wanted to run it at 1600 I'd have to up the voltage beyond the spec'd range for Sandy Bridge. I haven't been able to find the vDIMM setting in the UEFI BIOS so far, so I haven't tried to change it.

Anyone want to educate me on how to approach this? Should I just leave it at 1333 and call it a day?

 

[Kenmitch]

It's best to pick memory that runs at 1.50v max or less to pair up with the SB's.

Most of the DDR3 produced today runs at 1600mhz with 1.50v or less even.

My take on the current DDR3 is that any memory running at 1600mhz requiring more than 1.50v is factory overclocked memory.

Running your memory at 1333mhz vs 1600mhz isn't gonna kill your performance by much if any at all depending on what you wanna do.

uEFI bios > AI Tweaker > Scroll down and you should find the > DRAM Voltage. It'll show you what your board is feeding the memory currently.

 

[Markbnj]

Thanks for the reply. I did a little research and I just had some misconceptions. The voltage listed in the specs for the dimms is 1.5 - 1.7. There is a label on each stick that gives a voltage of 1.65. I don't think voltage was the issue. I was trying to run the ram at 1600 without changing anything else. I didn't realize that Sandy Bridge defaults ram speed to 1333. I think I'll just keep it there for now until I experiment with overclocking next week. Then we'll see what happens.

 

[bankster55]

just set the ram to XMP profile in AI Tweaker (AI Overclock tuner) in bios
If you download CPUID 1.57 or later all the info is there on SPD tab (Serial Presence Detect 1/4" square chip on RAM PCB)
These are burned in preprogrammed RAM settings. You will prob have 4 listed - 3 JEDEC and one XMP (extended mem profile) The mem tab will show you what timings its running currently.

Take it from me - buy the Corsair vengeance 1600 1.5V ram 4 sticks 16GB pak for $77 on NE. These are low profile (CML not CMZ), so you can use your HSF on RAM side of CPU and no interference. I can run them XMP with 999-24 2T or manual just set at 1600 and still get 999-24 2T
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233198
Its a no brainer @ $77