Could My RAM Be Holding Me Back?

[Pez D Spencer]

Got a G0 Q6600 last week. The bad part is that it's only stable up to 2.8GHz. Even with as much voltage as 1.46265 (1.41 after vdroop), it still fails Prime95 at anything above 2.8.

Right now I'm still running 4 x 512MB of Corsair Value Select 533. But since the RAM can run unlinked on these 680i boards, I didn't think that would matter. I've also tried loosening my timings from 4-4-4-12 to 5-5-5-15 to try and get something stable above 2.8 and still had no luck.

In addtion to increasing the vcore, I've locked the FSB in at 1.4 and tried giving an extra 0.10 to 0.15v to everything else (besides the memory which won't post above 1.8).

I was really hoping for 3.0 but it doesn't look like I'm going to get it. I've got 3GB of DDR2 800 coming Monday, but in the meantime I was just wondering. In terms of temps, my temps are always under 65c with a load even at 1.4625.

What do you think? Is it my RAM?

Thanks in advance.

 

[calcal]

i would guess that your mobo is holding you back. Unless you really needed SLI, there's no good reason for nvidia mb. If any Q6600 doesnt make it to 3.0, something else is to blame. for ref, my q6600 g0 is at 3.5@1.48 on a p35 mb.

 

[eelw]

Yeah, memory is holding you back. If you can't increase Vdimm, you're not going to get any higher. With my Corsair VS 1x1024 DDR2 533, Vdimm at 1.9V, I was able to get my B3 to 3.2GHz. But now with a G0 with OCZ DDR2 800, Vdimm at 2V, I'm able to get 3.6GHz.

 

[Pez D Spencer]

Thanks for the replies. I guess it its the RAM because it finally booted at 1.9v. Before when I tried 1.9v I had the timings loose but when I tightened them back up to spec it booted. When I ran Prime95 with 1.9v on the RAM and 1.40 on the vcore it held up for almost 20 minutes versus the 3 minutes or less with 1.8v.

The RAM I got coming is some Wintec Amp-X. I've never really heard much about it but a few reviews on the net say that is pretty good RAM for it's price. Alot of the reviewers on Newegg said that they had good luck with it so I hope it works out.

 

[Aenslead]

Core 2 line doesn't give a rat's arse on memory. Real life performance is not affected by the bandwith you have.

Just run it Unlinked, set it at its default speed, increase only FSB and VCORE and update your BIOS.

 

[Skott]

You'll get better OCing potential with 2x1Gb modules than 4x512Mb modules.

 

[Pez D Spencer]

Originally posted by: Aenslead
Just run it Unlinked, set it at its default speed, increase only FSB and VCORE and update your BIOS.

It's running unlinked and at it's default speed. I've already tried increasing just the FSB and Vcore and and leaving all other voltages on auto it didn't help. I only increased the others as a last ditch effort. I went as high as 1.4 on the FSB and 1.475 on the vcore. 1.5 is the BIOS limit for FSB and 1.475 is as high as I'm willing to go on the vcore. At 1.475 load temps are near 70. Plus for only a 3.0GHz OC, 1.475 should be more than enough from what I understand. Also the BIOS is current (P31), which was released only a couple days ago.

I'm gonna try it with the better RAM that'll be here on Monday and if that won't work this board is going bye bye and I'm gonna get a P35.

 

[eelw]

Unlinked didn't work for me on my 650i board with the DDR2 533 RAM. It always ran (from what I recall) at 1:1. With my DDR2 800, it now runs unlinked without any problems.