Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800 Overclock

[Reeku]

I have a Gigabyte P35-DS3R motherboard, and everything was running fantastic last night. I was told that I should probably give more voltage to the memory as it is high performance.

So I checked my PC Health status on the board, it said everything was ok.

I went and did DDR2 Overvoltage Control, and added +0.4 to the default value of 1.8. Thus giving me 2.2V.

Well, after rebooting into the BIOS my PC Health status reported that DDR18V has failed. Why?

How do I know if my memory is running stable at 2.2V without breaking it?

Also, is a system temp of 33 degrees centigrade, and a cpu temp of 27 degrees on idle good on stock air cooling?

 

[mruffin75]

I'm wondering why you'd add more voltage to the memory if it was running okay?

I was under the assumption you would only need to increase the voltage *if* the memory wasn't stable at the voltage you were running it at previously?

 

[jjmIII]

My Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800 runs fine at 1.8V on an IP35-E.

 

[TJones2]

I'd like to know the answer too. Mine is the P35-DS3L. Also running the same ram with the error message.

 

[Markfw]

Well, I can say that my ballistix PC-6400 and PC-8000 both want 2.2 vdimm, even to boot ! I had to pump to 2.3vdimm@480 for PC8000 !

 

[Cheex]

In the Gigabyte BIOS, as long as the voltage on the memory is NOT 1.8V, it will say "Failed" because that is the default voltage for DDR2.

I noticed the same thing with my GA-965P-DS3. It's nothing to worry about.

Point of note however:
In regards to stability and cooling...maintain stability by giving your RAM enough juice but at the same time, giving it a little as you can to keep the temperature down.
Your RAM operating temperature goes up quickly when increasing their voltage.

 

[SerpentRoyal]

It can be difficult to predict what's under the hood with Crucial B. Yes, they will absorb a lot of juice before sending up smoke signal. Some will POST at 1.8V while others must have +2.1V. All should break 500MHz/5-5-5-15-2T using higher Vdimm.

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
It can be difficult to predict what's under the hood with Crucial B. Yes, they will absorb a lot of juice before sending up smoke signal. Some will POST at 1.8V while others must have +2.1V. All should break 500MHz/5-5-5-15-2T using higher Vdimm.

How high vdimm ? I have 2 PC-8000 sticks, and 2 PC-6400 sticks, and I am trying to use all 4 at 5-5-5-15 2T and right now @ 2.3 vdimm, and they fail at 425 !

 

[SerpentRoyal]

I would be uncomfortable with 2.4V. Have you tested each module to discover the maximum stable RAM speed? I prefer to stick with high-quality 1.8V DDR2 800 if I need to run four sticks simultaneously. Pushing four sticks of "overclocking" RAM can be dicey with many P35 boards. Mixing PC 8000 with PC 6400 is also not the best way to squeeze out maximum RAM speed. The heat sink should be warm. Add active cooling if necessary.

Those $9/GB HP 1.8V DDR2 667 can easily hit 400MHz with 2.0V and 5-5-5-15-2T timing. My Kingston 1.8V DDR2 800 is stable up to 576MHz with 2.1V and 5-5-5-15-2T.

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: Markfw900

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal
It can be difficult to predict what's under the hood with Crucial B. Yes, they will absorb a lot of juice before sending up smoke signal. Some will POST at 1.8V while others must have +2.1V. All should break 500MHz/5-5-5-15-2T using higher Vdimm.

How high vdimm ? I have 2 PC-8000 sticks, and 2 PC-6400 sticks, and I am trying to use all 4 at 5-5-5-15 2T and right now @ 2.3 vdimm, and they fail at 425 !

Raise your northbridge voltage. And 2.3v is too much for D9, 24/7.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Uh, at 1.8v that RAM is only running at CL5, or 5-5-5-15. That RAM was made to run at CL4, or 4-4-4-12, which usually only happens at 2.2v.

Ctrl + F1 in bios then go into M.I.T and manually adjust the timings. No point running at at 2.2v CL5.

 

[Markfw]

My Ballistix is 4-4-4-12 PC-6400@2.2 vdimm stock. I am trying to run @ 450, hence the lower timings.