DDR2 Overclocking

[StopSign]

I've been running a Winchester these past 2 years and it's time to hop on the Conroe bandwagon now. I've been out of the loop for a while and during my absence it seems that DDR2 has really taken off. DDR overclocking has always been a royal pain unless you get the good stuff like TCCD. After reading around several forums about Conroe overclocking, it seems that DDR2 is much easier to overclock.

I'm planning on getting a E6300 and hoping to get it to 3+ GHz. What I'm not too sure about is the memory I'll need for that. I've read that half-decent DDR667 is enough to get to 400+ FSB at 1:1, but I've also read that DDR800 is essential for reaching high FSB.

What I find confusing is how DDR667 is able to reach such high clocks. At 450 FSB, that's overclocking the memory about 120 MHz running 1:1. It seems absurd because average DDR400 can't even go 20 MHz over stock.

So my questions:

Is semi-decent DDR667 (Cas 4) able to overclock this much?
Do the DDR667 sticks that overclock this much all use Micron D9?
Would this get me to 450 FSB?
How easy is it to get DDR800 from 400 MHz to 500 Mhz?

 

[cmdrdredd]

That memory won't do it. The reason why ppl can take DDR2-667 sticks to DDR2-1000 is because they are choosing specific ICs to purchase in the memory. Namely Micron D9GMH. The D9GMH IC is rated at 667Mhz, but companies like OCZ, Teamgroup, Corsair, Mushkin, G.Skill etc rate them all the way up to 1000Mhz and sometimes past that. Any D9 based memory will do to DDR2-1000 or very very close to it. check http://ramlist.ath.cx/ddr2/ and look for memory that uses D9GMH or D9GKX. If you buy Crucial ballistix you always get D9GMH so that's my recommendation. Crucial ballistix are very solid memory and have plenty of overclock room.

 

[Conky]

It's better to get RAM rated for higher speed if you want to overclock.

Hoping your RAM has certain chips and "might" overclock to nosebleed levels is riskier than just buying cheaper RAM that is rated to run at a certain speed with no overclock.

I'd rather run RAM at it's rated speed and overclock only the CPU. Some people like to overclock every part of their system. It boils down to your wallet for the most part and whether you can stand occasional reboots on your "Orthos stable" system. :laugh:

I laugh because I once had an "Orthos stable for 24 hours" system that would experience random crashes when overclocked and not running Orthos. I also know that a large percentage of people claiming stability at certain speeds are simply posing and would never admit they experienced problems or are not truly stable at their claimed speeds. Uptime stats are a better indicator of stability to me for this reason.

I'm not calling anyone a liar... I'm just saying to view claims on the internet with a grain of salt.

 

[Endlessshampoo]

Originally posted by: Beachboy
It's better to get RAM rated for higher speed if you want to overclock.

Hoping your RAM has certain chips and "might" overclock to nosebleed levels is riskier than just buying cheaper RAM that is rated to run at a certain speed with no overclock.

I'd rather run RAM at it's rated speed and overclock only the CPU. Some people like to overclock every part of their system. It boils down to your wallet for the most part and whether you can stand occasional reboots on your "Orthos stable" system. :laugh:

I laugh because I once had an "Orthos stable for 24 hours" system that would experience random crashes when overclocked and not running Orthos. I also know that a large percentage of people claiming stability at certain speeds are simply posing and would never admit they experienced problems or are not truly stable at their claimed speeds. Uptime stats are a better indicator of stability to me for this reason.

I'm not calling anyone a liar... I'm just saying to view claims on the internet with a grain of salt.

amen

just a question whats the diffrence on these 2 micro chips ? i got the cellshock 6400 but dunno wich one i got


PC6400 Cellshock 4.0-4-4-12 @ 2.1~2.2V

CS2111041 / CS2221041

Micron D9GMH (B6-3)


PC6400 Cellshock 4.0-4-4-12 @ 2.1~2.2V

Only batch 1.09196.95.360 & 1.09256.97.360

Micron D9GKX (B6-25E)

 

[StopSign]

On that RAM under Crucial I see this:

PC5300 Value

PC5300

How likely is it that this memory is the regular "PC5300" I want?

Also, it seems that this will pretty much guarantee large overclocks according to this article.

 

[Roguestar]

What's your budget?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Beachboy
It's better to get RAM rated for higher speed if you want to overclock.

Hoping your RAM has certain chips and "might" overclock to nosebleed levels is riskier than just buying cheaper RAM that is rated to run at a certain speed with no overclock.

I'd rather run RAM at it's rated speed and overclock only the CPU. Some people like to overclock every part of their system. It boils down to your wallet for the most part and whether you can stand occasional reboots on your "Orthos stable" system. :laugh:

I laugh because I once had an "Orthos stable for 24 hours" system that would experience random crashes when overclocked and not running Orthos. I also know that a large percentage of people claiming stability at certain speeds are simply posing and would never admit they experienced problems or are not truly stable at their claimed speeds. Uptime stats are a better indicator of stability to me for this reason.

I'm not calling anyone a liar... I'm just saying to view claims on the internet with a grain of salt.

No, Micron D9GMH memory will always outperform Promos, infenion, samsung, elpida etc no matter what speed its rated at.

D9GMH is used in the $400+ Corsair Dominator series and rated in those memories to DDR2-1111. Now the difference is those are hand picked but the IC used is only rated from Micron to 667Mhz. So, ALWAYS buy D9 over anything else if you have a choice. Micron IC can guarantee performance above what is spec'd.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Endlessshampoo

Originally posted by: Beachboy
It's better to get RAM rated for higher speed if you want to overclock.

Hoping your RAM has certain chips and "might" overclock to nosebleed levels is riskier than just buying cheaper RAM that is rated to run at a certain speed with no overclock.

I'd rather run RAM at it's rated speed and overclock only the CPU. Some people like to overclock every part of their system. It boils down to your wallet for the most part and whether you can stand occasional reboots on your "Orthos stable" system. :laugh:

I laugh because I once had an "Orthos stable for 24 hours" system that would experience random crashes when overclocked and not running Orthos. I also know that a large percentage of people claiming stability at certain speeds are simply posing and would never admit they experienced problems or are not truly stable at their claimed speeds. Uptime stats are a better indicator of stability to me for this reason.

I'm not calling anyone a liar... I'm just saying to view claims on the internet with a grain of salt.

amen

just a question whats the diffrence on these 2 micro chips ? i got the cellshock 6400 but dunno wich one i got


PC6400 Cellshock 4.0-4-4-12 @ 2.1~2.2V

CS2111041 / CS2221041

Micron D9GMH (B6-3)


PC6400 Cellshock 4.0-4-4-12 @ 2.1~2.2V

Only batch 1.09196.95.360 & 1.09256.97.360

Micron D9GKX (B6-25E)

GMH = 667Mhz from Micron.
GKX = 800Mhz from Micron

GKX does faster speeds at lower voltages and higher cas latency.
GMH does't go up as high in pure Mhz, but can run lower timings (accepts more voltages too).

 

[StopSign]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
What's your budget?

Quite low. I can only go for 2x512 packages. Most I'd like to spend is $160 CAD.

 

[LoboE]

Sorry.

 

[StopSign]

Thanks for hijacking this thread.

 

[amenx]

Based on reviews I've seen of Patriot DDR2 667 and numerous user reviews confirming that it easily goes beyone 800mhz, I found my 2 x 1gb sticks would not be stable at that, not even with extra lax timings of 6-6-6-18 and 2.1 volts. I'm stuck at 750mhz and 3ghz on my e6400 (which is still above spec on that RAM). Seems I got lower performing sticks than the typical 667 Patriots out there, so its the luck of the draw TBH.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: amenx
Based on reviews I've seen of Patriot DDR2 667 and numerous user reviews confirming that it easily goes beyone 800mhz, I found my 2 x 1gb sticks would not be stable at that, not even with extra lax timings of 6-6-6-18 and 2.1 volts. I'm stuck at 750mhz and 3ghz on my e6400 (which is still above spec on that RAM). Seems I got lower performing sticks than the typical 667 Patriots out there, so its the luck of the draw TBH.

No it's quality of research. See lately Micron ICs have been swapped out of some memory sets and they put Promos or something other than Micron. If you dig around at forums and ask before you buy you can usually find out what the latest models use. Likely the 667 sticks ppl posted "reviews" on were Micron based early revisions. Later revisions may be Elpida or Promos.

Note: if you were talking about newegg reviews...never base purchases on what people post there. Alot of times a manufacturer will post a false review in order to promote sales.