Originally posted by: bharatwaja
I dont understand this concept totally...
1. Will the BIOS automatically work up the optimal settings?
Nah, it won't. If you're lucky, the BIOS will activate it at the standard timings for the memory. But there are tons of threads abut Intel OCing and memory setting, which I won't repeat here. It's very likely you will have to optimize the memory settings.
2. QX9650 says (333 X 9) so the FSB is 333 or 1333??? so my DRAM freq. should be greater or equal to 333?
333 and up is the standard now...
3. also, for DDR2 800 Mhz, the actualy DRAM is 800 / 2 because its DDR2??
No, that has nothing to do with it. There are tons of threads on AT discussing this in more detail.
4. I will be buying the Maximus Formula board... So with ddr2 1066, can i make my own CL timings? i.e to get best performance? also should ram also be OC'd in steps?
In all likelihood, yes. But CAS latency is not infinitely configurable. Memory timings aren't as important as the FSB/RAM speed.
5. How to test the stability of a particular ram setting?
Anyhelp is very much appreciated[/quote]
Again, there's a lot of reading matter on this site that is quite authoritative.
For DDR2-800, setting the FSB to 400 quarantees a 1:1 ratio, which means you don't use a memory divider. (with DDR2-667, a 333 FSB also is a 1:1 ratio, but doesn't give you a lot of headroom.) Most (well, probably a lot) of people use DDR2-800 RAM, which is criminally cheap and allows for plenty of flexibility for some OCing without a lot of risk. The biggest potential problem with that is generating more heat from the CPU and northbridge. But with the QX9650 I can't see that being a big issue if you have a decent HSF.
But do a lot of reading first and be cautious. Setting BIOS settings wrong can result in an unbootable machine, requiring a BIOS reset and starting over from scratch. I got very familiar with this process.
RAM ratios.... 1:1 is the best??
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