Help! AMD64 and memory command rate?

[imipenem]

Disclaimer: I have never messed with memory settings, so this is definitely uncharted territory for me.

The question:

I am running 4 identical 512MB DIMMS in my AMD64 3700+ (SanDiego core) + Gigabyte GA-K8N Ultra-9 setup (nForce4 Ultra chipset) at STOCK speeds. I waited for the RevE cores to build this PC so I could use 4 dimms instead of 2. Now after reading a recent Anandtech article it is my understanding that the memory controller may not be as improved as we were lead to believe.

So, do I need to change my settings to get the best performance out of my memory?

Thanks

 

[shiranai]

I've never run more than 2 slots, but my understanding is that the A64s can't run 4 double-sided DIMMs at 1T. My (admittedly inexperienced) guess is that the BIOS command rate defaults to an 'auto' setting that is automatically adjusted to 2T when 4 DIMMs are detected. It would be easy enough to check by simply looking in the BIOS. You could also verify whether 1T will work by explicitly setting the command rate to 1T and seeing if you are stable.

 

[furballi]

Will do 4 slots at 1T if you use single-sided RAMs.

 

[imipenem]

Whats the difference between 1T and 2T?

 

[Vegitto]

1T. 😛
The difference can be overcome by overclocking your CPU aprox. 70 MHz.

 

[furballi]

Speed penalty when you go from 1T to 2T. Probably no more than 40MHz CPU core speed based on my SuperPi tests.