I just can't figure out how to OC memory

[xColdSteelx]

I see people talking about OCing their memory but for the life of me I can't find any webpages that explain how to do it with my board. I have an AMD X2 4200 and 2 gigs of PC5300. When I run CPU-Z it says: Core Speed: 2210, multiplier 11x, bus speed 201. It also says in the memory tab: Freq. 315 MHz, FSBRAM CPU/7 (2210/7 = 315). I just bought some new PC6400 memory that I would like to try to OC but I have no idea how with this setup.

I have looked in the BIOS. I can't seem to figure it all out. Can someone help me? Thanks. I have googled all day but I really can't find a HOW-TO for my setup.

Thanks

 

[dan442]

Are you looking to overclock just your memory, or your entire system?

Will you be replacing your PC5300, or adding to it?

I am going to assume that you want to overclock just your memory and that you will be adding to your existing memory.

Be aware that different memory does not always play well together, so your results may be underwhelming.

The first thing to do is to find the maximum speed of your current memory. Do this with only the PC 5300 installed. Go into bios and manually set your memory timings. I would start with loose timings, say 5-5-5-18-24-2T. Set your memory standard to DDR2 800. Put your CPU multiplier at 10. Set your CPU frequency at 170. Change HTT multipliers to 4. Set memory voltage (vdimm) at auto. Boot your computer.

Your CPU should now be running at 1700 mhz and your memory at 340 mhz. Run memtest to check for errors. If everything is okay then go into bios and raise your CPU frequency to 175. Boot and test, memory frequency should be 350. Keep going (max of 220 or you will be overclocking your CPU) until you get instability, this will be your maximum memory speed at loose timings with standard voltage.

Increasing memory voltage may allow you to reach a higher speeds, but can be dangerous. I would check the specs on your memory before doing so. Bear in mind that standard voltage is 1.8v and that performance PC6400 memory is rated 2.1 or 2.2v. Increase voltage at your own risk.

If you are running PC6400 at standard speed the memory would actually be at 366 mhz (2200/6) If your PC5300 will do this then you could add your PC6400, set memory standard to DDR2 800, CPU multiplier to 11 or auto, HTT multipliers to 5 or auto, and CPU frequency to 200 or auto. You would now have your computer running at normal speed except the PC 5300 would be overclocked to match your PC6400.

You might be able to run tighter timings on your memory, you would have to experiment with it to find out.

 

[xColdSteelx]

Dan, thanks for the reply. I don't plan on keeping the PC5300. I have 2 gigs of PC6400 on the way. I'll probably buy one more gig of PC6400 in 2 x 512 config and used that.

I have a question. I have looked through my bios. I understand everything you said except perhaps the HTT multiplier. The only thing in my BIOS with HT in it is this: Under Chipset: CPU <-> MCP55 HT SPEED - 1x to 5x. It's on 5x now. I guess that is indeed the HTT multiplier. Just wanted to check before I start changing things.

Dude, thanks for the help. It has helped me understand this a lot better.

 

[dan442]

The CPU <-> MCP55 is your HTT multiplier. Normal HTT speed is 1000 (mult*CPU freq, 5*200) Some overclockers say you should always keep the HTT at 1000 or under, some will overclock the HTT. Common wisdom seems to be that the HTT is fast enough that overclocking it gives no performance increase and only leads to instability. I could not find any performance loss with my HTT running at 800 (4*200), so I would have to agree.

AMD CPUs have the memory controller built in, so memory speed will be CPU/?, depending on what your CPU multiplier is. If in BIOS yor memory standard is set to DDR2 800 it is pretty easy to figure out. If CPU mult is 11 or 12 then memory speed will be CPU/6. If CPU mult is 9 or 10 then memory will be CPU/5.

AMD forums.

If you plan to overclock everything then find your max for each component individually. Lower CPU mult and HTT mult to find max memory speed. Lower memory standard and HTT mult to find max CPU. If you want to find max HTT (which I wouldn't) lower memory standard and CPU mult. There are lots of overclocking guides, read them.

For your system if you just want overclocked memory I would set HTT to 4x, CPU to 10x, memory standard to DDR2 800 and CPU frequency to 220. This would give you 2200 CPU, 880 HTT and 440 mem (DDR2 880)

 

[xColdSteelx]

Thanks, Dan. My new memory should be here Tuesday. It's 4 4 4 12. If it doesn't default to that can I just go in the bios and set those myself? I got everything else set. My PC5300 is now running at 366 MHz after I changed the CPU to 10 and the freq to 220.

 

[dan442]

Your new memory will probably default to loose timings like 5-5-5-18. It does this because the DDR2 standard is 1.8v, and most performance memory runs at 2.0-2.2v. When you install your new memory go into BIOS and set CPU frequency to 200 or auto, memory standard to DDR 800, memory voltage and timings to auto. If you leave the CPU multiplier at 10x the memory will run at 400 mhz.

If your computer won't boot go back into BIOS and increase memory voltage by +.1 or +.2v (1.9-2.0v)

Boot your computer and run CPU Z. Under the SPD tab look for the EPP profiles. This will tell you the timings and max voltage for the memory. This is a good starting point for you memory settings in BIOS.

When overclocking memory remember:
Higher voltage = more heat, running higher than rated voltage is dangerous.
The higher the frequency the looser you must run your timings, you will have to experiment. I use the Memtest that runs in Windows to test for errors.

I have my Crucial Ballistix running 4-4-4-10-22-1T at 400 mhz with voltage set to normal in BIOS. I have had it up to 500mhz with looser timings at stock voltage.

 

[xColdSteelx]

Success! I have it running at 220 x 10. HT x 5 (1100 MHz) , 4 4 4 12 t2, and the memory is running at 440 MHz. It has passed two hours of memtest so I'm happy. My SiSoft memory bandwidth bench went from the low 7000s to the mid 8000s. I can't complain for $40. lol I have noticed that my system boots up faster now too.

I think I'll upgrade my processor next. The X2 6000+ is about $150. Thanks for all your help.