Impact of Adding Memory Modules to Over-Clock Settings?

[BonzaiDuck]

In the "Software-->OS" forum, I recently posted a trolling question about the huge amount of memory that Media Center's ehrecvr.exe grabs, even after Media Center completes periodic "Optimization." Frankly, I find it disgusting that MicroSucks grabs all our hardware every chance it can get, when 3rd-party TV-tuner-capture software -- even those that feature "realtime TV Guide" capability just don't do it.

But -- that's the software part of my hassle.

I've decided to go forward and populate the remaining two RAM slots on my 680i board with a 1GB 2x512 kit. For my Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1000 modules, I can no longer find the 2GB kit, and this would seem adequate.

In addition to the likelihood that I won't be able to run my memory settings with a 1T command rate, what else can I expect by adding more memory to these slots? Will I need to go back and completely re-validate my OC settings? Is it likely that the latencies will need to be loosened?

 

[JustaGeek]

You are lucky to be able to run your memory at 1T on the 680i based board.

You might loose that ability - I would change the command rate to 2T before adding RAM.

Also, reduce you CPU clock to stock speeds.

If you can't boot, increase the NB voltage to >1.5V.

Then try to get your old settings back.


I didn't have to do all that, but I did reduce the FSB speed to stock 266MHz first, and only then I increased it back to 325MHz.

The rest is working fine on 2.01..V memory (yours is 2.2V as specified, correct?), Auto for the NB voltage.

Good luck!

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: BonzaiDuck

In addition to the likelihood that I won't be able to run my memory settings with a 1T (initially change to 2T) command rate, what else can I expect by adding more memory to these slots? Will I need to go back and completely re-validate my OC settings (Yes)? Is it likely that the latencies will need to be loosened? (Not likely, but initially - maybe..? Start with stock though)

More direct answers above.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Well, I was looking for another thread that contained some info, and checked this one.

Here's an "update." The excess memory usage related to a mal-installed TV Tuner driver in interaction with the Media Center XP MCE programs. I uninstalled, then reinstalled, and the problem disappeared. But not until after I'd bought the $85 1 GB kit. I'm only hoping that it will be worth it for any number of reasons.

Instead of "fixing" at a 1T command rate on my OC settings, I experimented with letting the ASUS board "choose" by specifying "Auto." System post under that revision to the OC settings still shows "1T."

 

[JustaGeek]

The board might choose 1T reading the EPP settings in the SPD, or reading the memory as SLI memory.

I would recommend manually changing it to 2T for stability.

The benefit of running the memory at 1T command rate is minimal on Intel boards, and for stability reasons it should be run at 2T.

But again - if you can successfully (stable) run it at 1T, you might gain a little in terms of the bandwidth/throughput, so just leave it at that.