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Newbie OC question (About memory)

G

g2tegsown

Junior Member
Let me just give you my setup first:
Athlon X2 3800 (Manchester)
MSI Neo4 Platinum/SLI
Leadtek PCIe x16 256mb 6800GT

Now I'm not a big fan of overclocking but after looking at some benchmarks of overclocked 3800's I want to clock mine up. Say I want to raise my HTT/FSB up, which in turn increases my CPU speed (based on the multiplier I have set), then in turn causes me to increase my memory speed to keep up with the FSB/CPU. So if I had PC3200 I would have to overclock the memory to keep up right? What if I bought say PC4400 instead of PC3200, then if I raised my CPU clock up with the FSB, the ram would just run closer to it's true speed right? (Providing I didn't exceed it's normal rating)

Any help is appreciated 🙂
 
Actually, if you increased your FSB and didn't change your Memory Dividers, the RAM would be running faster as well.

No OC 200 FSB -> DDR 400 (PC3200 @ 200MHz)
With OC FSB to 250 -> DDR 500 (PC4000 @ 250MHz)

 
I would get some Patriot 1gb ddr400XBLK which rated up to DDR500 speeds using samsung TCCD chips, and aim for 10 x 250MHZ with some good timings. But if you already own some cheap DDR400, switch to various dividers and see which works with your ram. Your manchester should be able to give you atleast 2.4ghz (10x240HTT)
 
So buying faster than PC3200 ram is going to help me overclock right? I mean it would put less stress on the ram because it wouldn't have to be overclocked (as long as I didn't exceed it's normal rating).

For example:
Without OC-200MHz FSB and DDR500 running synchronously (@200MHz)
With OC- 225MHz FSB and DDR500 running synchronously (@225MHz)

But if I were to use DDR400:
Without OC-200MHz FSB and DDR400 running synchronously (@200MHz)
With OC- 225MHz FSB and DDR400 running synchronously (@225MHz)

So with the overclocking using DDR400, my ram would run at 225MHz which is over the rated speed, which is why I would want to get faster ram. Less things to have to stress out, and hopfully it would be a little more stable runnning "underclocked".

Thanks Guys 🙂
 
Yes, but with the DDR400 you would probably have to use your Memory Dividers or loosen up the Memory timings on your RAM - maybe even both.

 
I see what you mean. With DDR500, you would have a safe margin of 250MHz without any problems. But, unless you can get to 250MHz on the core, your RAM will be running slower than average.
 
No, with the DDR500 he would be running at whatever the FSB speed is, up to 250MHz.

With the DDR400, he would most likely need a Divider - using the 5/6 or DDR333 Divider, with a FSB of 240 he would be running his RAM at 200MHz. You may possibly have to loosen up the timings as well, but maybe not.

Now it's probably going to be a little pricey to get the same Memory timings on DDR500 that you can get on DDR400, but the faster Memory speed is going to more that make up for it if you go with lesser timings.

 
I am looking to get 2 GB of memory, and I really want it to be at least DDR500, but like you said the latency sucks on these faster chips. I plan on getting the MSI NEO4 Platinum/SLI and I noticed on there webpage they have a little table showing how the ddr configurations work ( http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_sp...p?model=K8N_Neo4_Platinum/SLI&class=mb ). I think what it is saying is I can use 4 sticks of memory in dual channel mode, is that possible? Cause if so I could get 2 dual channel kits in the 2x512mb configuration giving me a total of 4x512MB, and that would really open some more doors as far as memory speeds go.

Also can anyone reccomend a good overclocking DDR500 with good timings?
(I plan on getting some OCZ memory, hopfully Platinum or titanium)
Let me know what you guys think,
 
OCZ Gold "VX" DDR500 /PC4000

My trustworthy contact in another state reports he OC'd a Venice 3000+ -- more OC-able than your processor (I only think), but he had to set a divider of 5:6 just to hold the memory to its rated DDR500 spec. And supposedly he got the timings down to 2, 2, 2, 5. Similar timings are reported by others.

I think you can get a 1 GB (2x512) kit for about $180+. 2GB should run you a little less than double that.
 
If you go with four modules, you'll have to drop down to 2T on your Command Rate, and some boards are a little finicky with four sticks. I'm not sure if your MB is one of them or not.

If you're going to spend that much on RAM, I'd try to get two 1GB sticks so you can remain at 1T.

 
That sounds about right . . . the 1GB modules have slightly looser latencies, but there should also be less heat leakage (just guessing there).

The OCZ's have a lifetime warranty with voltage settings up to either 3.3 or 3.5V -- one or the other -- I can't precisely recall. On some mobos, you'd have to purchase the DDR Booster for $40 -- maybe a little less, because the mobos don't give you a VDIMM voltage option over 2.9V. The OCZ's will run at 2.6V -- with looser latencies or at the latency default spec.

Also -- except for extreme gaming (and even the software has to catch up a bit, I've heard) -- for most other things, even video rendering, 1 GB is quite sufficient. And there's a reason why they recommend ECC or "registered" modules for memory configurations above 1 GB.

But I have two. More than I need at the moment.
 
Ok what I would like to do is clock my 3800 X2 to the speed of a 4600 X2 (Manchester), I have read it can be done fairly simply. If I go with the MSI Neo4 Platinum/SLI board, OCZ PC3200 Plantinum, and the 3800 X2 (Manchester), will I be capable of reaching this goal?
 
X2 3800 = 2000MHz multiplier=10
X2 4600 = 2400MHz multiplier=12

To do this you need a FSB=240MHz, and us the 5/6 (DDR333) Divider.
You'll end up with CPU @ 2400MHz and Mem @ 200MHz or DDR400.

Hopefully you won't have to loosen up your Memory timings, but there's a chance you may.

And like you were looking at earlier, if you go with DDR500 (PC4000) Memory, you won't need to change your Memory Divider at all to do this, just change the FSB to 240MHz.

Also, if you do go ahead an Overclock, be sure your SATA Drive (if you have one) is on a Locked Port, or you're OS will probably get corrupted - see this:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=28&threadid=1695207&enterthread=y

 
Ok so if I had the PC4000 it would run @ 240MHz and if I used PC3200 I would have to use the divider which makes it operate at 200MHz well the FSB is at 240MHz right?
And I assume there would be an increase in performance if the memory was running @ 240MHz right?

Also the thing about the SATA ports kinda bothers me, for instance the MSI board I am looking at has 4 SATA (NF4) and 2 SATA (Silicon Image). So I wouldn't be able to use some of the SATA if I overclock? I understand two of the SATAs are locked so they are fine, but what about the second sata controller, if they are not locked then I can't use them?
 
The Memory you have correct.

As for the SATA, I don't really know. Definitely have the Drive your OS is installed on running off the locked Ports. Drives on the unlocked one, when you're OC'ing I'm thinking may have problems. Hopefully someone else on here knows the answer to that one.

I have a big SATA (250GB), plus I have a 160GB IDE. That's a ton more storage than I'll probably use (until I reformat again). You could alway run two large SATAs, and then a couple IDE Drives as well. That should provide quite a bit of storage.

Anything I need to run fast, I put on the SATA. The IDE is just storage or stuff that's not really going to need much/quick Disk access.

 
Ok wanderer27,
What do you think of this, the MSI board I am looking at can only go to 2.85v max for memory. The OCZ memory I am looking at (OCZ PC4000 Gold Edition 2GB 2 x 1GB OCZ5002048ELGE-K) has latency 3 and timings of 3-4-4-8 @ 2.8v. So if I clock my FSB to 240MHz, the memory should be able to run at those "stock" speeds, using only 2.8v @ 1:1 divider right?

Or Should I get the MSI Board, and get the best damn PC3200 money can buy and run the memory at 200MHz? (Remeber I still want 2GB of memory though so that means 2x1GB)

BTW Thank you wanderer27 for being so helpful and thanks to all the other people who replied with tips, I really do apreciate it 🙂
 
For the size Memory you are going with (2x1GB), those are probably the best timings (3-4-4-8) you're going to find at around $330. That's a pretty good deal.

Since you're not going to be at 250MHz, you may be able to back off on the Voltage a hair if you care to test it out, but you should be fine at FSB 240 and 1:1. Also, don't forget to drop your HT multiplier from 5 to 4 when you go to 240, otherwise your HTT (Hypertransport Bus) will be over 1000 (1250).

Glad to be of help, and I hope everything works out right.

 
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