P5Q-Deluxe, do I need to change my BIOS settings?

[Stern]

Hi, I have the P5Q Deluxe, running BIOS 1201. On the AI tab in the BIOS all of the settings are on Auto, and the information underneath DRAM Timing Control says:
1st Information : 5-5-5-15-3-52-6-3
2nd Information: 8-3-5-4-6-4-6
3rd Information: 14-5-1-6-6

My memory is G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000.
My CPU is Intel Core 2 Duo E8600 Wolfdale 3.33GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775.
My PSU is CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX.
My graphics card is DIAMOND 4870X2PE52G Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB.

I can't for the life of me find where I saw it before but I saw somewhere that it said DDR2-800 in the BIOS or in Windows somewhere and shouldn't this be saying DDR2-1000?

I'm running WinXP SP3 with Catalyst 8.10 drivers and I'm experiencing crashes in Splinter Cell: Double Agent. Also the system seems to be fairly sluggish overall. Not a great startup time, and alt+tabbing takes forever from any fullscreen program.

Any help greatly appreciated, I asked on the Video Card forums about this first and somebody suggested that my timings/voltages/something in BIOS might not be configured quite right for first build.

 

[Concillian]

Performance RAM generally has SPD settings at JEDEC voltage (1.8v for DDR2)

You have to change BIOS manually to get rated speed. This will also require increasing voltage to the manufacturer requirement. (note onthe newegg page on specifications, it lists voltage as 2.0-2.1).

This is done because some mobos can't put 2.0+ volts to memory, and they need SPD timings that will work with any board. It's assumed that anyone buying RAM higher than JEDEC speeds will have the know how to change BIOS to get the rated speed.

Perhaps these sticks are not quite stable at 5-5-5 1.8v at 800. You may try running them lower speed, or bumping the voltage up to the 2.0 or 2.1v listed on the requirement and see if that fixes your problem.

It's highly doubtful that RAM at 800 instead of 1000 would show any real noticeable signs of being "overall sluggish".

 

[Foxery]

Voltage is exactly right - the product page you linked specifies 2.0 or 2.1 volts. Since you're running "auto," you're only giving them 1.8. Raise this, and leave the timings exactly as they are.

 

[Stern]

Ok well I'm a total noob when it comes to what all those abbreviations stand for. What do I need to change on the BIOS page? I found screenshots of it here:

http://www.overclock3d.net/rev...e_vs_msi_p45_diamond/4

Just scroll down a bit.

 

[Big Lar]

Originally posted by: Stern
Ok well I'm a total noob when it comes to what all those abbreviations stand for. What do I need to change on the BIOS page? I found screenshots of it here:

http://www.overclock3d.net/rev...e_vs_msi_p45_diamond/4

Just scroll down a bit.

Its called "Dram Voltage" in bios, set it to 1.96 (the p5q-d overvolts a bit),and then forget about it, they will be fine.

Larry

 

[Stern]

Ok, I changed that voltage setting, and I also finally received my Vista Ultimate disc so I formatted and reinstalled with all the newest drivers and everything is a lot smoother than before. I haven't tried a game yet though.

The thing is, when I boot up, on the POST screen it still says DDR2-800. Is this wrong?

 

[sonnygdude]

If you want to make sure you're running at your rated speed you may have to set the DRAM timing and FSB strap to "Manual" instead of "Auto" - mine did the same thing (800 MHz) with G.Skill PC8500 on "auto" settings

 

[Stern]

Originally posted by: sonnygdude
If you want to make sure you're running at your rated speed you may have to set the DRAM timing and FSB strap to "Manual" instead of "Auto" - mine did the same thing (800 MHz) with G.Skill PC8500 on "auto" settings

Is this recommendable though? Isn't it better if CPU and Memory are running 1:1 or something like that? Also, how do I do this?

A separate question:

twice now I've booted up my computer and been presented with a screen that says:
F1 - Load Setup
F2 - Load BIOS Defaults

When I go into Setup (ie BIOS) all the settings have been returned to default.
Is there a BIOS upgrade which fixes this, anyone know?

 

[n7]

You bought enthusiast RAM, not value RAM, meaning it's your job to set the ratio, timings, voltage, etc. in the BIOS for the RAM to operate properly.

Assuming you are not going to OC for now, you need to use the 2:3 ratio to achieve DDR2-1000.

These settings:

AI Overclock tuner: AUTO
FSB Frequency: AUTO
PCI-E Frequency: AUTO
FSB Strap to North Bridge: 266
DRAM Frequency: 1000
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A1: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel A2: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B1: AUTO
DRAM CLK Skew on Channel B2: AUTO
DRAM Timing Control: Manual

1st Information:
CAS# Latency: 5
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 5
DRAM RAS# Precharge: 5
DRAM RAS# Activate to Precharge: 15
RAS# to RAS# Delay : AUTO
Row Refresh Cycle Time: 55
Write Recovery Time: AUTO
Read to Precharge Time: AUTO

Leave the rest alone till you get further down:

DRAM Voltage: 1.92 - 2.02v (roughly 2.0 - 2.1v actual)

Now run some Memtest86+ to ensure it's actually stable. http://www.memtest.org/

In Windows, look under the Memory tab in CPU-Z, that will show the current frequency of the RAM.

Make sure you update all the driver in Windows, particularly chipset (get the latest from Intel's site) for P45.

 

[Stern]

wow, thanks very much

I'll try this out when I get home.

 

[Stern]

I've set those options and am going to run memtest overnight, It would only allow me to run 1002 Mhz on the DRAM FREQUENCY option though, not 1000. I assume that's ok?

 

[Stern]

Ok I got 20 passes and no errors, seems to be running ok. No noticeable performance difference. This weekend maybe I'll have a look at the overclocking guide and push it up a bit. Thanks for all your help!