Properly configuring my DDR memory

[placenta]

Hi,

I dont post here much, just seeing if anyone has advice. I have a Athlon XP2400+ CPU, and I got OCZ memory yesterday. 2 sticks of 512MB PC2700, CL2 certified. Oh, and the Asus NF2 A7N8X-deluxe MB.

I am trying to determine the best bios settings for this. One area that confusing me is the external cpu bus vs memory frequency. When I set the external bus to say, 133, where i started, the actual memory bus then shows as 166 or 175Hz.

I put my memory in the 2 slots on each side of the big gap, which I read activates the DDR function. I'm also wondering about all my CAS settings.

I was able to get my machine booting at 150Mhz memory bus, and CPU at 2.10GHz. It seems pretty stable. But I'm sure my CAS settings arent optimized at all.

 

[Fern]

Hi Placenta, your cpu's 'normal" FSB is 133 and your ram's is 166. Your mobo "reads" that and assigns those FSB values automatically. Hence, they are running out of sync; ur mobo will use a ratio to align them. Many find that running cpu/ram syncronously results in increaeed performance.

Which slots you install your ram into affects "dual channel" not DDR.

I don't have the same mobo or ram, so I can't help you with specifics. I can, however, suggest you visit sites like "nforcersHQ.com". Go there and find the forum dedicated to your specific mobo. There you will find others with your cpu and type of ram who can share their info with you. Likely you find some useful info on ram and settings stickied to the top of the forum for mobo.

Hope that helps somewhat

 

[ThatDumbGuy]

If you have CAS2 Ram, you probably won't have any problems running your precharge delay at 5-7 and everything else at 2. I would look on OCZ's website for the actual suggested timings for your RAM, though. And then try minor increases from there.

 

[placenta]

man.. i got the worst 3DMark03 score ever..

1739... similar systems as mine got 3000 and above..

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ (actual speed 2.14GHz)
1GB OCZ DDR PC2700, CL2
ATI Radeon 9600SE (upgraded today from Radeon 8500, might have been a mistake)
Asus A78NX-deluxe (Nforce2)

My cpu external bus is set to 145Mhz
My memory multiplier is set to 100%, so its also 145Mhz
My cpu multiplier is 15x.
My memory is in the dual bandwidth slots

I just dont understand it..