Should I use the XMP profile or the default?

[Dave3000]

I recently bought 32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport memory. The default settings are 1600 at 9-9-9-24 and the command rate is up to the user which defaults to 1T. The XMP 1.3 profile is 1600 as well with the same timings except one of the timings is 37 in the XMP whereas the default is 39 and it also sets the command rate to 2T when XMP is enabled. Also the XMP profile sets the VCCSA voltage to 1.3v whereas the default SPD settings does not touch the VCCSA voltage. Am I better off not using XMP profile with this memory since XMP changed the VCCSA voltage and sets the command rate to 2T and the default SPD sets the frequency to 1600 anyways?

 

[Dave3000]

Also is there a reason why the XMP profile sets the VCSSA voltage to 1.3v on my Crucial but the default setting does not? Last year I bought some 32GB Corsair XMS 1600 RAM as well and the XMP on that one sets the VCSSA voltage to 1.3v as well and I returned it because of that. My Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 does not touch the VCSSA voltage in it's XMP profile.

 

[razel]

Very interesting that the XMP profile isn't even at a higher MHZ. That's one of the main reasons why XMP even exists. How are you reading the XMP timings? At the BIOS? Maybe try verifying the XMP settings using another program... like hwinfo just to get a 2nd opinion.

 

[john3850]

My Crucial Ballistix Sport memory Low Profile has 2 XMP 1.3 profiles.
The first XMP 1.3 profiles is 1.5v the second profile is 1.35v.
I believe most Ballistix uses the Low Profile low voltage chips and raise there volts to 1.50v to avoid mb bios problems.
I used XMP 1.3 profile with 1.35 then I drop or raise the voltage as needed.
I also ran that ram at 1.30v for months.

 

[Dave3000]

Sometime when I restart Windows 7, my system will show the shutting down message and then a blank screen for about 20 seconds and then shutdown instead of restarting. Sometimes I have to press the power button but one time it turned back on itself a few seconds after shutdown. I changed the command rate from Auto (1T) to 2T and now it seems like that problem has been resolved. My memory does not define what command rate it should be running at for the non-XMP setting under the Tool feature in the BIOS but I know that 2T is more stable the 1T. Otherwise it's still running at advertised settings without problems, so far. Memtest ran fine for 5.5 hours at 1T and so did Intel Burn Test and the Windows Memory Diagnostics so I'm not sure if it was an issue with the 1T command rate or just a bug in Windows 7. I didn't have this issue with my previous memory but my previous memory I ran at 2T command rate as that was what was defined in the XMP settings of my old memory to get 1600 speed. Does it sound like it was the command rate which was causing the issue with shutting down instead of restarting?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Sometime when I restart Windows 7, my system will show the shutting down message and then a blank screen for about 20 seconds and then shutdown instead of restarting. Sometimes I have to press the power button but one time it turned back on itself a few seconds after shutdown. I changed the command rate from Auto (1T) to 2T and now it seems like that problem has been resolved. My memory does not define what command rate it should be running at for the non-XMP setting under the Tool feature in the BIOS but I know that 2T is more stable the 1T. Otherwise it's still running at advertised settings without problems, so far. Memtest ran fine for 5.5 hours at 1T and so did Intel Burn Test and the Windows Memory Diagnostics so I'm not sure if it was an issue with the 1T command rate or just a bug in Windows 7. I didn't have this issue with my previous memory but my previous memory I ran at 2T command rate as that was what was defined in the XMP settings of my old memory to get 1600 speed. Does it sound like it was the command rate which was causing the issue with shutting down instead of restarting?

Well, everyone has their own limited experience with these things. But if you scour the "CPU/OC" forum, I posted there a couple weeks ago with similar instability for OC'ing 4 sticks 4GB-each of 1600 G.SKILLs to 1866 and CMD=1. The problem never turned up in 5 days it took to run HCI Memtest for the 1000% "thorough" test.

In my motherboard, I can't pick the XMP RAM setting unless I change my CPU settings to "Auto." Otherwise, I have to punch in the timings myself, and pick the speed off the BIOS menu for it.

Also, if I thought an XMP RAM setting was adjusting my VCCSA, I wouldn't like it. I can't even adjust VCCSA on my current mobo BIOS. I HAVE put my VCCIO at different settings -- trying to resolve the problem I mentioned -- but . . . No Cigar!

Tell ya somethin' else. Once upon a time, in the Land-Grid array of LGA-775, I was running Ballistix with a 1T command rate. Ev-er-y-body that year had short-lived Crucial RAM kits, and Crucial must have hired extra people just to deal with the RMAs. And when I got my own Ballistix replacement returned, I was peeved that it wouldn't run at the latency timings to which I'd grown accustomed, and it wouldn't run at CMD=1.

So I called their tech-support. "Well, buddy! You shouldn' be runnin' those at CMD=1 -- it will void your war-ran-ty!! What you runnin' them at command rate of 1 for?!"

It's just my story. That was then, this is now.