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Underclocked RAM and timings

I

imported_Aelius

Golden Member
I got a problem that I have been unable to solve for a long time now. 10 months actually.

Here is my system spec:

AMD Athlon XP 2800 (shows up in BIOS as 166Mhz X 12.5 to get me my CPU Mhz which is correct)
OCZ 2700 333Mhz Dual Channel DDR RAM 2 X 512 MB Timings: 2/2/2/5
ASUS A7N8X Motherboard with latest NForceWare drivers
GeForce4 Ti4800SE 128MB vid card

In the BIOS the RAM shows up with timings of 3/3/3/6 instead of 2/2/2/5.

Also it shows up as 166Mhz during boot up and the BIOS as well instead of 333Mhz.

Question: Is it "supposed" to be 166 if it runs in dual channel mode? If so this has been quite missleading but the timings are still wrong.

Either way the only options in the BIOS for RAM is "Set" or "Auto". Currently it is on Auto but putting it to Set does nothing since I cannot change the timings nor the Mhz in the Set mode and obviously it doesn't work in the Auto mode either.

There is an option in that same BIOS page to set the computer from "Optimal" to "Aggressive" but after changing it it seemed to do nothing although I didn't try to reboot with Agressive settings, besides I don't see how that would allow me to change my RAM timings or Mhz, plus it warns that it can cause instability in the system if set to Aggressive.

Currently I'm poking around for a new BIOS driver but I thought that was updated when I installed the ForceWare drivers. Maybe I'm missunderstand something. I'm probably in need of updating the BIOS on its own but not sure since I did the ForceWare update.

I'm at a loss.

Any suggestions?
 
The RAM runs at 166 MHz, but because it transmits twice per cycle the companies say it's 333MHz (166x2).
You can manually change the memory timings. I'll find my manual and see what needs to be changed.
The BIOS is completely separate from drivers. I believe this program will update your BIOS from within Windows (there should also be a copy on your driver CD).

EDIT: Based on the manual, you need to set memory frequency to either Auto or Sync (make sure it's the same as the CPU External Frequency). Then set the Memory Timings to User Defined and define them.
 
Yes DDR sends data up and down hence 2x while SDRAM sends it either up or down(don't remember exactly). It's marketing it's really 166 MHz but it sends twice the amount of data per clock compared to SDRAM.

EDIT: Beat me to it. 🙁
 
Cannot update from that tool I downloaded nor download the new BIOS to install it either.

It keeps saying "Sorry, there're no proper BIOS image files on the server!".

I tried all 3 ftp servers for both update from them and downloading from them and no luck.

At least it told me which motherboard I have exactly so right now I'm pooking around for the drivers manually.
 
Hmm Asus' website is constantly timing out.

Prolly a router flapping from the tracert I just ran on em.

That would explain why I cannot run the download properly too.
 
Thanks...

I did find the updater hidden on the motherboard CD that came with my Mobo. Never thought to look there since the CD was labeled with the NForceWare drivers for the Mobo and said squat about anything else.

Even found a couple of other cool Asus utilities on there.

So far I managed to update that updater utility to the same version as the one you linked me. Outside of that I got nothing.

I'm not 100% sure which BIOS update to download since there is something like 6 different A7N8X Mobos and I'm only sure about 2 of them that aren't mine so that leaves 4 others.

Gona keep trying with the updater and hopefully at some point I can get the update.

In the meantime I checked the BIOS again and there are no options that you mentioned. Probably because I don't have the latest BIOS yet.

.... press' "next" button on updater tool for the upteenth time....
 
Pop the case open and look between the second and third PCI slots, the model number and revision should be there.
 
Thanks MDE =D

I found the correct version BIOS and manually downloaded it and installed it with the updater.

Worked like a charm.

Had to go in and set the CPU back to 166 and this time I was able to change the "computer performance" in the BIOS to "user defined" which then allowed me to change the RAM timings to "user defined".

Now my very expansive RAM is finally running at where it should be.

Sweet!!!

Thanks again MDE. You da man!
 
Originally posted by: Aelius
Thanks MDE =D

Thanks again MDE. You da man!
Click to expand...

Don't forget LTC8K6 and Algere chiming in on the memory speed thing 🙂.
Glad to pass on my knowledge of that board. I'm so glad I don't have to visit Asus site for anything any more.
 
Yes thank you goes out to those two as well.

While I knew what DDR did in theory, I do a crap load of research (3+ months) before I buy a system or upgrade, I never actually seen DDR RAM in action while booting up until I got my system almost a year ago.

That's why I was confused. =p
 
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