Corsair PC2-8500 ratings

[cjrmail2k]

Hi Clunk and thanks for such a great forum, its been excellent for a newb like me to learn the art of overclocking! Ok well I have only taken my first baby steps and need some confirmation if you dont mind.

My Config is a package I bought from scan.co.uk about a month back and is as follows:

Q6600 GO Quad core
2 X Corsair PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz
Asus iP35 PRO

I have followed your OC guide and am running at a mild 3GHz CPU. Then I ensured I had the mem set to 5-5-5-15, 2T (I also tried the settings on your guide) and in CPU-Z I get the following readings:

DRAM Frequency 501.2MHz
FSBRAM 2:3
Max Bandwidth: PC2-6400 (400MHz)

My questions are:
If my calculations are correct the memory is running at the wrong speed, do you know what the explicit settings should be in the iP35 Pro bios so I can try and correct this. Also, you mentioned that the mem will be read as PC2-6400, does this still apply when the settings in the bios are customised or should it change to PC2-8500.

Many thanks for the help and sorry if this is a duplicate post.

P.S. I am using the siberian tiger WC system and my processor runs at 44 celcius during the stress test (12 hours in).

CJR

[Clunk]

Welcome to the forums

I don't think you meant to post this in the rules section did you?

That is the right speed for the RAM.

Always remember that DDR = Double Data Rate, so if you see 400Mhz, the DDR2 rating will be 800Mhz - That make sense to you?

It works in much the same confusing way as the CPU speed is shown. For example, in the CPU specs, you might see that it has an FSB of 1066, but then when you get into the BIOS, it says 266 - WTF? Well, similarly to above, the FSB rating for current CPUs is a "quad pumped" value, so 266.6x4 = yes, roughly 1066Mhz, which is what they advertise.

Now, the confusing part comes when you look in the BIOS and you see settings for 266/800 and 266/1066 and so on. This is just another way of saying the same thing as the previous two examples, and if you try and remember that at 1:1, the DDR2 value will always be twice that of the FSB, you will be fine.

The other thing is, no Intel motherboard will detect your RAM as 1066Mhz because there isnt an official JEDEC spec that supports 1066Mhz, so your motherboard will default to the next highest which is 800Mhz (PC2-6400).

The mistake that many people make is insisting on running their RAM at exactly 1066Mhz. Set your RAM to 1:1 (266/533) and find a decent overclock for your CPU, and then when you have got your CPU stable, have a look in the BIOS, and you should see some memory strap settings (266/533 or 333/667), choose the 333/1066, and see if that is stable, that should give you the overclock and 1066Mhz RAM that you require.

Moving this to intel overclocking

[cjrmail2k]

Thanks for the help with this and sorry for posting in the wrong place :/ I have the processor speed at 334 X 9 which gives 3006MHz and then I set the memory multiplier to 1:1.5 to give the above results, in the BIOS is shows just over 1000 (cant remember exactly).

Its a bit confusing getting the multiplier sorted out in my head because in the bios it was 1:1.5 and in the CPU-Z setting it was 2:3 which I have only now realised is exactly the same thing

CJR

[Clunk]

Yep, different manufacturers tend to phrase it differently.

You'll get the hang of it as you go along, it's just a bit of a pain getting used to it