Should RAM timings have to be set manually?
in [Hardware]
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From: Jon Danniken on 17 Nov 2006 05:35 Hello, I bought a pair of Kingston HyperX RAM sticks, and tried to use them today; these ones: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144114 Unfortunately, instead of the 2-3-2-6 timings they are sold at, they come up (auto) on the board (Epox 9NDA3I) as 2.5-3-3-8 timings. Attempting to set them at the stated speed results in the board slowing them down to 166MHz (PC 2700, DDR 333), and setting the memory back up to 200MHz results in errors in memtest86. I was rather surprised when the tech support fellow at Kingston told me that I would have to set the memory timings manually in order to get them to run at the specified timings. So, my question is, is it generally required to have to set memory timings manually in order to get the timings that are specified by the manufacturer? Also, is it generally required to have to manually increase the voltage of memory in order to get them to run at the timings specified by the manufacturer? Thanks, Jon
From: blahblah_nospam@sbcglobal.net on 17 Nov 2006 06:42 "Jon Danniken" <jonREMOVETHISdanniken(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:4s5hisFs1sjeU1(a)mid.individual.net... > Hello, > > I bought a pair of Kingston HyperX RAM sticks, and tried to use them today; > these ones: > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820144114 > > Unfortunately, instead of the 2-3-2-6 timings they are sold at, they come up > (auto) on the board (Epox 9NDA3I) as 2.5-3-3-8 timings. Attempting to set > them at the stated speed results in the board slowing them down to 166MHz > (PC 2700, DDR 333), and setting the memory back up to 200MHz results in > errors in memtest86. > > I was rather surprised when the tech support fellow at Kingston told me that > I would have to set the memory timings manually in order to get them to run > at the specified timings. > > So, my question is, is it generally required to have to set memory timings > manually in order to get the timings that are specified by the manufacturer? > > Also, is it generally required to have to manually increase the voltage of > memory in order to get them to run at the timings specified by the > manufacturer? The SPD chip on most memory modules is set to JEDEC standards, regardless of the module's actual speed and timing capabilities. Manufacturers do this so they can maintain compliance with JEDEC standards. A system bios (in auto mode) simply reads whatever timings are stored on the SPDs, and it's up to the end-user to override these default timings. Also, whether a module needs extra voltage to achieve its rated speed specs depends on the memory chips used in the module. Some chips need a voltage boost, others don't. For this reason manufacturers have begun specifying a voltage range for a given module (e.g. 3.1-3.3V) instead of a single number.
From: frodo on 17 Nov 2006 12:09 use something like CPU-Z or WCPU-ID to find out what the ram's reported SPD settings are - these SHOULD be what the mobo wants to set them at by default. The SPD values may not match the given spec, but the ram should work at the given spec if you manually set it there. Bump voltage 0.1 volt up if a memtest86+ fails. If still no good at stated spec then send 'em back and get another brand. are there any other sticks in there? the mobo will need to set a speed that is compat w/ all sticks. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do a memtest to validate new ram BEFORE booting into any OS on the HD - boot from floppy and make sure it passes! Booting to an OS has the potential to corrupt the HD (HD data buffers are stored in RAM prior to writting, so if ram is bad data written to disk can be bad too.) NEVER install an OS to HD if ram is not 100% perfect!
From: Jon Danniken on 17 Nov 2006 16:03 <frodo(a)theshire.net> wrote: > use something like CPU-Z or WCPU-ID to find out what the ram's reported > SPD settings are - these SHOULD be what the mobo wants to set them at by > default. The SPD values may not match the given spec, but the ram should > work at the given spec if you manually set it there. Bump voltage 0.1 > volt up if a memtest86+ fails. If still no good at stated spec then send > 'em back and get another brand. > > are there any other sticks in there? the mobo will need to set a speed > that is compat w/ all sticks. > > ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do a memtest to validate new ram BEFORE booting into > any OS on the HD - boot from floppy and make sure it passes! Booting to an > OS has the potential to corrupt the HD (HD data buffers are stored in RAM > prior to writting, so if ram is bad data written to disk can be bad too.) > NEVER install an OS to HD if ram is not 100% perfect! Hi Frodo, Yeah, this is a new build, on the kitchen table ATM, haven't even hooked up a HDD yet. That is the only RAM in it right now; is there a way to get CPU-Z or WCPU-ID to run from from DOS? BTW, when it failed Memtest, it actually crashed it; I had to hard boot the machine with the power button. . I'll try bumping up the voltage a tenth of a volt. Otherwise I'm thinking of getting the Crucial Ballistix (2 x 512) instead; any thoughts on those? Thanks, Jon
From: Jon Danniken on 17 Nov 2006 16:05
"blahblah_nospam(a)sbcglobal.net" > The SPD chip on most memory modules is set to JEDEC > standards, regardless of the module's actual speed and > timing capabilities. Manufacturers do this so they can > maintain compliance with JEDEC standards. A system bios > (in auto mode) simply reads whatever timings are stored on > the SPDs, and it's up to the end-user to override these > default timings. > > Also, whether a module needs extra voltage to achieve its > rated speed specs depends on the memory chips used in > the module. Some chips need a voltage boost, others don't. > For this reason manufacturers have begun specifying a > voltage range for a given module (e.g. 3.1-3.3V) instead of > a single number. Interesting, thanks for that. Now if only the actual SPD timings would be listed by the manufacturers. Jon |