P4P800 Deluxe memory questions

[Centurion]

Hi. Just wondering if my memory is ok?

With timings set by SPD:

If I run one dimm single channel, it will run fine at 400 Mhz @ 2.55 volts. The other dimm will run fine single channel at 266 and 320 Mhz, but not 400 Mhz. It will only run at 400 Mhz if I raise it to 2.85 volts. I cannot run dual channel at all without errors, even after raising voltage to 2.85 volts.

The best timings I can run at single or dual channel are 2.5 - 3 - 2 - 5 @ 2.55 volts. I seemed to have read people running at 2-3-2-6, etc, but I cannot run stable with cas latency below 2.5

Memtest-86 shows no errors after 20 passes and my bandwidth is 2231 MB/s. Shouldn't it be much higher? 8 bytes x 400 Mhz = 3200 MB/s. Or am I missing something here? Thanks.

Dave

Asus P4P800 deluxe (BIOS v1005)
P4/2.4CGHz 800M 478P/512K HT RT
Corsair PC-3200 (2x256MB) TWINX512-3200LLPT
Sapphire Atlantis ATI RADEON 9600 PRO ULTIMATE 128MB 8X AGP
Lite On CDRW/DVD COMBO 48X24X48X16
Western Digital 120GB 8mb cache EIDE
Win XP Pro SP1a

[Conan]

Try raising your memory voltage to 2.75.

[Centurion]

I did raise voltage to 2.75 volts. The best timing I could achieve was 2-4-4-8 (1912 MB/s), which is slower than the 2.5-3-2-5 timing at 2.55 volts (2231 MB/s).

I raised voltage to 2.85 volts and tried 2-3-3-7 and have errors and system is unstable.

Granted I running bios 1005 now, not sure if that would effect it, or upgrading to a better power supply. I am a bit afraid to upgrade my bios after reading the horror stories about corrupted bios files and dead boards.

So I can run fine at 2.5-3-2-5, but not any lower. What bugs me though is that one dimm runs fine with SPD at 2.55 volts, and the other dimm can only at 2.85 volts. What do you think? Would this memory be considered for RMA? How much performance am I losing by not running at 2-3-2-6, etc?


Asus P4P800 deluxe (BIOS v1005)
P4/2.4CGHz 800M 478P/512K HT RT
Corsair PC-3200 (2x256MB) TWINX512-3200LLPT
Sapphire Atlantis ATI RADEON 9600 PRO ULTIMATE 128MB 8X AGP
Lite On CDRW/DVD COMBO 48X24X48X16
Western Digital 120GB 8mb cache EIDE
Win XP Pro SP1a

[bigtoe]

The reason your bandwidth is so low is that your modules are infact single sided.Also up the fsb to 201 and you may find some of your instability issues disapear as the P4P sets very agressive timings at 200fsb with Turbo or Auto enabled.

[Centurion]

Thanks bigtoe. I didn't know there was much difference between single sided and double sided DDR other than the physical arrangement of chips on the module. I didn't think it would effect performance so much. Looks like I have more studying to do!



Asus P4P800 deluxe (BIOS v1005)
P4/2.4CGHz 800M 478P/512K HT RT
Corsair PC-3200 (2x256MB) TWINX512-3200LLPT
Sapphire Atlantis ATI RADEON 9600 PRO ULTIMATE 128MB 8X AGP
Lite On CDRW/DVD COMBO 48X24X48X16
Western Digital 120GB 8mb cache EIDE
Win XP Pro SP1a

[Ed White]

Hi guys, I was following your thread about memory settings on a P4P800 board, I've just built one and I'm using the default settings in bios, and I'm looking to find the settings which you guys call 2-2-3-6 or something on that order.....which settings are you describing, I'm looking to learn a bit here.....links to any pertinent info would be fine too, and I'll keep browsing the board to look for info.....Thanks, Ed

[Centurion]

In the BIOS "Advanced' menu, there is a setting for Configure DRAM Timing by SPD. If you disable that, you can manually adjust your memory timings. Be careful when adjusting these as you can make your system unstable.

It's on page 4-18 and 4-19 in my motherboard manual.


Asus P4P800 deluxe (BIOS v1005)
P4/2.4CGHz 800M 478P/512K HT RT
Corsair PC-3200 (2x256MB) TWINX512-3200LLPT
Sapphire Atlantis ATI RADEON 9600 PRO ULTIMATE 128MB 8X AGP
Lite On CDRW/DVD COMBO 48X24X48X16
Western Digital 120GB 8mb cache EIDE
Win XP Pro SP1a

[Ed White]

RTFM a little more carefully really would have helped, thanks a ton, I have a little more reading ahead to figure out what settings I need to use with my memory, thanks again for shedding some light.
Ed

[PeterT]

Originally posted by daver201
With timings set by SPD:
If I run one dimm single channel, it will run fine at 400 Mhz @ 2.55 volts. The other dimm will run fine single channel at 266 and 320 Mhz, but not 400 Mhz.

Assuming you've tried all 4 slots, to rule out the possiblity of a bad slot. And, you have a stick that will not run (error free) 400 @ SPD and default voltage, but the other stick will, RMA the stick that won't.

[Centurion]

PeterT
Assuming you've tried all 4 slots, to rule out the possiblity of a bad slot. And, you have a stick that will not run (error free) 400 @ SPD and default voltage, but the other stick will, RMA the stick that won't.

What is really confusing me is that if I set DDR reference voltage to auto and dram timing set by SPD, one dimm runs fine at 400 Mhz @ 2.55 volts, and the other will only run at 400 Mhz if I raise the voltage to 2.85 volts....

however...

If I manually adjust the timings, I still cannot get better than 2.5-3-2-5 for each dimm single channel. I tried multiple tests of each dimm at different voltages in different slots, and they each seem to perform the same... but when set to SPD and voltage to Auto, they are different... scratching my head here..

[Centurion]

Originally posted by Ed White
RTFM a little more carefully really would have helped, thanks a ton, I have a little more reading ahead to figure out what settings I need to use with my memory, thanks again for shedding some light.
Ed

No problem Ed

[Centurion]

Just an update here... I must have had a fluke when testing the memory before. I tested it again and here's my best timings:

dimm 1: 2-3-2-5 @ 2.55 volts

dimm 2: 2.5-3-2-5 @ 2.55 volts
2-3-3-8 @ 2.75 volts


So I'm still wondering whether or not to RMA it, and if I'll have any problems with Newegg if I do.

[traveler]

I don't trust the auto settings of the P4P800d. All my settings (as many as possible) are set manually.

You should update your BIOS to 1008 Final. 1008 Final installs via an exe file on a bootable floppy, so you won't have any problems.

None of the settings matter except the settings that the RAM stick is rated for by the manufacturer. Set those timings and settings and if the board runs error free then you got what you paid for. Are the two sticks that you have supposed to be a matched pair? What does the manufacturer rate the timings and voltage?




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