Which RAM settings to believe?

Dk975 · 08-21-2003, 01:15 PM

In the BIOS I have the RAM set at 2.5-2-2-5, but in cpuid 1.19 and Sandra it reports 2.5-3-3-6. Which is it really?

**k0NG0** · 08-21-2003, 01:21 PM

I would hold it as likely that Sandra and CpuId reads from the SPD* chip on the memory module whereas the BIOS forces your settings at boot.

I would believe the BIOS.

* SPD (Serial Presence Detect) is a feature available on SDRAM DIMMs. This feature is an attempt to solve industry-wide compatibility problems by making it easier for the BIOS to properly configure the system to optimize SDRAM performance profiles. The SPD device is an 8-pin serial EEPROM chip that stores information on the DIMM modules' size, speed, voltage, drive strength, and number of row and column addresses. When the BIOS reads these parameters during the POST routine, it automatically adjusts values in the BIOS Chipset section for maximum reliability and performance.

-kONGO

RACINGX · 08-21-2003, 04:56 PM

Wow hard question cpuid changes when i change the settings in the bios it doesnt go by the SPD settings in my case.

To be sure i would change the settings in the bios to what it sais your SPD settings are and benchmark AKA (Sandra mem, and 3dmark01) then set them to the timings you want them at and see if there is any diffrence that will let you know if there is in fact a change regardless to what cpuid sais.

PeterT · 08-21-2003, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dk975
In the BIOS I have the RAM set at 2.5-2-2-5, but in cpuid 1.19 and Sandra it reports 2.5-3-3-6. Which is it really?

Are you using the AI Overclock feature? I believe that will override your mem timing settings.

Dk975 · 08-22-2003, 08:42 AM

I have AI overclock set to manual so I can change all the settings.

Dk975 · 08-22-2003, 09:52 AM

Did extensive testing by changing each setting one by one. My conclusion is that Sandra is very inconsistent. I got my highest bandwidth using 2.5-4-4-7 (4858/4805 Buff), and got all over 4800 in 3 runs at 2.5-3-3-7. I reran each of these settings and got in the low 4700s.

Now I know cpuid 1.19 doesn't read RAM timings, it only reads SPD. When I had 2.5-4-4-7, it was still giving me 2.5-3-3-6 (SPD).

Right now I have 2.5-3-3-7, based on the 4800s results this is the best compromise between latency and bandwidth, but who knows.

08-21-2003, 01:15 PM	#1
Dk975 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 530	Which RAM settings to believe? In the BIOS I have the RAM set at 2.5-2-2-5, but in cpuid 1.19 and Sandra it reports 2.5-3-3-6. Which is it really? __________________ MainPC: C2D E6750 \| GA-G33M-DS2R bios F7 \| G.Skill HK 2x2GB DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12 \| Sapphire HD4670 512MB \| VisionTek T550Pro \| WinXP Home SP2 \| WD250KS \| WD250JS \| LiteOn 201AS \| Enermax Liberty 500W \| Antec NSK4400 \| Samsung 2253LW 22" LCD Laptop: Lenovo T61 15.4" WXGA \| C2D T8300 \| 2x1GB DDR2-667 @ 5-5-5-15 \| Nvidia Quadro 140M 128MB \| Vista HP SP1 \| 120GB 5400 \| 8X DVDRW Heatware : duke975
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08-21-2003, 01:21 PM	#2
k0NG0 Remembering TQ Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sweden Posts: 13,629	I would hold it as likely that Sandra and CpuId reads from the SPD* chip on the memory module whereas the BIOS forces your settings at boot. I would believe the BIOS. * SPD (Serial Presence Detect) is a feature available on SDRAM DIMMs. This feature is an attempt to solve industry-wide compatibility problems by making it easier for the BIOS to properly configure the system to optimize SDRAM performance profiles. The SPD device is an 8-pin serial EEPROM chip that stores information on the DIMM modules' size, speed, voltage, drive strength, and number of row and column addresses. When the BIOS reads these parameters during the POST routine, it automatically adjusts values in the BIOS Chipset section for maximum reliability and performance. -kONGO __________________ Use Firefox - "the one that blocks all the schmutz" Feeling multicore elation? Remember this correlation: Amdahl's Law.
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08-21-2003, 04:56 PM	#3
RACINGX Hightech Redneck Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Texas Posts: 411	Wow hard question cpuid changes when i change the settings in the bios it doesnt go by the SPD settings in my case. To be sure i would change the settings in the bios to what it sais your SPD settings are and benchmark AKA (Sandra mem, and 3dmark01) then set them to the timings you want them at and see if there is any diffrence that will let you know if there is in fact a change regardless to what cpuid sais. __________________ "There are no stupid questions just stupid people." ASUS A8V Rev 2 Bios 1009 AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester 1Gig Corsair XMS 3200LL Pro Series (Dual Channel) 2-3-2-6-1t His Excalibur IceQII X800XT Audigy 2zs 2x200gig WD SATA Raid 0 Marvell Gigabit Onboard Logitech MX510 usb Antec True Power 550W WinXP Home sp2
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08-22-2003, 08:42 AM	#5
Dk975 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 530	I have AI overclock set to manual so I can change all the settings. __________________ MainPC: C2D E6750 \| GA-G33M-DS2R bios F7 \| G.Skill HK 2x2GB DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12 \| Sapphire HD4670 512MB \| VisionTek T550Pro \| WinXP Home SP2 \| WD250KS \| WD250JS \| LiteOn 201AS \| Enermax Liberty 500W \| Antec NSK4400 \| Samsung 2253LW 22" LCD Laptop: Lenovo T61 15.4" WXGA \| C2D T8300 \| 2x1GB DDR2-667 @ 5-5-5-15 \| Nvidia Quadro 140M 128MB \| Vista HP SP1 \| 120GB 5400 \| 8X DVDRW Heatware : duke975
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08-22-2003, 09:52 AM	#6
Dk975 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Central PA Posts: 530	Did extensive testing by changing each setting one by one. My conclusion is that Sandra is very inconsistent. I got my highest bandwidth using 2.5-4-4-7 (4858/4805 Buff), and got all over 4800 in 3 runs at 2.5-3-3-7. I reran each of these settings and got in the low 4700s. Now I know cpuid 1.19 doesn't read RAM timings, it only reads SPD. When I had 2.5-4-4-7, it was still giving me 2.5-3-3-6 (SPD). Right now I have 2.5-3-3-7, based on the 4800s results this is the best compromise between latency and bandwidth, but who knows. __________________ MainPC: C2D E6750 \| GA-G33M-DS2R bios F7 \| G.Skill HK 2x2GB DDR2-800 @ 4-4-4-12 \| Sapphire HD4670 512MB \| VisionTek T550Pro \| WinXP Home SP2 \| WD250KS \| WD250JS \| LiteOn 201AS \| Enermax Liberty 500W \| Antec NSK4400 \| Samsung 2253LW 22" LCD Laptop: Lenovo T61 15.4" WXGA \| C2D T8300 \| 2x1GB DDR2-667 @ 5-5-5-15 \| Nvidia Quadro 140M 128MB \| Vista HP SP1 \| 120GB 5400 \| 8X DVDRW Heatware : duke975
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