Thread: Memory in genral

bump.

I recently built this system:

Asus M4A78 Pro mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131362

Phenom II x4 920 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103472

4GB (2 x 2GB) Gskill ddr2 1066 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

Let me start out by saying that I am a completely lost when it comes to overclocking and adjusting timing, voltage, settings, whatever on hardware. I build them, plug them in and play. After much researching I am more confused than when I started and it is hard to find info that directly relates to my setup and parts models.

I ran 3dmark and when I looked at my system specs it said I was running my ram at 400mhz, which means 800. I went into my mobo BIOS and checked my settings. The DRAM settings were set at Auto so I changed to manual to set my timings. I then set my timings to 1066. I reboot and run the 3dmark system specs page again. Now it said that channel one was running at 533mhz (1066) and channel 2 was running at 200mhz (400). It says very plainly in the mobo manual that due to CPU limitations to run at 1066 you can only run one stick of ram per channel or it will revert to 800 speed. I am 100% sure that I have one 2GB stick in channel one slot A and another stick in channel 2 slot A.

What am I doing wrong? I am very confused.

Its usually (always?) more effective to be able to clock the memory faster (1066 versus 800) than drop the latencies (5-5 versus 7-7) by a small margin.

That's the thing. Do I need to adjust the latency or the voltage if I change the speed? I'm afraid to mess with settings I don't understand, but what is the point of buying 1066 ram if it's only going to run at 800?

Don't adjust anything unless you need to. Try it with the same latency and voltage settings. If you bench it and test it and it works fine with the faster frequency settings, you should be good to go. I'd then recommend loosing the latency settings (setting them higher). If it's still not stable, bump the voltage up very slightly. Bumping up voltage can burn out the memory if it's too much juice for it. It will increase the heat too so you want to make sure they are cooled sufficiently (fans, the extra heatsinks...).

I'm not hugh into overclocking for overclocking sakes. If you don't need the extra speed, leave well enough alone.