RAM for P35-DS4

[FloppySpatula]

Hi. I own a GA-P35-DS4 (ver 2.1, the one that supports 1200 (OC) memory), Intel Quadcore Q6600, and was thinking about installing Vista on my computer. Right now I run 2 PC6400 OCZ DDR2 1 gig RAM sticks (=2 gigs), and I would be looking to upgrade to 4 gigs.

I would like to buy 2x2gig sticks. I was thinking about purchasing the Corsair Dominator PC8500 1066 2x2gig kit, but I've read a lot of stories of people who had problems, both with the RAM, and with the new setup using this (and other 1066) RAM with the P35-DS4. Some have suggested tweaking with voltage and other settings, but I'm a novice in this and other overclocking techniques.

Does anyone have this same motherboard and run some variety of 1066 ram on it with good stability? Or the better question - should I even bother using 1066 (PC8500) sticks and just stick to 800 (PC6400) sticks?

Note: stock CPU cooler, but my case has 4 fans.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

1066 + will work fine in that board, and yes you will have to make some changes to timings and voltages in the BIOS for 2x2GB, with any board

I can help you out with all of that when you get your 2x2 ram so no need to worry there

800 and 1066 is not that much of a difference, and 1066 ram is actually only 800 ram with looser timings. So you would pretty much be better of getting 800. Unless you really want 1066, then get some. You will only see a difference when you benchmark, not in actual system performance


NOTE: Save for a new cooler, you CPU will thank you!

Post back anytime, I am here to help

[FloppySpatula]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

LSD - Thanks a lot! This is exactly the kind of answer I was looking for.

As you suggested, I am going to buy a pair of Mushkins: Newegg.com - mushkin XP ASCENT w/ eVCI technology 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory. I'll report back once I get them + Vista.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Glad I could be of help!

You may have a tough time with those eVCI heatsinks, but I have heard they will fit.

Let us know how you get along

[FloppySpatula]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Well - the RAM is here! As I mentioned earlier, it's a 2x2 gig set of Mushkin XP PC6400 DDR2 ram. Is there anything I should do now prior to installing them on the P35-DS4? What about after I put them on the motherboard?

I only ask now just in case I can't log back onto my computer again.

[K91NE]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

You should be very happy with that ram i use the 8500 version of same memory eVCI on my GA-X48-DS4 board suggested by Lsdmeasap and could not be happier on Vista 64 the only thing i noticed with Mushkin it likes LESS voltages mine at 1110 2.05.Old corsair wanted 2.10 by default to post.GL Gigabyte makes a great product.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Yes, Mushkin Likes lower voltages then spec'd. And often performs better that way as well.

You should be fine, just set the voltages and timings in the BIOS, and shut down and put in the new sticks. You will need to add some MCH voltage for 2x2

[FloppySpatula]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Yes, Mushkin Likes lower voltages then spec'd. And often performs better that way as well.

You should be fine, just set the voltages and timings in the BIOS, and shut down and put in the new sticks. You will need to add some MCH voltage for 2x2

I'm not quite familiar with how to do that. I mean, I understand the concept abstractly as described by my manual, but do you have any suggestions/figures that would run stable with my motherboard/setup? That is, what would be good voltages? I guess I'll set my times to 4-4-4-12.

EDIT: I noticed that the option to manually configure my voltage and clock settings for RAM have disappeared on my bios. Odd. I'll look more into this.
REEDIT: NVM, I just read about the CTRL+F1 "hidden" menu in BIOS. I would still love final help with what to adjust the voltages and whatnot to, if you could spare the time.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Sounds like you need a BIOS update if you still have to use Ctrl + F1 hotkey.

Good voltages for starters is stock that is on your Mushkin sticker, which should be 2.0-2.1V which is DDR2 voltage in the MIT section and +0.2 = 2.0V and +0.3 = 2.1V

Yes, I can give you a full suggested settings for your board. It is what I am posting with right now.

Please fill this out so I can see what you are running your CPU at and I will post back with ram settings for you >>>>

This is Just a template I use to ask people their settings, pay no attention to the numbers in it, replace with yours

Robust Graphics Booster___________ [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio ____________ [8]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [450]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2__________________________ [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [2.00]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Manual]

Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ ?
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ ?
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______?
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ ?
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ ?
Rank Write to READ Delay________ ?
Write to Precharge Delay_________ ?
Refresh to ACT Delay______________ ?
Read to Precharge Delay__________ ?
Static tRead Value_______________ 1-31
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ 1-31

System Voltage Control____ [Manual]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [+0.300V]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [+0.1V]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [1.25]

[FloppySpatula]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

Howdy again. Here's the info you asked for -- sorry it took me forever to post it.

Robust Graphics Booster Auto - [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio - [9]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Disabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [Auto]
C.I.A. 2 Disabled [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [Auto]
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Auto]

Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ 5
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ 5
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______5
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ 18
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ 3
Rank Write to READ Delay________ 3
Write to Precharge Delay_________ 6
Refresh to ACT Delay_____________52
Read to Precharge Delay__________ 3
Static tRead Value_______________ 4
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ 0 (yes, zero)

System Voltage Control____ [Auto]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [Normal]
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [Normal]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [Normal]
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [Normal]
CPU Voltage Control_______ [Normal]
__________________
Normal CPU Vcore ________1.2500V

Again, I'd like to tighten out the timings somewhat, at the very least get what I should be getting according to vendor figures (800MHz 4-4-4-12). If it can do a little better and still be stable, I'd be happy with that, too! :P

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

No problems about taking a bit to post! I feel bad when I take longer then a few hours to get in here and help people!

Hey, Static tRead Value of 4? Who told you to set that? Surely it is not the value you saw for Auto there was it? WOW, I mean really! With 2x1GB alot of ram, Mushkins Included, have a hard time even posting with 6 let alone 4. And 6 Often can cause a hard fail and need a Clear of the CMOS to get back up and running. I would advise you set to 7 now before you corrupt your BIOS. Then if you like test 6 maybe.

I cannot see 4 posting at all, are those values above what you have MANUALLY set, and not just what you see on the left for Auto? I could MAYBE see 4 posting into the BIOS for Auto, but it would change in Windows for sure when you started the system. Who knows it may run like that and you got lucky with some very good IC chips on your ram sticks, but I highly doubt that is memtest86+ stable.

Mind posting a MemSet Image of your settings before you change anything? Here is the program >>>
Tweakers.fr

DO NOT USE THE SAVE BUTTON! This program is explained in the memory guide here if you want to mess with it, please read about it first >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/memory-timings-explained-w-suggested-timings-memset-vs-bios-27283/

Well you will have to overclock your CPU to get more then 800 likely, Depending on what Memory Multipliers you have available. If you do want to try for more, let me know what you want to try with your CPU and I will make some suggestions

Here is some settings for you to start testing and bring down to >>>

Robust Graphics Booster Auto - [Auto]
CPU Clock Ratio - [9]
CPU Host Clock Control_ [Disabled]
CPU Host Frequency (MHz)__________ [266]
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz)_______ [100]
C.I.A. 2 Disabled [Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD)____ [3.00] = 798Mhz Ram Speed
DRAM Timing Selectable_______ SPD __ [Auto]

Performance Enhance = [Standard]

CAS Latency Time________________ 4
Dram RAS# to CAS# Delay_________ 4
Dram RAS# Precharge Delay_______4
Precharge Delay (tRAS)__________ 10/12 << Test 10 first or last depending on your thoughts.

Use the higher settings below to test 10 above. If you decide to keep 10 the lower will not lokely come down so low as they would if you used 12 above

Please move Below settings only one at a time and test between each move, otherwsie you wont know what is causing errors for you.

ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD)_________ 3-4
Rank Write to READ Delay________ 3-6 (Benchmark 9-11)
Write to Precharge Delay_________ 4-6
Refresh to ACT Delay_____________38-42
Read to Precharge Delay__________ 3-6
Static tRead Value_______________ 7-10
Static tRead Phase Adjust________ 0 (yes, zero)

System Voltage Control____ [Auto]
DDR2 OverVoltage Control__ [Normal] << Set to 2.0-2.1 (+0.2V - +0.3V)
PCI-E OverVoltage Control_ [Normal]
FSB OverVoltage Control___ [+0.1V] <<< For Stability
(G)MCH OverVoltage Control [+0.1V - +0.15V - +0.2V] << Needed for stable 2x2GB of ram
CPU Voltage Control_______ [Normal]
__________________
Normal CPU Vcore ________1.2500V

[FloppySpatula]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

The values I reported were the ones I saw in the left. I don't know how BIOS or other things work, at least not to that level, so perhaps it does change after Windows boots? Anyways, I'm including this image of Memset now.

Thanks a lot for the times table. I'll start toying around with it soon and report my failures. But when you said test between each move ("Please move Below settings only one at a time and test between each move,"), are you saying for me to boot up and perform tasks on Windows or what?

I read somewhere on here that I could simply change my CPU Clock Ratio to 8 and CPU Host Frequency to 400, then the system memory multiplier to 2, to get the standard timing for these sticks. I could also do that, too, right? But if it comes down to it, I don't have a problem oc my processor somewhat. I see myself doing that more in the future, after I get a different cpu fan.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: RAM for P35-DS4

No, I mean test with Memtest86+ between each move. Otherwise you will not know what causes errors. If you want, what I do is after each move run a 20 minute or so test of Test # 2 and Test # 5 also. If it passes then the moved setting was likely ok. After a Few moves I would run a full test + the test 2 and 5 by themselves. >>>
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

To run tests by number, you do this >>>
1. First press C

2. then 1

3. then 3

4. and finally select the test that you want to run

5. press Enter

6. and then 0 to get it running

Yes, you can use 8x400 to get 1:1 ratio if you like

WOW, that has to fail memtest86+ right? tRD of 4 is too low for sure