GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

ProfJim,
I have been debating on what to do, I bought the RAM about a year ago locally at Fry's - still have the packaging.
I was considering updating the bios to F4a - maybe that would cure it maybe not. I do worry that these specific memory sticks were singled out as having problems over others - which leads me to believe that the problem lies more with the memory itself than other factors.

Not sure how much throughput I could gain with Ram running @4 multiplier.
With the setup I have now, I am not doing too shabby.
What do you think Professor?

Take a look at this testing that was done with similar ram:



G.Skill 4GB DDR3-1600 Pi Series Dual Channel Memory Kit - Page 5 of 7 - Big Bruin

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

The answer my friend is pissin' into the wind .... or something like that.
This looks similar to the ddr2 debate; is 1066 memory significantly better than 800 memory? In some ways yes, in most ways no.

I try to buy the best hardware that I can afford at the time. That way I can do incremental upgrades without having to upgrade many components at the same time. I may be way off base, but it looks like today's 1333 ddr3 memory will shortly be like 667 ddr2 memory is today, in that any cpu upgrades in the near future will be limited with your current memory.

OK, enough of the philosophical poop.

The synthetic Everest benchmarks you posted (from Big Bruin) don't look terribly impressive to me. My current setup (see my sig) gives me Everest read/write/copy results in the 8900 - 9100 range, but I'm at my limit with my current cpu. If I upgraded my cpu, only then could I utilize the full potential of my memory. You'll have to see what others report for "real world" performance increases when they're running their ddr3 systems at 1600 - 1700 speeds.

If your cpu is clocked at 500MHz, you could run:
500 x 2.40 = 1200MHz memory
500 x 2.66 = 1333MHz memory
500 x 3.00 = 1500MHz memory
500 x 3.20 = 1600MHz memory
500 x 4.00 = 2000MHz memory
With higher cpu clocks, you'll quickly exhaust your current ram.
With 450 cpu speeds, the above memory figures will be 10% lower.

Your overall performance with tighter memory timings and lower Static tRead Values (tRD or Performance Level) might be fairly close to faster memory speeds with looser timings. As an example, take a look at Lsdme's Cruicial Ballistix User Guide/Review (ddr2) and you'll see that 900MHz memory speeds nearly equaled or bested higher memory speeds.

Bottom line, listen to what the current ddr3 owners have to say.
You paid for 1600 memory and I think that you'd have the best of all worlds if you can or want to run at higher speeds.

** edit ** I forgot to suggest that you RMA your current memory directly with Corsair for one of the recommended models they suggested in their forum post.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Uh oh,
Corsair may not have anything to replace these with any way. The compatible list for my motherboard is growing shorter.

Do you think they will send me some 1800's instead? - That would be lovely I think.

More bad news:
Corsair Drops Elpida Hyper ICs in Dominator GT Line - Legit ReviewsTW3X4G1600C6GTF, TR3X6G1866C7GTF, TR3X6G2000C8GTF, TR3X3G2000C7GTF, and TR3X6G2000C7GTF. We are working on enhancing our manufacturing and testing process to be able to offer these parts again as soon as possible. We continue to stand behind these modules 100% with our standard warranty, which can be found at Welcome to Corsair :: Warranty.

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Sounds to me like you now have time to play with your current memory and see how far you can go with it. In the meantime, I'd start the RMA process & see what options they will offer. I've seen several other posts where the manufacturer couldn't offer a similar replacement component and upgraded the owner with somewhat better replacements at no additional charge.

You might want to change the thread title to "As The World Turns".

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good



With my luck, Corsair will go chapter 11, or worse; chapter 7.
All these ram recalls have got to be costing them a fortune. It's happening to their 4GB and newer 1.6v 6GB kits.

I have tried going past 1400 (1407)@ 3.20B with same or higher MCH core, same or higher Vdimm keeping the CPU under 3.66 GHZ - and no go.



Edit to add - it's not just Corsair having these problems - it's all the ram companies using the Elpida Hyper ICs

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Post your current 440/1407 bios settings and let's see if we can help get your system stable. Be specific about what problems you're encountering; reboot/reset loop? failed stress testing? Which tests and what types of errors? BSODs?

You might do better using the 3.33D memory multiplier and lower your cpu host frequency so that you're running 9 x 420 = 3.78GHz and 3.33 x 420 = 1400MHz with tRD one notch lower. There are many other possibilities....

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

I like your attitude Professor; "Let's tweak that sucker!"

Are you happy now? I am officially a tweak junkie.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

My first try at going past 1400 was with all the same settings (last template displayed) except for MCH core set at 1.26 and Vdimm at 1.88.
System booted into windows fine, but does a drunk routine where it takes more than a minute to automatically load Easytune (normally loads in 7~10 seconds) so there was no sense in going further.

Shall we try this?
I have loosened the timings

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster .............: [ Auto ]
CPU Clock Ratio .....................: 8 X  
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.................: +0.5  
CPU Frequency .......................: 3.57GHZ (420x8.5)

Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control...............: [ Enabled ]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 420  
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........: 100 
C.I.A.2 .............................: [ Disabled ]

Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive......................: [ 800 mV ]
PCI Express Clock Drive..............: [ 900mV ]
CPU Clock Skew (ps)..................: [ 0ps ]
MCH Clock Skew (ps)..................: [ 0ps ]

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance..................: [ STANDARD ]
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [ AUTO ]
System Memory Multiplier ............: 3.33D  
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1400
DRAM Timing Selectable ..............: [ Manual ]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time.....................: 8 
tRCD ................................: 8 
tRP'.................................: 8 
tRAS.................................: 24 

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD.................................: 5 
tWTR.................................: 5 
tWR..................................: 9 
tRFC.................................: 60 
tRTP.................................: 5 
Command Rate (CMD) ..................: 2


Channel A
Static tRead Value...................: 8
tRD Phase0 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ...............: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...............: 9 [ AUTO ]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...............: 7 [ AUTO ]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]

Channel B
Static tRead Value...................: 8
tRD Phase0 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase1 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase2 Adjustment ...............: 0 [ AUTO ]
tRD Phase3 Adjustment................: 0 [ AUTO ]
Trd2rd(Different Rank)...............: 9 [ AUTO ]
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...............: 7 [ AUTO ]
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)...............: 8 [ AUTO ]


Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type...............
CPU
CPU Vcore............................: 1.31875V
CPU Termination….....................: 1.260V
CPU PLL..............................: 1.570V
CPU Referen..........................: 0.760V [ AUTO ]


MCH/ICH
MCH Core.............................: 1.260V 
MCH Reference........................: 0.778V 
MCH/DRAM Ref.........................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
ICH I/O......................….......: 1.570V 


DRAM
DRAM Voltage ........................: 1.880V
DRAM Termination ....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-A DATA VRef.......................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-B DATA VRef.......................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-A Address VRef....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]
Ch-B Address VRef....................: 0.750V [ AUTO ]

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3...............: [ DISABLED ]
No-Execute Memory Protect...........: [ ENABLED ]
Load-Line Calibration...............: [ DISABLED ]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E).............: [ DISABLED ] 
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) .........: [ ENABLED ]
CPU EIST Function...................: [ DISABLED ] 
Virtualization Technology...........: [ ENABLED ] 

USB Legacy Support..................: [ DISABLED ]

***Edit*** system did not like that at all - double post and then dropped the FSB down to 333. I think my MCH Ref is too low.

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

OK TJ several thoughts, first let's find your memory's limit using:
430 x 9 = 3.87GHz
430 x 3.20 = 1376MHz
Keep tRD at the current setting for now. (we really need to see your bios settings)
To take your cpu out of the tweaking occasion, using an 8x cpu multiplier might help, but your cpu should easily be able to do 3.87GHz without any fancy tweaks.

If you have any problems, detail the problems and include your bios settings.
If the 430 setup can't be made stable, you'll lower the cpu frequency by 5MHz and try again. Your test settings will use memory timings that are somewhat loose until your system is stable and passes moderate stress testing.

If you're not familiar with saving multiple bios profiles, check out this post for some basics.

Food for thought: creamesoda's Everest memory scores in post #43 blow away the "Big Bruin" scores.

If you have any problems with this approach, refer to the bottom line in my signature.

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Stay with your 420 posted setup but try:
tRFC = 64
MCH Ref = Auto
ICH Core = 1.20 (it's not showing in your posted settings)

After you've tried these settings, if necessary:
MCH Core = 1.28
Dram Voltage = try lowering it a bit by 0.02 several times

I'll check back later this evening. Hopefully others will chime in with additional suggestions.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

You're the Professor,
Creamsoda has that board going so fast the paint is peeling off.

Although hank123 has everyone beat in the monster voltage department.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Hey, who stole my ICH core voltage?
Seriously though, remember this is a ds3r - not an Extreme - what you see is what you get- I have no ICH Core setting.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Well ProfJim,
I tried several different combinations.
tRFC=70 throughout - with above template.

Set MCH core to 1.28, RAM to 1.86 - double post and red warning box in bios telling me no go.

Set MCH Core to 1.26, RAM to 1.88 - double post and red warning box

Set MCH Core to 1.30, Ram to 1.88 - double post and no display. Had to shut off power at power supply switch. Unplugged power cord, cleared cmos, then booted back up, loaded optimized, rebooted -

Set MCH Core to 1.28, RAM to 1.90 - system started booting - did not make it to Windows - rebooted - no display.Had to shut off power at power supply switch. Unplugged power cord, cleared cmos, then booted back up, loaded optimized, rebooted, had a shot of Jack Daniels ( I had a shot of Jack Daniels as well).

For some reason - the system does not like the 3.33D. Although the real culprit seems to be that 1400 barrier.
Creamsoda was right - hitting 1400 is a monster.
Using the 3.20B was a cakewalk. It seems overclocking the FSB is not a problem. Getting the Ram to run a higher multiplier is the fly in the ointment.

Edit to add: MCH ref set to auto throughout - since my first try of ref 74 @1.2 Vtt failed.

[creamsoda]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Edit to add: MCH ref set to auto throughout - since my first try of ref 74 @1.2 Vtt failed.

you shouldn't just give up after 1 try. Set vTT to 1.20v, set MCH ref to .700v, then raise vtt back up to 1.24v

use 2.40B or 3.20B RAM frequency. 6-6-6-18, tRead = 9

Try that and run OCCT large/Prime large, and tell me how it goes.

[ghost707]

Re: GA-EP45T-DS3R DDR3-1600 So far so good

Creamsoda,
Thanks for the input - I have been thinking maybe Vtt was too high - so was going to attempt lowering and see the results.
I have not given up, this has been a fun learning experience and does give me a better perspective of the interaction of different motherboard components.

Real life has been intruding on my time, hopefully will have some more data to post this evening.