Memory Clocking

[Starclopsofish]

On my new rig I'm using G-Skill DDR3 1600Mhz memory. My motherboard, however detects it and sets it at 1066. Should I just crank up the multiplier or the base clock to get to 1600? And should I be worried about data corruption?

Also, are there any good tools for testing my CPU on full load for overclocking? I tried a couple apps a while back, when I first got this machine, but they didn't support Core i7 yet (I have a 920.) I don't want to do much, just crank it up to 3GHz maybe.

Also any other general advice? I'm new to this sort of thing!

[Hephasteus]

Doesn't matter really. At higher speeds the ram just puts in more wait states. AMD bords run off a cpu divider while Intel boards run off front side bus. So if you want slightly faster ram access. Drop your CPU to front side bus multiplier and up the front side bus some. New Intel cpu's usually start out at about 250mhz. So you have to monkey around with it some to get the ram to push it's max reliable speed and then drop it down just a bit. Most ram runs in the 920 to 946 range when set to 800mhz. So if you have it set to 1066 you need to run it about 1250ish mhz if it's set at 1066mhz timings.

[Starclopsofish]

Hmmm... I just learned that adjusting the BCLK for my processor (I assume on account of the integrated memory controller) also affects the base RAM speed. Not really wanting to fiddle with anything but the BCLK my first time overclocking, I think I'll have to find a CPU speed I like before dealing with the memory.

So in other words, I need to find a utility that will measure the temperature of my CPU under load for Linux as I'm not in a position to install windows right now. I've been searching the net for a package for Fedora 10 that does this, but I'm a little stumped. Any recomendations?

[Hephasteus]

You can't really do it well under linux. Even if you have to set up windows on a flash drive with Everest, CPU-Z, GPU-Z then that's what you have to do. If you were experienced you could do light overclock easily without having to worry about it.

I run 12 volt DC computer and limit my system to 8 amps idle 10 amps full draw to maximize battery life and run time. Presently switching over to a custom thick client type case with everything embedded in the case including the speakers and cable modem with display panel mounted to case.

But I run AMD and it responds well to lots of hypertransport link speed, lots of memory clock and small divider. Intel's run about as equally well with pushed ram speeds and high front side bus speeds as they do with increased dividers and such as they are cache monsters. But you have to run windows to overclock as you need all the utilities and benchmarks.

Core i7 runs so easily at 3 ghz you could clock it to 3.2 ghz easily on stock voltages on everything. IF it's a 920 Nehelman just post your motherboard and people on here could probably tell ya what to set to get to your target speed.

[Starclopsofish]

Well I'm really worried about the temperature. Right now when I take a look in the BIOS, it's running 41-43C idle. That seems hot compared to a lot of other reports I've heard. Maybe they're using watercooling or something. Is this cause for concern?

[Hephasteus]

Well I'm really worried about the temperature. Right now when I take a look in the BIOS, it's running 41-43C idle. That seems hot compared to a lot of other reports I've heard. Maybe they're using watercooling or something. Is this cause for concern?

Nope. Smaller process sizes like cooler temps and they like lower voltages. 1.55 is about max volt on I7 and 55 to 60 is about max temps. Silicon is "semi" conductive. It is more conductive the hotter it gets and it rushes more current the hotter it gets so every degree counts. If it's running 41-43 on air idle thats about 46 to 50 loaded if your cooler has a reasonable amount of mass. People who run them on air at 3.8ish ghz usually use a 120mm True.

[RealNC]

On my new rig I'm using G-Skill DDR3 1600Mhz memory. My motherboard, however detects it and sets it at 1066. Should I just crank up the multiplier or the base clock to get to 1600? And should I be worried about data corruption?

Doesn't your BIOS offer an option to clock the DDR3 at 1600? You shouldn't need to overclock your CPU for that. Just manually select 1600 for the RAM and manually enter the timings the RAM is rated for.

[Hephasteus]

It all works out to faster clocks more wait states. Doesn't really matter what clock the ram is at as long as you are getting close to the edge on it's timings without going over. The only difference between 800 mhz ddr2 and 1066mhz ddr2 is the spd chip knows how to set timinings at those speeds. The only difference between 1200mhz DDR3 and 2000mhz DDR3 is the spd chip knows how to set timings at those speeds. And DDR3 is dual channel DDR2 on a single module. You really only need 1 chip with ddr3 but they sell triple channel kits.

[cyberfriend]

256MB of RAM in a XP environment is barely the minimum. You don't have a lot of memory left over after XP is loaded upon startup.
Buy more RAM - have at least 512MB, or better yet, go with 1 Gig.
I have 1 Gig on my primary desktop, and its just about acceptable; my other computer has 512MB, and its appreciably slower than the first one