manaully set ddr2 timing in bios ?

[fix-this!]

i was reading about my ocz ddr2 ram and it's timings. it says it's suppose to be at 4-4-4-15 and 1.9v - 2.1v .

i was looking in my dfi lanparty boards bios and i see the voltage is set at 1.925v and can be adjusted if need be.

pretty much everything else is set to auto and iwant to check to make sure my ram is running at the 4-4-4-15 timing. is there a way to check this and adjust it if need be ? there are a ton of setting in my bios to overclock. i checked the manual and it doesn't state how to manually check the rams timing.

thanks in advance.

Edited July 5, 2008 by smooth3006

[Rob2687]

CPU-z will tell you what timings the RAM is running at.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

[fix-this!]

CPU-z will tell you what timings the RAM is running at.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

okay according to cpuz the timing is set at 5-5-5-15 ? if that's correct would you recommend changing the timing to what ocz says to 4-4-4-15 ?

whats the difference ? i just don't want to ruin the memory.

[+shift. MVC]

Directly quoted from Wikipedia.org

CL = CAS Latency time: The time it takes between a command having been sent to the memory and when it begins to reply to it. It is the time it takes between the processor asking for some data from the memory and it returning it.

TRCD = DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: The number of clock cycles performed between activating the Row Access Strobe and the Column Access Strobe. This parameter relates to the time it takes to access stored data.

TRP = DRAM RAS# Precharge: The amount of time between the 'precharge' command and the 'active' command. The 'precharge' command closes memory that was accessed and the 'active' command signifies that a new read/write cycle can begin.

TRAS = Active to Precharge delay: The total time that will elapse between an active state and precharge state. This is the sum of the previous timings: CL + TRCD + TRP.

The BIOS on a PC may allow the user to make adjustments to RAM Timing in an effort to increase speed (with possible risk of decreased stability) or, in some cases, increase stability (by lowering the speed).

[fix-this!]

i searched the official OCZ forums and they recommend the change to 4-4-4-15 and bump the voltage up to 2.1 from 1.9 for better stability. i did this and i immediately noticed a speed increase on my boot time and overall speed. what i don't understand is why the bios doesn't automatically recognize the manufacturer timings / voltages and such ? :blink:

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

the bios isnt written for certain ddr manufacturers. It should be able to use all manufacturers, but thats not always the case. they use the lowest setting to allow many types of ram to work.

[fix-this!]

the bios isnt written for certain ddr manufacturers. It should be able to use all manufacturers, but thats not always the case. they use the lowest setting to allow many types of ram to work.

yeah thanks for the reply. i know the ram is rated at between 1.9v - 2.1v. i should be ok by setting it to the max voltage, right ? i just wish things would sort of work "out of the box" you know ? all this time ive had this ram and i just found out it wasn't running at the OCZ manufacturer specs. no wonder i wasn't noticing any speed improvement until now.

[fix-this!]

man ive been reading online and i see so many different responses as far as this memory goes with timing / voltage. just so you guys fully understand i am not at this time overclocking my system at all. ive had this memory since september 07' and i guess it has always run at 1.925v and at the timing of 5-5-5-15 with no issues. i just found out yesterday that this ram was meant to run at a different timing / higher voltage. i just want to clarify that running it now at 4-4-4-15 and at 2.1v is ok and won't damage my system at all becuase if it will ill just go back to my old settings.

[fix-this!]

not to be rude but i can't believe i can't get any assistance on this issue ? ive posted this topic on 3 different forums with no good responses. even the official ocz forums are useless. im sorry if i seem to be an idiot here, but im new to this stuff.

once again i need to know if running this ram at 4-4-4-15 at 2.1v will fry it or not ? the reason i keep asking is i have seen people on other forums say they ran this ram at different timings and voltages. im not much of an overclocker and i don't wish to push the ram to it's limits either. im just looking for stable / stock performance.

[CrashG]

It won't damage the ram if that's what it's rated to run at.

[fix-this!]

It won't damage the ram if that's what it's rated to run at.

well it's rated at between 1.9v -2.1v. i have been told the lower i can get the voltage the cooler the ram will run. i set it back to 2.0v and i will run memtest for awhile to see if i get any errors. if i don't i will try to lower it down to 1.9v.

[CrashG]

Mine is rated at 1.8-2.1v if I want to use the EPP profile for my ram (which is what it is sold as) I had to manually set it to the specs 4-4-3-5 2.1v in the BIOS.

And yes, more voltage= more heat. So if you can get it stable at a lower voltage thats great, but if the specs you provided earlier are correct there is nothing to be worried about running them at 2.1v

[utdarkviper]

Yea, if it lists those timings on the box then you should definitely be okay. I wouldn't even call it an overclock since those are the specs. If you have heatsinks on your RAM heat shouldn't be too much of a problem at 2V or 2.1V.

[+shift. MVC]

Just don't go higher than 2.1V or you risk voiding your warranty on top of losing your RAM.

[Rob2687]

When the timings are set to Auto in the BIOS it uses the timings stored on the SPD. You can check this information under the SPD tab in CPU-z. For some reason a lot of manufacturers seem to store higher timings than what they are rated for according to their own specs.