ram at wrong speed?

atmywitsend · 02-01-2008, 12:31 PM

I have read a few posts about ram at the wrong speed and I dont want to be repetative but I think this is slightly different.

The specs of my pc are :

1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache OEM Processor
1 x Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 PCI-E Onboard Audio ATX Motherboard
1 x Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12) Heat Spreader
1 x MSI 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card
1 x Arctic Power 500W PSU With PCI-E SATA, 20+4 ATX12V 8pin +12V Connectors

My pc has blue screened a few times since I built it (but only during the night???) and I had read on a forum that someone with the same motherboard as me had "upped the memory voltage" to rectify the problem. I have no idea how to do that so I have been trying to find out how.

I would rather not over clock the system at least not till everything has been stable for a few months.

A friend of mine has a very similar pc except motherboard and processor and both running vista so I compared windows experience index with him and the only major difference is with memory - he gets 5.9 and I get 4.7 which gives me an overall score of 4.7 which is the same as my laptop which is ok but not great. He gets 5.9 for everything which gives a score of 5.9.

I went on to compare cpu-z which was a bit different from him but nothing (that I know of) major.

I then tried cpuinfo http://cpuinfo.visualware.com/

and the last line has
Memory: 1094 MB/sec sustained transfer rate

compared to his
Memory: 1637 MB/sec sustained transfer rate

Can this huge difference be due to the fact that we have different processors and motherboards?

I think I should maybe try his ram in my board?

As always any help greatly appreciated.

2pistolpacker · 02-01-2008, 06:44 PM

Hi atmywitsend, what is the default memory speed as stated on the package? Most Asus motherboard's default memory voltage is 1.8v, Corsair memory needs 2.1v to run at 4-4-4-12 CL4. The 5-5-5-12 is not a rated speed for any Corsair 2x1gb XMS2 kit sold. I suspect the memory is undervolted and not running at it's rated speed. You also need to reconsider the power supply, Arctic is not a high quality unit and especially running the 8800gt. You can't truly test the system until you can properly power it. Mike

atmywitsend · 02-04-2008, 02:26 AM

hi MJZZZ
hmm you reckon then that the first thing I should do is replace the psu? what would you recommend?
Here is the ram I bought from ebuyer although when I bought it is was 2 strips of 1024 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/93557 it doesn't have the voltage and I threw out the packaging

I cant find the ram at the corsair website and so I dont know what the voltage should be.
My m8 has an asus p5k and with cpu-z the voltage shows as 1.8 volts on his.
But I changed the voltage in the bios and no matter what I changed it to it still showed as 1.8 volts in cpu-z.
cheers

2pistolpacker · 02-04-2008, 03:22 AM

I could not find it on Corsairs website either, but I did find it on Newegg's site. It's rated voltage is 1.9v so just go by what the bios says and raise it to 1.9v. If you can borrow parts to try, that is the cheapest way to go, instead of buying and testing. What power supply does your buddy have? You might try swapping memory and power supplies to test yours. If you can't borrow one, I would get a better quality PS. Mike

The difference in your scores on memory are possibly the timings of the memory.

02-01-2008, 12:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
atmywitsend Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9 OS: xp	ram at wrong speed? I have read a few posts about ram at the wrong speed and I dont want to be repetative but I think this is slightly different. The specs of my pc are : 1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Energy Efficient 95W edition Socket 775 (2.40GHz) G0 Stepping L2 8MB Cache OEM Processor 1 x Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 PCI-E Onboard Audio ATX Motherboard 1 x Corsair 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL5(5-5-5-12) Heat Spreader 1 x MSI 8800GT 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card 1 x Arctic Power 500W PSU With PCI-E SATA, 20+4 ATX12V 8pin +12V Connectors My pc has blue screened a few times since I built it (but only during the night???) and I had read on a forum that someone with the same motherboard as me had "upped the memory voltage" to rectify the problem. I have no idea how to do that so I have been trying to find out how. I would rather not over clock the system at least not till everything has been stable for a few months. A friend of mine has a very similar pc except motherboard and processor and both running vista so I compared windows experience index with him and the only major difference is with memory - he gets 5.9 and I get 4.7 which gives me an overall score of 4.7 which is the same as my laptop which is ok but not great. He gets 5.9 for everything which gives a score of 5.9. I went on to compare cpu-z which was a bit different from him but nothing (that I know of) major. I then tried cpuinfo http://cpuinfo.visualware.com/ and the last line has Memory: 1094 MB/sec sustained transfer rate compared to his Memory: 1637 MB/sec sustained transfer rate Can this huge difference be due to the fact that we have different processors and motherboards? I think I should maybe try his ram in my board? As always any help greatly appreciated.

02-01-2008, 06:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
2pistolpacker TECH HARDWARE TEAM Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lenexa, Ks Posts: 1,038 OS: Win XP Pro My System	Re: ram at wrong speed? Hi atmywitsend, what is the default memory speed as stated on the package? Most Asus motherboard's default memory voltage is 1.8v, Corsair memory needs 2.1v to run at 4-4-4-12 CL4. The 5-5-5-12 is not a rated speed for any Corsair 2x1gb XMS2 kit sold. I suspect the memory is undervolted and not running at it's rated speed. You also need to reconsider the power supply, Arctic is not a high quality unit and especially running the 8800gt. You can't truly test the system until you can properly power it. Mike __________________ Speak kindly to me, beloved master. Revel in my unconditional love, and give me every minute that you can spare, for my time with you is short. --Your faithful dog

02-04-2008, 02:26 AM	#3 (permalink)
atmywitsend Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9 OS: xp	Re: ram at wrong speed? hi MJZZZ hmm you reckon then that the first thing I should do is replace the psu? what would you recommend? Here is the ram I bought from ebuyer although when I bought it is was 2 strips of 1024 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/93557 it doesn't have the voltage and I threw out the packaging I cant find the ram at the corsair website and so I dont know what the voltage should be. My m8 has an asus p5k and with cpu-z the voltage shows as 1.8 volts on his. But I changed the voltage in the bios and no matter what I changed it to it still showed as 1.8 volts in cpu-z. cheers

02-04-2008, 03:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
2pistolpacker TECH HARDWARE TEAM Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Lenexa, Ks Posts: 1,038 OS: Win XP Pro My System	Re: ram at wrong speed? I could not find it on Corsairs website either, but I did find it on Newegg's site. It's rated voltage is 1.9v so just go by what the bios says and raise it to 1.9v. If you can borrow parts to try, that is the cheapest way to go, instead of buying and testing. What power supply does your buddy have? You might try swapping memory and power supplies to test yours. If you can't borrow one, I would get a better quality PS. Mike The difference in your scores on memory are possibly the timings of the memory. __________________ Speak kindly to me, beloved master. Revel in my unconditional love, and give me every minute that you can spare, for my time with you is short. --Your faithful dog Last edited by 2pistolpacker : 02-04-2008 at 03:34 AM.