Help! Ram not running at rated speed?

TheReapersSon · 06-20-2008, 04:26 AM

Hey guys, first time poster here. I looked around on here and saw that everyone is pretty friendly and helpful, so I feel comfortable asking questions here. Anyway, here's my problem:

I am currently running a PC with the following stats:

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP Solo motherboard
Intel E8400 "Wolfdale" Dual Core CPU @ 3.0 GHz
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) (Timing 5-5-5-15)
MSI Geforce 8800GT OC 512MB GDDR3 RAM
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

My question is, why in CPU-Z does it say that my ram is only running at 402.xx MHz DRAM frequency (PC2-6400), when the RAM's rating is PC2-1066 (533 MHz)? I know that with DDR2 ram, the data rate is doubled, so the frequency listed is actually half of the effective speed. Why then, is my ram running slower than it is supposed to?

Is there some sort of setting I have to mess with in my motherboard to get the RAM to run at its listed setting? I have looked around a bunch but can't seem to come up with a solution. I don't think the RAM is bad because I have had no system hang ups or any other errors that might indicate any defects.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thanks!

EDIT:

Okay, so I went into my BIOS after reading my motherboard manual, and it said to set the ram frequency to 1066 if you are installing 1066 sticks. I did so and rebooted into XP, and now CPU-Z says this:

What is up with the last box still saying pc2-6400? Does the first tab (memory) indicate my RAM is running correctly? Also, how should I configure my ratio, or does it need a 1:1 setting to ensure things run smoothly?

TheReapersSon · 06-20-2008, 05:43 PM

So nobody has any input on this?

**TheMatt** · 06-22-2008, 03:20 PM

As long as your RAM is running in dual channel (which it looks like it already is), then the max you will need your RAM to run at is 667MHz effective (333MHz). Anything faster on a 128-bit dual channel memory bus will not give you a performance boost because it will have a higher bandwidth than the CPU bus.

Lets say you and your friend are driving to a party. You know the way, but your friend doesn't. You have a nice car that can go 150km/h, but your friends car can only go 120km/h. Would it really be worth it for you to go 150km/h if you have to stop and wait for your friend to catch up all the time? Probably not.

What I would do is go into your BIOS and set your DRAM speed to 'synched' or if you see a CPU:DRAM ratio set that to 1:1. If you want to squeeze more performance out of your RAM, set the voltage to the max your RAM is rated for and tweak the timings.

TheReapersSon · 06-22-2008, 03:37 PM

Thanks a bunch for the tip!

**TheMatt** · 06-22-2008, 07:18 PM

No problem.

06-20-2008, 04:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
TheReapersSon Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Professional - Service Pack 3	Help! Ram not running at rated speed? Hey guys, first time poster here. I looked around on here and saw that everyone is pretty friendly and helpful, so I feel comfortable asking questions here. Anyway, here's my problem: I am currently running a PC with the following stats: ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP Solo motherboard Intel E8400 "Wolfdale" Dual Core CPU @ 3.0 GHz G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) (Timing 5-5-5-15) MSI Geforce 8800GT OC 512MB GDDR3 RAM Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive My question is, why in CPU-Z does it say that my ram is only running at 402.xx MHz DRAM frequency (PC2-6400), when the RAM's rating is PC2-1066 (533 MHz)? I know that with DDR2 ram, the data rate is doubled, so the frequency listed is actually half of the effective speed. Why then, is my ram running slower than it is supposed to? Is there some sort of setting I have to mess with in my motherboard to get the RAM to run at its listed setting? I have looked around a bunch but can't seem to come up with a solution. I don't think the RAM is bad because I have had no system hang ups or any other errors that might indicate any defects. Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Thanks! EDIT: Okay, so I went into my BIOS after reading my motherboard manual, and it said to set the ram frequency to 1066 if you are installing 1066 sticks. I did so and rebooted into XP, and now CPU-Z says this: What is up with the last box still saying pc2-6400? Does the first tab (memory) indicate my RAM is running correctly? Also, how should I configure my ratio, or does it need a 1:1 setting to ensure things run smoothly? Last edited by TheReapersSon : 06-20-2008 at 04:49 AM. Reason: Info update

06-20-2008, 05:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheReapersSon Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Professional - Service Pack 3	Re: Help! Ram not running at rated speed? So nobody has any input on this?

06-22-2008, 03:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,693 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Help! Ram not running at rated speed? As long as your RAM is running in dual channel (which it looks like it already is), then the max you will need your RAM to run at is 667MHz effective (333MHz). Anything faster on a 128-bit dual channel memory bus will not give you a performance boost because it will have a higher bandwidth than the CPU bus. Lets say you and your friend are driving to a party. You know the way, but your friend doesn't. You have a nice car that can go 150km/h, but your friends car can only go 120km/h. Would it really be worth it for you to go 150km/h if you have to stop and wait for your friend to catch up all the time? Probably not. What I would do is go into your BIOS and set your DRAM speed to 'synched' or if you see a CPU:DRAM ratio set that to 1:1. If you want to squeeze more performance out of your RAM, set the voltage to the max your RAM is rated for and tweak the timings. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides Last edited by TheMatt : 06-22-2008 at 07:17 PM.

06-22-2008, 03:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheReapersSon Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP Professional - Service Pack 3	Re: Help! Ram not running at rated speed? Thanks a bunch for the tip!

06-22-2008, 07:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,693 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Help! Ram not running at rated speed? No problem. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides