How do I coax my DDR 3 from 1333MHz to the targeted speed of 1600MhZ

[soarwitheagles]

I recently purchased the following RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL7D.

It is rated as 1600MHz. I just built a brand new computer. I went into the BIOS and noticed this RAM is only running at 1333 MHz. I have never overclocked much in my life, therefore I have absolutely no clue how to adjust my system to coax this RAM up to 1600MHz.

The MB supports RAM all the way up to 2200MHz.

I noticed the timings in the BIOS are set at 9-9-9-24, yet, the timings on the package for this RAM say CL7-8-7-24.

Can anyone here help me to get this RAM up to the targeted speed of 1600MHz please?

I noticed in New Egg reviews that many, many people got this RAM to work at 1600 MHz. Yet I cannot find any specific info on how exactly to get there.

Please help me if you can.

Thanks,

Soar

PS Here is my exciting new build:

Intel i5-750
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
WD Caviar Black 500 GB 7200 RPM
Maxtor 1TB
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) F3-12800CL7D
Enermax Infiniti Ein720AWT 720W Modular PSU
Cool Master Sniper Black Edition
PNY 9800 GTX+ 512MB
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

 

[gurusan]

The easiest way is to go to the "Intelligent Tweaker" in your BIOS....then under "Advanced Frequency Settings", go to the Extreme Memory profile and select the XMP setting.

It will set the memory to the rated spec and voltages, and may also give you a very small overclock.

 

[soarwitheagles]

The easiest way is to go to the "Intelligent Tweaker" in your BIOS....then under "Advanced Frequency Settings", go to the Extreme Memory profile and select the XMP setting.

It will set the memory to the rated spec and voltages, and may also give you a very small overclock.

guru,

thank you for your post. Is there a safe way I can bring up the speed by altering the voltage and timings without using the XMP?

I have read several posts that discourage using the XMP settings....

Where can I find a post that give exact adjustments to reach the 1600MHz target?

I have looked all over the net and cannot find it...

Soar

 

[Slaymate]

To run at 1600MHz you have to change the Memory Ratio to 12, it maybe labeled 2:12 or it may be labeled 1600. Right now, if your running at 1333 then the ratio is set to 10 or 2:10 or 1333.

133 (bus speed) times 10 (memory ratio)= 133x10=1333
133 (bus speed) times 12 (memory ratio)= 133x12=1596 (as close to 1600 MHz you can get at stock cpu speed)

To set your memory latencies you have to have the DRAM TIMING SELECTABLE set to Manual. Then you can change the values 9-9-9-24 to 7-8-7-24

 

[soarwitheagles]

To run at 1600MHz you have to change the Memory Ratio to 12, it maybe labeled 2:12 or it may be labeled 1600. Right now, if your running at 1333 then the ratio is set to 10 or 2:10 or 1333.

133 (bus speed) times 10 (memory ratio)= 133x10=1333
133 (bus speed) times 12 (memory ratio)= 133x12=1596 (as close to 1600 MHz you can get at stock cpu speed)

To set your memory latencies you have to have the DRAM TIMING SELECTABLE set to Manual. Then you can change the values 9-9-9-24 to 7-8-7-24

Slay,

Thanks for the reply. Well, I could not find Memory Ratio in the BIOS and I looked everywhere. Is there another name by which it might be called?

I also could not find bus speed.

What I did find was this:

BCLK [and I have no clue about the meaning of these letters...]

Anyway, I just found a post at Tom's Hardware here OC Settings And Clock Speed Table : Efficiency Explored: What's The Perfect Clock Rate For Your Core i5?

So, I went into the BIOS [my knees are shaking a little because I have never ever altered timings, voltages, etc. before...]

Here is what I did:

Changed BCLK from 133 MHz to 160 MHz. I think this changed the CPU freq from 2.6 up to 3.2 GHz [20x160].

I left the System Memory Multiplier [SPD] alone [it is set at AUTO, but had the options of 6, 8, 10]. Is the Memory Ratio you are speaking about?

Then I changed the Channel A and Channel B timings from 9-9-9-24 to 7-8-7-24.

Here are the changes I have noticed so far:

My CPU speed jumped from the stock 2.6 GHz up to 3.2 in non turbo mode, and in turbo mode it is at 3360 MHz [[21x160]].

My RAM jumped from the 1333 MHz up to 1600 MHz.

My core temps on the CPU jumped 3-4 degrees [from 38 up to 42-43].

My gadgets on the desktop immediately stopped working in Windows 7 [I hope this is not due to system instability].

According to Tom's Hardware, I think this is suppose to work stable.

Dude, I am way over my head now it this...

Any suggestions?

Soar

Changed

 

[Slaymate]

BCLK (or Base Clock) is the "Bus" speed I was taking about. I looked at your sig for your mobo and I was going off of that, looking back to your 1st post I see your new rig. You should edit your sig, please.

Yes, the System Memory Multiplier [SPD] is the ratio I was taking about

You have it set to AUTO so it's defaulting to a value of 10. With your BCLK at 133 and the AUTO at 10 it was 133x10=1333. Now your BCLK is 160 x AUTO (10)=1600.

If you change the BLCK back to 133 and then change the System Memory Multiplier to 12 your memory will be at 1600 MHz and your cpu will be back to stock.

Are you now understanding how these values are changing your speeds? I have a i7 Overclocking Guide posted that should help you. The i5 has a lot of the same basic settings as the i7.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/i7-overclocking-guide-224693/

Every cpu clocks a little differently and different mobo bios use slightly different names for the various settings. You can't go off of a chart and expect things to work for everyone.

When your gadgets quit working did the system lockup, keep working, BSOD???
Can you post a HWMonitor Screenshot and some CPUID screen shots? Links are in the i7 guide.

 

[soarwitheagles]

BCLK (or Base Clock) is the "Bus" speed I was taking about. I looked at your sig for your mobo and I was going off of that, looking back to your 1st post I see your new rig. You should edit your sig, please.

Yes, the System Memory Multiplier [SPD] is the ratio I was taking about

You have it set to AUTO so it's defaulting to a value of 10. With your BCLK at 133 and the AUTO at 10 it was 133x10=1333. Now your BCLK is 160 x AUTO (10)=1600.

If you change the BLCK back to 133 and then change the System Memory Multiplier to 12 your memory will be at 1600 MHz and your cpu will be back to stock.

Are you now understanding how these values are changing your speeds? I have a i7 Overclocking Guide posted that should help you. The i5 has a lot of the same basic settings as the i7.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/i7-overclocking-guide-224693/

Every cpu clocks a little differently and different mobo bios use slightly different names for the various settings. You can't go off of a chart and expect things to work for everyone.

When your gadgets quit working did the system lockup, keep working, BSOD???
Can you post a HWMonitor Screenshot and some CPUID screen shots? Links are in the i7 guide.

Slay,

Wow! What an education! Thanks for helping me understand the basics of overclocking and yes, I will read your overclocking guide so I can have a fuller understanding of how this stuff works.

And now to answer your questions...

Yes, now I am beginning to see how the various adjustments interact with each other. I know so very little, but at least now I am beginning to see some of the patterns in the interaction.

When the gadgets quit, the system still worked fine. No BSOD's [whew!] Upon restart, the gadgets went right back to work and did not close again since then.

Yes, I am happy to post the HWMonitor Screenshot and some CPUID screen shots! Please give me a little more time to read your guide and better familiarize myself with this new world of OC'ing that you have helped me to discover.

Last, there is no setting [well, none that I could find anyway], on this Gigabyte P55A-UD3 that permits me to raise the System Memory Multiplier to 12 [the only settings are Automatic, 6, 8, and 10]. So this MB may have some limitations in that area.

Slay, thanks again for all your time, patience, and understanding you have shown me. I appreciate you.

Have a good one and I will post the HWMonitor Screenshot and some CPUID screen shots immediately after I have finished reading your guide.

Soar

UPDATE 1: Oh boy, I must have messed something up really bad. My computer will not start now. BSOD's repeatedly. Can someone help me to load BIOS back to normal stats please?
UPDATE 2: Ok, I read an article that I have two options to get back to where I was at the beginning of this adventure: a]remove the battery of the MB. b] jump the CMOS reset prongs. I chose the latter, and the BSOD's stopped.

Now I feel like I just went from a strong brave eagle, flying very high [3.3GHz @ 1600 MHz] to a cowardly chicken, with knees knocking together, scratching in the dirt of stock speeds of 2.66GHz @ 1333 MHz all over again. I know I must have done something terribly wrong. I just hope I didn't mess some component up permenantly. Nothing was way out of line in the realm of temps, so I hope clearing the CMOS will solve my self induced problem!!!

AAAAAUUUUUGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

 

[Slaymate]

I'm off to work right now but I'll be back this afternoon. Can you tell me what the error code and message said on the BSOD?

 

[soarwitheagles]

I'm off to work right now but I'll be back this afternoon. Can you tell me what the error code and message said on the BSOD?

Slay,

Thanks again for helping me on this. I could not read the BSOD because it moved so quickly to the next screen. Well, I did finally clear the CMOS and everything seems to be working fine again...but I sure was hoping to get that RAM up from 1333 to 1600.

Have a great day at work and stay safe!

BTW, what do you do for work? I am a teacher.

Soar

 

[Slaymate]

I draw House Plans mostly, right now I'm working on a Commercial Office Bldg. / Equipment Garage. I got caught up in a few posts and I'm tired and about to hit the couch. I'll download the manual on your mobo and we'll see what we can do to get you up to speed tomorrow. Post some CPUID and HWMonitor screenshots for me please.