Some sort of Bottleneck?

[killians45]

try different brand/memory type.

 

[Praey]

I dont have the money to get new memory right now, so I want to make sure that when I do it is the right solution. Is there any way to test my motherboard to see if that is the problem, since there is apparently nothing wrong with the RAM other than timings may be off?

I used CPU-Z to check the timings, here is what I found:

CAS# Latency: 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Latency: 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge: 4 clocks
Cycle Time (Tras): 6 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (Trc): 11 clocks

Both numbers are also the same under the SPD tab, if anyone uses CPU-Z. When I switch from memory slot#1 to memory slot#2 nothing changes, the information on timings and everything else stay the same.

 

[killians45]

not saying its a memory problem, but more likely (since most everything has been done) a compatability problem. Just may not like that kind of memory in a two stick configuration. Sometimes a MBD just wont work with hardware, so you try a difrerent brand or model.

 

[Alex81388]

I dont have the money to get new memory right now, so I want to make sure that when I do it is the right solution. Is there any way to test my motherboard to see if that is the problem, since there is apparently nothing wrong with the RAM other than timings may be off?

I used CPU-Z to check the timings, here is what I found:

CAS# Latency: 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Latency: 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge: 4 clocks
Cycle Time (Tras): 6 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (Trc): 11 clocks

Both numbers are also the same under the SPD tab, if anyone uses CPU-Z. When I switch from memory slot#1 to memory slot#2 nothing changes, the information on timings and everything else stay the same.

First of all about you saying "When I switch from memory slot#1 to memory slot#2 nothing changes, the information on timings and everything else stay the same." - Thats because both sticks are the same, and running in DC so everything is equal, but it actually IS looking at a seperate stick when you switch slots.

In your bios, try changing you Ram timings to 2.5-5-5-10, which I believe is the same as:

CAS# Latency: 2.5 clocks
RAS# to CAS# Latency: 5 clocks
RAS# Precharge: 5 clocks
Cycle Time (Tras): 10 clocks
Bank Cycle Time (Trc): (doesnt matter - dont touch it)


Get back to us.

 

[Praey]

I just went through my BIOS and I don't see anywhere that I can change those settings. Alienware must have hidden those things. Is there a program I can use that will accomplish the same thing?

 

[Alex81388]

Unfortunatly you have to be IN THE BIOS to make those changes.

The best move for you would be finding out the maker of your BIOS (hopefully not an alienware trademark deal) and look on their site to DL a bios update (or even pull back a version) to get all of the options the BIOS was ment to provide.

BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT PROCED IF U FIND ONE, post it if you do, because if you update the bois to something that Alienware doesn't like it, you may never be able to boot up your computer again. Don't make any updates to the Bios without posting it here.

 

[killians45]

you may need to get the ultra bios (no, I'm not kidding). Its a hacked bios that, like using the NVidia's coolbits opens up previously hidden bios options. However, BE CAUTIOUS!!! Use it at own risk, because these are NOT the manufacturers bios flashes so its kind of try it if you like. If you DO try it, make absolutley sure to do a backup of your bios first and hope you can reverse it if it goes wrong.

 

[Praey]

Alright, I'll start looking around and post anything that I find. Thanks for all the help so far incase I can't go any further with these tests. I appreciate it.

 

[Praey]

Im not sure where to go from here, so Im posting what I've found. My BIOS manuf. is American Megatrends, Inc. and my BIOS version is v02.54. I went to the AMI website and found the following two links:

http://www.ami.com/amibios/
- & -
http://www.ami.com/support/bios.cfm/

I also used the motherboard detection utility, because I didn't have a choice as to what motherboard I got so I don't know which it is. The following was the program output:

AMIBIOS Motherboard Manufacturer Identification
Version 1.4 (01/12/2004) Copyright 2003 American Megatrends, Inc.

This file has recorded information useful in identifying the manufacturer
of this motherboard. The information is listed below:

An AMIBIOS ID String Was Detected:
63-0100-000001-00101111-100704-SIS648FX
- ---- ------ ------
| | | |
| | | Chipset/BIOS Info
| | BIOS Build Date
| Manufacturer ID
BIOS ROM Information
AMIBIOS ROM Size: 512 KB
BIOS Build Date: Oct 07 2004
Motherboard Manufacturer Code: 0001 Not listed in MAN.DAT file

AMIBIOS Build Tag: 1ABFS001
AMIBIOS Project ID: 1ABFS - Project Name: SIS648+963

For more information on upgrading your BIOS go to http://www.ami.com/support/bios.cfm?refer=mbid
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMBIOS info:
Manufacturer : ALIENWARE
Product Name : Area-51
Version :
Serial Number:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe someone can make more sense of all that than I can. I can troubleshoot most things but I'm no good when it comes to BIOS. I should also note that the program says it can accurately detect the motherboard that is being used by a system running AMIBIOS, but my BIOS doesn't look like the screenshots you see there... so I'm not sure how accurate any of the above quoted information is. It looks to me like AMI tailored the BIOS for Alienware specifically and that I need to go back to Alienware for anything I need... but you know well and good that they won't do anything. Where should I go from here?

<edit>Can I also rule out the videocard being the problem?</edit>