Help me adjust my RAM timings, please :)

[espeed]

Hiya,

I am wanting to tweak my ram timings so they are at what they should be. I have 2gb of Twinmos ddr 400 (4 x 512mb in dual channel) and currently my bios has the timings set at:

Cas Latency - 2.5
Ras Precharge - 4
Ras to Cas - 4
Precharge delay - 8
Burst Length - 8

Im pretty sure this is no where near optimum, and im pretty sure i dont have to worry about the burst length.

My CPU is a Prescott P4 3.0 running @ 3.3, the frequency in bios being overclocked to 220Mhz. The DRAM frequency is set at 400Mhz.

My mainboard is an ASUS p4p800se.

Anyway, I am attaching screenshots of all the breakdowns from CPU-Z so everyone can see what my setup is.

Basically im looking for an experts opinion of what I should set my timings to, and if I should alter my DRAM frequency at all to at least match the 220Mhz of the CPU. Im not sure. Thanks.

 

[idiotec]

OK, you are running 2.5-4-4-8, if you look at your SPD tab, the stock timings of the RAM is 2.5-3-3-8, so yeah, they are set looser than stock.

I should alter my DRAM frequency at all to at least match the 220Mhz of the CPU. Im not sure. Thanks.

Look at the memory tab, your memory IS running the same as the FSB, 220Mhz, it is set at 1:1, so that is fine.

A good chance your RAM timings are set to some sort of auto, and I know some boards will automatically loosen timings when the frequency exceeds stock settings. This may be the reason for the looser timings.

If you want to change them, you need to find the option in the BIOS and manually set them to 2.5-3-3-8. Note that you may need to change a setting from 'auto' to 'manual' before you even see these settings.

 

[espeed]

yeah i noticed the stock timings in the spd tab and it was actually the first thing i tried, but i found changing the timings to 2.5,3,3,8 gave me a slightly lower score in 3dmark 05, is this possible?

 

[idiotec]

yeah i noticed the stock timings in the spd tab and it was actually the first thing i tried, but i found changing the timings to 2.5,3,3,8 gave me a slightly lower score in 3dmark 05, is this possible?

The only way I could see it lower scores, is if it is actually slightly unstable at that speed and timings. Note that those timings are the stock timings, but also to be used at stock speed. Your RAM is currently overclocked from 200 to 220 so there is no guarantee it will run at that speed with those timings.

That being said, I would actually guess that the different score was just random, and had nothing to do with the RAM timings. I know I have run that test and got one score, and have run it again and gotten 100 points less with no system changes, so who knows.

 

[espeed]

i agree with the 3dmark thing, it just seemed a coincidence at the time, perhaps i should just leave the timings as they are at 2.5-4-4-8, am i really losing that much in performance by leaving it?

 

[idiotec]

i agree with the 3dmark thing, it just seemed a coincidence at the time, perhaps i should just leave the timings as they are at 2.5-4-4-8, am i really losing that much in performance by leaving it?

Well, those middle 2 numbers do have the biggest effect on bandwidth, but of course also effect stability. So I would just say, if it is stable at 2.5-3-3-8, do that, if not, notch them back up. Just the answer you were looking for I'm sure