Upgraded RAM--no increase in speed? - Page 2 - Overclock.net

c00lkatz · 04-13-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Havegooda

A single GTX260 can max out just about every game at any resolution, so therefore a second GTX260 would be overkill, right? RAM is cheap, why not go balls out?

~Gooda~

If it hurts his overclock (which it seems he's having trouble with), then why have a bunch of extra memory he doesn't need? CPU/GPU speed > Balls-to-the-walls Memory

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chranny

8GB is nowhere near overkill when you have absolutely no idea what he's using his PC for.

Lol, I'm well aware of running virtual machines, removing Page File, and memory intensive applications. It's obvious from his original post that he is not running either.

I posted "Rules of Thumb" and as with any "Rule of Thumb" there are exceptions. It's obvious he doesn't meet the criteria of any of those exceptions.

Sturm · 04-13-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by CL3P20

So many things...where to begin..

First off welcome to OCN! We are always glad to see new members.

..now to your concerns: First off..you are attempting to gauge memory performance with the "WEI" ..which is can be misleading.

As far as your mem timings go..they will most likely be in the chipset section of your nvidia BIOS. You can at least verify if they are at 5-5-5-15 or not [if timings are still on Auto.. then most likely not]. Adjusting timings is a way of increasing efficiency at a given speed..so no overclocking will be done. Changing your tRas from 15 to 14 will squeeze a little more bandwidth out of your RAM..and you may find you can run tighter timings than that too [like 5-5-4-12]..you will need a good program to test memory...like MemTest86 or the windows version 'MemTest'.. <- they will ensure any changes you have made to your timings are stable for use.

*Tweaking RAM timings typically involves a little more voltage too..so be prepared to increase by a bit.. ie- from 2.1->2.15 ...etc.

Thank you for the welcome. Indeed, I know the WEI is kinda pointless, but still disheartens me to see memory lagging behind everything else in terms of performance. Unless some gurus here can reassure me that my memory is just fine for what I'm using my PC for (which I'll explain below).

I'd be happy to tweak my timing settings in the BIOS...If only there were some. The only tweaking I can do is to the bus speed, memory speed, PCI speed, etc., all rated in MHz. After doing some digging, I cannot find a single place to alter the memory timings themselves.

Having said that, however, I've just downloaded the latest BIOS for my mobo, which I've not done since I purchased it. It could be this latest version will give the capability of altering the timings. I'll try it out tonight and let you know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by c00lkatz

1) 8GB of RAM is overkill...4GB would have been plenty and would have been easier on your memory controller (better for overclocking).

2) You got DDR2-800 5-5-5-15, which is actually kind of slow. For DDR2-800 you really want 4-4-4-12, and for DDR2-1000/1066 you want 5-5-5-15.

3) Research your board a bit better and make sure your BIOS is up-to-date. It's always best to set everything up manually rather than leaving it on auto, which could amount to who-knows-what value.

4) Your CPU & GPU overclocks matter much more than how far you can push your RAM. You won't go from "so-so" performance to "OMG!" performance just by changing RAM speed, unless you like to run a lot of benchmarks.

1) It seemed like the right amount to get for my purposes, especially when memory is cheap and I'm using a 64-bit OS, with 64-bit apps that will definitely take advantage of it. Besides, I've always been a bit of an overachiever; I was the only kid on my block to have 1GB of RAM back when 16MB was the norm.

2) Then I guess I was mislead to believe 5-5-5-15 is good for my memory? Besides, it appears I'm not even getting THAT out of it.

3) As I said above, I'll try out the latest BIOS update for my mobo tonight and see if that gives me the ability to tweak the memory timings.

4) See, this is the kind of reassurance I need so I know that the memory I bought is just fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by c00lkatz

Lol, I'm well aware of running virtual machines, removing Page File, and memory intensive applications. It's obvious from his original post that he is not running either.

I posted "Rules of Thumb" and as with any "Rule of Thumb" there are exceptions. It's obvious he doesn't meet the criteria of any of those exceptions.

Obvious, am I? How do you know I'm not running memory-intensive apps?

Yes, I am a newb when it comes to in-depth tweaking of various hardware speeds (CPU, GPU, RAM, etc.), but I've been arm-deep in computers for a good couple of decades.

At any rate, for the record, I am a gamer who likes to play the latest stuff, but more importantly than that, I spend hours each day in 3ds max, zBrush, Mudbox, RealFlow, Poser, Daz Studio, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. Granted, 8GB may be 'overkill,' but I was also tired of seeing "out of memory" errors in some of my scenes in 3ds max before the upgrade.

Cavi · 04-13-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sturm

I'd be happy to tweak my timing settings in the BIOS...If only there were some. The only tweaking I can do is to the bus speed, memory speed, PCI speed, etc., all rated in MHz. After doing some digging, I cannot find a single place to alter the memory timings themselves.

Having said that, however, I've just downloaded the latest BIOS for my mobo, which I've not done since I purchased it. It could be this latest version will give the capability of altering the timings. I'll try it out tonight and let you know.

You should have the ability to tweak your memory timings, I will tell you how to find it

I looked up the users manual for the mobo listed in your Sig. Hopefully it's the right one :P

In your BIOS, visit the Extreme Tweaker tab. Here, you will find the sub-head "Overclocking". Open it.

In this sub-section, you will find yet another sub-section "Memory Timing Setting"

At this screen, you input your memory timings. I am not sure which numbers correspond with what letters (trd, etc.), but this is where you make the changes you need

thenutty1 · 04-13-09

Well depending on what your RAM was before, that might be why you see little to no increase in WEI.

For example, if you had 2 GB of DDR2 800 before, then your move to 8GB of DDR2 800 will not likely increase your WEI. AFAIK, WEI only tests the speed of your RAM, which in the scenario I just provided, would result in an identical score (DDR2 800 = DDR2 800).

However, don't let this fool you into thinking that you made a bad move in going to 8GB. Many tests have shown that more RAM of equal or even slightly less speed is better than less RAM at faster speeds.

Think of it this way. RAM is sort of like a vehicle that moves data. Having less RAM is like having a smaller car. It might be able to go faster, but if you try move something that is bigger than what your car can carry, you have to make multiple trips. When you make multiple trips, you are now hindered by how fast you can load things into the car.

**CL3P20** · 04-13-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by thenutty1

don't let this fool you into thinking that you made a bad move in going to 8gb. Many tests have shown that more ram of equal or even slightly less speed is better than less ram at faster speeds.

Think of it this way. Ram is sort of like a vehicle that moves data. Having less ram is like having a smaller car. It might be able to go faster, but if you try move something that is bigger than what your car can carry, you have to make multiple trips. When you make multiple trips, you are now hindered by how fast you can load things into the car.

qft.

		Overclock.net - Overclocking.net > Intel > Intel Memory
Upgraded RAM--no increase in speed?

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)