What speed is my RAM, How to get it running at 1600Mhz Pros/cons

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Aaroona

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Topic # 85577 21-Jun-2011 18:08

As the topic suggests... I'm pretty sure my Ram isn't running at full speed (1600), but I have no idea how to tell. I've not ever messed with RAM values etc before.
It's kind of hard to find a solid answer elsewhere online, so thought I'd bring it to you guys.

Heres a screen dump of my current memory values:

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Reply # 483801 21-Jun-2011 18:22

i think its correct bro, mine reads at 666.7mhz but i have 1333mhz ram. this is because cpu-z only reads one channel of your ram speed. therefore you must have Dual Channel ram like myself , leading to a total of 1600mhz (800x2)

source: i have the next g skill ram below yours

kyhwana2

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Reply # 483807 21-Jun-2011 18:30

It's DDR, so you effectively double the speed that it says in DRAM frequency.

Aaroona

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Reply # 483815 21-Jun-2011 18:41

Ahh okay. that makes sense!
Cheers for the info guys...

So Im running at 1648.6Mhz

My CPU is over clocked to 4.3Ghz as well, from stock 3.4. Turns out the MB has got it so you can select "Power mode" or something, and it will overclock your CPU and have your RAM running at the quickest speed it can. So that's handy, I've been running at full speed since day 1 when I changed it :)

b0untypure1

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Reply # 483817 21-Jun-2011 18:43

nice overclock man, respect.

kyhwana2

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Reply # 483823 21-Jun-2011 18:47

As long as it's running stable and hasn't crashed or locked up, your OC is sweet :)

RealityClash

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Reply # 484477 22-Jun-2011 16:31

Aaroona:

My CPU is over clocked to 4.3Ghz as well, from stock 3.4. Turns out the MB has got it so you can select "Power mode" or something, and it will overclock your CPU and have your RAM running at the quickest speed it can. So that's handy, I've been running at full speed since day 1 when I changed it :)

Any chance that youre using a Gigabyte motherboard with that Smart Quickboost tool?

Aaroona

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Reply # 485531 24-Jun-2011 15:41

RealityClash:
Aaroona:

My CPU is over clocked to 4.3Ghz as well, from stock 3.4. Turns out the MB has got it so you can select "Power mode" or something, and it will overclock your CPU and have your RAM running at the quickest speed it can. So that's handy, I've been running at full speed since day 1 when I changed it :)

Any chance that youre using a Gigabyte motherboard with that Smart Quickboost tool??

Nah mate, it's an Asus motherboard :) P8P67

RealityClash

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Reply # 486055 26-Jun-2011 14:10

Oh nevermind then :)

Something Ive just noticed with my RAM though is that CPU-Z is showing my RAM as running at 668MHz when I have a pair of 1600MHz sticks running in dual channel mode. Shouldnt this mean they should be running at 800MHz?

Aaroona

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Reply # 486059 26-Jun-2011 14:16

RealityClash: Oh nevermind then :)

Something Ive just noticed with my RAM though is that CPU-Z is showing my RAM as running at 668MHz when I have a pair of 1600MHz sticks running in dual channel mode. Shouldnt this mean?they should be running at 800MHz?

You may find that your CPU may not support it. I had that problem with my AMD 4600+. Only could run at 800 MHz, not 1066mhz like my ram could do.

RealityClash

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Reply # 486115 26-Jun-2011 16:13

Nope that cant be it, just had a look at the specs:

"Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules"

Is RAM always running at its maximum speed or dos the clock speed decrease when being used less like a CPU or GPU ?

Aaroona

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Reply # 486116 26-Jun-2011 16:15

RealityClash: Nope that cant be it, just had a look at the specs:

"Support for DDR3 2133/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz memory modules"

Is RAM always running at its maximum speed or dos the clock speed decrease when being used less like a CPU or GPU ?

It'll be something to do with the Mobo then.. go have a poke around the bios and see if you can find a performance profile etc.. but just be careful what you change.

I dont think Ram slows down, it's always at full speed IIRC... but I could be wrong...

b0untypure1

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Reply # 486172 26-Jun-2011 19:20

make sure you have "Cool and Quiet" turned off mate, that will speed things up a little

RealityClash

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Reply # 486496 27-Jun-2011 16:45

So I'm currently in the BIOS in the advanced memory settings section which at the top of the list shows the following options:

Extreme Memory Multiplier (X.M.P) [Disabled]
System Memory multiplier (SPD) [Auto]
Memory Frequency (MHz) 1333 1333

Can I please have some suggestions on what I should be doing now? (I pretty much have no experience with using the BIOS or overclocking)

For the XMP, the options I have 'Disabled' and 'Profile1'
What exactly does this do and what should I have this set as?

For the SPD, the options I have are:
Auto, 8.00, 10.66, 13.33, 16.00, 18.66, 21.33
Would I just change this from Auto to 16.00?

Also will this affect the CPU in anyway as I remember reading somewhere that modifying certain multipliers affects both the RAM and CPU, and do I have to worry about anything else such as memory timings?

Thanks

b0untypure1

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Reply # 486535 27-Jun-2011 18:33

this is a menu in your bios

Advanced Frequency Settings Sub Menu (Continued)
BCLK/DMI/PEG Clock Control ..........................:[Enabled]
BCLK/DMI/PEG Frequency(0.1MHz) ......................: 1004
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).........................:[Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) .........................:16
Memory Frequency(Mhz).....................................:1600

spd multiplies the frequency.... so if your frequency is 1000/1004 whatever, then change it from auto, to 16 like you thought. if its unstable, you may need to increase voltage. bear in mind an overclock voids your warranty (kingston is good warranty).
nah ur cpu will be sweet and your motherboard is one of the meanest overclocking boards so dont worry about that.

RealityClash

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Reply # 486601 27-Jun-2011 21:45

b0untypure1: this is a menu in your bios

Advanced Frequency Settings Sub Menu (Continued)
BCLK/DMI/PEG Clock Control ..........................:[Enabled]
BCLK/DMI/PEG Frequency(0.1MHz) ......................: 1004
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).........................:[Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD) .........................:16
Memory Frequency(Mhz).....................................:1600

spd multiplies the frequency.... so if your frequency is 1000/1004 whatever, then change it from auto, to 16 like you thought. if its unstable, you may need to increase voltage. bear in mind an overclock voids your warranty (kingston is good warranty).
nah ur cpu will be sweet and your motherboard is one of the meanest overclocking boards so dont worry about that.

Thanks for the tips. It's just strange that the RAM is specified as running at 1600MHz when in reality its only running at 1333MHz. It wouldnt be classed as overclocking if Im not clocking it higher than its specified clocks would it? I'd prefer to keep my warranty, considering its a lifetime warranty :)

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