ASUS M2NPV-VM + Sempron 3600 + TWIN2X1024-6400C4 settings

[hlygrail]

Just putting this rig online and wondering if anyone else has already spec'd out good memory + CPU settings. Auto seems (as usual) conservative. I'm not looking for anything specific, just wondering what others have found since I don't have a lot of time to dink around with it.

Current configuration (ignore any previous sig -- I probably inquired about an Abit AN8 I built for my dad when he had beaucoups problems w/ the value series Corsair memory):

ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard (onboard video)
AMD Sempron 3600+ Socket AM2
1 pair TWIN2X1024-6400C4 (2x512MB)
Seasonic S12-500, 500W (overkill, and a real beauty, though this rev. seems to have dropped the PWM fan cable -- ack!)
(nothing else installed yet -- DVD and HDD don't show up for another day)


At auto (5-5-5-18), it picks up about 2450MB/s in memtest (bleh.. we can do better). At memory ratings 4-4-4-12, memtest86+ still sees 5-5-5-14, so no appreciable difference. Do I need to change the multiplier on the CPU and push it up above 200 to push this memory up? (FYI, 1T is enabled, and is being recognized... 2450MB/s for DDR2 in dual-channel? Bleh.)


Current memory settings -- either result in same settings of 5-5-5-18 (!) in memtest.

Memory clock - Auto or 800Mhz manually set
Tcl - Auto (or 4 manually set)
Trcd - Auto (or 4 manually set)
Trp - Auto (or 4 manually set)
Tras - Auto (or 12 manually set)
Trc - Auto (unchanged)
Twrt - Auto (unchanged)
Memory Timing: 1T (manually set)

CPU is auto (200 MHz), auto multiplier
DDR2 voltage is 1.9v (highest this board will go, for whatever reason)


Any suggestions on moderate bump or reliable settings would be appreciated. I'm not looking to mad overclock this box, just get some reasonable MB/s counts. Maybe 2450MB/s is good enough, but it's nowhere near as good as the PC4400 memory in my Athlon64 3200+ box (DFI NF4 Ultra-D).

[DerekT]

I'm not clear on what you are looking for. You have the dram set for 4-4-4-12 1T at 1.9v.

With that top end of voltage you are actually quite lucky already to make 4-4-4-12. You could try 4-4-3-10 but that's very likely as high as you will go.

Still, I'm not quite sure what you w********

[hlygrail]

With the BIOS set to the above, Memtest is still reporting that the memory is actually 5-5-5-18. That's a big difference from 4-4-4-12.

This is the first DDR2 box I've built, so I honestly don't know whether 2450MB/s in memtest is kosher or not. It seems slow by my PC4400 DDR system specs.

With everything at auto, it's probably not set right. What I'm asking is...

What should the multiplier be on the CPU by default? 8x?
What should the Trc and Trwt settings be, even for stock speed (4-4-4-12)?

and, perhaps some other combinations that might work (e.g. 7x multiplier, try 4-3-3-4-12 at 1T, for example).

I'm loading the OS now, so not much to report yet other than what the BIOS and memtest say, and they disagree.

[DerekT]

Originally Posted by hlygrail

With the BIOS set to the above, Memtest is still reporting that the memory is actually 5-5-5-18. That's a big difference from 4-4-4-12.

This is the first DDR2 box I've built, so I honestly don't know whether 2450MB/s in memtest is kosher or not. It seems slow by my PC4400 DDR system specs.

With everything at auto, it's probably not set right. What I'm asking is...

What should the multiplier be on the CPU by default? 8x?
What should the Trc and Trwt settings be, even for stock speed (4-4-4-12)?

and, perhaps some other combinations that might work (e.g. 7x multiplier, try 4-3-3-4-12 at 1T, for example).

I'm loading the OS now, so not much to report yet other than what the BIOS and memtest say, and they disagree.

Your multiplier should be set to 11. You might want to contact ASUS about this issue as they will have more experience with their boards.

Please post your CPU-z results here. CPU, Memory and SPD tabs.

[hlygrail]

Looks like it's running 5-5-5-18 in WinXP, at 2T (no wonder it feels sluggish). This was run with the BIOS memory settings forced to 4-4-4-12, 1T, and the CPU speed/multiplier are set to Auto. It is dual-channeled, so 1T definitely should be doable.

I do see (now that the box is up) two later BIOS revisions, so that's my next step. One of them looks like it may add DDR2 voltage options, and the other is just for new CPU support.

[DerekT]

Originally Posted by hlygrail

should be doable.

"Should" being the definitive word. I have seen many motherboards from certain companies which will remain unsaid that should do things that they do not.

If you manually set the DRAM to 4-4-4-12 1T and it still defaults to 5-5-5-18 2T then I suggest you contact the mainboard manufacturers and discuss this issue with them.

Since you now have Vdimm (Memory Voltage) options, I do recommend that you set this to 2.1v.