David Lehmann Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Dear Sir or Madam, I would really need your help and advice about a memory managing issue on my ASrock P4VM800 (Socket 478) motherboard. My configuration is following : - ASrock P4VM800 motherboard - Pentium 4 Northwood 3.0 GHz SL6WK (512 KB L2, HT, FSB800) - 1 GB Corsair Value DDR400 RAM - 300W ACC+ power supply - Maxtor 80 GB ATA133 HDD - OS = Windows XP SP2 I think there is an issue between the memory chip and the memory bus of my motherboard. 1) If I let the RAM detection on [auto] in the bios my DDR400 is always set as DDR333. I have to enter 200 MHz manually to have DDR400. 2) When I run Everest Ultimate 2.80 I can see that my single 1 GB memory chip (3-3-3-8) is recognized as "dual channel DDR240 1.5-2-2-8 CR2". The Corsait Value RAM has Samsung K4H510838C UCCC chips. 3) I see that the memory bus is only 120 MHz ... Should this value not be 200 MHz ? I don't want to overclock or something like that ... I just would like my computer to work properly at his theoretical values. ------------------------------- Here are the results of the Cache & Memory Benchmark Suite of Everest 2.80 : Memory Read : 2667 MB/s Write : 2501 MB/s Copy : 1699 MB/s Latency : 119.1 ns L1 / L2 values are not needed I guess CPU type : Intel Pentium 4 (Northwood Hyper Threading) CPU clock : 2999.8 MHz (original : 3000 MHz) CPU multiplier : 15x CPU stepping : D1 CPU FSB : 200 MHz (original 200 MHz) Memory bus : 120 MHz DRAM:FSB Ratio : 3:5 Memory type : Dual Channel DDR240 SDRAM (1.5-2-2-5 CR2) Chipset : VIA P4M800 Pro Motherboard : Asrock P4VM800 ------------------------------- I checked the RAM with MEMTEST utility and found no error ------------------------------- BIOS version "P4VM800 BIOS P1.20". Here is what I can see in the Advanced section of my bios : CPU CONFIGURATION CPU host frequency [Auto] Actual frequency (MHz) [200] Boot failure guard [enabled] Spread Spectrum [Auto] RTM360-520 Skew Setup CPU group delay [Auto] CPU-CS group delay [Auto] 3V66 group delay [Auto] PCI & PCI-F group delay [Auto] DDR/SDRAM group delay [Auto] PCI to 3V66 delay [Auto] SDRAM-F group delay [Auto] Ratio status : locked Ratio actual value : 15 CPU thermal throttling [enabled] Hyper Threading Technology [Auto] Max CPUID Value Limit [disabled] CHIPSET SETTINGS DRAM frequency 200 MHz DDR400 (manual entry, otherwise DDR333) DRAM CAS# latency [Auto] DRAM Bank Interlace [Auto] Precharge to Active (Trp) [Auto] Active to Precharge (Tras) [Auto] Active to CMD [Auto] REF to ACT/REF to REF (Trfc) [Auto] Read to Precharge (Trtp) [Auto] Write to Precharge (Trtp) [Auto] Write to Read CMD (Twtr) [Auto] Write Recovery Time (Twr) [Auto] DRAM Command Rate [2T Command] --- I changed that to 1T and had slightly better results but still the issue with the RAM DRAM Multiple Page Mode [Auto] Flexibility Option [Disabled] DRAM Voltage [Auto] ------------------------------- With CPUZ utility I obtained these values : CPU(s) Number of CPUs : 2 (1 Physical) CPU#1 : APIC ID = 0 Name : Intel Pentium 4 Code Name : Northwood Specification : Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz Family / Model / Stepping : F 2 9 Extended Family / Model : 0 0 Brand ID : 9 Package : mPGA-478 Core Stepping : D1 Technology : 0.13 µ Supported Instructions Sets : MMX, SSE, SSE2 CPU Clock Speed : 2999.9 MHz Clock multiplier : x 15.0 Front Side Bus Frequency : 200.0 MHz Bus Speed : 800.0 MHz L1 Data Cache : 8 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size L1 Trace Cache : 12 Kµops, 8-way set associative L2 Cache : 512 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size L2 Speed : 2999.9 MHz (Full) L2 Location : On Chip L2 Data Prefetch Logic : yes L2 Bus Width : 256 bits CPU#2 : APIC ID = 1 CPU NameIntel Pentium 4 (logical unit) Mainboard and chipset Motherboard model : P4VM800, 1.00 BIOS vendor : American Megatrends Inc. BIOS revision : P1.20 BIOS release date : 08/12/2005 Chipset : VIA P4M800CE rev. 00 Southbridge : VIA VT8237 rev. 00 Sensor chip : Winbond W83697HF Graphic Interface : AGP AGP Statusenabled, rev. 3.0 AGP Data Transfer Rate : 8x AGP Max Rate : 8x AGP Side Band Addressing : supported, enabled Memory # of memory modules1 Module 0 : Corsair DDR-SDRAM PC3200 - 1024 MBytes Slot #1 DR-SDRAM Module Size : 1024 MBytes Max Bandwidth : PC32000 (200 MHz) Manufacturer : Corsair Part Number : VS1GB400C3 Correction : none Registered : no Buffered : no Slot #2 Empty SPD Timings table Frequency : 200 MHz CAS# Latency : 3.0 RAS# to CAS# : 3 RAS# Precharge : 3 TRas# : 8 With the latency tool I measured : 3 cache levels detected Level 1 / size = 8 kb / latency = 2 cycles Level 2 / size = 256 kb / latency = 20 cycles Level 3 / size = 512 kb / latency = 44 cycles ----------------------- I tried various things : - Hyper Threading enabled or disactivated - DRAM command rate on 1T or 2T - The 1 GB RAM on slot 1 or 2 - One single RAM (1 GB or 512 MB) alone - Two RAM chips (1x 1 Go et 1x 512 Mo) etc. Finally I remained with 1GB DDR400 and DRAM Command Rate on 1T. I still have these strange values in Everest : bus memory 120 MHz and DDR240 RAM. Best regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 27, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 27, 2006 I would not suggest mixing memory with this or any MB. It would be best to use just two 1.0 Gig modules for best performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeghoofd Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Well apparently your DRAM/FSB ratio is wrongly set should be 1/1 not 3/5 like it is shown. I'm looking into your manual now to find if there's a jumper or sort like stuff in the bios. Only thing you can set is the flexibility option to enabled and command rate at 2t to enhance stability. Also you can up AGP voltage to 2.7 volt. Have you memtested each dimm seperately ? if you leave one dimm on the motherboard does it detect the timings correctly ? does everything run at full speed then ? thos meotherbarods are pretty good value but sadly the biosses lack several options to fine tweak to a good rig. Also have you updated to the latest 1.50 bios ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 Hello, Currently I have one single 1 GB DDR400 memory chip on the motherboard. In fact there are 2 slots and only one is managing DDR400 (according to the manual). There is indeed a DRAM/FSB ratio problem but I don't really get it. I am rather rookied in such things. I don't think there are jumpers to set such values but the manual is not very useful ... and the bios does not include a line to enable modification of the memory bus frequency. I had the DRAM Command Rate on 2T at the beginning and experienced the same problem. I noticed that with 1T I had higher read/write values in Everest. I also tried flexibility on/off but it did not seemingly changed something. For the AGP IIRC I can set the voltage to high or low only. Could you explain what impact could that have on the DRAM/FSB stuff ? Would it then be possible that the issue could be solved by adding an AGP graphic card ? [And in that case I can only use a 1.5V AGP IIRC ... or 3.3 V ? don't remember what is written on the motherboard ... the voltage corresponding to AGP 8x]. I have run Memtest during 25 minutes on the DDR1 slot (the one managing DDR400) and with the 1GB Corsair Value chip. I am currently using only this DIMM on the motherboard but the timings are not detected correctly and I always have "DDR240 dual channel" in Everest. I have the P1.20 bios, not the latest one. But I really don't dare flashing it. I have never done such a thing and I am afraid of damaging the motherboard definitely. Best regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 27, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 27, 2006 Please test the modules one at a time with http://www.memtest.org to be sure one is not failing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 Obviously the memTest MFC utility I have used was not the same one. When you say testing each module, you mean each memory slot of the motherboard isn't it ? Or the 512 MB and 1 GB chip ? I only use the 1 GB one (the other one is also not a Corsair). I might sound completely silly but which version should I better download ? It seems it is not just an utility you can download and run the .exe from your HDD ? ** Memtest86+ V1.65 (10/01/2005) ** Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.gz) Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip) Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary (.gz) Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary (.zip) Download - Pre-Compiled EXE file for USB Key (Pure DOS) Download - Pre-Compiled package for Floppy (DOS - Win) I guess I have to download "Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip or .gz ?) and burn it on a CD-ROM to boot from this one ? Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 27, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 27, 2006 Just test the modules one at a time. Please see "What is memtest86+, what do I use it for?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Hello, I have tested the 1 GB Corsair Value chip, which is the one really interesting me. After 5 passes in Memtest86+ no error has been detected. Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 28, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 28, 2006 Please let us know if you have any more problems or questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Hello, Yes I don't understand why Everest 2.80 Ultimate indicates that my RAM is in fact "Dual Channel DDR240 SDRAM (1.5-2-2-5 CR2)" instead of detecting a 1 GB DDR400 module. I have a motherboard and a CPU with FSB800 : Front Side Bus Frequency : 200.0 MHz Bus Speed : 800.0 MHz and a DDR400 memory chip (dual rate 200 MHz) Should the right values not be : Memory bus : 200 MHz DRAM:FSB Ratio : 1:1 Memory type : DDR400 SDRAM Instead of that I have : Memory bus : 120 MHz DRAM:FSB Ratio : 3:5 Memory type : Dual Channel DDR240 SDRAM (1.5-2-2-5 CR2) ? (200/5) * 3 = 120MHz is equal to 240 MHz of effective frequency. But why can I not have 400 MHz of effective frequency since I have a DDR400 module. Simply do you think everything is running fine or is my RAM about 2 times slower as it should be theoretically (I mean not because of an issue on the module itself). Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 28, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 28, 2006 I would try and set the memory frequency at DDR400 and then test the system with http://www.memtest.org. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 In the Bios the memory frequency was already set to 200 MHz (DDR400) manually. When I let it on [Auto] it uses DDR333 automatically. Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 28, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 28, 2006 Then I would contact the MB maker. You just using one module right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Yes only 1 GB module. Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 28, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 28, 2006 Then I would suspect they have a bug in their bios and you might want to check with them for the latest bios version. To be sure you can use CPU-Z to read the modules SPD if it will see that chipset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 With CPUZ utility I obtained these values : CPU(s) Number of CPUs : 2 (1 Physical) CPU#1 : APIC ID = 0 Name : Intel Pentium 4 Code Name : Northwood Specification : Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.00GHz Family / Model / Stepping : F 2 9 Extended Family / Model : 0 0 Brand ID : 9 Package : mPGA-478 Core Stepping : D1 Technology : 0.13 µ Supported Instructions Sets : MMX, SSE, SSE2 CPU Clock Speed : 2999.9 MHz Clock multiplier : x 15.0 Front Side Bus Frequency : 200.0 MHz Bus Speed : 800.0 MHz L1 Data Cache : 8 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size L1 Trace Cache : 12 Kµops, 8-way set associative L2 Cache : 512 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64 Bytes line size L2 Speed : 2999.9 MHz (Full) L2 Location : On Chip L2 Data Prefetch Logic : yes L2 Bus Width : 256 bits CPU#2 : APIC ID = 1 CPU NameIntel Pentium 4 (logical unit) Mainboard and chipset Motherboard model : P4VM800, 1.00 BIOS vendor : American Megatrends Inc. BIOS revision : P1.20 BIOS release date : 08/12/2005 Chipset : VIA P4M800CE rev. 00 Southbridge : VIA VT8237 rev. 00 Sensor chip : Winbond W83697HF Graphic Interface : AGP AGP Statusenabled, rev. 3.0 AGP Data Transfer Rate : 8x AGP Max Rate : 8x AGP Side Band Addressing : supported, enabled Memory # of memory modules1 Module 0 : Corsair DDR-SDRAM PC3200 - 1024 MBytes Slot #1 DR-SDRAM Module Size : 1024 MBytes Max Bandwidth : PC32000 (200 MHz) Manufacturer : Corsair Part Number : VS1GB400C3 Correction : none Registered : no Buffered : no Slot #2 Empty SPD Timings table Frequency : 200 MHz CAS# Latency : 3.0 RAS# to CAS# : 3 RAS# Precharge : 3 TRas# : 8 David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted February 28, 2006 Corsair Employee Share Posted February 28, 2006 So the module is right it must be a bios bug with the MB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Lehmann Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 Thanks ... I will look what I can make with that. I fear that I have to flash the bios but I have never done such a thing. Regards, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javiertony Posted September 14, 2007 Share Posted September 14, 2007 My friend, actually you haven't got an issue with your ram... the fact is that for safety, for the same time you insert your 400 MHZ module ram, your bios clocks it a little slow. But I insist, just for safety. When you realize everything is ok, you may clock it at 400 MHZ to get full speed. Don't be worried about that, everything is ok with your motherboard. So, justo go to your bios setup and choose "400 MHZ ram" manually... Greetings from Argentina... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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