TomGu Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Friend recently assembled a system based on Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 (rev. 2.0), Intel E8400, Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 memory, running XP Pro, and is pleased with the build. I am starting to build a similar system but would like to use 4GB of ram. Am considering the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 rev. 2.1, which seems to be the successor to the GA-P35-DS4, a Xeon 3110 since E8400's are presently "out of stock", and 4GB of Corsair ram. Reading the forum posts, it seems there is a need to use a slower bios speed setting for the ram if populating all four slots. The need for the a slower bios speed setting for the ram goes away if only two slots are populated ... am I getting this right? If yes, it seems a 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) of TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX ram would be a good choice. Since the board supports 1066 ram, would there be a significant advantage to using TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted March 18, 2008 Corsair Employee Share Posted March 18, 2008 I am starting to build a similar system but would like to use 4GB of ram. Am considering the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 rev. 2.1, which seems to be the successor to the GA-P35-DS4, a Xeon 3110 since E8400's are presently "out of stock", and 4GB of Corsair ram. Reading the forum posts, it seems there is a need to use a slower bios speed setting for the ram if populating all four slots. The need for the a slower bios speed setting for the ram goes away if only two slots are populated ... am I getting this right? If yes, it seems a 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) of TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX ram would be a good choice. Since the board supports 1066 ram, would there be a significant advantage to using TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF? Yes yes and yes if you are planing to over clock your system, I would suggest using Twin2x4096-8500C5DF! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 TWIN2x4096-8500C5DF seems like a good recommendation as the idea of the E8400 at 4GB is appealing. Ordered all parts for the build yesterday (except the memory due to it being out of stock at Newegg, ZZF, and other online vendors). Would like to assemble / test the system while waiting on the TWIN2x4096-8500C5DF to become available. Trying to keep price of "temporary ram" down so am considering a stick of PC25300 or PC25400, instead of PC26400. Would PC25300 or PC25400 work to boot / test the system? Secondly, a thread on another newsgroup raises an issue about continuous reboots with the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 and ram "with speeds above 800" (the ram brand mentioned is NOT Corsair). Is there an issue with Corsair ram "with speeds above 800" and the GA-EP35-DS4? If yes, I can forgo the 8500C5DF and opt for 6400c4DHX. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Trying to keep price of "temporary ram" down so am considering a stick of PC25300 or PC25400, instead of PC26400. Would PC25300 or PC25400 work to boot / test the system? Your 8400 has a FSB of 333 so you will be fine (no overclocking) testing with 667Mhz DRAM. 333Mhz (QDR) = 1333 and 667Mhz (DDR) = 1333Mhz and allows you the 1:1 ratio for testing purposes. Secondly, a thread on another newsgroup raises an issue about continuous reboots with the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 and ram "with speeds above 800" (the ram brand mentioned is NOT Corsair). Do you have a link to that newsgroup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Derek - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248642-30-gigabyte-motherboards-boot-cycles Would appreciate your "take" on the rebooting issue as I have found a "new" rebate on both the 6400 and the 8500 and am ready to buy pending resolution of the "higher than 800 speed causing reboots" question. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 I would personally move to a different board, but you certainly can move to different DRAM to fix the issue. The issue remains though. There are many people with higher end DRAM issues and that board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 1, 2008 Author Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yes, though several implicated the "energy saving feature" of the GA-EP35-DS4 as a possible source of the problem (I am planning to disable the "energy saving feature" by the way). Don't suppose a fix might be attained in a future BIOS revision? If Newegg will take back the GA-EP35-DS4, what board would be more compatible with the 8500C5DF? If I must keep the GA-EP35-DS4, would Twin2x4096 6400C4DHX the next best choice? If yes, any chance the 6400C4DHX can be overclocked to support the E8400 at 450 MHz or is the 8500C5DF necessary to run the E8400 at 450? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 1, 2008 Share Posted April 1, 2008 Yes, though several implicated the "energy saving feature" of the GA-EP35-DS4 as a possible source of the problem (I am planning to disable the "energy saving feature" by the way). Don't suppose a fix might be attained in a future BIOS revision? If Newegg will take back the GA-EP35-DS4, what board would be more compatible with the 8500C5DF? If I must keep the GA-EP35-DS4, would Twin2x4096 6400C4DHX the next best choice? If yes, any chance the 6400C4DHX can be overclocked to support the E8400 at 450 MHz or is the 8500C5DF necessary to run the E8400 at 450? I would go with a P5K-E in consideration of the board you currently have. Thanks. A fix might come. A loosening of the memory chipset latencies or such. Yes, you should be able to overclock the 6400C4DHX to support 8400 at 450. You will very likely have to loosen the timings a bit though, but still, it should work. The definitive word in overclocking is "Should". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Siberian Posted April 3, 2008 Share Posted April 3, 2008 TomGu, I'd would be careful of using 8500c5d in the ep35-ds4. I have just spent 3 days trying to get the same thing to work, but all settings lead to the now infamous boot cycle. A quick google should be enough to scare you off it. I've tried every recommended config on the net, but there seems to be a growing opinion that all the Gigabyte boards are borked over 800MHz, or at best it's hit or miss. My 8500 sticks work in my high-end Asus at 1066 without an error on memtest, and some spare corsair 6400 800MHz work in my DS4. Exactly the same thing happened with my friend's GA-p965-dq6, and he tells me his research six months ago lead to the same conclusion. But I did find one guy on the net who said he had 1066 sticks working in the EP35-DS4, but I also found at least 10 who said they didn't. Go figure. :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted April 3, 2008 Corsair Employee Share Posted April 3, 2008 The 965 Chipset will not support DDR1066 memory with out over clocking the system so that is not a good comparison. I would suggest check the MB BIOS version is up to date and maybe a good idea to check with their Tech support on that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 Build complete. Quick recap: GA-EP35-DS4, E8400 OEM, Zalman 9700, Twin2x4096-C46400DHX, Raidmax Smilodon with Corsair HX620W power supply. No o/c tweaks yet. CPU-Z reports ram settings at 5:6, 5, 5, 5, 18 though the ram is rated at 4, 4, 4, 12; the CPU-Z SPD screen shows the ram at 1.8V. Are Derek's statements in comment #337504 of http://www.asktheramguy.com/v3/showthread.php?t=67800 the explanation for my system defaulting the memory settings to 5, 5, 5, 15? If yes, do I need to reset them to 4, 4, 4, 12 and the ram voltage to 2.1 before I start adjusting the FSB and CPU vcore (I am seeking 4GHz using 445 FSB with 9 multiplier) or should I leave the ram settings "loose" as Derek previously mentioned? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted April 16, 2008 Corsair Employee Share Posted April 16, 2008 If you plan on over clocking like that I would leave the timings at Auto but set the memory voltage to 2.1 Volts and see what you get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 Ram Guy - Unsure what you mean by "overclocking like that". I am new to O/C and "learning as I go". If trying for 4GB via adjusting the FSB to 445 and increasing the vcore (and ram voltage as you mentioned) is not the best way, please feel free to comment. No offense taken to any helpful suggestion. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 17, 2008 Author Share Posted April 17, 2008 A further question - CPU-Z reports my memory's FSB:DRAM ratio as 5:6. It therefore seems my Twin2X4096-6400C4DHX ram is being underclocked to accomodate the 333 mhz default speed of my e8400 processor. Though I had originally hoped to achieve 4000 mhz with more agressive o/c, it seems at a minimum I should increase the FSB to 400 for a 1:1 FSB:DRAM ratio and let the ram operate at its rated speed. Am I understanding this correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 Download memtest from http://www.memtest.org and extract the ISO image. Burn the ISO image to an CD-ROM disk. Enter your BIOS. On the main BIOS screen press Ctrl + F1. You will see the screen flicker. Next select the MB Intelligent Tweaker option. On that screen you will see many additional settings that were not there before. Settings for the Twin2X4096 MIB Intelligent Tweaker (M.I.T.)Robust Graphics Booster = Auto CPU Clock Ratio = 9 CPU Host Clock Control = Enabled CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) = 400Mhz PCI Express Frequency = 100Mhz C.I.A.2 = Disabled Performance Enhance = Standard System Memory Multiplier = 2 Hi Speed DRAM DLL Settings = Option 2 DRAM Timing Selectable = Manual CAS Latency Time = 4 DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay = 4 RAS# Precharge = 4 Precharge Delay (tRAS) = 12 ACT to ACT delay = Auto Bank Write To READ Delay = Auto Refresh to ACT Delay = 0 Read to Precharge Delay = AutoSystem Voltage ControlDDR2 OverVoltage Control = +.3V PCI-e OverVoltage Control = Normal (G)MCH OverVoltage Control = +.01 CPU Voltage Control = Auto These settings will give you 400 X 9 = 3.6Ghz. Download CPU-z from Here . Please post screenshots of your CPU-z CPU/Memory and SPD tabs.Download OCCT Perestroika for a quick, hard and fast CPU stability test ---> Here Download Real Temp from Here . Boot to the optical drive with the Memtest disk and allow for two full passes. Please post a screenshot of your Real Temp values when using 1 hour OCCT. Results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 18, 2008 Author Share Posted April 18, 2008 Derek - Thank you for the helpful response. Got CPU-Z, OCCT, Real Temp, & MemTest. Under MIB Intelligent Tweaker, I find all parameters as described except "Hi Speed DRAM DLL Settings = Option 2" which does not appear on the BIOS screen or in our motherboard manual. Is this something critical? Unfortunately, the RAID controllers (Intel & Gigabyte - I'm using both) on the GA-EP35-DS4 (I have the latest bios loaded) have issues with MemTest. See http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=7882 I can disable both raid controllers in the BIOS but am concerned with "degrading" the current RAID arrays as mentioned in the referenced thread. FYI, the memtest CD that I burned is in another system presently working fine so I have confirmed the burn of the MemTst ISO image is valid. Appreciate your assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Shut the system down and remove the SATA power to all your hard drives and leave the optical drive connected. This will disable RAID on both controllers, yet not degrade the arrays since they are not there and since no changes to your BIOS are needed. Boot to the Memtest CD. Do not worry about the settings you can not find. Different BIOS revisions can change settings somewhat and some are also generic. If they are not on your board BIOS characteristics, then just ignore them. Derek - Thank you for the helpful response. Got CPU-Z, OCCT, Real Temp, & MemTest. Under MIB Intelligent Tweaker, I find all parameters as described except "Hi Speed DRAM DLL Settings = Option 2" which does not appear on the BIOS screen or in our motherboard manual. Is this something critical? Unfortunately, the RAID controllers (Intel & Gigabyte - I'm using both) on the GA-EP35-DS4 (I have the latest bios loaded) have issues with MemTest. See http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=7882 I can disable both raid controllers in the BIOS but am concerned with "degrading" the current RAID arrays as mentioned in the referenced thread. FYI, the memtest CD that I burned is in another system presently working fine so I have confirmed the burn of the MemTst ISO image is valid. Appreciate your assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Attached are CPU-z screenshots (and RealTemp screenshot just after installing Real Temp - have not yet run OCCT). Why is the ram voltage shown at 1.8 on the CPU-z memory tab screen when we applied an additional .3V in the bios to bring the ram up to 2.1V? No joy on MemTest after disconnecting power to hard disks. Raid drivers still attempt to load before CD access then system hangs with the message "loading ..." as described in the thread referenced in my last post. The option to disable the raid controllers in the bios and degrade the arrays is unappealing unless we are stalled in the effort to reach 4GHz without feedback from MemTest. Why the increase to the (G)MCH OverVoltage Control (Southbridge?) by +01? Just trying to understand the thought process. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 First screen shot is OCCT about halfway complete. The second is following completion when temps had returned to "normal". Glad to get the "stable" message. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 Very nice temps. The DRAM voltage is being shown as 1.8 in the SPD tab. That does not show the current voltage, just the JEDEC standard for 800Mhz 5-5-5-18 2T. This DRAM is capable of more than JEDEC and as such needs more advanced timings, speed and voltage. You can't test your memory so what ever you choose to do will be hampered by this. You can test the DRAM at 1066Mhz in another system to be certain that it runs clean though. That's an alternative that might be more appealing to you. By the way, I disconnect RAID control often when I want to test my hard drives. Never an error. That's pretty dense DRAM (2048 modules) and a high overclock of the FSB. It's not a bad idea to give the MCH/Northbridge (Memory Controller Hub) a bit of juice greater than stock. Also keep in mind, that when you set to +.1v you also remove "Auto" which is an indiscriminate setting based on an algorithm and activated via DAC. This will keep your MCH at a single value which is better when overclocking highly. Attached are CPU-z screenshots (and RealTemp screenshot just after installing Real Temp - have not yet run OCCT). Why is the ram voltage shown at 1.8 on the CPU-z memory tab screen when we applied an additional .3V in the bios to bring the ram up to 2.1V? No joy on MemTest after disconnecting power to hard disks. Raid drivers still attempt to load before CD access then system hangs with the message "loading ..." as described in the thread referenced in my last post. The option to disable the raid controllers in the bios and degrade the arrays is unappealing unless we are stalled in the effort to reach 4GHz without feedback from MemTest. Why the increase to the (G)MCH OverVoltage Control (Southbridge?) by +01? Just trying to understand the thought process. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 19, 2008 Author Share Posted April 19, 2008 Right, Northbridge on the +.1v, not Southbridge. So, I am now at the point that could have avoided by purchasing the 1066 mhz ram but did not do so because of the reports of issues between the EP35-DS4 and 1066 mhz ram. Increasing the CPU Host Frequency to 445 and the System Memory Multiplier to 2.4 simply forces the 800mhz ram to run at 1066 mhz,no? Won't the same issues appear with 800 mhz ram overclocked to 1066 mhz that other users reported with "true" 1066 mhz ram in the EP35-DS4? I guess my question is "have I reached the overclocking limits of the hardware I assembled?" Seems so. Again, words of thanks for your interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 19, 2008 Share Posted April 19, 2008 My mistake. Please exchange 800Mhz for 1066Mhz. I was under the mistaken view that you had 1066Mhz DRAM. I would not attempt 1066Mhz on that DRAM. I would leave them at stock as high density DRAM does NOT overclock very well. If you are going to attempt overclocks on the DRAM, then raise the timings to 5-5-5-15 and try for 900 - 950Mhz. 445 and 2.0 on the memory and test. Excuse my error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 No problem on the 1066 mhz mis-speak. Those donating their time to guide the less informed are granted special privileges in their postings :) So, your suggestion is to NOT push the Twin2X4096-6400C4DHX to 1066 mhz. But IF I am going to overclock the CPU further (from its present speed of 400 mhz to 445 mhz), then you suggest leaving the "system memory multiplier" at its present setting of 2, and the DDR2 Overvoltage control at its present setting of +.3, but adjust the ram timings to 5, 5, 5, 15 and hope the 800 mhz Corsair ram will support 890 mhz to allow a 1:1 cpu / ram timing ratio? Or am I setting an asynchronous cpu / ram timing ratio since the ram is 800 mhz and I am specifying a frequency for the ram of 890 mhz? Either way, the issue of adjusting the "CPU Voltage Control" in the bios to support the increase in cpu speed from 400 mhz to 445 mhz must be addressed. The bios presently reports a "Normal CPU VCore of 1.22500V, which I assume to be correct since no adjusments have yet been made to the CPU voltage (range of "CPU Voltage Control" options in the bios is .70000 to 2.35000 which appear to be "total numbers" meaning they replace the current CPU Voltage setting, NOT add to it - RIGHT?) I have seen recommendations (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=2158535&FTVAR_STKEYWORDFRM=&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear) [by JAG87 at 5:55pm on 2/27/08] of "approximately 1.3v for 'good' e8400s, 1.35v for 'average 8400s, and 1.4v for 'bad' 8400s" at 4GHz but all those specluating on what voltage a particular e8400 takes to achieve 4GHz say it is "trial and error". What's your suggestion on the cpu voltage for 445 mhz setting? Any other adjustments required before trying for 4 ghz? Once again, thanks for your insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted April 20, 2008 Share Posted April 20, 2008 Yes, a 445Mhz CPU FSB and a 890MHz DRAM speed should be seeable and stable on your OS. I would memtest before entering Windows and allow for two full passes. You do not want to take the chance of corrupting software if the DRAM will not take that speed. If you pass Memtest, then you can test the CPU with OCCT or Prime95. Since you have already tested the Memory, you do not need to use OCCT or Prime with DRAM testing, just the CPU. 445 FSB and 445 DRAM will give you the 1:1 ratio with ~4.0GHz. I have found that 1.33 - 1.37V to be enough for such a CPU overclock. I have installed three Xeon 3110's and two E8400's. Two in the house atm. One makes 4.0 with 1.35v (BIOS) and 1.34v (Windows) (P5K Premium P35 chipset), the other makes 1.375v (BIOS) 1.36v (Windows) ASUS Maximus modded to Rampage Formula X38 chipset). Both with VDrop mod and Loadline Calibration enabled. No problem on the 1066 mhz mis-speak. Those donating their time to guide the less informed are granted special privileges in their postings :) So, your suggestion is to NOT push the Twin2X4096-6400C4DHX to 1066 mhz. But IF I am going to overclock the CPU further (from its present speed of 400 mhz to 445 mhz), then you suggest leaving the "system memory multiplier" at its present setting of 2, and the DDR2 Overvoltage control at its present setting of +.3, but adjust the ram timings to 5, 5, 5, 15 and hope the 800 mhz Corsair ram will support 890 mhz to allow a 1:1 cpu / ram timing ratio? Or am I setting an asynchronous cpu / ram timing ratio since the ram is 800 mhz and I am specifying a frequency for the ram of 890 mhz? Either way, the issue of adjusting the "CPU Voltage Control" in the bios to support the increase in cpu speed from 400 mhz to 445 mhz must be addressed. The bios presently reports a "Normal CPU VCore of 1.22500V, which I assume to be correct since no adjusments have yet been made to the CPU voltage (range of "CPU Voltage Control" options in the bios is .70000 to 2.35000 which appear to be "total numbers" meaning they replace the current CPU Voltage setting, NOT add to it - RIGHT?) I have seen recommendations (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=2158535&FTVAR_STKEYWORDFRM=&STARTPAGE=2&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear) [by JAG87 at 5:55pm on 2/27/08] of "approximately 1.3v for 'good' e8400s, 1.35v for 'average 8400s, and 1.4v for 'bad' 8400s" at 4GHz but all those specluating on what voltage a particular e8400 takes to achieve 4GHz say it is "trial and error". What's your suggestion on the cpu voltage for 445 mhz setting? Any other adjustments required before trying for 4 ghz? Once again, thanks for your insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGu Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 Researching "load line calibration", I found this: http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3184&p=6 Guess everyone has an opinion. Just thought you would be interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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