AM2 memory tweaking - higher Tras is faster

C

(cf)Eclipse

Freelance Overclocker
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
30,027
all scores are from superPI 1m, only thing changed between runs is the Tras.

tras.png

(for those who don't want to do the math, ram at 411mhz for dark blue line, 480mhz for light blue)

while the performance improves with higher Tras, the stability also decreases.. so the maximum overclock will probably be with Tras around 5-8

just something to keep in mind while fine tuning the ram on your newfangled AM2 system ;)
 
CCUABIDExORxDIE said:
WTFHAX!!!!!!!

am2 gives me the googlebumps.
Click to expand...
and it appears that those results are barely 1/2 the story. i've got a lot of work to get done now :p
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
and it appears that those results are barely 1/2 the story. i've got a lot of work to get done now :p
Click to expand...
Yey for my Opteron, haha...

2.5-3-3-7 for the win!

Today my new pump and chipset block should be here, I can't wait.
 
your opteron eh?

and.. i'll let you guys draw your own conclusions. tras along the top, trc along the side. redder = faster

trc+tras.png
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
your opteron eh?

and.. i'll let you guys draw your own conclusions. tras along the top, trc along the side. redder = faster
Click to expand...

I drew a blank :(
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
notice how at high trc, higher tras is faster, but at low trc, lower tras is faster? :D
Click to expand...

oh yeah...now I get it!

they must be heavily related...any effect on real-world performance?
 
quadnad said:
any effect on real-world performance?
Click to expand...
i have a feeling borg is right, but what would you like me to test to see? keep in mind i have a 7600gt :p
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
i have a feeling borg is right, but what would you like me to test to see? keep in mind i have a 7600gt :p
Click to expand...

hmmm....I can't really think of any decent real-world benches. I suppose borg is right as well, considering that even switching from 1t-2t doesn't do much.

I'm guessing the only major performance boost would be in memory intensive apps.
 
quadnad said:
I'm guessing the only major performance boost would be in memory intensive apps.
Click to expand...
Benchmarks don't qualify as memory intensive applications... sorry. :rolleyes:

Oh yeah, I read your 7600 review, you have bad luck with video cards eh?

6800 that won't clock, now a 7600, heh...
 
Borgschulze said:
Benchmarks don't qualify as memory intensive applications... sorry. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
hahaha, that made me laugh. :D :D

anyway.. yeah, i do have bad luck with video cards. no idea why. it's more than made up for by my luck with ram though. just got 540mhz 32m stable at 4-4-3 :cool:
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
hahaha, that made me laugh. :D :D

anyway.. yeah, i do have bad luck with video cards. no idea why. it's more than made up for by my luck with ram though. just got 540mhz 32m stable at 4-4-3 :cool:
Click to expand...
Nice work Mark, I have terrible luck with RAM... 220mhz out of these sticks with 2.9v and that isn't even stable...

Video cards though... mine runs awesome at 600/600 on air, no artifacts, sock cooler!

Faster than an x850XT PE, thinner, and quieter.
 
Borgschulze said:
$10 on no.

Memory timings have never made a huge difference.
Click to expand...

So its all marketing? I guess theres no point in running ram at 2-2-2 when i can just run it at 4-4-4 and be the same performance huh?! :p
 
Tazman2 said:
So its all marketing? I guess theres no point in running ram at 2-2-2 when i can just run it at 4-4-4 and be the same performance huh?! :p
Click to expand...
Yep!
 
Tazman2 said:
So its all marketing? I guess theres no point in running ram at 2-2-2 when i can just run it at 4-4-4 and be the same performance huh?! :p
Click to expand...
well, it will be like 2% slower unless you're running benches :D
 
Tazman2 said:
So its all marketing? I guess theres no point in running ram at 2-2-2 when i can just run it at 4-4-4 and be the same performance huh?! :p
Click to expand...
Unless you're measuring it with benchmarks, yes.
 
I found no performance difference when i changed my timings, lol. How can I bench them to see what the diff is? Whats a good program?
 
When i went from cas 2.5 to just 3 i can tell my Windows XP was slightly less snappy. And programs loaded alittle slower. I guess i just notice things alot more then most people! :)
 
Tazman2 said:
When i went from cas 2.5 to just 3 i can tell my Windows XP was slightly less snappy. And programs loaded alittle slower. I guess i just notice things alot more then most people! :)
Click to expand...
That's funny, me and my friend Brandon can not tell who's computer is faster...

He has my old hardware...

Sempron 2800+ at 2.2ghz 256k Cache
1gb RAM set at 3-3-3-10

In Windows, you can't tell at all that his CPU is running 2.2ghz and mines at 2.7ghz...

Encoding a video though... mines way faster.
 
Tazman2 said:
When i went from cas 2.5 to just 3 i can tell my Windows XP was slightly less snappy. And programs loaded alittle slower. I guess i just notice things alot more then most people! :)
Click to expand...
it was mental, i promise. in a blind test, you CANNOT tell the difference without running some benches or something that is timed.

good news though? new bios has helped my ram overclock a lot. :D

32m-543.6.png
 
Borgschulze said:
How does DDR2 work? Same as DDR right? Multiply what CPU-Z says by 2 right?
Click to expand...
depends on what you're trying to look at i guess. i like to know the signaling speed of the ram, which happens to be the speed that cpu-z reports.

if you want the effective speed, you still multiply by 2.. so that would be ddr2-1087 :D
 
It's just confusing with the fact that the Intel platform multiplies their bus speed by 4 I believe...

That's some crazy speed there Mark.
 
Borgschulze said:
It's just confusing with the fact that the Intel platform multiplies their bus speed by 4 I believe...

That's some crazy speed there Mark.
Click to expand...
yeah.. it gets even worse though. with ddr2, the actual memory cell runs at 1/2 the speed of the signal bus, which is double pumped!

also makes it easy to understand why 400mhz at 4-4-4 is about the same latency as 200mhz at 2-2-2.. :D


crazy speed is what we're gonna see when i finally find a way to get this tdx mounted on my p5wd2. i was able to do 4.75ghz screen on the abit that needed 1.5v to get 4ghz stable on the stock cooler. the asus is at 4ghz now with 1.3v, and i think i can go lower :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top