Need help setting up a F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL RipjawsX DualChannel Ram (Thanks)

[Shiki]

Hello everyone,

I'm new in this forum, and just signed up to ask for advice since I am a novice that had recently just completed my first computer build. I read the sticky so I will post my computer build that I use this ram on (G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) 8GB (2x4GB) Dual Channel Kit (F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL) )

CPU: Core i5-2500
MOBO: ASRock H61M/U3S3
OS: Windows 7 64bit

I bought this ram because it is compatible to my motherboard above, according to Gskill website:
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=345
Although this particular ram was not part of the compatible list in the ASrock memory compatibility list, it did have the 4gb dual channel kit of ripjaws, and seeing Gskill's website of having my mobo as part of the qualified list, I decided to purchase and use the ram.

Unfortunately, I thought that my mobo would just set up the ram automatically (since in its UEFI, the ram configuration was all set to Auto), but it had registered completely different timings:
DRAM Frequency: DDR3-1066
tCL: 7
tRCD: 7
tRP: 7
tRAS: 20
CR: 1N
etc...

So I had to manually set the timings above to its correct timings which was DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24.

My question is since I only change the following values:
DRAM Frequency: DDR3-1333
tCL: 9
tRCD: 9
tRP: 9
tRAS: 24

Do I need to set anything else? Like the Command Rate (CR), Write Recovery Time (tWR), Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC), tRRD, tWTR, tRTP, etc? or is the above changes enough? Since the rest of the settings are still set at Auto, and Im concerned that since the auto ram timings were different, then the rest of the settings may not be correct as well. Also since I changed it manually, I may have missed a ram setting that may cause some system instability down the road or the ram may not be working to its optimal performance.
Thanks in advance for all your help and advice!

PS. I forgot to add, I also updated my mobo's UEFI version, but still at auto settings with ram, it will still register the incorrect ram timings. Also I did ran Memtest 86+ after I manually changed the settings and it pass the test.

[GSKILL TECH]

You should not have to, but might as well double check since default settings weren't correct.

CR should be 2, you can try 1 to see if it is stable.

tWR is 10

tRFC should be 74

tRRD 5
tWTR 6
tRTP 6

Let us know if it is stable afterwards.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Shiki]

Thanks a lot for your reply! Yes the other values are different from what you mentioned above, the default (auto) values of the other settings are as follows:
CR = 1N
tWR = 10
tRFC = 107
tRRD = 4
tWTR = 5
tRTP = 5
tFAW = 20

I changed the above values to your suggestions, but what about tFAW? There are also settings for "Memory Power Down Mode" which consists of:
ODT WR (CHA), ODT NOM (CHA), ODT WR (CHB), and ODT NOM (CHB). However there were no values displayed and it was all set to Auto as well.

As for the DRAM Voltage it is at 1.575V, that should be fine right?

Thanks for all your help and I appreciate the support. Although its a bit disappointing that it did not automatically set the values especially since my mobo was tested for this Ram, the upside to it is I start to learn more about Ram timings.

[Tradesman]

As long as you're stable you can leave the other settings as is, 1.575 is a safe voltage. ASRock mobos often seem to set the DRAM Voltage a little higher than needed, so if you like, you can try lowering, maybe to 1.55 then 1.525 the 1.5, just ensure you maintain stability....One more thing, do you have the latest BIOS? 1.2? if not, can be found here:

http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.as...1M/U3S3&o=BIOS

[GSKILL TECH]

tFAW is fine at 20. The original timings can work too, but sometimes manual settings are better performing.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Shiki]

Thanks for all your help

Thanks a lot for all your replies. Sorry for the late reply, it's because I waited for a couple days to test out the manual settings that was suggested, and yes it is quite stable. Ran Memtest 86+ again, and passed with no errors.

@Tradesman: Yes as I mentioned in my first post, the auto settings was still incorrect before I updated the bios and even after I updated it, unfortunately the bios update was only for an update in CPU Code, so it didnt really do anything else in the UEFI, even its auto settings in dram configuration was absolutely the same.

Thanks for your advice, as per your suggestion, I did try lowering the voltage to 1.545V and it is quite stable. The next lower voltage is 1.495V and I dont want to risk lowering it that far. I think I'm quite fine with the 1.545V at least its lower voltage consumption that the original auto settings.

@GSKILL TECH: Thank you so much for your help in setting up my ram to its optimal settings. Yes the automatic settings was fine because it was stable before and passed with no errors in memtest, but just as you said, I wanted the ram to run its best or optimal performance, and clearly the auto settings was not setting up the ram properly for that. Thanks for all your support!

[Tradesman]

Glad to hear it! Enjoy!