Tweaking Trident 2133

[Brockavich]

Hi there. Recent bought the Trident 2133 package (4GB). Seems to be working okay but I get the feeling that the clock speeds aren't right. This might be just me reading my BIOS wrong or CPU-Z epic failing but in my BIOS is says my ram's running at about 1333Mhz...


Again, it could be me just being wrong but I've been playing with it and what I'm asking is what are some steps I should take to make sure this ram is running at the proper frequency?


thanks!

I am running:
GIGABYTE P55A UD3
Trident 2133MHz
Core i5 760

[Brockavich]

For example...

CPU-Z says:
NB Frequency: 2131.8
DRAM Frequency: 666.2

My BIOS says:
Frequency: 1333MHz

However when I go into my BIOS and select "XMP Profile 1", the ram frequency jumps up to 2130MHz. I was like, "all right, that's more like it!" However upon reboot the system faisl to boot so I had to revert values. I`m not even sure what this XMP even does, if anyone could explain it to me please?

[VoXPCS]

XMP is an acronym for "Extreme Memory Profile."

It's a marketing scheme for enthusiasts who want the best/fastest RAM for their systems.

It's not a scam, just a name given to memory that is tested at higher than usual speeds/voltages etc.

So with that being said. There are a couple things you should know.

AMD chips and motherboards are only capable of "Dual Channel" memory which is just fancy for Two sticks of grouped together. So, 2 sticks of RAM are "Unganged" or 4 sticks "Ganged" to deliver better preformance.

Intel chips and boards are capable of "Triple Channel" , yes that's more bandwidth! But you'll never see it 2 sticks of RAM or 4. You need at least 3 (3x 2GB) sticks 1 channel per stick to see any improvement. Running 2 sticks of RAM on the i7 platform is criminal.

[Brockavich]

Okay well I knew about that triple channel stuff when I bought it... but uhhh...

So are you saying because I'm running 4GB my RAm now runs at 1333MHz instead of the 2133MHz I bought it for?

[GSKILL TECH]

Brockavich,

Enable XMP, increase QPI/VTT Voltage. This is the memory controller voltage and on AUTO it will only support up to ~DDR3-1600. For DDR3-2133, it will be around 1.40V, but test to see what your CPU wants. This voltage differs from CPU to CPU, so that's why I can't just give you a voltage to set. Once you find that voltage, everything should be stable.

Now to clarify some things...

XMP sets the memory frequency, timings, and voltage for you. It is not a marketing scheme, not sure who originated that one.. but XMP applies to all memory above the DDR3 standard. The DDR3 standard is DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24, so ANY DDR3 motherboard can only read up to this with AUTO settings. So, if you wanted plug and play memory, you purchase DDR3-1333 CL9 memory since that is the max recognizable. As you know, a lot of memory is above DDR3-1333 CL9 now, so a memory profile is implemented in these types of modules. If you enable XMP in BIOS, the motherboard overrides defaults/standards, detects and sets the memory automatically for you. This is the benefit of XMP. But if you are an advanced user, you can do all this manually as well, parallel to overclocking.

Only Intel x58 platforms have triple channel, not ALL Intel. Most are still dual channel, as that's all we really need.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Brockavich]

Okay... I've been increasing the voltage and so far I'm at 1.5 on the QPI/VTT and still unstable... whats interesting is that even after selecting XMP profile 1, BIOS still shows the ram clocked at 1333Mhz. Which leads me to believe theres maybe something preventing the XMP from taking effect... Any other things I should check to get this show rollin? Perhaps my DDR voltage?

Also, I'm a little uncomfortable boosting my voltage any higher than 1.6. For this kind of RAM, is that unheard of?

thanks

[GSKILL TECH]

Yes, it will not change actual clock until you restart and it successfully boots. When you enable XMP, it should show you what the target frequency, timing, and voltages are.

Memory voltage should always be 1.65V unless you overclock beyond DDR3-2133.

i would suggest working your way up. DDR3-1600, check QPI/VTT. DDR3-2000, check QPI/VTT, so for DDR3-2133 you should have a good idea of what it should be rather than just guessing.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Brockavich]

Okay well... I just tried using 1.61 Volts and I had to wipe the CMOS because it would start booting for a split second (as in, the fans start up) and then would shut down. It would loop doing this.

So I'll try giving it 1.65V on the QPI/VTT and see what happens...

[GSKILL TECH]

Hmm, should not need that much..

Post up screen shots of your BIOS and I can see if anything is set incorrectly.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Brockavich]

Okay I tried bumping it to 1.65 and still didn't boot. Just gets the fans going for a split second, then shuts down. Only to restart a split second later in a continuous loop...

And okay sure... Does printscreen work when you're in BIOS?

[GSKILL TECH]

No, 1.65V for QPI/VTT is much too high. DDR3-2133 it should be around 1.40V.

Not print screen, you need a digital camera to take pictures and load to internet.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH