Guia básica sobre overclocking (+ A64 overclock "avanzado")

[rul3s]

Haber, me e leido la guia i ya pillo un pokito mas,(teniendo en kuenta ke en todo esto de los ordenadores, hardware , etc.. llevo 5 messes) pero, ya sabeis el miedo a la primera vez ke overclokeas. Mirad, tengo AMD ATHLON 64 3400+ (Newcaste 55 grados full i 40 en idle) placa DFI LanParty nF3 250Gb , memos kingstone value ram ddr 400 512 2 modulos i luego atiradeon 9600xt 256 Mb Shapire:

• Grafica a ke voltage la pongo? (le e canviado el disipa de serie por un rev 3) porke de momento me aguenta asta 560 core i memos 270 (provado manualmente ya ke con el FIND MAX CORE me lo llego a poner a 806 Mhz i, claro, no se veia na de na en la pantalla, reinicio i me pone, error ocurred, too hight overclock? 806 Mhz) Pos eso, a kuanto pongo el voltage i segun tengo entendido, la velocidad me subira junto con el FSB.

• FSB a kuanto sin tocar ningun voltage del procesador(por lo menos mientras no canvie el disipa) i las memos me van a 2'7v.

Gracias

[_ruso]

Según me comentó kynes no conseguirás mucho subiendo el voltaje a la gráfica, porque deberías subir tambien la frec del AGP/PCI de 66/33 y a poco que subas esto se vuelve inestable, así que el OC a la gráfica hazlo subiendole y pasando el 3dMark03 (o 05), le subes un poco más y lo pasas de nuevo cuando te pases te saldran cosas raras en la pantalla (artifacts).

Al procesador. Siendo unas kingstone probaría con 220 de FSB y memorias sincronas.
2.7V es el voltaje por defecto de esas memorias o se lo has subido tu??

Salu2

[Magog]

Creo que ese chipset permite fijar el bus ¿no? Si no lo tienes fijado a 33/66 es lo primero que tienes que hacer.
Subir el voltaje al AGP no creo que te sirva para nada, como ya te han dicho.
Y en cuanto al FSB sin subir voltaje, eso nadie te lo puede decir con seguridad, tendrás que ir probando poco a poco. Por cierto, ¿no tiene divisores para la RAM? Creo que sí, con lo que podrás sacar el máximo de la CPU sin que te limite la memoria.

Un saludo.

[_ruso]

Bueno… ya hemos quedado que es mejor 155 (2-2-2-7) que 160 (2.5-2-2-7) (a mi también me parece lo más lógico), pero entonces porqué obtengo peores resultados con el SuperPi ??
Ahora si que no entiendo nada...
Salu2

Editado: 2m 14seg frente a 2m 22seg (Más del doble que the predatorrrrr)
Hay algún programa para medir qué configuración es mejor?
5:38 de la mañana, acabo de llegar de la calle y aki me teneis pasandole el pi a esto... donde vamos a llegar

[Joanet]

1.Una pregunta, si me cpu se calienta demasiado puede hacer que el test de prime95 falle? porque tengo un
athlon xp 2600+ desbloqueado y no llego muy lejos con el, hasta 2.2gh y su velocidad nominal es 2.08 ghz, no creo que sea las memorias ya que no subo el fsb.

2.Si dejo el multliplicador a 11 y subo el fsb no me pasa de 205 porque el windows no arranca, la memoria es normalilla, pero a 410 mhz deberia aguantar a 2.5-3-3-8 (optimal) no se que pasa pero nunca consigo nada de overlcock, aun subiendo voltajes de memoria y cpu, tengo la A7N8X2.0 DELUXE.

[Inuit]

Krampack en tu guía veo que combinas el clockgen con la bios para ir subiendo. Estoy haciendo pruebas con el clockgen y veo que con el no se pueden modificar los voltages de la ram ni el multi del hipertransport. Mediante bios no hay manera de subir el fsb más de 220, se me bloquea, así que debería ir combinando bios+programa… yo me pregunto: no hay un programa que te permita modificar todos los parámetros a la vez ?

[krampak]

Desde la bios se puede modificar todo. No es normal que en la bios no te deje subir más de 220Mhz y con el clockgen si (aunque algunas veces me ha pasado por razones desconocidas).
Yo el clockgen lo utilizo solo para jugar con el multi y el FSB, pero con unos voltajes predefinidos en la bios. Cuando encuentro el valor tope (el valor anterior al que me ha dado error en el prime, pi , etc) entonces lo dejo puesto en la bios y dejo de jugar con el clockgen.

Lo que puedes hacer si no hay manera de subir más el bus en la bios, es dejar el voltaje que sabes que necesitas, los timings, etc Y entonces configurar el clockgen para que se inicie automaticamente en el arranque de windows y te aplique los valores de FSB y/o multi que necesitas.

Has probado con otra bios? Bajando el LDT? (en caso de que sea un A64), subiendo el AGP a 67Mhz? (en caso de que sea AGP). No se

[kynes]

@_ruso:

Según me comentó kynes no conseguirás mucho subiendo el voltaje a la gráfica, porque deberías subir tambien la frec del AGP/PCI de 66/33 y a poco que subas esto se vuelve inestable, así que el OC a la gráfica hazlo subiendole y pasando el 3dMark03 (o 05), le subes un poco más y lo pasas de nuevo cuando te pases te saldran cosas raras en la pantalla (artifacts)

Lo de subirle la tensión al AGP es porque las gráficas se bloquean cuando se les sube mucho la velocidad del bus. No tiene nada que ver con el overclock que le hagas a la gráfica, es para aumentar la estabilidad cuando le hagas overclock al equipo y sea la gráfica lo que te limite. De todos modos, pocas placas (a parte de la mia :D) deben circular ya que no permitan bloquear la velocidad del AGP.

[rusozganjar]

Perdon por irme un poco del tema pero personalmente creo que falta una guia para las "setup" :sisi:
es que la guia de krampac esta muy buena pero sigue faltando una guia que nombre bien las configuraciones de la setup y estas en que afectan al oc.
como veo hay muchos que poseen dfis lanpartys pero nunca encontre nada sobre la setup :nono:
yo tengo una dfi lanparty ut nf4ultra y todavia no entiendo del todo las configuraciones de memorias del setup y por lo tanto tengo todo en default y no me quiero arriesgar a hacer overclocking sin estar seguro de lo que hago asi que les pido un favor HAGAN UNA GUIA SOBRE LA SETUP
bueno saludos y espero ayuda :rollani:

pd:les prometo que cuando entienda del todo la setup voy hacer un poco de oc ;D

[SEDG.RaVeN]

pero es que varian algunos nobres de una placa a otra lo mejor es que busques en internet los timmings de tus memorias
saludos

[rusozganjar]

@SEDG.RaVeN:

pero es que varian algunos nobres de una placa a otra lo mejor es que busques en internet los timmings de tus memorias
saludos

que rapido
ya se los timming de mis memos es que hay muchas opciones dentro de la setup en la parte de memos y yo me referia a hacer una pequeña guia sobre esta parte de setup no todo el setup y solamente en la serie de "lanparty"
por ejemplo que es -32 byte granularity
-by pass max
-r/w queue bypass
-dinamic counter
-idele cycle limit
y otras dudas mas
es que insisto que es muy importante conocer bien el setup para un buen oc y no meter la pata por eso digo que
a la guia le falta esa (para mi) parte fundamental
gracias por responder
saludos

[krampak]

Y no es mejor saber qué valor hay que poner envez de saber qué hace? Me refiero a que está muy bien saber "sirve para reducir el tiempo de respuesta entre el ciclo de escritura/lectura de la memoria" pero que de poco sirve si no sabes cuál es el valor óptimo para tu memoria/placa.
Yo coincido con SEDG.RaVeN en que lo mejor es buscar en internet configuraciones concretas sobre tu hardware pues cada pieza es un mundo..

[rusozganjar]

@krampak:

Y no es mejor saber qué valor hay que poner envez de saber qué hace? Me refiero a que está muy bien saber "sirve para reducir el tiempo de respuesta entre el ciclo de escritura/lectura de la memoria" pero que de poco sirve si no sabes cuál es el valor óptimo para tu memoria/placa.
Yo coincido con SEDG.RaVeN en que lo mejor es buscar en internet configuraciones concretas sobre tu hardware pues cada pieza es un mundo..

gracias por responder entiendo a que te referis :rolleyes: pero a lo que voy es que hay configuraciones del setup que no se comentan y son importantes y no difiere mucho de la ram que tengas en general.
yo simplemente me referia a una guia para lanparty espero que entiendan a lo que voy
coincido que cada parte es un mundo pero hay configuraciones para las memos que me gustaria que se comenten para que sirven y no solamente decir que valor hay que poner
bueno gracias por esponder
pd: que quede claro no a toda las configuraciones si no a las que no se comentan mucho como las que ya le describi

[SEDG.RaVeN]

Pues esto es de Dfi-street de Angry games esta en ingles pero vamos se entiende
Command Per Clock(CPC)

Settings: Auto, Enable(1T), Disable(2T)

Command Per Clock(CPC) is also called Command Rate. It may be best in some instances to Disable (2T) w/ 2x512 RAM modules. It has a large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
“This BIOS feature allows you to select the delay between the assertion of the Chip Select signal till the time the memory controller starts sending commands to the memory bank. The lower the value, the sooner the memory controller can send commands out to the activated memory bank. When this feature is enabled, the memory controller will only insert a command delay of one clock cycle or 1T. When this feature is disabled, the memory controller will insert a command delay of two clock cycles or 2T. The Auto option allows the memory controller to use the memory module's SPD value for command delay. If the SDRAM command delay is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily preventing the memory controller from issuing the commands sooner. However, if the SDRAM command delay is too short, the memory controller may not be able to translate the addresses in time and the "bad commands" that result will cause data loss and corruption. It is recommended that you try enabling SDRAM 1T Command for better memory performance. But if you face stability issues, disable this BIOS feature."

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Setting for DFI: Enable 1T whenever possible

CAS Latency Control(tCL)

Settings = Auto, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5.

This is the first timing that most ram companies rate their ram with. For example, you might see RAM rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the 3, in that situation. 2 yields the best performance, CAS 3 usually gives better stability. Please note; if you have Winbond-BH-5/6, you may not be able to use CAS3.

From Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/
“CAS is Column Address Strobe or Column Address Select. CAS controls the amount of time (in cycles (2, 2.5,& 3) between receiving a command and acting on that command. Since CAS primarily controls the location of HEX addresses, or memory columns, within the memory matrix, this is the most important timing to set as low as your system will stably accept it. There are both rows and columns inside a memory matrix. When the request is first electronically set on the memory pins, the first triggered response is tRAS (Active to Precharge Delay). Data requested electronically is precharge, and the memory actually going to initiate RAS is activation. Once tRAS is active, RAS, or Row Address Strobe begins to find one half of the address for the required data. Once the row is located, tRCD is initiated, cycles out, and then the exact HEX location of the data required is accessed via CAS. The time between CAS start and CAS end is the CAS latency. Since CAS is the last stage in actually finding the proper data, it's the most important step of memory timing.”

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
“This BIOS feature controls the delay (in clock cycles) between the assertion of the CAS signal and the availability of the data from the target memory cell. It also determines the number of clock cycles required for the completion of the first part of a burst transfer. In other words, the lower the CAS latency, the faster memory reads or writes can occur. Please note that some memory modules may not be able to handle the lower latency and may lose data. Therefore, while it is recommended that you reduce the SDRAM CAS Latency Time to 2 or 2.5 clock cycles for better memory performance, you should increase it if your system becomes unstable. Interestingly, increasing the CAS latency time will often allow the memory module to run at a higher clock speed. So, if you hit a snag while overclocking your SDRAM modules, try increasing the CAS latency time.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth / Large Influence on Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3. (Lower = Faster)

RAS# to CAS# Delay(tRCD)

Settings = Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

This is the second timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8@275mhz. This is the first 4, in that situation.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature allows you to set the delay between the RAS and CAS signals. The appropriate delay for your memory module is reflected in its rated timings. In JEDEC specifications, it is the second number in the three or four number sequence. Because this delay occurs whenever the row is refreshed or a new row is activated, reducing the delay improves performance. Therefore, it is recommended that you reduce the delay to 3 or 2 for better memory performance. Please note that if you use a value that is too low for your memory module, this can cause the system to be unstable. If your system becomes unstable after you reduce the RAS-to-CAS delay, you should increase the delay or reset it to the rated delay. Interestingly, increasing the RAS-to-CAS delay may allow the memory module to run at a higher clock speed. So, if you hit a snag while overclocking your SDRAM modules, you can try increasing the RAS-to-CAS delay.”

Large Influence on Bandwidth/ Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2-5 –--2 yields the best performance, and 4-5 yields the best over clock (5 is usually overkill). Usually cheaper RAM will not be able to use 2, and reach their max OC. (Lower = Faster)

Min RAS# Active Timing(tRAS)

Settings = Auto, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

This is the fourth timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the 8, in that situation.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature controls the memory bank's minimum row active time (tRAS). This constitutes the time when a row is activated until the time the same row can be deactivated. If the tRAS period is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily delaying the deactivation of active rows. Reducing the tRAS period allows the active row to be deactivated earlier. However, if the tRAS period is too short, there may not be enough time to complete a burst transfer. This reduces performance and data may be lost or corrupted. For optimal performance, use the lowest value you can. Usually, this should be CAS latency + tRCD + 2 clock cycles. For example, if you set the CAS latency to 2 clock cycles and the tRCD to 3 clock cycles, the optimum tRAS value would be 7 clock cycles. But if you start getting memory errors or system crashes, increase the tRAS value one clock cycle at a time until your system becomes stable.”

It appears throughout the web that this is a much debated timing. Some may argue that 00, 05, or 10 is the faster/most stable. There probably isn’t a right answer for this one, it all depends on your ram. If you need a good starting point, usually most/all ram can achieve their max OC on 10 tRAS, even if one of the other settings is faster.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Suggest you use only 00, and 5-10. I’d start with 8 and play around from there. (Lower = Faster)

Row Precharge Timing(tRP)

Settings = Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

This is the third timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the second 4, in that situation.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature specifies the minimum amount of time between successive ACTIVATE commands to the same DDR device. The shorter the delay, the faster the next bank can be activated for read or write operations. However, because row activation requires a lot of current, using a short delay may cause excessive current surges. For desktop PCs, a delay of 2 cycles is recommended as current surges aren't really important. The performance benefit of using the shorter 2 cycles delay is of far greater interest. The shorter delay means every back-to-back bank activation will take one clock cycle less to perform. This improves the DDR device's read and write performance. Switch to 3 cycles only when there are stability problems with the 2 cycles setting.”

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2-4 –--2 yields the best performance, and 4-5 yields the best stability when overclocking (5 is usually overkill). A lot of RAM will not be able to use 2, and reach their max OC. (Lower = Faster)

Row Cycle Time(tRC)

Settings = Auto, 7-22 in 1.0 increments.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature controls the memory module's Row Cycle Time or tRC. The row cycle time determines the minimum number of clock cycles a memory row takes to complete a full cycle, from row activation up to the precharging of the active row. Formula-wise, the row cycle time (tRC) = minimum row active time (tRAS) + row precharge time (tRP). Therefore, it is important to find out what the tRAS and tRP parameters are before setting the row cycle time. If the row cycle time is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily delaying the activation of a new row after a completed cycle. Reducing the row cycle time allows a new cycle to begin earlier. However, if the row cycle time is too short, a new cycle may be initiated before the active row is sufficiently precharged. When this happens, there may be data loss or corruption. For optimal performance, use the lowest value you can, according to the tRC = tRAS + tRP formula. For example, if your memory module's tRAS is 7 clock cycles and its tRP is 4 clock cycles, then the row cycle time or tRC should be 11 clock cycles. However, if the row cycle time is too short, a new cycle may be initiated before the active row is sufficiently precharged. When this happens, there may be data loss or corruption.”

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 7 yields the best performance, 15-17 yields the best stability/over clock. 22 is way overkill. Start at 16, and work your way down from there. 7 is usually much too tight for most average ram. Remember the tRC = tRAS + tRP formula. (Lower = Faster)

Row Refresh Cycle Time(tRFC)

Settings = Auto, 9-24 in 1.0 increments.

From the DFI BIOS: “This bios setting represents time to refresh a single row on the same bank of memory. This value is also the time interval between a refresh (REF command) to another REF command to different rows of the same bank. The tRFC value is higher than tRC as column access gates are not turned on during it’s issue.”

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 9 is usually unreachable and 10 yields the best performance. 17-19 yields the best stability/over clock with 19 probably overkill. Start at 17 and work your way down. Most stable timing is usually set to 2-4 clocks higher than tRC. (Lower = Faster)

Row to Row Delay(also called RAS to RAS delay)(tRRD)

Settings = Auto, 0-7 in 1.0 increments.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
“This BIOS feature specifies the minimum amount of time between successive ACTIVATE commands to the same DDR device. The shorter the delay, the faster the next bank can be activated for read or write operations. However, because row activation requires a lot of current, using a short delay may cause excessive current surges. For desktop PCs, a delay of 2 cycles is recommended as current surges aren't really important. The performance benefit of using the shorter 2 cycles delay is of far greater interest. The shorter delay means every back-to-back bank activation will take one clock cycle less to perform. This improves the DDR device's read and write performance. Switch to 3 cycles or higher only when there are stability problems with the 2 cycles setting.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 00 yields the best performance and 4 yields the best stability/over clock (anything above 4 is probably overkill). 2 is probably your best bet. 00 sounds odd, but it has worked well for others, even at 260 MHz. (Lower = Faster)

[SEDG.RaVeN]

Write Recovery Time(tWR)

Settings = Auto, 2, 3.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
“This BIOS feature controls the Write Recovery Time (tWR) of the memory modules. It specifies the amount of delay (in clock cycles) that must elapse after the completion of a valid write operation, before an active bank can be precharged. This delay is required to guarantee that data in the write buffers can be written to the memory cells before precharge occurs. The shorter the delay, the earlier the bank can be precharged for another read/write operation. This improves performance but runs the risk of corrupting data written to the memory cells. It is recommended that you select 2 Cycles if you are using DDR200 or DDR266 memory modules and 3 Cycles if you are using DDR333 or DDR 400 memory modules. You can try using a shorter delay for better memory performance but if you face stability issues, revert to the specified delay to correct the problem.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2 yields better performance, and 3 yields better stability/over clock. (Lower = Faster)

Write to Read Delay(tWTR)

Settings: Auto, 1, 2

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature controls the Write Data In to Read Command Delay (tWTR) memory timing. This constitutes the minimum number of clock cycles that must occur between the last valid write operation and the next read command to the same internal bank of the DDR device. The 1 Cycle option naturally offers faster switching from writes to reads and consequently better read performance. The 2 Cycles option reduces read performance but it will improve stability, especially at higher clock speeds. It may also allow the memory chips to run at a higher speed. In other words, increasing this delay may allow you to overclock the memory module higher than is normally possible. It is recommended that you select the 1 Cycle option for better memory read performance if you are using DDR266 or DDR333 memory modules. You can also try using the 1 Cycle option with DDR400 memory modules. But if you face stability issues, revert to the default setting of 2 Cycles.”

From the DFI BIOS: “This Bios setting specifies the write to read delay. Samsung calls this TCDLR (last data in to read command). It is measured from the rising edge and following the last non-mask data strobe to the rising edge of the next read command. JDEC usually specifies this as one clock.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1 yields better performance, and 2 yields better stability/over clock. (Lower = Faster)

Read to Write Delay(tRTW)

Settings = Auto, 1-8 in 1.0 increments.

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”When the memory controller receives a write command immediately after a read command, an additional period of delay is normally introduced before the write command is actually initiated. As its name suggests, this BIOS feature allows you to skip (or raise) that delay. This improves the write performance of the memory subsystem. Therefore, it is recommended that you enable this feature for faster read-to-write turn-arounds. However, not all memory modules can work with the tighter read-to-write turn-around. If your memory modules cannot handle the faster turn-around, the data that was written to the memory module may be lost or become corrupted. So, when you face stability issues, disable (or raise the value) of this feature to correct the problem.”

From the DFI BIOS: “This field specifies the read to write delay. This is not a DRAM specified timing parameter, but must be considered due to the routing latencies on the clock forwarded bus. It is counted from the first address bus slot which was not associated with part of the read burst.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1 yields better performance, and 4 yields better stability/over clock (4 is overkill). Recommend try 1 and move to 2 if unstable. (Lower = Faster)

Refresh Period(tREF)

Settings = Auto, 0032-4708 in variable increments.

1552= 100mhz(?.?us)
2064= 133mhz(?.?us)
2592= 166mhz(?.?us)
3120= 200mhz(?.?us)(seems to be a/ Bh-5,6 sweet spot at 250+mhz)
–-------------------
3632= 100mhz(?.?us)
4128= 133mhz(?.?us)
4672= 166mhz(?.?us)
0064= 200mhz(?.?us)

0776= 100mhz(?.?us)
1032= 133mhz(?.?us)
1296= 166mhz(?.?us)
1560= 200mhz(?.?us)

1816= 100mhz(?.?us)
2064= 133mhz(?.?us)
2336= 166mhz(?.?us)
0032= 200mhz(?.?us)

0388= 100mhz(15.6us)
0516= 133mhz(15.6us)
0648= 166mhz(15.6us)
0780= 200mhz(15.6us)

0908= 100mhz(7.8us)
1032= 133mhz(7.8us)
1168= 166mhz(7.8us)
0016= 200mhz(7.8us)

1536= 100mhz(3.9us)
2048= 133mhz(3.9us)
2560= 166mhz(3.9us)
3072= 200mhz(3.9us)

3684= 100mhz(1.95us)
4196= 133mhz(1.95us)
4708= 166mhz(1.95us)
0128= 200mhz(1.95us)

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature allows you to set the refresh interval of the memory chips. There are (several) different settings as well as an Auto option. If the Auto option is selected, the BIOS will query the memory modules' SPD chips and use the lowest setting found for maximum compatibility. For better performance, you should consider increasing the Refresh Interval from the default values (15.6 µsec for 128Mbit or smaller memory chips and 7.8 µsec for 256Mbit or larger memory chips) up to 128 µsec. Please note that if you increase the Refresh Interval too much, the memory cells may lose their contents. Therefore, you should start with small increases in the Refresh Interval and test your system after each hike before increasing it further. If you face stability problems upon increasing the refresh interval, reduce the refresh interval step by step until the system is stable.

From Sierra at ABXzone: The information below is taken from an old RAM guide. In a nutshell a memory module is made up of electrical cells. The refresh process recharges these cells, which are arranged on the chips in rows. The refresh cycle refers to the number of rows that must be refreshed.

"Periodically the charge stored in each bit must be refreshed or the charge will decay and the value of the bit of data will be lost. DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is really just a bunch of capacitors that can store energy in an array of bits. The array of bits can be accessed randomly. However, the capacitors can only store this energy for a short time before it discharges it. Therefore DRAM must be refreshed (re-energizing of the capacitors) every 15.6µs (a microsecond equals 10-6 seconds) per row. Each time the capacitors are refreshed the memory is re-written. For this reason DRAM is also called volatile memory. Using the RAS-ONLY refresh (ROR) method, the refresh is done is a systematic manner, each column is refreshed row by row in sequence. In a typical EDO module each row takes 15.6µs to refresh. Therefore in a 2K module the refresh time per column would be 15.6µs x 2048 rows = 32ms (1 millisecond equals 10-6 seconds). This value is called the tREF. It refers to the refresh interval of the entire array."

Here is an interesting discussion of tREF on the DFI forum: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10411

Slight Influence on Stability/Bandwidth.

Suggested Settings for DFI: It appears that tREF, like the tRAS, is not an exact science. It also seems that the 15.6us, and 3.9us settings work well, and that the 1.95us settings give lower bandwidth. The unknown (?.?us) are shots in the dark. A lot of users are finding setting 3120= 200mhz(?.?us) gives the best balance of performance, and stability, but this will probably vary greatly from one type of RAM to another.

Write CAS# Latency(tWCL)

Settings = Auto, 1-8

Paraphrased from Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/
”Variable Write CAS Latency (tWCL): Conventional SDRAM including DDR I uses random accesses as the name implies. This means that the controller is free to write to any location within the physical memory space, which, in most cases, means that it will write to whichever page is open and to the column address closest to the (CAS) strobe. The result is a write latency of 1T, as opposed to read or CAS-Latency values of 2, 2.5 or 3. (This setting should almost) always be set to 1 unless using DDRII.”

Large Influence on Stability/ Unknown Influence on bandwidth.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Most people can only post using Auto or 1. RGone over at DFI-Street says that #5 in this setting works on his board with “any” brand or size and speed of memory! Recommend try 1.

DRAM Bank Interleave

Settings = Enable, Disable

Paraphrased from Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
”This BIOS feature enables you to set the interleave mode of the SDRAM interface. Interleaving allows banks of SDRAM to ********* their refresh and access cycles. One bank will undergo its refresh cycle while another is being accessed. This improves memory performance by masking the refresh cycles of each memory bank. A close examination will reveal that since the refresh cycles of all the memory banks are staggered, this produces a kind of pipelining effect. However, bank interleaving only works if the addresses requested consecutively are not in the same bank. If they are in the same memory bank, then the data transactions behave as if the banks were not interleaved. The processor will have to wait until the first data transaction clears and that memory bank refreshes before it can send another address to that bank. All current SDRAM modules support bank interleaving. It is recommended to enable this feature whenever possible.”

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability

Suggested Settings for DFI: Set to Enable whenever possible–--it is a fairly influential setting for improving bandwidth. Disable for stability and a corresponding loss in bandwidth. (Enable = Faster)

DQS Skew Control

Settings = Auto, Increase Skew, Decrease Skew

From Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/
"It is true that lower voltage swings enable higher frequencies but after a certain point, the ramping of the voltages will show a significant skew. The skew can be reduced by increased drive strength, however, with the drawback of a voltage overshoot / undershoot at the rising and falling edges, respectively. One additional problem with high frequency signaling is the phenomenon of trace delays. The solution in DDR was to add clock forwarding in form of a simple data strobe. DDR II takes things further by introducing a bidirectional, differential I/O buffer strobe consisting of DQS and /DQS as pull-up and pull-down signals. Differential means that the two signals are measured against each other instead of using a simple strobe signal and a reference point. In theory the pull-up and pull-down signals should be mirror-symmetric to each other but reality shows otherwise. That means that there will be skew-induced delays to reaching the output high and low voltages (VOH and VOL) and the cross points between DQS and /DQS used for clock forwarding will not necessarily coincide with the DQ crossing the reference voltage (Vref) or even be consistent from one clock to the next. The mismatch between clock and data reference points is referred to as the DQ-DQS skew."

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Increase for performance, and Decrease for Stability. Recommend try Increase. (Increase = Faster, Decrease = Slower)

DQS Skew Value

Settings = Auto, 0-255 in 1.0 increments.

This is the value that is Increased or Decreased when you set the DQS skew control. It does not appear to be a very sensitive timing.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: This does not appear to be a very sensitive timing. Try 50-255 with “Increase Skew” set in the above timing. (Higher = Faster)

DRAM Drive Strength

Settings = Auto, 1-8 in 1.0 increments.

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site:http://www.rojakpot.com/ “Sometimes called driving strength. This feature allows you to control the memory data bus' signal strength. Increasing the drive strength of the memory bus can increase stability during overclocking. DRAM drive strength refers to the signal strength of the memory data line. A higher number means a stronger signal and is generally recommended for an overclocked module to improve stability. Supposedly TCCD works better with weak drive strength while just about everything else prefers a stronger signal.”

From bigtoe: “If you leave the option at Auto this will set a weak drive strength, this is good for TCCD based modules but bad for anything else. From testing and debugging the board I have concluded the following. Options 1 3 5 7 are all weak, as is Auto, setting. 1 is actually the weakest option with 7 being as close to the normal weak setting DFI will allow us. Options 2 4 6 8 are the Normal settings, with 8 being the highest strength setting. If you are using TCCD you may want to try 3 5 or 7 as the drive settings as they usually seem to allow the modules to clock well. If you are using VX, or the new BH Gold, or any other modules from the OCZ range you may want to try 8 or 6.”

Large Influence on Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: From bigtoe: “If you are using TCCD you may want to try 3 5 or 7 as the drive settings as they usually seem to allow the modules to clock well. If you are using VX, or the new BH Gold, or any other modules from the OCZ range you may want to try 8 or 6.”

[SEDG.RaVeN]

DRAM Data Drive Strength

Settings = Levels 1-4 in 1.0 increments.

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
"The MD Driving Strength determines the signal strength of the memory data line. The higher the value, the stronger the signal. It is mainly used to boost the DRAM driving capability with heavier DRAM loads (multiple and/or double-sided DIMMs). So, if you are using a heavy DRAM load, you should set this function to Hi or High. Due to the nature of this BIOS option, it's possible to use it as an aid in overclocking the memory bus. Your SDRAM DIMM may not overclock as well as you wanted it to. But by raising the signal strength of the memory data line, it is possible to improve its stability at overclocked speeds. But this is not a surefire way of overclocking the memory bus. In addition, increasing the memory bus signal strength will not improve the performance of the SDRAM DIMMs. So, it's advisable to leave the MD Driving Strength at Lo/Low unless you have a high DRAM load or if you are trying to stabilize an overclocked DIMM."

Large Influence on Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Many have suggested using Level 1 or 3, if you have CPC enabled. With CPC, anything above level 1 gives some users extreme instability. Some users like level 3 with CPC enabled. Some others have had success with using level 2-4 if CPC is disabled. I had good luck with CPC enabled and Level 4. (Higher = Faster)

Max Async Latency

Settings = Auto, 0-15 in 1.0 increments.

I could not find anything on this particular setting and am not sure what portion of RAM functions it affects. If you have information on this setting, please post and I will update this section. From HiJon89: “The Max Async Latency setting will show its biggest difference in the Everest Latency Test. Going from 8ns to 7ns on my BH-6 made a 1ns difference in Everest Latency. Going from 7ns to 6ns dropped it another 2ns.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 7ns is the default–--Suggest you start at 7ns and work from there trying 5.0-10.0. From HiJon89: “6ns is very tight, I would recommend running 6ns for UTT or BH-5 but not TCCD. 7ns is looser, good for getting higher clocks on UTT or BH-5. 8ns is pretty loose for UTT or BH-5, but its just right for hitting DDR600 with TCCD. 9ns is very loose even for TCCD and should really only be used to try to hit DDR640+.” (Lower = Faster)

Read Preamble Time

Settings = Auto, 2.0-9.5 nanoseconds, in 0.5 increments.

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the time prior to the max-read DQS return. It shows when the DQS should be turned on.” From an old Samsung memory guide: “Preamble of DQS on reads: DDR SGRAM uses a data strobe signal(s),DQS, to increase performance. The DQS signal is bidirectional which toggles when there is any data transfer from DDR SGRAM to graphic controller or from graphic controller to DDR SGRAM. Prior to a burst of read data, DQS signal transitions from Hi-Z to a valid logic low. This is referred to as the data strobe preamble. This transition from Hi-Z to logic low nominally happens one clock cycle prior to the first edge of valid data.”

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 5.0 ns is the default when set to Auto----suggest starting at 5.0 and then working within this range (4.0-7.0) depending on ram. (Lower = Faster)

Idle Cycle Limit

Settings = Auto, 0-256 in varied increments.

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of memclocks before forcibly closing (pre-charging) an open page.” It appears that this setting is the maximum number of tries allowed for a page of memory to be read before arbitration kicks in and forces pre-charge once again for that page.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence on Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: The Auto setting defaults to 256 clocks which seems to be overkill. If your RAM is lower grade----then I would stay with Auto. If your RAM is a step up, I would try 16-32 clocks. I had good luck with 16 clocks on BH-5. (Lower = Faster)

Dynamic Counter

Settings = Auto, Enable, Disable.

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies dynamic idle cycle counter to enable or disable. If enabled, it forces each entry in the page table to dynamically adjust the idle cycle limit based on page conflict/page miss (PC/PM) traffic.” It appears that this setting is directly related to Idle Cycle Limit and if enabled, would override the existing clock settings for Idle Cycle Limit and force that setting to dynamically adjust based upon conflicts occurring.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability for some----- Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability for others.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Auto usually disables this setting. Enable for performance increase. Disable for stability increase. This setting can have a fairly large difference----I noticed immediate crashes when set to Enable until I had adjusted other settings. I also noticed an improvement in bandwidth once I found other settings which allowed me to enable this one. Aurhinius has reported that disabling IMPROVED his memory bandwidth by 50 points using TCCD. This is just one of thoses settings that definitely depends on the BIOS version and type of memory being used. (Enable = Faster = Maybe)

R/W Queue Bypass

Settings = Auto, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x.

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of times the oldest operation in the DCI (Device Control Interface) read/write queue can be bypassed before the arbiter is overwritten and the oldest operation is chosen.” Similar to Idle Cycle Limit except that this arbiter affects the Read/Write que of the memory page.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence on Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: 16x is the default and I would stay with that unless you are having stability problems. If unstable, suggest using 8x or even 2x or 4x for max OC. (Larger = Faster----Smaller = More Stable)

Bypass Max

Settings = Auto, 0x-7x in 1.0 increments.

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of times the oldest entry in DCQ (Dependence Chain Que?) can be bypassed in arbitration before the arbiter choice is vetoed.” I looked all over for this one and I believe it has to do with the memory’s link to the CPU memory controller. If you find other information please feel free to post it and I will update this.

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: The default is 7X. Suggest 4x-7x for max performance/stability. Bypass max from 0X - 7X, 7X being the most agressive giving the highest bandwidth. Low latency dimms suit 7X with higher latency and high FSB needing 4X to 6X to work well.Suggest trying 5X and work up to 7X checking stability.

32 Byte Granulation

Settings = Auto, Disable (8burst), Enable (4burst).

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies if the burst counter should be chosen to optimize data bus bandwidth for 32 byte accesses.” Disabling allows for the best performance (largest size of burst).

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence onStability.

Suggested Settings for DFI: Auto selects Disable (8burst) as the default in most cases. Try Disable (8burst) for more bandwidth. Try enabling 4 burst for more stability. (Disable = Faster)
Saludos

[krampak]

Cuando tenga tiempo lo traduzco, lo añado a la rama de la DFI fijada y pondré un link en esta guia.

[SEDG.RaVeN]

yo podria traducir pero ahi palabrotas que no se lo que son y el tito google como que no las sabe, pero esta muy interesante la guia
saludos

[rusozganjar]

muchas gracias ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
les debo una gigante me alegro que entiendan a que me referia
me la voy a poner a leer
gracias xD
pd:lo ayudaria lastima que no cazo una de ingles
saludos

[SEDG.RaVeN]

de nada para eso estamos, krampak en cuanto pueda hace la traduccion que es mas expertiyo en ingles de pc yo soy mas de aplicado a la hosteleria ;D , y nada ahi tienes para rato eran 30000 y pico letras he tenido que separar en 3 post si estan mal me lo dices y lo arreglo
saludos