Overclocking Ram

Kelsenellenelvian · Oct 25, 2002, 06:52 PM

Okay guys what are the benifits and drawbacks of overclocking ram... I have ddr pc2100

reno · Oct 25, 2002, 08:03 PM

Benefits on PC2100 ram: Burnt, and smoldering silicon smell!

Drawbacks: Lots of drawbacks....get some PC2700, it'll support MUCH higher speeds.

I can get at MOST 150mhz out of my ram, stable. I run two sticks of 256MB PC2100 from Kingston.

It's better to run your memory at aggressive timings, like 2-2-2-5, than really high frequencies.

~~DriveEuro~~ · Oct 26, 2002, 10:18 AM

What are the benefits of running PC2100 RAM? You say that you can overclock the PC2100 sticks to 150 mhz? I've taken my ram out and ran two 256MB (PC133) sticks in my computer at 150 mhz? What are you gaining over me? I can run 512 PC 133 (2x256) stable at 150 mhz. So what is better about your PC2100 RAM than my PC133 when overclocked?

RIV@NVX · Oct 26, 2002, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
What are the benefits of running PC2100 RAM? You say that you can overclock the PC2100 sticks to 150 mhz? I've taken my ram out and ran two 256MB (PC133) sticks in my computer at 150 mhz? What are you gaining over me? I can run 512 PC 133 (2x256) stable at 150 mhz. So what is better about your PC2100 RAM than my PC133 when overclocked?

Because PC2100 is DDR. PC133 is SDR.

~~DriveEuro~~ · Oct 26, 2002, 07:02 PM

Wow. WTF was I smoking when I was talking about this?

reno · Oct 26, 2002, 11:15 PM

I have no idea, but I was just about to insult you...until Greekrage explained it to you.

Vampyromaniac · Oct 28, 2002, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by reno
I have no idea, but I was just about to insult you...until Greekrage explained it to you.

OK wtf are YOU smoking, reno? GREEKRAGE?? Look again

Kelsenellenelvian, If you overclock, you may lose stability, or maybe like reno said, kill the RAM.
But it does help a bit in memory-intesive apps, such as video-encoding.
I'd say if you experience ANY loss of stability, just go back to normal mode, you may be hurting the lifespan of the RAM, and the performance gain just isn't worth it.
I think it's less risky to use aggressive timings, like reno said, than to OC.
But, to contradict reno, in some cases the performance gain may be higher with OC-ing.

For example, when I had PC100, running at aggressive timings didn't do a whole lot, but running default timings at 133MHz did quite a bit more. Not to say you can just OC that much with any old RAM, better brands prob. have better chance of success. Mine was by Micron, and OC-ing 33% still had no loss of stability

Kelsenellenelvian · Oct 28, 2002, 04:40 AM

Thank all of you for your opinions I think I'll go with more agressive timeings. Any tips on doing this?

Vampyromaniac · Oct 28, 2002, 05:03 AM

All the timings are changed through the BIOS, under perhaps Advanced, or something . . . just look around.

I think most important one is the CAS Latency. It can be 3, 2.5, or 2. Lower is faster, but may be less stable. I think this has to do with the quality of the RAM. Default is prob. 2.5. Give 2.0 a try for a day maybe and see your stability. You should be fine though.

I'm not familiar with the other settings, so in my own comp, I just did a bunch of trial and error. But if you're not too lazy, you may be able to find a guide to all the possible settings. But then again, your particular BIOS may not have all of them available to be changed.

Just don't expect to notice big improvements in day-to-day stuff. It's not like OC-ing your CPU.

Anyone feel free to correct me on anything; I'm not too savvy in this field.

Kelsenellenelvian · Oct 28, 2002, 05:06 AM

Thanks man I'll give it a try.

merry · Oct 28, 2002, 06:29 AM

There's a pretty technical one here, in three parts.

And be sure to read this page in the Bios Optimization Guide.

Hey, if anyone knows on other guides they found useful, please post.

Kelsenellenelvian · Oct 28, 2002, 06:35 AM

Thank you I'l be back in a minute I'm going to reboot.

reno · Oct 28, 2002, 08:36 AM

My system is the little DDR system that could