Just received & installed new ram need help with timings.

I just received 2 kits of Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866 ram part # KHX1866C9D3K2/8G . I downloaded a pdf from Kingston listing the timings of 9-11-9-27 @1.65 volts. My bios, CPU-z, Passmark RAMMon and MSI Control Center all only give settings for this ram up to DDR3 1333. Funny how all the software and the bios listed the G-Skill Ripjaws Series ram these kit's replaced properly at DDR3 1600. Here's a screenshot of CPU-z's SPD tab showing their supported speeds for this ram. I had to use OC Genie Lite in the bios to get it to anything close to 1866MHZ. for this ram.

Forgot to attach a zip file of Kingston's pdf for this ram.

The SPD chips on the RAM modules are programmed for a frequency of 1333. The SPD chip tells the BIOS at what parameters are to be set for the SDRAM modules.

You're going to have to go into the BIOS and manually set the DIMM timings, frontside bus and voltage. I am sure you noticed in CPU-Z that the JEDEC settings are shown, which are standard settings for the RAM. It did not show any SPD settings, which means there is NO SPD chip on-board the SDRAM modules. IF there was, it's settings would show up.

With my latest build, I used Mushkin Enchanced SDRAM modules which use an XMP chip which told the BIOS to set it for a frequency of 1600, CAS @ 8-8-8-24 and 1.5 VDC. I had to go into the BIOS to enable XMP and chose 'Profile1' in order to get it enabled. This is one reason I use Mushkin because their SPD with XMP chips ALWAYS set the BIOS correctly.

Here is what my settings appear as when using CPU-Z:


You need to go to the "Cell Menu" in the BIOS and the choose the "Memory Z" menu and see what that shows. Then exit that and go to "Advanced DRAM Configuration" sub-menu and check those settings. I know from viewing your DRAM frequency in CPU-Z that it is not set correctly. It appears you're OC'ing the CPU.

You're going to have to fiddle around with the settings until you get the correct DRAM frequency and such.

For the same amount of money you spent on the Kingston RAM modules you could have gotten the Mushkin Enhanced Redline Ridgeback (solid cast-aluminum heat spreaders) with the timings already in the XMP profile settings.

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model 997052

You need to really understand how those settings work in the BIOS since you will have to manually select and adjust them individually.


READ YOUR MOTHERBOARD MANUAL FOR THE BIOS SECTION AND WHAT TO DO FROM THERE!


Good Luck! Have fun!

~Nibs

Yeah, my old G-Skill Ripjaws were the same as your Mushkin's and listed the XMP 1600 settings everywhere, including the bios. I've got a 800 number for Kingston. I'll try that tomorrow some time. Over Clock Genie Lite did a decent overclock of everything. I can't remember which voltage setting it was, but one came up in red. Ilowered it until it turned white and saved the bios. It ran through PCMark 7 Advanced, 3DMark 11 Advanced, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City and Crysis (x86 & x64) benchmarks without any issues. OC Genie set the cpu a tad higher than what I had it at before 3.7/3.9 Turbo core before. Now 3.762/4.2** Turbo Core.

Personally I wouldn't rely too much on MSI's OC Genie, but that's your choice. If you'll take note that your RAM voltage needs to be set @ 1.65 VDC. That must be done manually. It's stated as the voltage needed on the PDF file you attached in the above post. Standard DDR3 voltage is 1.5 VDC.

Yes, the 1.65 VDC may show up in RED, but don't let that freak you out.

I firmly believe it's better to actually enter into the BIOS and make the changes there manually than to depend upon a Windows-based software utility. If you're not sure about how to overclock an AMD-based motherboard and CPU I suggest you read about how to do it at some other forums such as Overclock.net or Overclockers.com or Extremeoverclocking.com.

Overclocking can be tricky and frustrating at times, especially on AMD systems. Go easy at first and take baby steps in the OC process. If you are not really sure about what's going on within the BIOS then I would suggest being very careful. As I stated, I sure wouldn't rely or depend upon a Windows-based overclocking utility to do the job. Communicating to the BIOS through a Windows program is not always accurate.

Ram voltage I set to 1.652 in the bios when I enabled overclock genie. That's the closest it would go to 1.65.

Nibs: Here's a screenshot I made listing the bios's voltages and what it set Turbo Core to.

A voltage of 1.651 or so is close enough, so it look alright to me.

What issues are you having then? The frequency of 1866 is a little too high since the RAM is supposed to be at 1800 then the DRAM frequency should be set to 900, not 912 as shown in the CPU-Z image you attached above.

No issue's at all. I was basically just wondering why nothing detected it as 1866 ram instead of 1333 ram. I'm going to be running Prime95 on the pc Thursday. Do I need to run 6 instances of it for each cpu core ?

Well I apologize. The RAM is rated for 1866, not 1800; that's my bad! LOL!

Here is a screen SnagIt from the PDF datasheet associated with the brand and model of SDRAM you purchased.



I am at loss about some of this because of the discombobulated settings showing in the CPU-Z images above.