Overclocking

nucker

I am a complete noob at overclocking.

If I want to over clock my RAM sticks, does that mean I have to overclock my CPU to deal with the overclocking?

I have the ASUS Rampage II Extreme, Corsair Dominator GT 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-16000C8 2000MHz Triple Channel Kit and the i7 950

ED E

Why do you want to overclock the RAM? Overclocking the CPU is normally what will boost performance, the ram is usually way ahead alraedy.

nucker

I just want to know about overclocking and I thought I better start with the RAM since I am getting more sticks for my system

So you're saying that the cpu when overclocked will automatically deal with the RAM speed?

ED E

Its safer just to leave the ram at stock speeds. Fiddling with a CPU is "safe enough", ram can be a little more risky(least AFAIK).

Start with your CPU, after that try the GPU, and if you wanna push the RAM later you'll have a better idea of what you're at.

Joeface

Also is it really necessary , I would leave overclocking as a last resort.

Currently my system is overclocked but I'm running a Q6600 and it did needed a little kick in performance as its slowly starting to show its age. your parts are on the new side , and I am not so sure any of today's games or applications are even putting your current setting under stress.


then again there is always the overclock , just cause you can.

ED E

For the EPEEN!

Monotype

You mentioned that you would be getting more sticks of RAM; you should adjust your settings/overclock after you get them. Often you won't get as good timings and speeds with more sticks of RAM so it would be a waste of time if you did it before upgrading.

Also, do you actually need more than 6GB of RAM?

I agree with EdE, overclock the CPU first for the biggest gains. Bear in mind that overclocking the FSB on that system will also overclock the RAM, so I would suggest to underclock the RAM while overclocking the CPU, then test the RAM at higher speeds if you wish to do so.

nucker

Monotype wrote: »

You mentioned that you would be getting more sticks of RAM; you should adjust your settings/overclock after you get them. Often you won't get as good timings and speeds with more sticks of RAM so it would be a waste of time if you did it before upgrading.

Also, do you actually need more than 6GB of RAM?

I agree with EdE, overclock the CPU first for the biggest gains. Bear in mind that overclocking the FSB on that system will also overclock the RAM, so I would suggest to underclock the RAM while overclocking the CPU, then test the RAM at higher speeds if you wish to do so.

I do need more than 6Gb, Photoshop keeps wanting more. I don't want to use page file because its a slog to use. The reason why I want to do the overclocking before, is because I am a complete noob at overclocking i.e. never tried overclocking before, because I am too scared to try, since the RAM is the item that is going to be with new sticks, I thought I would give that a try, rather than try the CPU and gfx card overclock.


Thanks anyway for the advice

Monotype

OK, in that case then there's no need to be that worried. Overclocking isn't a switch that suddenly makes your items more likely to blow up. It's all about increasing speed slowly and testing temperatures and stability. It's very low risk if done right. There's much bigger gains by overclocking the CPU so I'd slowly work up an overclock on that.

If you need any help with it, I'll be around anyway.

nucker

I have noticed that in the BIOS, it says Memory Level Up, mine is on Auto, since the sticks can take the 1600Mhz, should I put it on 1600Mhz?

Monotype

They're probably already at 1600MHz so switching from auto to 1600MHz won't make any difference.
If you download CPU-Z from cpuid.com, you can see how fast your memory is running on the memory tab. It might be listed as 800MHz though.

nucker

Today, I upped my memory, but I got a snapshots from CPU-Z

Monotype

OK, your RAM is underclocked alright. I thought you had 1600MHz RAM, but you have PC3-16000 which is 2000MHz.
You should be able to switch it to 1600 or see if there's an option for 2000. Alternatively, leave it at 1333MHz or 1600MHz and increase the FSB to overclock the CPU and RAM.

nucker

I have put it on manual the memory level up. Its now on 1600MHz

It does seem a bit more faster. Going to leave it for a few days just to see the temperature etc....

nucker

To increase the clock cycle from 9-9-9-24 to 8-8-8-20, would I need to put it on 8 DRAM Clock?

Monotype

Yeah, you'll need to change the settings on each of the first few. There's not massive gains to be hand by lowering the timings, but by all means give it a go.

Be sure to test for memory stability afterwards with something like memtest86 from memtest.org.

nucker

Just had the BIOS displaying that "overclocking has failed", what does that mean?

Had to put the memory speed back to "Auto" to get things running again

BloodBath

Why don't you just set the ram to it's stated speed and timings?

Monotype

Did you run tests to see if it was stable in the first place - memtest86 is a good one from memtest.org. You need to put it on disc or USB drive and boot from it.

nucker

Monotype wrote: »

Did you run tests to see if it was stable in the first place - memtest86 is a good one from memtest.org. You need to put it on disc or USB drive and boot from it.

Yeah I ran Memtest when I first started overclocking, it must of been a glitch in the system as it is working again at 1600Mhz again

nucker

I inadvertently found out what was causing the random three beeps and the BIOS stating that "Oveclocking has failed". It was the PSU being a bit dodgy