Solved will running my ram at 1600mhz damage my cpu's memory controller

ganjiry · Mar 1, 2012

hi all
ive just been reading online and came across a warning that running 1600mhz ram with an amd cpu that has a memory controller set for 1333mhz will damage the controller. eventhough everythin seems stable.

im runnin this ram XMS3 at its manufactures settings.(although my mobo defaulted it to 1066mhz) and i have a phenom 965 be c3 running @3.8 on stock voltage using the multiplier.
everythin has been stable n never given me reson to think anythin is wrong.
i did'nt realise the 965 be mem controller was only 1333mhz. id never even thought about it

is there any truth in the statement i read n is my cpu's me controller likely to get damaged?
would i be better off dropping to 1333 and tighter timmings?

thanks in advance folks. any help is always much apreciated

the warning i read VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING AMD AM3 CPU's and RAM SPEEDS

GeneO · Mar 1, 2012

This sentence is probably the major reason behind this claim:

"Excessively increasing voltages to the RAM and/or CPU in an effort to improve system stability could cause the Memory Controller to fail."

I expect these motherboards auto voltage the memory higher @ 1600 MHz in auto mode and this causes the problem, but that is just my speculation based on my experience (and not with AMD) on how motherboards tend to overvolt on auto settings.

Since reduced RAM speed isn't very noticeable in the real world, if you meet the criteria in that article, I would just run it at 1333 MHz (though I still wouldn't be too happy!).

Britton30 · Mar 1, 2012

I have a 965BE on a Gigabyte board with some GSkill Ripjaws 2x4GB running well at 1600MHz. What needs to be done to prevent the over volting is to set your RAM volts and timings manually to what ever your RAM specs are. I also use the unganged mode as suggested in the article.
I did manage to get this RAM to 1640MHz stable, anymore would not be stable for me. Even going to the 1333 will not slow your system so much that you'd see a difference except in a benchmark test.

ganjiry · Mar 2, 2012

ello
cheers 4 the reply. sorted! i did set all timmings n voltage manually to the manufacturers specs as my gigabyte board set my memory to 1066mhz when i installed it. at the time i had never really been in the bios so i gave someone on seven forums a right headache teachin me about memory

in cpu-z it shows that its running at 1600mhz but pc3-8500f (533). i know this is normal for cpu-z.
if i decide to drop it to 1333mhz should i use the cpu-z suggested timmings of 9,9,9,26,35 @1.50v or should i try tighter timmings?

thanks!

also could someone tell me what the difference is between tested speed and spd speed , tested voltage n spd voltage plz
http://www.corsair.com/cmx8gx3m2a1600c9.html

Britton30 · Mar 2, 2012

Good job, glad to hear you have it set. CPUz shows you at 1607MHz.
The tested voltage and speed is what the RAM has been configured to run at and be stable. If you want to try it at 1333, you can see if 8-9-9-24T would work. With timing adjustments it sometimes takes some experimentation to find a good setting.

Here's a Wiki on SPD Serial presence detect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ganjiry · Mar 2, 2012

ello n thanks for the info .i shall have a read shortly

ganjiry · Mar 2, 2012

dropped to 1333 @ cpu-z's timmings. when i had it at 1600 the fsb;dram was 1.4 but now its at 3.10. should it change this much??

Britton30 · Mar 2, 2012

ganjiry said:
dropped to 1333 @ cpu-z's timmings. when i had it at 1600 the fsb;dram was 1.4 but now its at 3.10. should it change this much??

Yup, it's normal. The FSB:RAM freq changes like that when you drop it, nuttin' to worry about.

ganjiry · Mar 3, 2012

cheers! il try some tighter settings a bit later.
when i did change it to 1333 everythin seemed to run like shit but seems ok this mornin. i forgot to add the screenie to last msg..
everythin look ok? it does my head in why everythin sees my ram as 1066 eventhough it 1600. when i first installed it my mobo defaulted it to 1066.

Tomha · Mar 3, 2012

Its normal for motherboards to automatically lower RAM timing according to the sorts of CPUs that go in the motherboards socket. My motherboard for example down clocks my Corsair Vengeance to 1333mhz by default, although I have overclocked it, I am on Intel so unfortunately I can not offer advice there. I can however comment that that is the ram I had previous to my vengeance and it is very nice ram

good choice.

ganjiry · Mar 3, 2012

thanks! it should run better with tighter timmings @1333 than the 1600 should'nt it. we will see

Britton30 · Mar 3, 2012

You can uses this MaxxPI² - Download (MaxxMEM² - PreView) to track memory performance.
Memtest86+ will test your RAM and see if a setting is stable. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105647-ram-test-memtest86.html

ganjiry · Mar 3, 2012

cheer! i already have mem test but havent seen MaxxPI b4 will have a look
thanks again

Britton30 · Mar 3, 2012

http://www.piriform.com/speccywill be helpful too. No tests but shows many important system details.

ganjiry · Mar 3, 2012

ive already got speccy installed aswell as aida64. i cant downlad maxxPI it keeps getting interupted as if my av was stoppin it but i disabled my av n still it gets interupted

Britton30 · Mar 3, 2012

OK, try this:
View attachment MaxxMEM2_preview.zip
If your BIOS allows, try bumping yourNB Frequency to 2400MHz and keep the HT Link Frq as near to 2000MHz as possible. Set the NB Voltage to 1.4.

ganjiry · Mar 3, 2012

cheers! it worked once i disabled my av n added to eceptions

what what will uppin the northbridge frequency improve? as u may have guessed i have'nt done much overclocking

northbiridge clock is currently @2009MHz isnt takin it to 2400 a bit much?

i ran a bench at the 1333 stock settings n the result seems ok 2 me but ive never benched ram. wot do u think?
cheers

Britton30 · Mar 6, 2012

The NB clock will help the RAM run faster and 2400 isn't too much, I've had mine up to 2800 and was stable, your experience may be different. Looks ok.

ganjiry · Mar 6, 2012

ello chap.
that last reply was b4 the msg's n all the reading i did

i had it all stable with the ram @1333 but after more reading i found that the problem with 1600 memory and the 965be's memory controller was with the c2 stepping. i could'nt find any comments anout the c3 one. so i put my memory back to 1600 as i hadnt had any probs with it. northbridge freq@2400 nb vlt 1.26
7passes of memtest. standard intel burn test all good

cheers 4 all ur help chap

Britton30 · Mar 6, 2012

I thought so but posted in case anyone else may benefit
Here's my Phenom II X6 1055T, 2.8GHz, GSKill Sniper 1866MHz on a ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Pro board. You'll see the Maxxmem score isn't much different from yours and the copy is identical. My 965 is a C3 stepping.

Solved will running my ram at 1600mhz damage my cpu's memory controller

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