not sure about ram timings

Depending on your BIOS/BIOS version, you may or my not have an XMP mode. Here's mine (Gigabyte motherboard). To get to it you have to go to M.I.T., then Advance Frequency Settings.....





Anyway it appears you didn't check the links in my previous post explaining timings and speed.

You can run your timings at 7-7-7, but you may not be able to run them at that setting with a speed of 1600MHz. That's because at that speed, those timings may not be possible. This is where a little overclocking comes into play.

Anyway I urge you to look through the links I linked to before progressing further.
As for XMP, if you don't have that setting in the BIOS then you'll have to manually input the parameters you're RAM states - 9-9-9-24, 1600MHz, 1.65volts. After that, if you feel you want to try lowering (tightening) timings, you can try, but to be honest, I doubt you'll achieve those timings at that (1600MHz) speed.

For reference I run my memory at 1600MHz, 8-8-8-20 @1.65 volts and if I try to run at 7-7-7 or even 7-8-7, I can't post.

Like all things this depends on the memory build, just like some i7-920 processors for example can achieve higher overclock speeds while others can't, memory modules are the same - It's the luck of the draw.

So which is better - Speed or timings? I'd go for speed - 1600MHz @ 9-9-9 than 1066 @ 7-7-7. Others may disagree, but I think 1600MHz @ 9-9-9 is faster than 1066 @ 7-7-7. Now if you can get 1600MHz @ 8-8-8 that closes the gap, but then again, that depends on the memory

My two cents.

hi thanks. i did hav a look through the posts linked but not all of it. ive bookmarked em to go through it all with a straight head 2moz.
obviously anyone with any sense would go for speed first lol. no brainer. as u said i havent read through properly yet. its all new to me so i dont wanna be makin mistakes. i dont want to overclock. just for things to run as they r meant to.
its all here n bookmarked for me to get sorted with a clear head(no weed) in the mornin.
thanks loads for takin the time to help. its much apreciated. cheers:)

It's not a lot of reading or technical jargon, it just helps clarify some things.

Anyway good luck and keep us informed.

will do cheers

mornin folks.
right clear head on 2day. ive read ur links sygnus21. im pretty sure ive got it sussed. just a couple of things im not sure of. so bare with me plz. i got a bit confused as the diiferent clocks r called slightly different things. but ive sussed that i think. right!
1; change mem clock multiplier from 5.33 to 8 somethin(cnt remeber exactly)
2;CAS latency =9
3;RAS to CAS R/W delay =9
4;Row precharge time=9
5;min RAS active time=24
6;Row cycle time = 41 but reading the wiki it says that TRC = TRAS +TRP. if this is right then wouldnt it be 33 not 41?
7;CR=comand timing =2T should this b left to auto or do i change it ?
8; change voltage to 1.650v
next in my MB manual it says support for DDR3 1866(oc)/ 1333/ 1066. but nothing about 1600?
would i not be better off at 1333mhz as i wouldnt need to up the voltage?
finally after reading shed loads ive noticed that after all is done the increase in performance isnt noticable. is there realy any point in me doing this? or will it damage my ram in the long term runnin at present settings
again thanks very much 4 all ur help and sorry for draggin it out so much

You wont feel any performance difference, your first configuration had OCd timings an underclocked frequency, RAM OCing really makes no sense, but it can kill the modules on the long run, so yes it is important to set the factory speeds :)
You dont have to up the voltage. Wether your mobo has a stock 1600mhz profile or not, the voltage will be the same, cause the settings are the same.
if i were you i would stick to that xmp profile shown in cpuz
edit:if you reached the 1600mhz by upping the multiplier of the ram and not the base clock(fsb), then the mobo supports 1600mhz

speedgamer01 said:

You wont feel any performance difference, your first configuration had OCd timings an underclocked frequency, RAM OCing really makes no sense, but it can kill the modules on the long run, so yes it is important to set the factory speeds :)
You dont have to up the voltage. Wether your mobo has a stock 1600mhz profile or not, the voltage will be the same, cause the settings are the same.
if i were you i would stick to that xmp profile shown in cpuz
edit:if you reached the 1600mhz by upping the multiplier of the ram and not the base clock(fsb), then the mobo supports 1600mhz

hi speedgamer
okey dokey so it needs to b done lol. u say that i dont need to up the voltage but the xmp prof shown on cpu-z says it has to b 1.650v. so id prob have probs with it at 1.50 wouldnt i? as i would have changed the settins. or would it b ok(work) if left at auto? its just my luck that i get a bios without the xmp to make life difficult

i reached the 1600 by changing the memory clock multiplier.( in pic above DRAM config)i didnt set anythin just looked. is that the multiplier u mean?
would u check my previous post n comfirm if i have got it all right with which settings im gonna change plz as id be gutted if i killed anythin after spendin all this money

thanks bet u had enough of me by now lol

edit; if im doing it through the clocks. i leave the multiplier alone?????

Sorry, obviously i meant 1.65 volts not 1.5, then ok yes you have to up it to 1.65
"1; change mem clock multiplier from 5.33 to 8 somethin
2;CAS latency =9
3;RAS to CAS R/W delay =9
4;Row precharge time=9
5;min RAS active time=24
6;Row cycle time = 41
7;CR=comand timing =2T
8; change voltage to 1.650v"

ps. i am not sure about that CR command timing, i could not see it on ur bios-shot, It would be better to be verified by another user, again i'm not sure about CR

edit: please name which clock u are changing, anyhow you should do it by changing the multiplyr, if u can

ps#2 u could upgrade ur bios, maybe it would have xmp

hi its 1T/2T comand timing below DDR3 timing items. i just thought it was to do with the comand rate at the bottom of the xmp prof in cpu-z......i take it that i dont need to touch that?

edit; lmao! i dont wanna be flashin the bios. so apart from the CR ive got it right yeah? i should of started to suss pc's a bit earlier in life lol