Newbie! memory question?

[Reds]

If im able to get my ram(pc3200) up 225x2mhz, I would only be able to get my fsb up to a max of 250fsb , is that about right ?:O If I want to go any higher then 250fsb I take it I need better ram? :confused:

[Nick2k3]

I'm not sure I understand your question but I'll try to help anyways :drinky:.

I guess it depends if you want to run your memory synchronous to the FSB at a 1:1 ratio. If you mean your PC3200 memory can do 450mhz in dual data rate then that's a pretty nifty overclock from the standard 400mhz.

Anyway, if you wanted to run your memory synchronous to the FSB (1:1 ratio) you would need to run your FSB at a speed of 225mhz.

If you wanted to run at 1:1 ratio with the Ram you have, that means you would be pushing the ram to 500Mhz DDR, which AFAIK no ram without super good cooling at the moment can do these types of speeds, although you can get very close to it with PC3700 Ram that can do 466mhz, which OC'd could probably hit about 480mhz or so if your lucky.

This is all with 1:1 ratio. You can run the memory in other ratios providing your motherboard supports it. The second most commonly used ratio IMO is the 5:4 ratio. So, if your FSB is at 250 like you want to run, your memory wont hack it at a 1:1 ratio so if you drop the ratio to 5:4, this means the memory runs at 1/5 less than your FSB, so 250 / 5 = 50, meaning your memory runs at 200mhz x 2 = 400mhz which is the perfect spec for your memory (PC3200). You can also work out the 5:4 ratio by multiplying the FSB by 1.6. So, 250 x 1.6 = 400mhz ram speed.

Generally, running the memory at a 1:1 ratio gives better performance BUT, you would get much better benefits running your machine at 250FSB and a memory ratio of 5:4 than you would running your FSB at 225 and a memory ratio of 1:1.

Sorry for babbling, I hope that helps you a bit.

:)

[Reds]

Thanks Nick:D , Im starting to understand this overclocking stuff finally. :cool3:

[Player0]

Well said Nick, can't think of anything to add to that.

Memory really is the big limitation right now. Quality stuff should go pretty high. 225mhz isnt too bad. You can always relax the timings.

FSB may not be that important, especially if your FSB and PCI are locked in to 66/33 or whatever. You will have to try to make sure, but im fairly sure 225fsb 1:1 would work better than 250FSB in 5:4 ram timings.

[Reds]

Hey Mdzcpa, I was wondering what kinda ram your using in your gaming rig and at what settings?:)

[dicki]

mdzcpa tends to use corsair platinum pc3500 i think and he normally runs it pretty hard... do a search on the forums he goes into a lot of detail about bios settings

dicki