Probem with DDR memeory timing after upgrading to 2800barton

Hi there ive been around here for a while reading posts now i got some weird problem wanted to discuss it here:

I was running an athon xp2000 CPU along with two 256 Mb DDR 333 Kingston memory modules(KVR33X64C25/256) on my asus A7N8X deluxe Mb
(BIOS Version 1001G)

that way i could tune my ram timings to 5,2,2,2,2.

man it helped alot getting faster 3D performance.

then i upgraded the CPU to 2800+ Barton tried the ddr timing :failed i got errors even b4 loading windows up so i had to change the options back to default 7,3,3,3,2.5 to normally load up the windows.and everything was working normally but iwanned that ram speed boosting back so i upgraded to the latest bios version that is 1007.

(i was quiet surprised when i noticed the new bios supports 200 FSB or xp3200 on my a7n8x deluxe .thanx god!)

ok didnt work out couldnt load windows with 5,2,2,2,2 even with the new bios

tried installing a whole new fresh windows.failed to even running the win setup with those fast timings i got an error now in win setup.

so i gave up and installed the new win with def. ddr timings

with the new win installed it didnt help also.i got the error again.

some times : eror while loading CONFIGMG pls restart your computer

and some times :error in some *.VxD file

i have to mention that once i had failed upgrading my bios at home and my computer got locked ,didnt do anything when it was powered on so i had to get my local warranty provider fix this problem and they upgraded it to 1007. i asked them if they had actually replaced the CMOS chip with a new one or was my CMOS fried or something?
they said they didnt replace the part cuz it was just jammed and they reprogrammed it with their programmer.

actually i think that my CMOS chip is somehow half way fried or lets say weakened bcuz of that failed bios upgrade attemp i had b4 and thats why it cant register new ddr timing values properly.

you know i dont think its my ram thats to blame cuz it was able to be put to 5,2,2,2,2 b4 on my xp200 AND when the local warranty provider test ran the motherboard with my own cpu and ram modules and their hard drive altough they got the same error once but i saw it with my own eyes that the system got booted to windows normally with 5,2,2,2,2 setting !

ps:again it was their hard drive being used not mine to test the new bios and they had installed a new windows connecting their hard drive to my Mb they didnt use an existing windows on their hard drive to do the test with cuz it kept producing the same error.

but when i brought the system home as i mentioned b4 i was forced to get all the ddr timings options to its def. otherwise i couldnt boot up to my existing win or run win setup on a fresh formatted hard drive

sorry it got alittle too long but i wanned to mention every detail cuz the problem was complex and you have to know every detail if you'd like to come up with some answer :)

thanx for your time readin this looong post and i appreciate your thoughts on this

[eviltechie]

what is the frequency you are running your ram at?
also what is the full name of the ram?
is it EL/LL series or what?
what are the recommended timings from kingston on that ram?

The full name of the ram module is:(KVR33X64C25/256)

i dont think its EL/LL series.although i dont know what is EL/LL m,at least those are not written anywhere on the box or the module.

i think the recommended setting kingston suggest is (By SPD)
cuz once ive e-mailed them back in my xp2000 days and they replied to me as the best way is by SPD

(did u know they also linked me to some ddr timing article on this site techware labs?that was the way i found techware labs for the first time)

ok about the frequency ram is working at,its 166 that is the by SPD value i get for my ram working frequency.
i think its normal as long as im not overclocking my cpu and its a barton core hence using 333 FSB.

i came up with some new ideas following one of the links in the athlon cpu sticky post in this forum referring to cyberCPU site.

you get the impression that the default timing 7,3,3,3,2.5 is all you can get on a FSB 333 cpu with a CL 2.5 DDR333 ram module like mine.

the problem is here-------- CL2.5-----------
it should be CL2 if i wanned to reach 5,2,2,2,2 on a barton core CPU

quote from cyberCPU:
"After you manage to set your computer at some high speed it is time to tweak the memory timings until you have the best ones. This is done only by intensive testing with programs like SiSoft Sandra or different games that need a lot of bandwidth (Quake3 is a good example). I found out that for my CL2.5 Modules the best values are 8-3-3-2.5. The first value [8] is the SDRAM Active Precharge Delay, the second [3] is the SDRAM RAS to CAS Delay and the third [3] is the SDRAM RAS Precharge Delay. The last value [2.5] is the CAS Latency of your Memory Modules. Superior Memory Modules offer the posibility of setting these timings at low values with high FSB Settings. So you should really get some CL2.0 Memory Modules if you want high bandwidth results. At 333 or PC2700 the maximum theoretical bandwidth is 2700MB/s as the name states. With my CL2.5 Memory at 8-3-3-2.5 I've been able to reach ~ 2600MB/s. And I guess that with some 6-2-2-2 timings I would get to those 2700 MBs. For the nForce2 motherboards the lowest timings aren't really the best. I've found out that except for CL2 and CL3 where 5-3-3-2 were the best, at CL2.5 setting my memory at 8-3-3-2.5 gives me more bandwidth then 6-3-3-2.5 which is supposed to be one of the best combinations."

link to the full page:

http://www.cybercpu.net/howto/basic/oc/index.asp


whatdu think?

ok i managed to reach 5,3,2,2 with the ram modules i mentioned above . also im running my xp2800+ at 364 FSB Rock solid stable,thats cool.

I took a roll of UT2003 and i was completely soaked in the game.

The fast gameplay was Awsome!

[Jason425]

those timings aren't too bad

thnx just needed some bios tweaking to reach it.

in fact my kingston DDR 333 module is working faster than its expected to.

i guess my next upgrade would be some PC3700 ram module with good factory set timings and mounted on heat disssipiating units

a fast and reliable ram module is a must for a good overclocking

thanx ABIT and extremeoverclockers i got the infos i needed from their forums.

oh and maybe ill switch to ABIT mobo's some day :) good for overclocking AMD's

[Jason425]

good for overclocking period, though i've never owned an abit