Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-1066 w/ AM2+

S

slippeh

Geek Trainee
Hi there,

I recently upgraded my computer entirely, the first time in about 5-6 years, and I am unsure about how to get my memory to perform appropriately. My motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3, processor AMD Phenom X2 II 550 Black Edition, memory Mushkin 2x2gb DDR2-1066 (XP2-8500).

I keep reading about 1066 only being supported under single channel mode on AM2+, and I was wondering if I would be better off running this memory single channel 1066 or dual channel 800?

Thanks! :D
 
go for dual channel you will benefit alot better because the cpu can request 2x the amount of bandwidth than single channel.

Single channel configuration @ 1066mhz memory bus frequency the cpu can request 8500mb/s.

Dual channel configuratuon @ 1066mz memory bus frequency the cpu can request 17000mb/s

I don't see the problem with your board running dual channel @ 1066mhz
 
Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, after I posted last night I did some further research and discovered that 'warning' is just precautionary, and a large majority of motherboards do support dual channel 1066 on AM2+.

I have my RAM now running at dual-channel 1066, but I know absolutely nothing about the timing settings, so I didn't change them at all. I just upped the DRAM voltage to 2.0V.

Here's what CPU-Z gives me:

Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual (Ganged)
Memory Frequency 535.8 MHz (3:8)
CAS# 5.0
RAS# to CAS# 7
RAS# Precharge 7
Cycle Time (tRAS) 24
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 31
Command Rate 2T
NB Frequency 2009.1 MHz

Should that be OK to run? I keep reading about 5-5-5-15 but I have no knowledge on the subject.

Thanks:doh:
 
your board supports upto 1200mhz memory bus frequency so 1066mhz isn't a problem. The timings you mentioned 5-5-5-15 is how many clock cycles it takes the ram to respond to the cpu's request. Lower the response time the better. I wouldn't bother messing with it, unless everythin is working fine in the OS.
 
Why not change it bobby, he will get better performance? If you want to change it and need help let me know
 
If everythin is running fine within windows why would you want to change it? @ CL5 1066mhz memory bus frequency any lower your going to be looking at stability issues. So why are you sayin to him you can help him change it when it will just cause stability issues?
 
I'm in the process of OC'ing my CPU, so I figured I'd change the RAM timings at the same time. Did a little bit of research to get an understanding of the timings and what they do, and now I'm working with 5-5-5-18 w/ tRC 24. As far as stability goes once I OC the CPU I'm going to run memtest86/3dMark/prime95 for as long as I can to ensure stability as much as possible.

I am not sure if this is related or not but I have some errors on memtest86+..I added 2 more sticks of Kingston 1066 2GB today though, but I'm going to revert to fail safe then do memtest86 if it still errors I'll take out some sticks and try again.
 
Yeah..can't get the RAM stable at 1066 Mhz.. Windows boots but Prime95 fails, memtest86+ reports errors. Kingston says it needs 2.2v, Mushkin 2.0-2.1v, but the maximum I can give through my BIOS is 2.175v (1.8v + 0.375v) and when I set that voltage the system doesn't even reach POST..I have to reset the CMOS jumper on my mobo and lower the voltage.

Runs fine at 800 Mhz 1.8v.. not sure what's going on. Have it running at 800 Mhz for now, until I can figure this out..
 
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