DFI NF4 BIOS Memory Guide

[johnrr6]

I made this guide for the good folks over on ABXZone------talked to AngryGames who thought it might help folks over here as well....

 

As always----if you want changes/additions----just holler.....

 

John

 

DFI NF4 BIOS Memory Guide

 

The purpose of this thread is to give you some kind of explanation and a good “start point” to the blizzard of available settings (especially memory) available on Oskar Wu’s fabulous NForce 4 motherboards from DFI. Especially to those who are new to the fun and excitement of overclocking. (I just love it when I can get my $200 chip to outperform a $500 chip). Unfortunately the manuals that are available for the board do a very poor job in this area, and we are all very leery of just doing a certain setting without some type of background information behind what the setting is/does. Having said that----some of these setting are VERY obscure and trying to find information on what they actually do is extremely difficult. Also, some of the below “explanations” may be totally unintelligible for the normal user (I know some were for me). Be that as it may, I’m a firm believer that SOME information is better than NO information. You may have to just dive in with some settings and use the time honored tradition of “try it before you buy it.”

 

BIG CAVEAT!!:

 

Please understand that this information and suggested settings may or may not work for you. Every user will usually have a different experience based upon his own equipment. The attempt here is to provide knowledge-----and hopefully get you in the ballpark! Also, my personal results were with Corsair BH-5 memory----there will be differences in how TCCD based memory should be set. There are definitely timing and voltage differences. Please always feel free to send me updated information to add to, or edit this thread!!

 

Very little of this information was created by me. I am simply acting as a “compiler and editor.” I will attempt to give credit to everyone whom I’m “borrowing” material from. If you are a contributor and are displeased by how I have used your materials just PM me and I will make amends.

 

Special Thanks to:

 

Adrian Wong and his RojakPot BIOS Explanation site

Adrian also has a fabulous BIOS book: Breaking Through the Bios Barrier

Lost Circuits

Tom’s Hardware Guide

Mushkin

AnandTech

Jess1313 and Samurai Jack, members of many forums, whose excellent guide I used as a true basis for this guide.

 

As well as the following contributors:

ABXZone: Sierra, Blue078, Eldonko, Xgman, Eva2000, HiJon89 (all members of many forums)

 

DFI-Street: RGone, AngryGames, masterwoot, Aurhinius, Dracula

 

Xtrememsystems: kakaroto

 

Jess1313, Samurai Jack, Travis, bigtoe----who are also all members of many forums

 

Anand Tech: Wes Fink

 

First: A Very Brief Tutorial on RAM

 

Paraphrased from Tom’s Hardware guide:http://www.tomshardware.com/index.html

“To better understand how timing parameters affect memory performance, you should know about everything involved in accessing modern Random Access Memory (RAM). The "RAM Timings" chart below will give you an overview of how it works. The bottom line is a read process is initiated when the controller in the motherboard chipset selects the memory module that contains the data. (A64’s include the memory controller onboard). The controller addresses the right chip on the module and the data it holds. The cells of the chip are arranged in a matrix and are addressed using the row and column addresses. Each intersection represents one memory bit.

 

 

Optimizing the timing parameters will speed up the processes involved in accessing RAM. The memory controller first determines the row address of the storage cell it intends to address. The column address is communicated once the time tRCD has transpired. The time tCL then passes while the data is transferred to the output register. The process can start all over again after waiting tRAS plus tRP.”

 

Here is a fabulous online multimedia explanation of RAM from Corsair: http://www.corsairmemory.com/memory_basics/153707/index.html

 

Here is another good link about memory timings latency from Mushkin:Mushkin Article

 

That is a very brief explanation----below is the guide….

 

But before you get started, here's a blank chart I made up to help your overclocking, or to just get stable settings on the NF4 boards----should apply for all versions. Got the idea from masterwoot. I edited his and made an updated version----thanks masterwoot!! Prints fine off of IE----set your margins to .5 inch both sides in page setup before you print----leave in "Portrait" mode. It may take a few seconds to load...

NF4 Memory & Voltages Bios Settings Chart

 

 

Additional Information on TCCD

 

A great Guide for TCCD memory only:

Kakaroto's TCCD Memory Guide

 

 

BIOS Optomization Guide for DFI NForce4 Motherboards:

 

Dram Frequency Set(Mhz)

 

Settings = 100(Mhz)(1/02), 120(Mhz)(3/05), 133(Mhz)(2/03), 140(Mhz)(7/10), 150(Mhz)(3/04), 166(Mhz)(5/06), 180(Mhz)(9/10), 200(Mhz)(1/01)

 

This is your “Divider” settings-----most people will argue that the best results come from Synchronous setup or 1:1, or in DFIs case, 1/01. All other settings are Asynchronous. You can use the little App called memFreq 1.1 to compute your memory speed using a divider. With a 1/01 ratio (Synchronous)----the formula with any 400 mghtz RAM is simple FSB (HTT) x 2 so if I you are running your FSB (HTT) at 240-----your DDR speed would actually be DDR480. You would possibly use a divider if you have weaker RAM to allow a higher CPU overclock.

 

Here’s another chart to help explain it from Travis at Vr-Zone who I believe had Oskar Wu’s help to develop it:

 

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth----can be for Stability if using cheaper RAM that is maxed out at a 1:1 setting.

 

Suggested Setting for DFI: 200(Mhz)(1/01)

 

 

Command Per Clock(CPC)

 

Settings: Auto, Enable(1T), Disable(2T)

 

Command Per Clock(CPC) is also called Command Rate. It may be best in some instances to Disable (2T) w/ 2x512 RAM modules. It has a large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

“This BIOS feature allows you to select the delay between the assertion of the Chip Select signal till the time the memory controller starts sending commands to the memory bank. The lower the value, the sooner the memory controller can send commands out to the activated memory bank. When this feature is enabled, the memory controller will only insert a command delay of one clock cycle or 1T. When this feature is disabled, the memory controller will insert a command delay of two clock cycles or 2T. The Auto option allows the memory controller to use the memory module's SPD value for command delay. If the SDRAM command delay is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily preventing the memory controller from issuing the commands sooner. However, if the SDRAM command delay is too short, the memory controller may not be able to translate the addresses in time and the "bad commands" that result will cause data loss and corruption. It is recommended that you try enabling SDRAM 1T Command for better memory performance. But if you face stability issues, disable this BIOS feature."

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Setting for DFI: Enable 1T whenever possible

 

 

CAS Latency Control(tCL)

 

Settings = Auto, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5.

 

This is the first timing that most ram companies rate their ram with. For example, you might see RAM rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the 3, in that situation. 2 yields the best performance, CAS 3 usually gives better stability. Please note; if you have Winbond-BH-5/6, you may not be able to use CAS3.

 

From Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/

“CAS is Column Address Strobe or Column Address Select. CAS controls the amount of time (in cycles (2, 2.5,& 3) between receiving a command and acting on that command. Since CAS primarily controls the location of HEX addresses, or memory columns, within the memory matrix, this is the most important timing to set as low as your system will stably accept it. There are both rows and columns inside a memory matrix. When the request is first electronically set on the memory pins, the first triggered response is tRAS (Active to Precharge Delay). Data requested electronically is precharge, and the memory actually going to initiate RAS is activation. Once tRAS is active, RAS, or Row Address Strobe begins to find one half of the address for the required data. Once the row is located, tRCD is initiated, cycles out, and then the exact HEX location of the data required is accessed via CAS. The time between CAS start and CAS end is the CAS latency. Since CAS is the last stage in actually finding the proper data, it's the most important step of memory timing.”

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

“This BIOS feature controls the delay (in clock cycles) between the assertion of the CAS signal and the availability of the data from the target memory cell. It also determines the number of clock cycles required for the completion of the first part of a burst transfer. In other words, the lower the CAS latency, the faster memory reads or writes can occur. Please note that some memory modules may not be able to handle the lower latency and may lose data. Therefore, while it is recommended that you reduce the SDRAM CAS Latency Time to 2 or 2.5 clock cycles for better memory performance, you should increase it if your system becomes unstable. Interestingly, increasing the CAS latency time will often allow the memory module to run at a higher clock speed. So, if you hit a snag while overclocking your SDRAM modules, try increasing the CAS latency time.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth / Large Influence on Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

RAS# to CAS# Delay(tRCD)

 

Settings = Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

 

This is the second timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8@275mhz. This is the first 4, in that situation.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature allows you to set the delay between the RAS and CAS signals. The appropriate delay for your memory module is reflected in its rated timings. In JEDEC specifications, it is the second number in the three or four number sequence. Because this delay occurs whenever the row is refreshed or a new row is activated, reducing the delay improves performance. Therefore, it is recommended that you reduce the delay to 3 or 2 for better memory performance. Please note that if you use a value that is too low for your memory module, this can cause the system to be unstable. If your system becomes unstable after you reduce the RAS-to-CAS delay, you should increase the delay or reset it to the rated delay. Interestingly, increasing the RAS-to-CAS delay may allow the memory module to run at a higher clock speed. So, if you hit a snag while overclocking your SDRAM modules, you can try increasing the RAS-to-CAS delay.”

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/ Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2-5 ----2 yields the best performance, and 4-5 yields the best over clock (5 is usually overkill). Usually cheaper RAM will not be able to use 2, and reach their max OC. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Min RAS# Active Timing(tRAS)

 

Settings = Auto, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

 

This is the fourth timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the 8, in that situation.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature controls the memory bank's minimum row active time (tRAS). This constitutes the time when a row is activated until the time the same row can be deactivated. If the tRAS period is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily delaying the deactivation of active rows. Reducing the tRAS period allows the active row to be deactivated earlier. However, if the tRAS period is too short, there may not be enough time to complete a burst transfer. This reduces performance and data may be lost or corrupted. For optimal performance, use the lowest value you can. Usually, this should be CAS latency + tRCD + 2 clock cycles. For example, if you set the CAS latency to 2 clock cycles and the tRCD to 3 clock cycles, the optimum tRAS value would be 7 clock cycles. But if you start getting memory errors or system crashes, increase the tRAS value one clock cycle at a time until your system becomes stable.”

 

It appears throughout the web that this is a much debated timing. Some may argue that 00, 05, or 10 is the faster/most stable. There probably isn’t a right answer for this one, it all depends on your ram. If you need a good starting point, usually most/all ram can achieve their max OC on 10 tRAS, even if one of the other settings is faster.

 

Dracula has a nice little table here:

 

VALUE MEMORY: CAS + tRCD + (3 or 4) = tRAS

 

STANDARD MEMORY: CAS + tRCD + 2 = tRAS

 

EXTREME MEMORY: CAS + tRCD + 1.5 = tRAS

 

FLAG-SHIP MEMORY: CAS + tRCD + (05. or 1) = tRAS

 

tRC = tRP + tRAS

 

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Suggest you use only 00, and 5-10. I’d start with 8 and play around from there. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Row Precharge Timing(tRP)

 

Settings = Auto, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

 

This is the third timing that most ram companies rate there ram with. For example, you might see ram rated at 3-4-4-8 @275mhz. this is the second 4, in that situation.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature specifies the minimum amount of time between successive ACTIVATE commands to the same DDR device. The shorter the delay, the faster the next bank can be activated for read or write operations. However, because row activation requires a lot of current, using a short delay may cause excessive current surges. For desktop PCs, a delay of 2 cycles is recommended as current surges aren't really important. The performance benefit of using the shorter 2 cycles delay is of far greater interest. The shorter delay means every back-to-back bank activation will take one clock cycle less to perform. This improves the DDR device's read and write performance. Switch to 3 cycles only when there are stability problems with the 2 cycles setting.”

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2-4 ----2 yields the best performance, and 4-5 yields the best stability when overclocking (5 is usually overkill). A lot of RAM will not be able to use 2, and reach their max OC. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Row Cycle Time(tRC)

 

Settings = Auto, 7-22 in 1.0 increments.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature controls the memory module's Row Cycle Time or tRC. The row cycle time determines the minimum number of clock cycles a memory row takes to complete a full cycle, from row activation up to the precharging of the active row. Formula-wise, the row cycle time (tRC) = minimum row active time (tRAS) + row precharge time (tRP). Therefore, it is important to find out what the tRAS and tRP parameters are before setting the row cycle time. If the row cycle time is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily delaying the activation of a new row after a completed cycle. Reducing the row cycle time allows a new cycle to begin earlier. However, if the row cycle time is too short, a new cycle may be initiated before the active row is sufficiently precharged. When this happens, there may be data loss or corruption. For optimal performance, use the lowest value you can, according to the tRC = tRAS + tRP formula. For example, if your memory module's tRAS is 7 clock cycles and its tRP is 4 clock cycles, then the row cycle time or tRC should be 11 clock cycles. However, if the row cycle time is too short, a new cycle may be initiated before the active row is sufficiently precharged. When this happens, there may be data loss or corruption.”

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 7 yields the best performance, 15-17 yields the best stability/over clock. 22 is way overkill. Start at 16, and work your way down from there. 7 is usually much too tight for most average ram. Remember the tRC = tRAS + tRP formula. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Row Refresh Cycle Time(tRFC)

 

Settings = Auto, 9-24 in 1.0 increments.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This bios setting represents time to refresh a single row on the same bank of memory. This value is also the time interval between a refresh (REF command) to another REF command to different rows of the same bank. The tRFC value is higher than tRC as column access gates are not turned on during it’s issue.”

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 9 is usually unreachable and 10 yields the best performance. 17-19 yields the best stability/over clock with 19 probably overkill. Start at 17 and work your way down. Most stable timing is usually set to 2-4 clocks higher than tRC. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Row to Row Delay(also called RAS to RAS delay)(tRRD)

 

Settings = Auto, 0-7 in 1.0 increments.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

“This BIOS feature specifies the minimum amount of time between successive ACTIVATE commands to the same DDR device. The shorter the delay, the faster the next bank can be activated for read or write operations. However, because row activation requires a lot of current, using a short delay may cause excessive current surges. For desktop PCs, a delay of 2 cycles is recommended as current surges aren't really important. The performance benefit of using the shorter 2 cycles delay is of far greater interest. The shorter delay means every back-to-back bank activation will take one clock cycle less to perform. This improves the DDR device's read and write performance. Switch to 3 cycles or higher only when there are stability problems with the 2 cycles setting.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 00 yields the best performance and 4 yields the best stability/over clock (anything above 4 is probably overkill). 2 is probably your best bet. 00 sounds odd, but it has worked well for others, even at 260 MHz. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Write Recovery Time(tWR)

 

Settings = Auto, 2, 3.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

“This BIOS feature controls the Write Recovery Time (tWR) of the memory modules. It specifies the amount of delay (in clock cycles) that must elapse after the completion of a valid write operation, before an active bank can be precharged. This delay is required to guarantee that data in the write buffers can be written to the memory cells before precharge occurs. The shorter the delay, the earlier the bank can be precharged for another read/write operation. This improves performance but runs the risk of corrupting data written to the memory cells. It is recommended that you select 2 Cycles if you are using DDR200 or DDR266 memory modules and 3 Cycles if you are using DDR333 or DDR 400 memory modules. You can try using a shorter delay for better memory performance but if you face stability issues, revert to the specified delay to correct the problem.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 2 yields better performance, and 3 yields better stability/over clock. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Write to Read Delay(tWTR)

 

Settings: Auto, 1, 2

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature controls the Write Data In to Read Command Delay (tWTR) memory timing. This constitutes the minimum number of clock cycles that must occur between the last valid write operation and the next read command to the same internal bank of the DDR device. The 1 Cycle option naturally offers faster switching from writes to reads and consequently better read performance. The 2 Cycles option reduces read performance but it will improve stability, especially at higher clock speeds. It may also allow the memory chips to run at a higher speed. In other words, increasing this delay may allow you to overclock the memory module higher than is normally possible. It is recommended that you select the 1 Cycle option for better memory read performance if you are using DDR266 or DDR333 memory modules. You can also try using the 1 Cycle option with DDR400 memory modules. But if you face stability issues, revert to the default setting of 2 Cycles.”

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This Bios setting specifies the write to read delay. Samsung calls this TCDLR (last data in to read command). It is measured from the rising edge and following the last non-mask data strobe to the rising edge of the next read command. JDEC usually specifies this as one clock.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1 yields better performance, and 2 yields better stability/over clock. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Read to Write Delay(tRTW)

 

Settings = Auto, 1-8 in 1.0 increments.

 

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”When the memory controller receives a write command immediately after a read command, an additional period of delay is normally introduced before the write command is actually initiated. As its name suggests, this BIOS feature allows you to skip (or raise) that delay. This improves the write performance of the memory subsystem. Therefore, it is recommended that you enable this feature for faster read-to-write turn-arounds. However, not all memory modules can work with the tighter read-to-write turn-around. If your memory modules cannot handle the faster turn-around, the data that was written to the memory module may be lost or become corrupted. So, when you face stability issues, disable (or raise the value) of this feature to correct the problem.”

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This field specifies the read to write delay. This is not a DRAM specified timing parameter, but must be considered due to the routing latencies on the clock forwarded bus. It is counted from the first address bus slot which was not associated with part of the read burst.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 1 yields better performance, and 4 yields better stability/over clock (4 is overkill). Recommend try 1 and move to 2 if unstable. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Refresh Period(tREF)

 

Settings = Auto, 0032-4708 in variable increments.

 

1552= 100mhz(?.?us)

2064= 133mhz(?.?us)

2592= 166mhz(?.?us)

3120= 200mhz(?.?us)(seems to be a/ Bh-5,6 sweet spot at 250+mhz)

---------------------

3632= 100mhz(?.?us)

4128= 133mhz(?.?us)

4672= 166mhz(?.?us)

0064= 200mhz(?.?us)

---------------------

0776= 100mhz(?.?us)

1032= 133mhz(?.?us)

1296= 166mhz(?.?us)

1560= 200mhz(?.?us)

---------------------

1816= 100mhz(?.?us)

2064= 133mhz(?.?us)

2336= 166mhz(?.?us)

0032= 200mhz(?.?us)

---------------------

0388= 100mhz(15.6us)

0516= 133mhz(15.6us)

0648= 166mhz(15.6us)

0780= 200mhz(15.6us)

---------------------

0908= 100mhz(7.8us)

1032= 133mhz(7.8us)

1168= 166mhz(7.8us)

0016= 200mhz(7.8us)

---------------------

1536= 100mhz(3.9us)

2048= 133mhz(3.9us)

2560= 166mhz(3.9us)

3072= 200mhz(3.9us)

---------------------

3684= 100mhz(1.95us)

4196= 133mhz(1.95us)

4708= 166mhz(1.95us)

0128= 200mhz(1.95us)

 

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature allows you to set the refresh interval of the memory chips. There are (several) different settings as well as an Auto option. If the Auto option is selected, the BIOS will query the memory modules' SPD chips and use the lowest setting found for maximum compatibility. For better performance, you should consider increasing the Refresh Interval from the default values (15.6 µsec for 128Mbit or smaller memory chips and 7.8 µsec for 256Mbit or larger memory chips) up to 128 µsec. Please note that if you increase the Refresh Interval too much, the memory cells may lose their contents. Therefore, you should start with small increases in the Refresh Interval and test your system after each hike before increasing it further. If you face stability problems upon increasing the refresh interval, reduce the refresh interval step by step until the system is stable.

 

From Sierra at ABXzone: The information below is taken from an old RAM guide. In a nutshell a memory module is made up of electrical cells. The refresh process recharges these cells, which are arranged on the chips in rows. The refresh cycle refers to the number of rows that must be refreshed.

 

"Periodically the charge stored in each bit must be refreshed or the charge will decay and the value of the bit of data will be lost. DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is really just a bunch of capacitors that can store energy in an array of bits. The array of bits can be accessed randomly. However, the capacitors can only store this energy for a short time before it discharges it. Therefore DRAM must be refreshed (re-energizing of the capacitors) every 15.6µs (a microsecond equals 10-6 seconds) per row. Each time the capacitors are refreshed the memory is re-written. For this reason DRAM is also called volatile memory. Using the RAS-ONLY refresh (ROR) method, the refresh is done is a systematic manner, each column is refreshed row by row in sequence. In a typical EDO module each row takes 15.6µs to refresh. Therefore in a 2K module the refresh time per column would be 15.6µs x 2048 rows = 32ms (1 millisecond equals 10-6 seconds). This value is called the tREF. It refers to the refresh interval of the entire array."

 

Here is an interesting discussion of tREF on the DFI forum: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10411

 

Here is a wonderful table from Dracula on tREF:tREF Table

 

Slight Influence on Stability/Bandwidth.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: It appears that tREF, like the tRAS, is not an exact science. It also seems that the 15.6us, and 3.9us settings work well, and that the 1.95us settings give lower bandwidth. The unknown (?.?us) are shots in the dark. A lot of users are finding setting 3120= 200mhz(?.?us) gives the best balance of performance, and stability, but this will probably vary greatly from one type of RAM to another.

 

 

Write CAS# Latency(tWCL)

 

Settings = Auto, 1-8

 

Paraphrased from Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/

”Variable Write CAS Latency (tWCL): Conventional SDRAM including DDR I uses random accesses as the name implies. This means that the controller is free to write to any location within the physical memory space, which, in most cases, means that it will write to whichever page is open and to the column address closest to the (CAS) strobe. The result is a write latency of 1T, as opposed to read or CAS-Latency values of 2, 2.5 or 3. (This setting should almost) always be set to 1 unless using DDRII.”

 

Large Influence on Stability/ Unknown Influence on bandwidth.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Most people can only post using Auto or 1. RGone over at DFI-Street says that #5 in this setting works on his board with “any” brand or size and speed of memory! Recommend try 1.

 

 

DRAM Bank Interleave

 

Settings = Enable, Disable

 

Paraphrased from Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

”This BIOS feature enables you to set the interleave mode of the SDRAM interface. Interleaving allows banks of SDRAM to alternate their refresh and access cycles. One bank will undergo its refresh cycle while another is being accessed. This improves memory performance by masking the refresh cycles of each memory bank. A close examination will reveal that since the refresh cycles of all the memory banks are staggered, this produces a kind of pipelining effect. However, bank interleaving only works if the addresses requested consecutively are not in the same bank. If they are in the same memory bank, then the data transactions behave as if the banks were not interleaved. The processor will have to wait until the first data transaction clears and that memory bank refreshes before it can send another address to that bank. All current SDRAM modules support bank interleaving. It is recommended to enable this feature whenever possible.”

 

Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Set to Enable whenever possible----it is a fairly influential setting for improving bandwidth. Disable for stability and a corresponding loss in bandwidth. (Enable = Faster)

 

 

DQS Skew Control

 

Settings = Auto, Increase Skew, Decrease Skew

 

From Lost Circuits: http://www.lostcircuits.com/

"It is true that lower voltage swings enable higher frequencies but after a certain point, the ramping of the voltages will show a significant skew. The skew can be reduced by increased drive strength, however, with the drawback of a voltage overshoot / undershoot at the rising and falling edges, respectively. One additional problem with high frequency signaling is the phenomenon of trace delays. The solution in DDR was to add clock forwarding in form of a simple data strobe. DDR II takes things further by introducing a bidirectional, differential I/O buffer strobe consisting of DQS and /DQS as pull-up and pull-down signals. Differential means that the two signals are measured against each other instead of using a simple strobe signal and a reference point. In theory the pull-up and pull-down signals should be mirror-symmetric to each other but reality shows otherwise. That means that there will be skew-induced delays to reaching the output high and low voltages (VOH and VOL) and the cross points between DQS and /DQS used for clock forwarding will not necessarily coincide with the DQ crossing the reference voltage (Vref) or even be consistent from one clock to the next. The mismatch between clock and data reference points is referred to as the DQ-DQS skew."

 

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Increase for performance, and Decrease for Stability. Recommend try Increase. (Increase = Faster, Decrease = Slower)

 

 

DQS Skew Value

 

Settings = Auto, 0-255 in 1.0 increments.

 

This is the value that is Increased or Decreased when you set the DQS skew control. It does not appear to be a very sensitive timing.

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: This does not appear to be a very sensitive timing. Try 50-255 with “Increase Skew” set in the above timing. (Higher = Faster)

 

 

DRAM Drive Strength

 

Settings = Auto, 1-8 in 1.0 increments.

 

Paraphrased From Adrian Wong’s site:http://www.rojakpot.com/ “Sometimes called driving strength. This feature allows you to control the memory data bus' signal strength. Increasing the drive strength of the memory bus can increase stability during overclocking. DRAM drive strength refers to the signal strength of the memory data line. A higher number means a stronger signal and is generally recommended for an overclocked module to improve stability. Supposedly TCCD works better with weak drive strength while just about everything else prefers a stronger signal.”

 

From bigtoe: “If you leave the option at Auto this will set a weak drive strength, this is good for TCCD based modules but bad for anything else. From testing and debugging the board I have concluded the following. Options 1 3 5 7 are all weak, as is Auto, setting. 1 is actually the weakest option with 7 being as close to the normal weak setting DFI will allow us. Options 2 4 6 8 are the Normal settings, with 8 being the highest strength setting. If you are using TCCD you may want to try 3 5 or 7 as the drive settings as they usually seem to allow the modules to clock well. If you are using VX, or the new BH Gold, or any other modules from the OCZ range you may want to try 8 or 6.”

 

Large Influence on Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: From bigtoe: “If you are using TCCD you may want to try 3 5 or 7 as the drive settings as they usually seem to allow the modules to clock well. If you are using VX, or the new BH Gold, or any other modules from the OCZ range you may want to try 8 or 6.”

 

 

DRAM Data Drive Strength

 

Settings = Levels 1-4 in 1.0 increments.

 

From Adrian Wong’s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/

"The MD Driving Strength determines the signal strength of the memory data line. The higher the value, the stronger the signal. It is mainly used to boost the DRAM driving capability with heavier DRAM loads (multiple and/or double-sided DIMMs). So, if you are using a heavy DRAM load, you should set this function to Hi or High. Due to the nature of this BIOS option, it's possible to use it as an aid in overclocking the memory bus. Your SDRAM DIMM may not overclock as well as you wanted it to. But by raising the signal strength of the memory data line, it is possible to improve its stability at overclocked speeds. But this is not a surefire way of overclocking the memory bus. In addition, increasing the memory bus signal strength will not improve the performance of the SDRAM DIMMs. So, it's advisable to leave the MD Driving Strength at Lo/Low unless you have a high DRAM load or if you are trying to stabilize an overclocked DIMM."

 

Large Influence on Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Many have suggested using Level 1 or 3, if you have CPC enabled. With CPC, anything above level 1 gives some users extreme instability. Some users like level 3 with CPC enabled. Some others have had success with using level 2-4 if CPC is disabled. I had good luck with CPC enabled and Level 4. (Higher = Faster)

 

 

Max Async Latency

 

Settings = Auto, 0-15 in 1.0 increments.

 

I could not find anything on this particular setting and am not sure what portion of RAM functions it affects. If you have information on this setting, please post and I will update this section. From HiJon89: “The Max Async Latency setting will show its biggest difference in the Everest Latency Test. Going from 8ns to 7ns on my BH-6 made a 1ns difference in Everest Latency. Going from 7ns to 6ns dropped it another 2ns.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 7ns is the default----Suggest you start at 7ns and work from there trying 5.0-10.0. From HiJon89: “6ns is very tight, I would recommend running 6ns for UTT or BH-5 but not TCCD. 7ns is looser, good for getting higher clocks on UTT or BH-5. 8ns is pretty loose for UTT or BH-5, but its just right for hitting DDR600 with TCCD. 9ns is very loose even for TCCD and should really only be used to try to hit DDR640+.” (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Read Preamble Time

 

Settings = Auto, 2.0-9.5 nanoseconds, in 0.5 increments.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the time prior to the max-read DQS return. It shows when the DQS should be turned on.” From an old Samsung memory guide: “Preamble of DQS on reads: DDR SGRAM uses a data strobe signal(s),DQS, to increase performance. The DQS signal is bidirectional which toggles when there is any data transfer from DDR SGRAM to graphic controller or from graphic controller to DDR SGRAM. Prior to a burst of read data, DQS signal transitions from Hi-Z to a valid logic low. This is referred to as the data strobe preamble. This transition from Hi-Z to logic low nominally happens one clock cycle prior to the first edge of valid data.”

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 5.0 ns is the default when set to Auto----suggest starting at 5.0 and then working within this range (4.0-7.0) depending on ram. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Idle Cycle Limit

 

Settings = Auto, 0-256 in varied increments.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of memclocks before forcibly closing (pre-charging) an open page.” It appears that this setting is the maximum number of tries allowed for a page of memory to be read before arbitration kicks in and forces pre-charge once again for that page.

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence on Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: The Auto setting defaults to 256 clocks which seems to be overkill. If your RAM is lower grade----then I would stay with Auto. If your RAM is a step up, I would try 16-32 clocks. I had good luck with 16 clocks on BH-5. (Lower = Faster)

 

 

Dynamic Counter

 

Settings = Auto, Enable, Disable.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies dynamic idle cycle counter to enable or disable. If enabled, it forces each entry in the page table to dynamically adjust the idle cycle limit based on page conflict/page miss (PC/PM) traffic.” It appears that this setting is directly related to Idle Cycle Limit and if enabled, would override the existing clock settings for Idle Cycle Limit and force that setting to dynamically adjust based upon conflicts occurring.

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability for some----- Large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability for others.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Auto usually disables this setting. Enable for performance increase. Disable for stability increase. This setting can have a fairly large difference----I noticed immediate crashes when set to Enable until I had adjusted other settings. I also noticed an improvement in bandwidth once I found other settings which allowed me to enable this one. Aurhinius has reported that disabling IMPROVED his memory bandwidth by 50 points using TCCD. This is just one of thoses settings that definitely depends on the BIOS version and type of memory being used. (Enable = Faster = Maybe)

 

 

R/W Queue Bypass

 

Settings = Auto, 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of times the oldest operation in the DCI (Device Control Interface) read/write queue can be bypassed before the arbiter is overwritten and the oldest operation is chosen.” Similar to Idle Cycle Limit except that this arbiter affects the Read/Write que of the memory page.

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence on Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: 16x is the default and I would stay with that unless you are having stability problems. If unstable, suggest using 8x or even 2x or 4x for max OC. (Larger = Faster----Smaller = More Stable)

 

 

Bypass Max

 

Settings = Auto, 0x-7x in 1.0 increments.

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies the number of times the oldest entry in DCQ (Dependence Chain Que?) can be bypassed in arbitration before the arbiter choice is vetoed.” I looked all over for this one and I believe it has to do with the memory’s link to the CPU memory controller. If you find other information please feel free to post it and I will update this.

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: The default is 7X. Suggest 4x-7x for max performance/stability. From HiJon89: “Bypass Max should be either 7x or 4x, not a big difference, but 7x seems to be slightly more stable with no performance hit.” (Smaller = Faster)

 

 

32 Byte Granulation

 

Settings = Auto, Disable (8burst), Enable (4burst).

 

From the DFI BIOS: “This BIOS setting specifies if the burst counter should be chosen to optimize data bus bandwidth for 32 byte accesses.” Disabling allows for the best performance (largest size of burst).

 

Slight Influence on Bandwidth/Larger Influence onStability.

 

Suggested Settings for DFI: Auto selects Disable (8burst) as the default in most cases. Try Disable (8burst) for more bandwidth. Try enabling 4 burst for more stability. (Disable = Faster)

[Vista]

Many thanks John, this is the best compilation I've seen yet! That timing diagram made a lot of things click into place for me.

[btm]

Fantastic, thanks!

[ntufano]

Following this guide has enabled me to solve the BIOS Checksum Error that I was getting. It should help many who think that their memory sticks are duff. I also refered to the memory manufacturers recommended timings to get things right for my memory sticks.

 

many thanks for this great guide.

[Frallan]

Ill be the son of a :dog:...

 

That is simply put awsome!

[WizZard]

Fantastic, thanks!!

[FutureDFI]

Congratulations!!!

 

 

It reminds me the old time back at late 80's when we design (and build) small microcomputers for specific jobs in college with Z-80 and 6502 (which remember Spectrum???)

 

 

Excellent again.

[timko]

Thanks for putting this all into one post. It'll make it easier for me when I need to point other users to it (rather than saying "scroll all the way down to post #9" when it was in the non-critical sticky

[Tedy]

excellent !!!!!!! THANK YOU

[zeus_999]

That is a great guide. Well done

[Robsmeister]

wasn't such an similar guide with settings for TCCD still existing?

I search this TCCD thread now a long time, but i can't find it again!?

[h_Us3r]

I definitely wanna give u a strong shoutout!

Your iniative is greatly appreciated and a magnanomous gesture @that.

Thanks alot John.

 

keep risin,

h