Thinking Of Overclocking? Read this First - Quad Core Vs Dual Core

[flyguy737]

Ok so I have learned quite a lot over the last few days reading this trying that, looking at comparison charts, getting advice here and so on. What is the outcome I hear you ask well I will tell you all in the event you want to try yourself I may just have saved you some trouble.

Firstly since I got the Q9400 CPU and the V8 Cooler I first found this was a big improvment over the E8500 but not yet fully convinced I re installed the E8500 added two case fans blowing cooler air onto the V8 and set about driving it to it's absolute maximum.

Tools used were realtemp, CPU-Z, GPU-Z, Ernest, Prime64 and 3Dmark. MB = EP43-DS3 6Gig RAM PC2-6400 Kingston HyperX

Now the absolute max I was able to drive the E8500 was 3.80GHz on this setup testing field YBBN sliders adjusted for best performance and left at these settings for both CPU's.

3Dmark = 48572 on the E8500 at 3.8Ghz. This is a 20% Overclock. Temps never exceeded 45C FPS on ground YBBN Default B737800 Virtual Cockpit 9 to 16. Texture load times on players aircraft loaded fairly quick but looking at scenery was still slow loading and in the air ground textures looked blurry and pretty horrible.

Now the Q9400 CPU

3Dmark = 43782 temps around 57C at 2.80Ghz FPS YBBN were exactly the same absolutely no noticeable difference at all. However the texture blurries were almost completely gone. Texture loading times were improved. The sim ran smoother and had little to no shimmer.

Now while it may be possible on both CPU's to overclock further, you need to consider 3 things, MotherBoard, RAM and Voltage. If I had a better Motherboard and faster Ram my Overclock could possibly be higher but it depends on the CPU as well. Not all CPU's and Ram are the same even if the are the same type. For Example a friend might have a Q9400 Overclocked at 4GHz but you might only get yours to 3.20GHz. even if you bought them from the same place at the same time doesn't mean you get the same ratios.

My final word is Quad Core is Better then Dual Core for Performance but if you want better FPS then up your video Card. While FSX is heavy on CPU the Video card is the Blood and the CPU the Brain but Ram must also be considered the faster the ram and the lower the latency the better it is.

REMEMBER: Just increasing the FSB will Overclock your system but will also overclock your Ram so it is vital you understand that. Don't push your RAM where it wont go.

Download Prime 64Bit or 32Bit and stress test your CPU over 12 hours. It might take awhile but sometimes Overclocking to get a faster speed will not improve FSX in performance only all parts in harmony will.

And consider ensuring your RAM is running 1:1 that's the best setup for your system.

I hope this helps as a guide to those who are confused by it all as I was but am not now

Colin

[TenBlade]

Good tips, Colin! I agree, a quad IS better than a dual core in my experience, very smooth performance, and significant increase in FPS, even though I run at lower freq. on my quad than I did on my E8600.

But regarding FPS, I don´t think GPU is solely responsible for better FPS, it has to be "balanced" with the processor. GPU can´t process data faster than they are being fed to it by the CPU, so a new magic GPU would be wasted on a slow processor. So, I´d recommend Up the GPU and CPU for better FPS.

My two cents

Bjorn

[Conchulio]

And consider ensuring your RAM is running 1:1 that's the best setup for your system.

Colin

Why is running 1:1 the best setup? I've got 1066MHz RAM, if i run it at 1:1 it will be much slower. Currently my RAM is at 1:1.33 for overclocking purpose.

I also don't understand why OCing the graphic can increase the fps?

Maybe you could explain some things a little bit more?

Conchi

[TenBlade]

Where is OCing the GPU mentioned? You can OC a GPU, but would think that would improve on image quality, and not FPS (given it´s not an older GPU lagging behind a fast processor.

Think of the GPU as a batter and the CPU as the pitcher and each ball is a frame. The batter can´t hit the balls into the field faster than the rate at which the pitcher throws them, but if the batter CAN strike at a higher rate than the pitcher can throw, he has time to wait and prepare for the next ball, and the shot will have better quality. At least that´s my understanding of the GPU/CPU-thingy.

[TenBlade]

deleted, quoted by error, sry.

[flyguy737]

thanks for the comments guys. Yes you can Overclock the GPU but I didn't go into that here I was simply showing the difference in Overclocking the CPU and the differences Quad Core and Dual Core.

As for the RAM 1:1 it is said in many many forums about overclocking that when you use a program like CPU-Z and have a look at your memory if it is 1:1 then the Ram is in sync with the CPU for it's best performance. Most of our systems are at something like 5:6 or 5:8 which is fine but not taking the full advantage of the RAM.

If your interested to know more have a look at www.overclockers.com there is a lot of good guys here to help they helped me get a much better understanding.

For example if your FSB is 333 and your RAM is 800Mhz you might be at 5:6 but if your ram was running at 1066 which is it's optimum performance then your at 1:1 so if you increase the FSB to say 366 you need to change the RAM to a setting that will bring it back to 1066 then again your at 1:1.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

if your going to OC your system then take all your settings off AUTO or as most you can.

PCI Frequency set to 100Mhz do not go over this or you may damage you GPU. if you leave on AUTO it might put more into it then it should.

Always remember if you increase you FSB try going slow about 15 MHz at first then 5 then 2 increase slowly and run prime each time for a stress test. You may need to increase you CPU Vcore voltage 1 or 2 steps each time and your Dram Voltage as well. be careful not to go over 1.35 on CPU and no more then 2.2 on Dram.

When you buy your CPU, RAM etc ask what is the maximum Voltage it will take? Find out about Latency on RAM lower the better.

These are just a guide for you and even though my Q9400 runs slower speed then my E8500 the peformance increase is better.

IMHO Speed of CPU I have found doesn't always amount to Faster FPS.

Yes you need to go better GPU with the CPU so my next update will be a GTX285 I will sell my GTX260 to get a GTX285. I would like a GTX480 but I don't think it is best until I go to i7 CPU or better and DDR3 RAM.

So anyway guys and girls this is just my opions and guide to try to help you out alittle further.

Thanx.

[mjrhealth]

Ye i have being playing around. I had issues getting this CPU to3.9 GHz stable, always read about upping voltages little bit at a time. I eneded up dropping one by 0.025 V and the dam thing got stable, This was after reading that upping volatges can actually readuce cpu speed. Interesting but it worked.

[TenBlade]

Yeah, like Colin said. You never know how your particular piece of hardware will react when stressed, almost like it´s got personality. And that goes for mainboards too.

[flyguy737]

Ye i have being playing around. I had issues getting this CPU to3.9 GHz stable, always read about upping voltages little bit at a time. I eneded up dropping one by 0.025 V and the dam thing got stable, This was after reading that upping volatges can actually readuce cpu speed. Interesting but it worked.

That's very interesting you say you dropped the voltage instead of increasing it? hmm from everything I read that should not have worked but has you run prime and stress tested the CPU for 12 hours? if not give it a go and see what happens. It might also be that your using AMD. How do you find the AMD? give us your opion please

[Conchulio]

thanks for the comments guys. Yes you can Overclock the GPU but I didn't go into that here I was simply showing the difference in Overclocking the CPU and the differences Quad Core and Dual Core.

As for the RAM 1:1 it is said in many many forums about overclocking that when you use a program like CPU-Z and have a look at your memory if it is 1:1 then the Ram is in sync with the CPU for it's best performance. Most of our systems are at something like 5:6 or 5:8 which is fine but not taking the full advantage of the RAM.

If your interested to know more have a look at www.overclockers.com there is a lot of good guys here to help they helped me get a much better understanding.

For example if your FSB is 333 and your RAM is 800Mhz you might be at 5:6 but if your ram was running at 1066 which is it's optimum performance then your at 1:1 so if you increase the FSB to say 366 you need to change the RAM to a setting that will bring it back to 1066 then again your at 1:1.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

if your going to OC your system then take all your settings off AUTO or as most you can.

PCI Frequency set to 100Mhz do not go over this or you may damage you GPU. if you leave on AUTO it might put more into it then it should.

Always remember if you increase you FSB try going slow about 15 MHz at first then 5 then 2 increase slowly and run prime each time for a stress test. You may need to increase you CPU Vcore voltage 1 or 2 steps each time and your Dram Voltage as well. be careful not to go over 1.35 on CPU and no more then 2.2 on Dram.

When you buy your CPU, RAM etc ask what is the maximum Voltage it will take? Find out about Latency on RAM lower the better.

These are just a guide for you and even though my Q9400 runs slower speed then my E8500 the peformance increase is better.

IMHO Speed of CPU I have found doesn't always amount to Faster FPS.

Yes you need to go better GPU with the CPU so my next update will be a GTX285 I will sell my GTX260 to get a GTX285. I would like a GTX480 but I don't think it is best until I go to i7 CPU or better and DDR3 RAM.

So anyway guys and girls this is just my opions and guide to try to help you out alittle further.

Thanx.

Thanks for clearing some things up. Refering to the GPU, i mentioned it (maybe i missunderstood that part) because you worte: "...if you want better FPS then up your video Card". But as said in brackets, i might have missunderstood that.

However, i still can't fully comprehend why 1:1 ratio is best. For example, if i put my RAM on 1:1 ratio, it will run hat 533MHz instead of 1066MHz. By default, it runs at 1:2 so it reaches it's full performance, which apprently IS 1066MHz.

My understanding of this is the following: Putting the ratio to 1:1 let you increase FSB to overclock the CPU but it gets sure the RAM does not get oced over its default clock.

So you decrease the speed of RAM in order to increase the FSB.

You said, if RAM is at 1:1 it is perfectly sync with the cpu for its best performance, but how can that be if the ratio 1:1 decreases the clock? ( at least on my system ).

Conchi

[TenBlade]

Conchulio, cpu frequency 3510, RAM freq. 1066, divider 1:2, that gives a multiplier of 13 and a FSB of around 267. Are those your multiplier and FSB?

Remember to double the frequency of the ram, 1:1 is actually 1:2, so with FSB 400 @ 1:1 your ram freq. is 800. So, in order to see what a 1:1 would do to your ram speed you need to know the FSB.

[flyguy737]

Thanks for clearing some things up. Refering to the GPU, i mentioned it (maybe i missunderstood that part) because you worte: "...if you want better FPS then up your video Card". But as said in brackets, i might have missunderstood that.

However, i still can't fully comprehend why 1:1 ratio is best. For example, if i put my RAM on 1:1 ratio, it will run hat 533MHz instead of 1066MHz. By default, it runs at 1:2 so it reaches it's full performance, which apprently IS 1066MHz.

My understanding of this is the following: Putting the ratio to 1:1 let you increase FSB to overclock the CPU but it gets sure the RAM does not get oced over its default clock.

So you decrease the speed of RAM in order to increase the FSB.

You said, if RAM is at 1:1 it is perfectly sync with the cpu for its best performance, but how can that be if the ratio 1:1 decreases the clock? ( at least on my system ).

Conchi

Hi mate yes I understand what your saying and if your running 1:2 that's fine as well. From what I have learn't and again I refer to the wonderful helpful people at www.overclockers.com and this might sound strange (but it has been confirmed by a few people) but if your RAM is 400 MHz max FSB Bus speed then this means the RAM is actually 800MHz not 1066MHz. simply multiply your FSB by a factor of 2 so if your FSB is 333 Maximum then technically your RAM is only 667Mhz running. Now this is 1:1 but at 800 it is also 1:1 as this is the maximum speed FSB supported by the RAM.

Ok so now let's look at 1066MHz. PC-8500 RAM is 1066MHz by default and PC2-6400 is 800Mhz by default. Now in the Dram settings if you leave it on AUTO it will only normally show 800 but if you change the multiplier to say 2.00 then it may change to 1066 or change it to 2.40 for example.

What this is actually doing is Overclocking the RAM but not the CPU. Have I confused you yet? Trust me I was confused too but it does become clear.

When you change the FSB you increase the CPU clock speed and the RAM but if you only change the Ram multiplier then you are only changing the RAM.

Watch what happens to your RAM multiplier when you change the FSB, it increases right? so you can still overclock the CPU but make sure you get the RAM multiplier to set the RAM to either 800 or 1066. You can go over these slighty but your system may crash. The RAM Multiplier will only be effective to your FSB. IE the RAM Multiplier shows examples of your Mainboard's FSB, 266 A 333 B etc you should see this.

So if your mainboard's FSB is 333 spec then you should only choose multiplier in that section. IE 2.00B 2.40B 3.20B

When They talk about 1:1 it has been explained to me that this is a sync'd system and that say 5:6 is Async'd. It doesn't mean that your performance will be any less at 1:2 it might just mean you have pushed the RAM up a bit. Try dropping it to get a 1:1 ratio and see if that makes any difference to FSX. yes or no?

If your system is a high end system this might not be very noticeable but if your a low or mid system it might be very obvious.

anyway I hope this gives you a better understanding. Oh and when I said uping the GPU yes I meant upgrading the video card.

Cheers

[Conchulio]

Thanks for clearing some things up. Refering to the GPU, i mentioned it (maybe i missunderstood that part) because you worte: "...if you want better FPS then up your video Card". But as said in brackets, i might have missunderstood that.

However, i still can't fully comprehend why 1:1 ratio is best. For example, if i put my RAM on 1:1 ratio, it will run hat 533MHz instead of 1066MHz. By default, it runs at 1:2 so it reaches it's full performance, which apprently IS 1066MHz.

My understanding of this is the following: Putting the ratio to 1:1 let you increase FSB to overclock the CPU but it gets sure the RAM does not get oced over its default clock.

So you decrease the speed of RAM in order to increase the FSB.

You said, if RAM is at 1:1 it is perfectly sync with the cpu for its best performance, but how can that be if the ratio 1:1 decreases the clock? ( at least on my system ).

Conchi

Hi mate yes I understand what your saying and if your running 1:2 that's fine as well. From what I have learn't and again I refer to the wonderful helpful people at www.overclockers.com and this might sound strange (but it has been confirmed by a few people) but if your RAM is 400 MHz max FSB Bus speed then this means the RAM is actually 800MHz not 1066MHz. simply multiply your FSB by a factor of 2 so if your FSB is 333 Maximum then technically your RAM is only 667Mhz running. Now this is 1:1 but at 800 it is also 1:1 as this is the maximum speed FSB supported by the RAM.

Ok so now let's look at 1066MHz. PC-8500 RAM is 1066MHz by default and PC2-6400 is 800Mhz by default. Now in the Dram settings if you leave it on AUTO it will only normally show 800 but if you change the multiplier to say 2.00 then it may change to 1066 or change it to 2.40 for example.

What this is actually doing is Overclocking the RAM but not the CPU. Have I confused you yet? Trust me I was confused too but it does become clear.

When you change the FSB you increase the CPU clock speed and the RAM but if you only change the Ram multiplier then you are only changing the RAM.

Watch what happens to your RAM multiplier when you change the FSB, it increases right? so you can still overclock the CPU but make sure you get the RAM multiplier to set the RAM to either 800 or 1066. You can go over these slighty but your system may crash. The RAM Multiplier will only be effective to your FSB. IE the RAM Multiplier shows examples of your Mainboard's FSB, 266 A 333 B etc you should see this.

So if your mainboard's FSB is 333 spec then you should only choose multiplier in that section. IE 2.00B 2.40B 3.20B

When They talk about 1:1 it has been explained to me that this is a sync'd system and that say 5:6 is Async'd. It doesn't mean that your performance will be any less at 1:2 it might just mean you have pushed the RAM up a bit. Try dropping it to get a 1:1 ratio and see if that makes any difference to FSX. yes or no?

If your system is a high end system this might not be very noticeable but if your a low or mid system it might be very obvious.

anyway I hope this gives you a better understanding. Oh and when I said uping the GPU yes I meant upgrading the video card.

Cheers

Ah, now that makes it more or less clear to me! Really a weird thing that RAM speed  ...

Hower, i think i'll have a look in how far changing the ratio from 1:2 to 1:1 might or might not affect performance at all.

One more question, if i want to make my RAM faster, ie raising the latencys.. how does it go? lower number = faster  and higher numbers = slower? or visa versa?

However, thanks for explaining that, it has always been a mysterium for me

Conchi

[flyguy737]

well from what I understand the lower the numbers the better the Ram will perform it is called latency and you really want to buy RAM with a low latency. So yes the lower the number the faster the ram.

[TenBlade]

Lower number is higher speed, but I´d be very careful with that. May easily create instability. What is the CAS number of your current ram? Instead try to overclock your ram, get them to 1333. My 1333MHz ram are @ 1600 no problem.

[Conchulio]

Lower number is higher speed, but I´d be very careful with that. May easily create instability. What is the CAS number of your current ram? Instead try to overclock your ram, get them to 1333. My 1333MHz ram are @ 1600 no problem.

I've got Corsair DDR3 (PC3-8500F) 533MHz (DDR3 1066).

They run at 7-7-7-20-27 at at 533.3MHz at 1.5 volts (CL-RCD-RP-RAS-RC)

As i have oced my CPU from 3GHz to 3.498GHz i put my RAM ratio to 1:1.50 at it currently is, because of FSB increase) again back at the default 1066MHz.

Do these information help?

Conchi

[TenBlade]

CL 7 is great for DDR3 type memory. If you google an overclock of your specific ram, you´ll probably find how much you can squeeze them. There may also be a little more in your processor, as you see in my sig I´m @ 3.6 GHz.

[flyguy737]

Lower number is higher speed, but I´d be very careful with that. May easily create instability. What is the CAS number of your current ram? Instead try to overclock your ram, get them to 1333. My 1333MHz ram are @ 1600 no problem.

I've got Corsair DDR3 (PC3-8500F) 533MHz (DDR3 1066).

They run at 7-7-7-20-27 at at 533.3MHz at 1.5 volts (CL-RCD-RP-RAS-RC)

As i have oced my CPU from 3GHz to 3.498GHz i put my RAM ratio to 1:1.50 at it currently is, because of FSB increase) again back at the default 1066MHz.

Do these information help?

Conchi

I don't know alot about DDR3 but TenBlade already answered anyway but I would say you have great RAM for your System  you say it's 533 but what is your Motherboards FSB? if it is 600 standard then you should be able to match it but if it's 533 then you would be ok.

[Conchulio]

@TenBlade

I have just seen we even use the same cpu cooler  : ;D  however, i tried to push my cpu up but it didn't work out. i already had it at 3.512 but my corevolatage was already at 1.3339 and temps where getting too far for my taste (around 65-67 when fully loaded with prime95).

@flyguy737

what is motherboard FSB? i only know the FSB from the CPU. I use SIW from Gabriel Topala to read all my system information and my motherboard has no FSB. Only the CPU has FSB, at least the program says that. Strange though, there are to different FSB information:

Original Clock: 3000MHz

Original System Clock: 333MHz

CPU Clock: 3496MHz

System Clock (i thought THAT is FSB?!?): 388.1MHz

FSB: 1552.3MHz

Erm, don't understand

Conchi

[TenBlade]

67 deg. so what  It´s rated at 71 deg., you´re far from that, it´s meant to run that hot. Are you using a good thermal paste or just the stock white stuff provided with the cooler?

Yes, the terminology can be confusing, don´t worry about that. No motherboard, no FSB. No processor, no FSB, potato, potato.

But the 388.1 is your FSB, and multiplied by 9 you got your processor speed 3,496. And then you can multiply it to get your ram speed. If you have the opportunity get some ram that´ll go 1600, use FSB 400 and multiplier 9. That should get you to a stable 3.6GHz (I overclocked my ram, as you see). Try it at stock voltage first.

[Conchulio]

67 deg. so what  It´s rated at 71 deg., you´re far from that, it´s meant to run that hot. Are you using a good thermal paste or just the stock white stuff provided with the cooler?

Yes, the terminology can be confusing, don´t worry about that. No motherboard, no FSB. No processor, no FSB, potato, potato.

But the 388.1 is your FSB, and multiplied by 9 you got your processor speed 3,496. And then you can multiply it to get your ram speed. If you have the opportunity get some ram that´ll go 1600, use FSB 400 and multiplier 9. That should get you to a stable 3.6GHz (I overclocked my ram, as you see). Try it at stock voltage first.

heh, well, i already tried it and added another unbelieveable 3!!MHz  . Quite bizarre, the bios says my Ram is at 1033 so i could actually increase the FSB a little more but i'm afraid it becomes unstable, don't wanna raise the Cvoltage anymore, it's already at 1.339  \

Btw, i used the gray Zalmann liquid thing. I've got a Coolermaster case with 3 other coolers inside but during summer it gets quite hot in germany, especially here in frankfurt so temps CAN be a problem when approaching JFK at night and busy traffic...

Conchi

[TenBlade]

Then don´t add more voltage, and don´t be afraid of instability. If it crashes, you reset cmos, means you reset the BIOS, there´s probably a button on the back, or on the mainboard or a jumper you use to reset the. You start over with other settings, that´s the normal way of overclocking, mein Freund I had a feeling your ram weren´t at 1066, couldn´t get the math to add up.

I alway start out by overclocking on stock voltage, then add a bit if it won´t do.

[mjrhealth]

Hi flyguy, AMD does ok, 955 quiet easy to overclock. Increasing the NB from 2000 to 2600 decreases memory latency and increases memory bandwidth, i hear the increaing HT can increase video bandwidth although it wont show in memory speed tests. I was having issues with core 1 and 3 one would crash, id change something then the other would crash on prime. then i read about increasing vlotages actually casuing the speed to drop, so i dropped one voltage a slight amount which was still above stock and that seemd to fix things, fsx hasnt crashed yet, and thats usually a good sign that things are ok.

[flyguy737]

yes Tenblade is on the ball. the maximum Voltage you can go is 1.35 on CPU core. and 2.2 on DRAM. It is important to note that your RAM would have had an operational Voltage written on the RAM IE 2.2Volts. in bios check what your Ram voltage is if it is 1.8 take it up 1 step at a time too but don't exceed 2.2

Remember too the more voltage you push in the more it wants from the PSU. your power supply unit. make sure it is a good one mine is 650Watts but if you have a 750 or more thats fine.

FSB = Motherboard rated FSB which drives your CPU clock. so yes your FSB is 333 but as you know changing this increases your CPU clock speed. Now back to your ram it's 533 because you OC'd so that's fine.

As Tenblade said if your system crashes BLUE SCREEN just go back 1 step. If you have Dual Bios you most likly don't need to do the jumper reset thingy either.

REMEMBER IF YOUR SYSTEM IS STABLE AND YOUR HAPPY DON'T PUSH TOO FAR. and 67 is fine under load as long as the cooling is good enough. I worry if I see 70 +

ok now you should know all you need too

[flyguy737]

Here's another thing I am back to trying that may be of interest too. I downloaded Riva Tuner from the guru3d.com and it works far better the the original GPU overclocker I had.

now test. I ran my system back to default speeds and fired up YBBN gate 45 my testing gate (why?? dunno just like that gate alright it's MINE!!!) sorry ok where was I oh yes ok so sitting at my gate FPS 11- 16 Default 737800 Virtual Cockpit view captains seat.

Overclock Video Card with Riva tuner and watching TEMPS with realtemp. increase slowly more and more and more hmmm not much in FPS increase I can see but go for a flight and WOW! the textures become sharp and clear and the texture load times reduced. Now although not much is noticeable around YBBN but further away and flying for awhile it becomes obvious and FPS almost went through the roof.

So this is just something you could try if your texture loads are slow or you get the blurries outside of YBBN mind you if you got and i7 and anything better then my GTX260 you might not worry about this but it does improve the GTX260 to be able to work better.

TEMPS are very good and the card is not hot even after 4 hours.

[TenBlade]

Where is OCing the GPU mentioned? You can OC a GPU, but would think that would improve on image quality, and not FPS (given it´s not an older GPU lagging behind a fast processor.

Think of the GPU as a batter and the CPU as the pitcher and each ball is a frame. The batter can´t hit the balls into the field faster than the rate at which the pitcher throws them, but if the batter CAN strike at a higher rate than the pitcher can throw, he has time to wait and prepare for the next ball, and the shot will have better quality. At least that´s my understanding of the GPU/CPU-thingy.

I rest my case 

Good on ya, mate!

Oh, and if gpu-temps. or noise from stock fan do become an issue I can recomend applying an aftermarket tri-fan cooler from Arctic Cooling. Quite a build, but worth the effort.

Bjorn

[flyguy737]

I'm so glad this topic has been of interest to you all. I hope that is has given those of you with little to no knowledge of overclocking a clearer understanding of how it all works

[Conchulio]

I'm so glad this topic has been of interest to you all. I hope that is has given those of you with little to no knowledge of overclocking a clearer understanding of how it all works

Yes indeed! Thanks flyguy737 and also a special thanks to TenBlades for answering all my questions, you're top 

Cheers

Conchi

[TenBlade]

It has been a pleasure working with you guys 

[Guest AS355F]

CL 7 is great for DDR3 type memory. If you google an overclock of your specific ram, you´ll probably find how much you can squeeze them. There may also be a little more in your processor, as you see in my sig I´m @ 3.6 GHz.

RAM is a dark art and it takes years of studying before you know how it really works. I have studied it for years and one of my good friends is the VP of technology at OCZ and he has given me many pointers yet I still don't know it properly.

Run your RAM at it's recommended and rated settings otherwise you will more than likely DEGRADE performance.

The SPD's for every module are written very carefully. 

[TenBlade]

RAM is a dark art and it takes years of studying before you know how it really works. I have studied it for years and one of my good friends is the VP of technology at OCZ and he has given me many pointers yet I still don't know it properly.

Run your RAM at it's recommended and rated settings otherwise you will more than likely DEGRADE performance.

The SPD's for every module are written very carefully. 

I can´t afford to study up on ram for that long, technology would´ve changed by then. So I´m on basic knowledge and trial & error. Granted I wouldn´t mess with the timings, but my 1333´s are running smoothly @ 1600, keeping them adequately cooled, of course. When I´m messing around with the hardware I make sure my funds are not too low for a quick purchase should I fry something, even though I concider myself careful.

Bjorn