Overclocking the Athlon 64 - Page 9

As well as the frequency at which the memory runs, memory also has a few other options which can be tweaked to either yield better performance or higher clock speeds, these are known as 'timings'. As you can probably guess, these timings reflect the time the memory waits between doing various operations, thus the less time spent waiting to do something, the better. Most of these timings are either measured in nanoseconds, or the number of clock cycles spent waiting. There are 5 timings that we need to pay attention to, these are the CAS Latency, RAS to CAS Delay, RAS Precharge, Cycle Time(Tras), and the CPC (command Per Clock).

These timings are often quoted in the following format: 2.5-3-3-7 1T. 2.5-3-3-7 1T is a pretty good set of timings for an Athlon 64 system. When overclocking, some people like to increase their memory timings in the BIOS, this means that the RAM is doing less work, and is more likely to reach a higher stable frequency. Remember, lower timings (lower numbers) equal better performance, but this also means that the memory and memory controller have to work a little harder.

Some sticks of memory may be able to go as low as 2-2-2-5 1T, while other, cheaper RAM might only run at speeds of 3-4-4-8 1T/2T. Although, on an Athlon 64 system such timings don't have as great a negative affect on performance as they would on an equivalent Intel Pentium system. This is due mainly to the integrated memory controller of the Athlon 64.

If at all possible, use a CPC of 1T, this simply means that the Command per Clock interface is enabled. A setting of 2T will perform poorly on an Athlon 64 system and should be avoided if possible. Luckily, it's pretty much the only setting that really reduces the performance on an Athlon 64 system. Don't worry too much if you can't set the command per clock to 1T though, we're still only talking about a few percent difference in most standard benchmarks. Users of cheaper memory or older Athlon 64's might have little choice in the matter, and 2T might be the only stable option.

If you're interested in learing more about RAM, then watch out for a new article that's in the works, it'll have much more information on timings and memory in general.

If you're having problems attaining a high frequency, or a low timing, increasing the voltage supplied to the memory often helps. The use of increased voltage when overclocking will now be explored.

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Article Navigation:

• Introduction
  • What is Overclocking?
  • The Dangers of Overclocking
  • Overclocking basics
• The Differences in the A64 Platform
  • Athlon 64 Multipliers
  • Athlon 64 and the missing FSB..
• RAM and what it has to do with Overclocking
  • Memory dividers
  • Timing is everything...
• Voltage and how it affects Overclocking
• Cooling and Other Hardware Considerations
  • TIM the enchanter
  • The Sometimes Overlooked Hardware
• Let's start Overclocking!
  • Tools of the trade
  • Overclocking the CPU - Part 1
  • Overclocking the CPU - Part 2
  • Overclocking the Memory
  • Putting it all together
• Conclusion
• Overclocking 'Crib Sheet'