Conflicting instructions on MB manual

[Pantz]

hello everyone , not sure if this is the right place to post my question,
but here goes,
i have just built a new system AMD quad 4, 3.0 and a gigabyte GA-MA790GP MB
and 4gigs corsair DDR2 PC8500 (1066mhz) ram 2, 2gigs sticks, the MD has
channel 0 DDR2_1 , DDR2_3 ORANGE socket
channel 1 DDR2_2 , DDR2_4 RED socket
it also says " if two memory modules are to be installed it is recomended
that you install them in DDR2_1 and DDR2_2 " , ( one stick in channel 0
and one stick in channel 1 )
it then goes on to say " when enabling dual channel mode with 2 or more 4
DDR2 memory modules they should be installed in the same colored sockets, i
have both mine installed in Channel 0 orange socket
the BIOS see 4 gigs of ram running @ 800mhz, ("ungangged" ) when the memory
is rated for 1066mhz
the system is running very stable so i am not sure if i should change
anything but i would like the memory to run at 1066 if possible , ( i payed
for 1066mhz) , also, i dont quite understand " gangged vs ungangged ' BIOS
sees ungangged at the moment ,
thanks in advance for any suggestions

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

hello everyone , not sure if this is the right place to post my question,
but here goes,
i have just built a new system AMD quad 4, 3.0 and a gigabyte GA-MA790GP
MB
and 4gigs corsair DDR2 PC8500 (1066mhz) ram 2, 2gigs sticks, the MD has
channel 0 DDR2_1 , DDR2_3 ORANGE socket
channel 1 DDR2_2 , DDR2_4 RED socket
it also says " if two memory modules are to be installed it is recomended
that you install them in DDR2_1 and DDR2_2 " , ( one stick in channel 0
and one stick in channel 1 )
it then goes on to say " when enabling dual channel mode with 2 or more 4
DDR2 memory modules they should be installed in the same colored sockets,
i have both mine installed in Channel 0 orange socket
the BIOS see 4 gigs of ram running @ 800mhz, ("ungangged" ) when the
memory is rated for 1066mhz
the system is running very stable so i am not sure if i should change
anything but i would like the memory to run at 1066 if possible , ( i
payed for 1066mhz) , also, i dont quite understand " gangged vs ungangged
' BIOS sees ungangged at the moment ,
thanks in advance for any suggestions

Nothing to do with Windows - I'd try a hardware newsgroup.

 

[JS]

Download and install CPUID (aka: CPUZ)
What does it show your FSB speed running at?

 

[Paul]

hello everyone , not sure if this is the right place to post my
question, but here goes,
i have just built a new system AMD quad 4, 3.0 and a gigabyte
GA-MA790GP MB
and 4gigs corsair DDR2 PC8500 (1066mhz) ram 2, 2gigs sticks, the MD has
channel 0 DDR2_1 , DDR2_3 ORANGE socket
channel 1 DDR2_2 , DDR2_4 RED socket
it also says " if two memory modules are to be installed it is
recomended that you install them in DDR2_1 and DDR2_2 " , ( one stick
in channel 0 and one stick in channel 1 )
it then goes on to say " when enabling dual channel mode with 2 or more
4 DDR2 memory modules they should be installed in the same colored
sockets, i have both mine installed in Channel 0 orange socket
the BIOS see 4 gigs of ram running @ 800mhz, ("ungangged" ) when the
memory is rated for 1066mhz
the system is running very stable so i am not sure if i should change
anything but i would like the memory to run at 1066 if possible , ( i
payed for 1066mhz) , also, i dont quite understand " gangged vs
ungangged ' BIOS sees ungangged at the moment ,
thanks in advance for any suggestions

Ganged versus unganged compared.

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/amd-phenom-x4-9850-ganged-unganged-p1.html

Unganged means the channels are independent, and the processor can
access them separately. Ganged is the traditional dual channel mode.

Using 2x2GB sticks, should allow DDR2-1066 operation. Using four
sticks, the processor is not guaranteed to achieve that rate,
which is why DDR2-800 is the more likely automatic setting
in that case. It is not a motherboard issue, but a statement
made by AMD themselves.

If you want DDR2-1066 operation, then use a maximum of two sticks of RAM.

Use the "memory clock" setting, to change to "X5.33" as seen in your manual
for an AM2+ processor. That should give 1066, as near as I can tell.
If the memory has something like EPP, it may actually set the rest of the
relevant settings by itself automatically. Otherwise, they might have to
be set manually, if they're not stored in the SPD chip on the DIMM.

http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/TWIN2X4096-8500C5D.pdf

If your memory product has timings, like 5-5-5-15, then enter them in
the Timing section (tCAS, tRCD, tRP, tRAS).

Adjust Vdimm ("DDR2 Voltage Control") to the value recommended on the
memory packaging. "DDR2 Voltage Control" [+0.30] would give 1.80 + 0.30 = 2.1V
which is the recommended value. Test the memory, then decrease the voltage
setting a step at a time, until the memory is unstable. Only use
as much Vdimm voltage, as is needed for perfectly stable operation.
That enhances the life of the memory. A program like Prime95, is a
good test of stability. It should run for at least four
hours, without detecting an error.

http://majorgeeks.com/Prime95_d4363.html

Other newsgroups for hardware questions...

alt.comp.hardware
alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.gigabyte

or if all else fails

microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware

HTH,
Paul

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, March 20, 2009 7:35:02 AM, and on a whim,
Pantz pounded out on the keyboard:

hello everyone , not sure if this is the right place to post my question,
but here goes,
i have just built a new system AMD quad 4, 3.0 and a gigabyte GA-MA790GP MB
and 4gigs corsair DDR2 PC8500 (1066mhz) ram 2, 2gigs sticks, the MD has
channel 0 DDR2_1 , DDR2_3 ORANGE socket
channel 1 DDR2_2 , DDR2_4 RED socket
it also says " if two memory modules are to be installed it is recomended
that you install them in DDR2_1 and DDR2_2 " , ( one stick in channel 0
and one stick in channel 1 )
it then goes on to say " when enabling dual channel mode with 2 or more 4
DDR2 memory modules they should be installed in the same colored sockets, i
have both mine installed in Channel 0 orange socket
the BIOS see 4 gigs of ram running @ 800mhz, ("ungangged" ) when the memory
is rated for 1066mhz
the system is running very stable so i am not sure if i should change
anything but i would like the memory to run at 1066 if possible , ( i payed
for 1066mhz) , also, i dont quite understand " gangged vs ungangged ' BIOS
sees ungangged at the moment ,
thanks in advance for any suggestions

Hi Pantz,

I found this regarding ganged and unganged memory:

In the BIOS there's a setting to enable or disable an unganged memory
controller. Phenom has two memory controllers inside and usually these
will be “ganged” together, meaning they both work together in
dual-channel, with data from all the cores sitting in one queue while
they wait for a memory access cycle to become available.

However, the alternative is to enable unganged mode which means the two
controllers work independently, at potentially different clocks, and
each gets a DIMM (or two) to use in its own channel. You lose overall
bandwidth, but single-channel performance is usually more efficient and
the cores can potentially get access to memory sooner now that there are
two of them.

It’s been reported that the ganged mode usually works better for
single-core performance, but unganged works better for multi-core. While
we ran all the tests using the BIOS default (ganged memory), but it’s
down to the motherboard manufacturer to decide what option it sets as
standard or even if it offers the option in its BIOS at all.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2007/12/13/amd_phenom_9500_9600_9700_and_9900/13

Terry R.