Test: overclocking inexpensive DDR3 RAM. Overclocking made easy: RAM

Hello GT! We all love new hardware - it’s nice to work on a fast computer, and not look at all sorts of progress bars and other hourglasses. If with processors and video cards everything is more or less clear: here’s a new generation, get your 10-20-30-50% of performance, then with RAM everything is not so simple.

Where is the progress in memory modules, why the price per gigabyte almost does not fall and how to please your computer - in our iron educational program.

DDR4

The DDR4 memory standard has a number of advantages over DDR3: higher maximum frequencies (that is, bandwidth), lower voltage (and heat dissipation), and, of course, double the capacity per module.

The Electronic Industries Alliance's Semiconductor Engineering Standards Committee (better known as JEDEC) works to make sure your Kingston RAM will fit your ASUS or Gigabyte motherboard, and everyone plays by the same rules. In terms of electrical, physics and connectors, everything is strict (this is understandable, you need to ensure physical compatibility), but in terms of operating frequencies, module volumes and operating delays, the rules allow for some volatility: if you want to do better, do it, the main thing is that on standard settings users had no problems.

This is exactly how DDR3 modules with frequencies higher than 1600 MHz and DDR4 with frequencies higher than 3200 MHz turned out: they exceed the basic specifications and can operate both on “standard” parameters, compatible with all motherboards, and with extreme profiles (X.M.P.), tested at the factory and programmed into the memory BIOS.

Progress

Major improvements in this area are being carried out in several directions at once. Firstly, manufacturers of memory chips themselves (Hynix, Samsung, Micron and Toshiba) are constantly improving the internal architecture of chips within the same process technology. From revision to revision, the internal topology is brought to perfection, ensuring uniform heating and reliable operation.

Secondly, memory is slowly moving to a new technical process. Unfortunately, improvements here cannot be made as quickly as manufacturers of video cards or central processors have been doing (have been doing for the last 10 years): a rough reduction in the size of the working parts, that is, transistors, will require a corresponding reduction in operating voltages, which are limited by the JEDEC standard and memory controllers built into the CPU .

Therefore, the only thing that remains is not only to “press up” production standards, but also to simultaneously increase the speed of operation of each microcircuit, which will require a corresponding increase in voltage. As a result, both frequencies increase and so do the volumes of one module.

There are many examples of such development. In 2009-2010, the normal choice was between 2/4 gigabytes of DDR3 1066 MHz and DDR3 1333 MHz per module (both were made using a 90 nm process technology). Today, the dying standard is ready to offer you 1600, 1866, 2000 and even 2133 MHz operating frequencies on modules of 4, 8 and 16 GB, although the inside is already 32, 30 and even 28 nm.

Unfortunately, such an upgrade costs a lot of money (primarily for research, purchasing equipment and debugging the production process), so we won’t have to wait for a radical reduction in the price of 1 GB of RAM before the release of DDR5: well, then another doubling of useful characteristics awaits us with the same production price.

The price of improvements, overclocking and the search for balance

The growing volume and speed of work directly affects another parameter of RAM - latency (aka timings). The operation of microcircuits at high frequencies still does not want to violate the laws of physics, and various operations (searching for information on a microcircuit, reading, writing, updating a cell) require certain time intervals. Reducing the technical process bears fruit, and timings increase more slowly than operating frequencies, but here it is necessary to maintain a balance between linear reading speed and response speed.

For example, memory can operate at 2133 MHz and 2400 MHz profiles with the same set of timings (15-15-15-29) - in this case, overclocking is justified: at a higher frequency, delays of several clock cycles will only decrease, and you will not only get an increase in linear speed reading, but also response speed. But if the next threshold (2666 MHz) requires an increase in delays by 1-2, or even 3 units, it’s worth thinking about. Let's do some simple calculations.

We divide the operating frequency by the first timing (CAS). The higher the ratio, the better:

2133 / 15 = 142,2
2400 / 15 = 160
2666 / 16 = 166,625
2666 / 17 = 156,823

The resulting value is the denominator in the fraction 1 second / X * 1,000,000. That is, the higher the number, the lower the delay will be between receiving information from the memory controller and sending data back.

As can be seen from the calculations, the largest increase is an upgrade from 2133 to 2400 MHz with the same timings. Increasing the latency by 1 clock cycle, necessary for stable operation at 2666 MHz, still provides benefits (but not so serious), and if your memory runs at an increased frequency only with an increase in timing by 2 units, performance will even decrease slightly relative to 2400 MHz.

The opposite is also true: if the modules do not want to increase frequencies at all (that is, you have reached the limit for your particular memory kit), you can try to win back some of the “free” performance by reducing latencies.

In fact, there are several more factors, but even these simple calculations will help you avoid messing up your memory overclocking: there is no point in squeezing the maximum speed out of the modules if the results become worse than the average.

Practical application of memory overclocking

In terms of software, such manipulations primarily benefit tasks that constantly use memory not in streaming reading mode, but rather pull random data. That is, games, photoshop and all sorts of programming tasks.

In hardware, systems with graphics built into the processor (and without their own video memory) receive a significant increase in performance both by reducing latency and by increasing operating frequencies: a simple controller and low bandwidth very often becomes the bottleneck of integrated GPUs. So if your favorite “Tanks” can barely crawl on the built-in graphics of an old computer, you know what you can try to improve the situation.

Mainstream

Oddly enough, average users benefit most from such improvements. No, of course, overclockers, professionals and players with a full wallet get their 0.5% of performance by using extreme modules with exorbitant frequencies, but their market share is small.

What's under the hood?

White aluminum radiators are quite easy to remove. Step zero: we ground ourselves on the battery or some other metal contact with the ground and let the static flow out - we don’t want to let an absurd accident kill the memory module?

Step one: warm up the memory module with a hairdryer or active read-write loads (in the second case, you need to quickly turn off the PC, turn off the power and remove the RAM while it is still hot).

Step two: find the side without the sticker and carefully hook the radiator with something in the center and along the edges. You can use a printed circuit board as a base for a lever, but with caution. We carefully select a support point, trying to avoid putting pressure on fragile elements. It is better to act according to the principle “slowly but surely”.

Step three: open the radiator and disconnect the locks. Here they are, precious chips. Soldered on one side. Manufacturer - Micron, chip model 6XA77 D9SRJ.

8 pieces, 1 GB each, factory profile - 2400 MHz @ CL16.

True, you shouldn’t remove the heat spreaders at home - you’ll break the seal and your lifetime 1 warranty will expire. And the original radiators do an excellent job with the functions assigned to them.

Let's try to measure the effect of overclocking the RAM using the example of the HyperX Fury HX426C16FW2K4/32 kit. The decoding of the name gives us the following information: HX4 - DDR4, 26 - factory frequency 2666 MHz, C16 - CL16 delays. Next comes the color code for the radiators (in our case, white), and a description of the K4/32 kit - a set of 4 modules with a total capacity of 32 GB. That is, it is already clear that the RAM was slightly overclocked during production: instead of the standard 2400, a 2666 MHz profile was flashed with the same timings.

In addition to the aesthetic pleasure of contemplating four “Snow Whites” in the case of your PC, this set is ready to offer a significant 32 gigabytes of memory and is aimed at users of conventional processors who do not particularly indulge in CPU overclocking. Modern Intels without the letter K at the end have finally lost all possible ways to get free performance, and practically do not receive any bonuses from memory with a frequency above 2400 MHz.

We took two computers as test benches. One is based on an Intel Core i7-6800K and an ASUS X99 motherboard (it represents a platform for enthusiasts with a four-channel memory controller), the second with a Core i5-7600 inside (this one will take the rap for mainstream hardware with integrated graphics and no overclocking). On the first, we will check the overclocking potential of the memory, and on the second, we will measure real performance in games and desktop software.

Overclocking potential

With standard JEDEC profiles and factory X.M.P. The memory has the following operating modes:

DDR4-2666 CL15-17-17 @1.2V
DDR4-2400 CL14-16-16 @1.2V
DDR4-2133 CL12-14-14 @1.2V

It's easy to notice that timing settings at 2400 MHz make the memory not as responsive as the 2133 and 2666 MHz profiles.

2133 / 12 = 177.75
2400 / 14 = 171.428
2666 / 15 = 177.7(3)

Attempts to run memory at a frequency of 2900 MHz with increasing delays to 16-17-18, 17-18-18, 17-19-19 and even raising the voltage to 1.3 Volts did not yield anything. The computer works without heavy loads, but Photoshop, an archiver or a benchmark spits errors or crashes the system into BSOD. It seems that the frequency potential of the modules has been fully selected, and the only thing left for us is to reduce the delays.

The best result that was achieved with a test set of 4 modules was 2666 MHz with timings CL13-14-13. This will significantly increase the speed of access to random data (2666 / 13 = 205.07) and should show a good improvement in results in the gaming benchmark. In dual-channel mode, the memory overclocks better: specialists from oclab managed to bring a set of two 16 GB modules to a frequency of 3000 MHz @ CL14-15-15-28 with a voltage increase to 1.4 Volts - an excellent result.

Full-scale tests

For our i5 with integrated graphics, we chose GTA V as a benchmark. The game is not new, it uses the DirectX 11 API, which has long been known and is well-polished in Intel drivers, loves to consume RAM and loads the system on all fronts at once: GPU, CPU, Ram , reading from disk. Classic. At the same time, GTA V uses the so-called. “deferred rendering”, thanks to which the frame calculation time depends less on the complexity of the scene, that is, the testing methodology will be cleaner and the results will be more clear.

For the average FPS, let's take values ​​that fit into the normal course of the game: flying an airplane, driving in the city, destroying adversaries have a uniform load profile. Based on such scenes (discarding the 1% of the best and worst results from the data array) we will get the average game FPS.

We will determine drawdowns based on scenes with explosions and complex effects (a waterfall under a bridge, sunset landscapes) in a similar way.

Jitters and unpleasant freezes when the environment suddenly changes (switching from one tested case to another) happen even on the monstrous GTX 1080Ti, we will try to note them, but we will not take them into the results: they do not occur in the game, and this is rather a problem with the benchmark itself.

Demo stand configuration

CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 (4c4t @ 3.8 GHz)
GPU: Intel HD530
RAM: 32 GB HyperX Fury White (2133 MHz CL12, 2666 MHz CL15 and 2666 MHz CL13)
MB: ASUS B250M
SSD: Kingston A400 240 GB

To begin with, we will set the standard frequencies of the X.M.P. profile: 2666 MHz with timings of 15-17-17. The built-in GTA V benchmark produces identical FPS and the same drops at minimum and medium settings in 720p resolution: in most scenes the counter fluctuates around 30–32, and in heavy scenes and when changing one location to another, the FPS drops.

The reason is obvious - the GPU has enough power, but the rasterization units simply do not have time to assemble and render a larger number of frames per second. At “high” graphics settings, the results rapidly deteriorate: the game begins to run directly into the modest computing capabilities of the integrated graphics.

2133 MHz CL12

The GPU does not have its own memory, and it is forced to constantly pull the system one. The bandwidth of DDR4 in dual-channel mode at a frequency of 2133 MHz will be 64 bits (8 bytes) × 2,133,000,000 MHz × 2 channels - about 34 Gb/s, with small (up to 10%) overhead losses.

For comparison, the bandwidth of the memory subsystem of the most modest discrete card NVIDIA GTX 1030 is 48 GB/s, and the GTX 1050 Ti (which easily produces 60 FPS in GTA V at maximum settings in FullHD) is already 112 GB/s.

In the background you can see the same waterfall under the bridge, draining FPS in the in-game benchmark.

The benchmark results dropped to 28 FPS on average, and lags when changing locations and the explosions of their relaxed drawdowns turned into unpleasant microfreezes.

2666 MHz CL13

Reducing the timings has significantly reduced the time it takes to wait for a response from memory, and we already have standard results with this frequency: it will be possible to compare three benchmarks and get a clear picture. The throughput for 2666 MHz is already 21.3 Gb/s × 2 channels ~ 40 Gb/s, comparable to the younger NVIDIA.

The maximum FPS has practically not increased (0.1 is not an indicator and is on the verge of measurement error) - here we are still limited by the modest capabilities of ROPs, but all the drawdowns have become less noticeable. In scenes with a waterfall, due to the high computational load, the result did not change, in all others - that is, in loads, explosions and other joys that slowed down the operation of the video core, it increased by an average of 10-15%. Instead of 25–27 frames in action-packed episodes, there are confident 28–29. In general, the game began to feel much more comfortable.

TL;DR and results

You cannot evaluate the speed of RAM by frequency alone. DDR4 has quite large clock latencies, and all other things being equal, it is worth choosing memory that not only satisfies the needs of your hardware in terms of operating frequency and volume, but also paying attention to this parameter.

Tests have shown that computers based on the Intel Core i-series with integrated graphics receive a noticeable performance boost when using high-speed memory with low latency. The video core does not have its own resources for storing and processing data and uses system ones to perfectly respond (to a certain limit) to increasing frequencies and decreasing timings, since the time of drawing a frame with many objects directly depends on the speed of memory access.

The most important! The Fury line is available in several colors: white, red and black - you can choose not only fast memory, but also a style that matches the rest of the components, as specialists from

Laptop owners sooner or later come to the decision to overclock the RAM of their device. The gadget can no longer cope with some tasks, and overclocking the RAM can significantly improve the performance of a laptop computer.

Replacing a RAM stick

The easiest way is to replace the RAM module. To add a new module you will need:

1. Disconnect the charger.
2. Remove the battery.
3. Remove the bottom cover containing the RAM and hard drive slots.
4. Install a RAM module with the best parameters.

In order to expand memory in this way, you need to know the type of RAM modules (DDR3, DDR4, etc.). Special programs (CPU-Z) make it possible to find out about the type of memory without disassembling the laptop.

Overclocking RAM yourself

Increasing the power of laptop RAM is somewhat more difficult. In a stationary PC, 80% of the time is spent on the optimal selection of parameters in the BIOS, but in a mobile PC it is not possible to increase the RAM parameters by changing the data in the BIOS. Laptops simply don't have advanced BIOS settings.

Before making a decision to add performance to the RAM, you should remember that excessive loads on some components will reduce their service life and will also cause parts to fail faster. Therefore, you will have to act at your own peril and risk. The performance of a laptop depends on the parameters of the RAM, CPU and video card. All these parameters can be changed to improve performance.

Some models of laptop PCs have the ability to adjust the frequency of the system bus - the link between the RAM and the processor. Equipment manufacturers often block the ability to change the system bus frequency in the BIOS, so parameters can only be adjusted using external applications. For example, the SetFSB program allows you to adjust the frequency. At the same time, it is important to monitor the condition of the system, since the temperature of the device increases greatly.

Overclocking the RAM gives impressive results if the processor and RAM buses are separated. In this case, you can increase the RAM frequency by almost 30%. Utilities like RMClock or VCore make it possible to increase processor power. By changing the frequencies and monitoring the temperature, you can achieve impressive results.

If overclocking is successful, the performance of the laptop increases significantly. But the risks of independent operations are quite high. If overclocking fails, repairs will cost much more than repairing the device before overclocking.

There are not only methods for overclocking RAM using special programs and utilities. Experienced computer scientists would use a soldering iron and a clock mod to "trick" the system into making the chipset "think" it was running at one frequency while the clock was running at another.

RAM based on DDR2 memory modules has specifications that allow it to operate at speeds 2 times faster than the old DDR RAM standard. However, despite the advantage it has over previous generations of memory, DDR2 memory can achieve even higher speeds, which are especially noticeable when working with intensive applications such as 3D games. To increase the speed, in addition to purchasing an additional memory module, you can use its overclocking capabilities or “overclocking” the memory.

You will need to read the user manual that came with your PC, or visit the website of the company that manufactured the PC. In it you need to find a section describing the BIOS settings. You need to take into account that depending on the manufacturer and model of the motherboard, the BIOS may have different settings and interface appearance.

Restart your PC. You must wait until the manufacturer's logo appears on the screen, then you need to press the button to enter the BIOS. To do this, you usually use the F2, DEL or F10 buttons.

Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the BIOS menu items. You need to look through all the categories and find the item Memory Configuration or something similar.

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In this menu item you need to find the tab responsible for the set mode in which the memory bus operates. This mode is usually called FSB Memory Mode. Next, you need to select this option and press Enter.

Go to the menu section that opens to find a line there indicating the current clock frequency at which the DDR2 memory operates. This section may be called FSB DDR2 Mhz or FSB Clock Speed. You need to delete the current value that the memory frequency has, then enter a higher value, which is determined experimentally.

Next, you need to look through other sections in the menu to find an item where you can save the changes you have made and reboot the PC. Often this mode is duplicated by pressing the F10 key. This way you will retain the set value which is the memory clock speed.

When the PC boots up again, launch an application that uses memory intensively to check whether the new frequency leads to glitches in the system. If problems are detected, you need to restart the PC again and roll back the BIOS settings to the old values.

You can also gradually reduce the clock frequency relative to the maximum, and check at what value stable operation of the system will be restored. This should be done until you can find a compromise between performance and system stability.

1. An overclocked processor paired with non-overclocked memory will not provide maximum performance.
2. An example is given for overclocking “regular” DDR memory.
But if you, for example, have CeleronD and DDRII memory, then the process itself remains the same.
Only the frequency and timing parameters change (DDRII memory operates at higher frequencies with higher timings).

Frequency overclocking

1. Go to the BIOS by pressing and holding the “Delete” key at the initial moment the system boots ( before Windows boot screen).

2. “Advanced Chipset Features” - “DRAM Configuration” is a tab for editing memory timing parameters.
Next, in each line, instead of AUTO, we put the number to the right of the line.
"Row Cycle Time (tRC)" - 12.
"Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC)" - 16.
Other timings should be set for a frequency of 400 MHz.
"Power Bios" - "Memory Frequency" - DDR333 (166 MHz).

If tests fail or memory error messages pop up:

Raising memory voltage
"Power Bios" - "Memory Voltage" - 2.9v (3.0v).

Let's run the tests again.
- reduce the divisor
“Power Bios” - “Memory Frequency” - DDR266 (133 MHz) and again we test in Windows, but after that, usually the memory already works stably.

For example, the processor multiplier is 9, the overclock is 2700 MHz, the memory is set to DDR333.
Therefore, we divide 2700 by 11.
The result is 245 MHz i.e. 490 MHz DDR.

One more type of overclocking should be highlighted: lowering the multiplier (and increasing the bus frequency) in order to find the most optimal memory frequency.

Overclocking by timings

Sometimes overclocking by timing gives better results than overclocking by frequency.
So you should check both the first and second options.
Also, an increase in the main timings leads to an increase in frequency overclocking.

“Advanced Chipset Features” - “DRAM Configuration 1T\2T Memory Timing” - “1T”.
Testing on Windows.

Basic memory timings:
CAS# Latency (CL) -> 2.5T (for more expensive memory, 2.0 is possible).
RAS# To CAS# Delay (tRCD) -> 3T.
RAS# Precharge (tRP) -> 3T.
Cycle time (Tras) -> 7T.

Timings can be set below the given values ​​- it all depends only on the abilities of your memory.
And this can only be verified by testing in test packages and real applications.
For inexpensive memory (Digma/NCP/PQI) at frequencies above 400 MHz, it is advisable to set the main timings as 3.0-4-4-8, respectively.

Testing again on Windows.
If there is no stability, we increase the memory voltage and increase the timings.
Since it is difficult to choose a memory (even the same model) that would work the same way as, for example, in tests, you should independently select exactly the frequency and timings at which there would be complete stability.

Not everyone knows that simply installing RAM into a computer is not enough. It’s useful to set it up and overclock it. Otherwise, it will provide the minimum efficiency specified in the parameters. Here it is important to consider how many strips to install, how to distribute them among slots, and how to set parameters in the BIOS. Below you will find tips on installing RAM, learn how to properly install, configure, etc.

The first question that arises when users want to increase the performance and speed of RAM is whether it is possible to install memory modules from different manufacturers that differ in frequency into a computer? When deciding how to install RAM in a computer, it is better to purchase modules from the same manufacturer, with the same frequency.

Theoretically, if you install modules of different frequencies, the RAM works, but at the characteristics of the slowest module. Practice shows that incompatibility problems often arise: the PC does not turn on, the OS crashes.

Therefore, if you plan to install several strips, buy a set of 2 or 4 modules. The same chips have the same overclocking potential parameters.

The usefulness of multi-channel mode

A modern computer supports multi-channel RAM operation, with a minimum of 2 channels equipped. There are processor platforms with three-channel mode, and others with eight memory slots for four-channel mode.

When dual-channel mode is enabled, the processor's performance is increased by 5–10%, and the graphics accelerator's performance is increased by up to 50%. Therefore, when assembling even an inexpensive gaming device, it is recommended to install at least two memory modules.

If you are connecting two RAM modules, and the board installed in the computer is equipped with 4 DIMM slots, follow the installation order. To enable dual-channel mode, install modules in the computer, alternating the board connectors through one, i.e. place them in 1 and 3 or use connectors 2 and 4. The second option is often convenient, because often the first RAM slot is blocked by the processor cooler. If the radiators are low profile, this problem will not arise.

You can check whether the dual-channel mode is connected through the AIDA64 application. Go to the “Test cache and memory” item. The utility will also help you calculate the performance of RAM before overclocking, and observe how the memory and its characteristics have changed after the overclocking procedure.

Setting frequency and timings

To overclock RAM, you need to know how. When you just install RAM in your computer, the RAM will most likely operate at the lowest possible frequency available in the processor’s technical parameters. The maximum frequency must be set, configured through the motherboard BIOS, or manually; for acceleration there is Intel XMP technology, supported by almost all boards, even AMD.

When you manually set it to 2400 MHz, the memory will operate at standard timings for this frequency, which are 11-14-14-33. But HyperX Savage modules cope with stable operation at lower timings at a high frequency of 2400 MHz; this ratio (low timings with high frequencies) is a guarantee of high RAM performance.

A useful technology developed by Intel - Extreme Memory Profile - allows you to avoid manually setting each timing; in two clicks you select the optimal profile from those prepared by the manufacturer.

Memory overclocking

We said above that installing, even correctly, the RAM strips is not enough. Having turned on the two-channel, or better yet, four-channel mode, select the optimal frequency settings that correlate with the timing. Remember, first of all, that no one will give you a guarantee of overclocking; you will be able to overclock one memory perfectly, but unsuccessfully overclock another. But don’t be afraid that the memory may fail when you overclock it: if it’s turned up too high, it will simply not start.

What to do if overclocking is unsuccessful? Typically, motherboards are equipped with an auto-reset function, which you can use when the computer does not start several times after overclocking. You can also do it manually by using the Clear CMOS jumper (aka JBAT).

The frequency is selected experimentally, and the supply voltage and timings are also set. Of course, there is no guarantee that the selected ratio will be better than the maximum XMP profile. Often, with maximum frequency overclocking, you have to increase the timings.

Be sure to test your result using the AIDA64 Cache & Memory Benchmark utility. Overclocking can lead to a drop in speed, becoming almost useless. Typically, low-frequency versions have higher potential than high-end ones.

Installing memory and overclocking it are simple processes, especially when the RAM supports ready-made XMP profiles. Remember that it is more practical to buy RAM for your computer as a kit in order to get a performance boost from dual-channel mode, not only from overclocking. We recommend purchasing a low-profile RAM for your computer to avoid incompatibility when using a large-sized processor cooler. Follow the tips, then you can overclock the RAM to maximum speed.