Corsair @ 2.75v - Long term issues ?

[GRiDlock]

I have a question regarding ram voltage.

I have 2 sticks of Corsair PC3200 running with 2.75v in order to get stabilty at 225Mhz Cas2 (3.3.6). It will run 215Mhz Cas2 (3.3.6) with only 2.55v, but that means only 3.06 Ghz instead of 3.25Ghz (from my 2.4).

Do other people run their ram at 2.75v or is it a bit to much for a 24/7 system.

NB: CPU is still at stock 1.5v

Cheers, GRiDlock

[Korky]

Every rig ive messed about with i put memory v straight to the top be it 2.75 or 2.85. Never see any problem in doing it.

[fondie]

my twinmos pc3200 is running happily at 3.06v, the max my mobo will allow, it probably doesn't need it, but i can't be bothered to fiddle around with it to find out where it's stable so maxed out is where it's staying!

[Austin]

You guys are mad, esp if you o/c PC3200 on SktA where it's slight overkill in the first place. Adding voltage seriously adds heat and above the normal voltage for the part will almost certainly result in some long-lasting damage whether that shows straight away or several months down the line.

GRiDlock can you not run CL2.5 rather than CL2.0 ... all that extra heat and stress for 1% overall perf boost seems a little OTT. Esp so on Dual Channel which should inherently relieve latency anyway. Another popular option is to run the FSB and RAM async ... from what I've read it's not as bad on these new P4's as you'd think. Many people find 1000FSB+ with async RAM is far preferable to 900FSB synced for example. IMHO try the above or simply sell your current RAM and get some PC3500-4000 ... Adata is well respected and cheap to boot.

[GRiDlock]

My setup is a BH7 (not dual channel) - I think @225 it needs 2.75v to do CL2.5 too.

Q. Is CL2 really only 1% better than CL2.5 ?

With FSB=180 RAM=225(4:5)@2.75v - CPU = 3.25Ghz
With FSB=170 RAM=225(4:5)@2.55v - CPU = 3.06Ghz

Ok, my options are.
1. Run 213Mhz - 3.06Ghz (2.55v)
2. Run 225Mhz - 3.25Ghz (2.75v)
3. Run 180Mhz - 3.25Ghz (2.55v)

Whats the general opinion ?

GRiDlock

[Austin]

i845PE is a mighty fine chipset. I'd personally run "3. 180Mhz - 3.25Ghz (2.55v)", lower voltage should mean far less heat and a happier longer living CPU too. No bad choice by any means, just comes down to your prefs, probably best to benchmark in the things you do most and use that info to help you decide. As for the merits of CL2.0 vs CL2.5 it is way over-hyped. Last time I checked thoroughly we were in SktA KT333 days but even so I doubt it makes much of a diff even without Dual Channel, very often graphs are shown in a way which flatters the diffs ... also stupid things like games at 640x480 low detail so bear those in mind when viewing reviews.

[SilentDeath]

check ur ram chips specs. mine are samsung, which are rated at 2.5-2.7v, so im running them at 2.7 which is what there rated at (read: what there designed to run at) they can go further id not go more than +0.1 over max rated without atleast heatspreaders or better ram cooling

[Darkmatter]

Dont quote me on this but im sure the specs on Corsair Memory is 2.8volt well at least it is for the PC3500. Download the .pdf from corsairs site and check the spec

[Austin]

If those voltages are the 'normal' ones, have you guys considered you're being sold PC3200 that's simply overvolted to run at a faster speed?

[GRiDlock]

It would appear that they warranty most ram to 2.8v (but don't hold me to that). Website has a link to RamGuy forums which has more info.

GRiDlock

[Hans Voralberg]

Corsair IIRC warranty up to 2.75-2.8, I ran 2.9 24/7 and cant careless about heat because there a massive 120mm on top of the ram.