Maximum PC

My previous system was:
C2D e8400 @ 4.07GHz
2GB A-Data Vitesta EE 800 and 2GB Crucial Ballistix 1066 @ 900MHz 4-3-3-8 20 1.9v
MSI p6n SLI FI 650i

Recently, I upgraded to the P5Q pro TUrbo from ASUS.

For a while I could hit 1128 perfectly stable @ 5-5-5-18 52 2.3v

Now I seem to only hit 900MHz at the same voltage, and anything except for Auto timings (5-5-5-18 50) usually just fails entirely ever since I got the new mobo. (in some cases, just switching to manual WITHOUT changing anything fails)

What gives? I can put extra juice into the RAM now (the 650i wasn't doing squat) and the NB supports up to 1300 (as opposed to the 650i's 800, 900 being an OC)

Is it RAM incompatibility? I hear this board has problems with 4 sticks. could that be it? or is my RAM just not fit to hit those numbers (FYI the RAM felt perfectly cool @ 2.3v)

I always avoided 4 sticks with C2Q systems. Forget about mixing kits and OCing. I have a hard time believing Crucial Ballistix 1066 was perfectly cool @ 2.3v. It might have been at idle but those things get very warm under load. Mine use to run fine with 1.8-2.0V. OC each kit individually and see which one is holding you back or if it's a deadly combination.

No kidding. The 4 sticks must be doing something wierd with the voltages, because they just didn't feel like they were putting out 2.3v worth of heat. the only set getting much above room temperature was the A-data set.

that 650i must be something special with RAM, though, because I really can't do much with my timings on this board. I'll give each set a try.

BTW the reason I'm mix-matched is because I originally bought the A-data set, then they flat out stopped selling them when I needed to switch to 4GB, so I tried to make the A-data set the limiting factor so I wouldn't slow myself down.

So, after testing things out a bit with each of the sets, I DID have more freedom with timings with each of the sets separate. The Ballistix actually seemed to be the bottleneck of the two, as the A-data was posting (not quite booting,tho) at 1200MHz 2.3v. The Ballistix started giving me issues when raised above 1100 and 2.3v. so I've been running and testing both sets at 1081MHz, 5-5-5-18 and 2.34v. Seems stable, quick, and not too hot. (gets a little warm on prime95 Mixed)

My Random Access latency is at about 72ns. which is quite a bit slower than the 59-62ns range I was getting at 900MHz 4-3-3-8.

My Bandwidth is about 9GB/s, much faster than the 7.5GB/s when at 900, but 1081 just doesn't seem all that special with timings like 5-5-5-18. I would rather be hitting more exotic timings and get down into the 50ns's again, and most reviewers were able to hit this speed on the 4-4-4-12 timings.

I'm still thinking there may be some sort of V-drooping i'm not aware of. I've got the RAM OC charger on, But without the RAM voltage readings, i'm not sure how much voltage is ACTUALLY there.

I never cared much about my RAM frequency or timings. I can't notice real world performance differences between DRR2 800 5-5-5-18 1.8V and DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 2.0V. I always settled for 3.2-3.4Ghz overclocks with my C2Q systems so instability, longevity, and peace of mind wasn't an issue. Those multipliers are a PITA!

And you certanly could be right in that case.

However, overclocking my RAM from 800 to 1128, especially with the RAID0 setup, has been improving loading and streaming times in games pretty effectively. According to sandra, my bandwidth went from 6.8GB/s to 9GB/s from stock to OC. I've got it figured out a little better right now/

I think that has more to do with your RAID setup than the memory OC. Effectively halving your access times has a great effect on the tasks you've mentioned. They could also both be placebos, since your CPU is clocked so fast.

Either way, you're happy, so we're happy.

Why thank you!

And my seek times actually arent that great. about 15ms