Nforce 590 SLI MCP mobo and OCZ

[Zuntar]

Hey gents,

I am concidering getting an Nforce 590 SLI MCP Mobo, and I want to get 2Gb of PC26400 OCZ ram. the OCZ configurator on the website always recommends slower ram PC5400. Why and what would you recommend?

What about the EPP certified ones?

[TheLostSwede]

Hi there,

EPP below DDR800 isn't, in my opinion very useful since EPP is for...increasing performance.
If you are in the market for a new kit of ram, i would at least get a DDR800 specified kit as the price is about the same and you get a bit more performance out of it.

[Zuntar]

Ok, I got an EVGA 590 mobo (Foxconn w/ a sticker). I also got these sticks
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Titanium EPP-Ready Dual Channel (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz-ddr2_pc2_6400_titanium_epp_ready_dual_channel) in the 2Gb flavor.

Everything works fine and dandy as long as I don't enable EPP. Sticks are at 1.8V now per the auto settings, works fine. If I enable EPP it bumps it to 1.9V which is below the 2.1 specked on the OCZ site. Now, If I manually set it to 2.1Vand enable EPP, it still won't boot past the initial boot sequence, and when I go into the bios it makes lots of pretty colors and I have to reset the Bios. Memtest is happy with out the EPP enabled, can't get it to run w/ it though.

I have flashed the Bios to the latest and greatest as well.

Any thoughts?

[TheLostSwede]

Hi there,

Can you disable EPP and set timings, speed and voltages manually and see? 2 or 2.1 volts is enough. I know it may not be a good solution for you, but i have a feeling the EPP isn't working very well on all boards.

[Zuntar]

Hi there,

Can you disable EPP and set timings, speed and voltages manually and see? 2 or 2.1 volts is enough. I know it may not be a good solution for you, but i have a feeling the EPP isn't working very well on all boards.

Ok, I tried leaving the timings as they are (5,5,5,15) and set it at one command per clock cycle (1T).

blaaaa, it fubared again. Had to reset the cmos. :mad:

I have no idea what most of the memory settings on 590 boards are for, but I have a feeling that there is something not right.

Does any one have and in depth article/ tutorial on mem timmings for DDR2 that can help me set my system up stable yet fast?

[TheLostSwede]

The only timings you need to set are the standard ones. Does 2T help stability?

[Zuntar]

................ Does 2T help stability?

1T is what OCZ spec'd the sticks at.

If the sticks won't run at what they are spec'd at, then they're either not stable or their is a problem with the sticks. I am trying to find out what the issue is, so that I can correct the issue.

I was hoping that was going to get some help, not smart answers.:shakehead

[Thrax]

He is giving you help, zuntar. He's trying to figure out what is going on by trying standard troubleshooting options. If anyone is giving frustrated, smart-ass answers, it's you.

Lighten up.

[RyderOCZ]

Zuntar,

1T is more dependant on the board tan the ram. Not all boards are going to run 1T at DDR2-800, it depends on several factors in the boards design.

None of the OCZ tech's have the Foxconn 590 board, can you show me a link to the bios of the board?

Does it allow Drive Strength adjustment?

If you want faster and more direct help, there is a link in my sig to the official forums that we visit every day. Marcus and myself as well as 2 other tech's are there every day. We do not visit Icrontic for OCZ problems quite as often.

[Zuntar]

Alright, my bad. I took it as why don't you use 2T its more stable.... not have you tried 2T because its more stable. Please forgive my rudeness.:o

Yes, 2T is stable on my setup, it passes memtest, and boots into windows fine.
I tried the 1T knowing that most ddr2 based setups don't like it, and I wanted to see if that particular setting in the using EPP was a problem.

RyderOCZ, Yes it does allow Drive Strength adjustment. I can't find a pic of the screen, but i have a printed manual here.

Under drive strengh settings: All are set to auto.

DRAM Driver weak mode
CKE Drive strength
CS Drive strength
MA Drive strength
MCLK Drive strength
MD Drive strength
DQS Drive strength

I don't mind going to The OCZ forums, I just try to keep content here at Icrontic.... habit.;)

[RyderOCZ]

1T usually required some Drive strength and other mod's for me on my 590 DFI board. While at the moment I do not remember all of them :rolleyes: Hopefully we can find that data in my brain.

IIRC all of those (save the weak part) are set at 1.25 or 1.50X by default? Although one of them may be an Integer number... like 8, 10, 15...something like that.

Reduce everything by 0.25x, unless any of the Drives are already at 1.00x, leave them at 1.00x. So if say they are at 1.50X, set them to 1.25X, if they are already 1.25X, set 1.00x.

What memclock rate are you running? What HTT?

[Zuntar]

Unfortunately I am at work right now, so I'll have to try reducing every thing tonight.

I am running everything at default settings right now, so it would be 200Mhz FSB @1/1 and 5X HTT.

Thanks for your help Ryder and again, sorry Mackanz.

[TheLostSwede]

No offense taken sir, no drama. I have to admit though, that when it comes to ANY Nvidia based boards, Eric is the man.