Hi all,Well, I just finished reaching my target CPU OC on my new Q6600 of 3.6GHz @ 400x9 (HW specs below). CPU 1.42v, NB 1.4v, SB 1.2v, FSB-Term 1.3v. Initial tests in MemTest, Super-Pi, and Prime95(quad) all inidcate completely stable. With this, I am so far pleased, although I will have to work a bit more later to see if I cant get the CPU volts down a bit and still maintaine long-term Prime95 stbability. CoreTemps are averaging in the upper 70s, sometime low 80s, per core.So, I have now taken a keen interest in NickN's tRD (CAS Latency articles) in this forum and have decided to see if I can get my RAM into the CAS Latency Windows of Interest (CALWI) described in the part-6 thread. Thanks for this article Nick, I was unfamiliar with tRD and the significant role it plays.With DDR2-1066 G.Skill 8500C5 RAM 2x2GB (non micron chips), I am attempting to tighten the timings to CAS4-4-4-12 DDR2-960 to 1066, or CAS5 above 1141. But non of this even comes close with 5-5-5-15-2t rated sticks, which all DDR2-1066 pairs sold on NewEgg seem to be ATT. I have been able to get CAS4 at DDR2-800, but not anything higher. Needless to say, DDR2-1200 didn't post either, but I expected that.Things I have tried so far:DRAM Static Read Control: Enable & Disabled, no difference.Upped NB volts to 1.55v. No difference. Back to 1.40v.Upped DRAM volts from default 2.0~2.1v to 2.2v. Still no post.Tried 450x8 FSB. Still no post.Has anyone been able to get DDR2-1066 8500C5 rated sticks to run in either CALWI CAS4 or CAS5 areas? If so, with what brand/model? I expected not to run DDR2-1066 CAS4 but would have thought DDR2-960, still in the CAS4 CALWI area, would have been possible with these.How do you begin to test odd-ball combinations of timings such as 4-5-5-12; is there any logic or sequence to try varous timing combinations? I ask only becuase I seemed to have always used 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-15. I do have access to the Corsair 8500C5D sticks 1x4GB from the other box but I bought a pair 2GB sticks for the sole purpose of OC'ing and perhaps reaching a 1T(1N) Command Rate, which in my AMD OC days gone-by, was an impossiblity if filling all four slots on the MB.Does anyone know if any good RAM OC'ing guides or articles that fully explain tightening the timings, but at the same time, not requiring a Phd in molecular-micro-biology and substraites, LOL?Anyway, thanks for any pointers you might have.Regards,

If the memory won

Thank you much for the courteous and timely reply Nick. I know you're always busy with something and yet you find time to steer a single one of us in the right direction.I appreciate the timings formula and will apply it tonight along with going over your links to the other sites again.BTW (OT), P.Taylor just blog'd an interesting artticle about Autogen and PCIe bandwidth if you haven't seen it yet.

Check your memory voltage too... most memory sticks can handle more than default. best to check in the forums for the product.. the techs usually know whats safe to runA touch of NB voltage can also help stability but be careful in that areaNo, I had not seen Phils latest... I am neck deep in EU autogen right now. Its probably something I already know LOL but thanks for the heads up.EDIT.. Yep, already aware of that one which is what I am doing right now... AG calcualtions for EU areas. Its about time they pulled their heads out of... LOLI am glad Phil is there with the crowbar working the CORE

Some marginal stuff from mushkin appears to be the fasted rated DDR2-1000 at newegg, and the price shows at $175 for 2 x 1GB:Brand mushkin Series REDLINE Model 996525 Type 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Tech Spec Capacity 2GB (2 x 1GB) Speed DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Cas Latency 4 Timing 4-5-4-11 Voltage 2.2-2.35V Heat Spreader Yes Manufacturer Warranty Parts Lifetime limited Labor Lifetime limited Or this Corsair for $600/2GB. 2T unfortunately. Oy!:The Dominator Series Twin2X2048-8888C4DF is a 2048 MByte matched pair of DDR2 SDRAMDIMMs built using Corsair

Well, just a quick update, even @ 2.3v, I can't even get 4-8-8-18 to post at DDR2-961 on these G.Skill sticks, let alone DDR2-1000. I've even started a spreadsheet to keep track of all the combinations I've tried. I'll keep trying, but I'm done for tonight. Maybe tomorrow on the Corsair 8500C5D sticks. I'm starting to think this might be a pretty lofty goal for the DDR2 range sticks as I don't see any DDR2-800 CAS3 sticks or DDR2-1066 CAS4 sticks on NewEgg, other than a pair of DDR2-1150 CAS5 sticks for half a grand (US). I understand the binning and the hand-picking, but I'm not seeing any CAS4 reviews on DDR2-1000 and above on anything currently in stock. From everything I've re-read over the past two days, it would seem DDR2-1000 at CAS4 with some 8500C5 sticks would be the sweet-spot, but I'm not seeing it.

You may need to get away from newegg and start looking directly at the memory companiesKeep in mind the DDR3 price wars will probably stat sometime mid summer and everyone is going to benefit from that.. DDR2 and DDR3Suggestionshttp://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memo...flexxlc_editionhttp://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memo...per_hpc_edition"Setting the modules to 4-4-4-12, we began to raise the memory frequency. We grinned happily as the modules strolled over and above DDR2-1000, as would be expected of Micron D9-based modules. Expecting to experience hiccups around DDR2-1050, we were pleasantly greeted by a maximum frequency of DDR2-1185 at 4-4-4-12 2T!"http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220241for the price those appear to be a decent deal.. but the voltage rating tells me they may run hot at higher speeds and lower latency. Make sure your BIOS will allow 2.3v+

Jordanal,If you are running that Q6600 in the upper 70's to low 80's, you are going to fry that chip. The thermal max for a B3 version of the Q6600 is 63C and for the G0 version, its 71C.With my Q6600, I have the G0 version /w a VID of 1.2125. Under Prime95 max torture test, the cores only heat up to a max of 62 62 59 58 as reported by CoreTemp. While idling, 32 31 29 29.Q6600 G0 @ 4.0ghzBFG9800GX2 video cardASUS P5K-E WiFi moboZalman 9700 cooler

LOLThe thermal limit or Tjunction for a Q6600 (2nd revision) is 110c. R1 is 100cit will shut down automatically long before thatshutdown threshold is between 85-90cYou will never fry italthough I would not run one with a true diode temp of 75+c, it will still never burn up

Well, I've applied a lot of time the last few days in an attempt to reach the CALWI with a Prime95 stable system, using my exixsting components. But alas, it's not in the cards. I have learned a lot from this experience and now feel confident in my abilities to judge the performance of Memory while applying a set of goals. I must thank Nick again for teaching me how to target RAM settings along with purchasing-research and expectations.In the end, I was only able to approach the top of the CALWI, and even then, it was the 1ns spread window, but with more than +.15v above the rated RAM vdc, a setting I wasn't quite prepared to set permanently. The Corsair 8500C5D (4x1GB) sticks had even more issues as those were unstable at the default DDR2-1066 becuase I was filling all four slots with them. That just proves my theory that dual-channel (1 pair) will always overclock better than 2 pair.Back on the G.Skill 2x2GB 8500C5 (PK) series, these perform as solid as it gets at DDR2-1066, 5-5-5-15-2T. So, I decided to play with the "Transaction Booster" and "Relax Level" in the Asus BIOS, while remaining at the rated RAM volts. After enabling the "Booster" and setting the "Relax Level" to +2, Everest says I'm reading 8830MB/s with a 55.0 Latency. Memset indicates a tRD peformance level of 6 and with this, the Prime95 has successfully continued.Having also read Nick's elaboration on the current lack of high-performance sticks in a reply to Noel in the other thread, I've decided that I'm going to stay with these settings for the time being, until perhaps the summer price-wars bring down the PC9600 sets, provided that they still exist at that time. Since I must have a total of 4GB and now see that chosing 2x2GB sticks is the right choice, I'll have to watch and see if the advertised CAS improves on the 2GB sticks as well.All in all, I'm very pleased with this overclock, my best yet, and my only regret is I couldn't officially join the CALWI-club with a full 4GB on board. Oh well, now I have another goal to keep my eye on and goals are always a good thing.Regards,