3700EB problems

So i've had 2x512mb sticks of this stuff for quite some time now having bought it in 2003 before stocks went completely...ran it in a Shuttle SN45G for a while before i got my DFI.

I also got hold of a OCZ memory booster at the same time which has sat in my toolbox gathering dust for most of its life due to the excellentness of the DFI.

When i got the DFI i put one DIMM in at 2.5-2-2-6 1T and vaguely remembered managing 255mhz memtest stable, but with 2 sticks in I had to run it at around 235mhz memtest stable with max volts the board would give it (3.2v).

Moving on a few BIOSes and time I had another run at getting my board up to speed after leaving it at 225x10 1:1 for a long time. Now the max i can feed it is 3.1v without the booster. Again, with 2 sticks in the max i could manage was 235mhz at 2.5-2-2-6 1T memtest stable.

Prime on the other hand fails on the 1st test unless i drop to 220mhz (!) on the ram. I'm currently running at 250x10 with 4 hours under my belt with the 166 divider (207mhz), so its not a CPU problem. The board used to run 315x8 with a 150 divider (236mhz) although this was never prime stable - the board can hit high FSB. Either way I've tried running 2T, loosening the timings to 3-4-3-10 and more, volts ranging from 2.8 to 3.1v, chipset from 1.6 to 1.8v etc and i simply cannot get any more mhz out the memory prime stable.

So far what i havent tried is dropping this memory in another board...i did have 2 DFI boards for a while (RMA'd the first one) and i do have 2x256mb of Corsair BH-5 i can chuck in.

Short of trying to pick up some better memory, is there anything else i can do to get at least the intended performance out of my memory? (i.e. 233mhz 3-4-3-10) I haven't actually tried the booster yet

I always ran my 3700EB at 3-2-2-6/8/10 1T. and my memory hated just about any other timings. i think they would do maby 220~225 2.5-2-2-6 tops but 3-2-2-8 they do 270 on both my epox 9nda3+ and dfi cfx3200-dr after some tune'n. Also 3700EB is rated 3-2-3-8 1T 233mhz not 3-4-3-10. Stay away from trcd 4, mine would barely boot at 200mhz there. I ran mine 24/7 3-2-2-8 1T DC 2.8vdimm between 235~245 or 250~260 3.0vdimm depending on how the chip i used at the time overclocked and where the dividers fell.

Not familiar with dfi's other s939 boards unfortunatly so cant help ya much there. here is DFI's new support forum after the fall out with dfi-street.

first thing i would try is 3-2-3-8 and see if they gets ya anywhere.

3-4-3-8 is the SPD rating, but ill give 3-2-2-8 a go. Can't hurt to try.

I have tried literally every combination i can think of with this ram to get it to run over 220mhz fsb on my 250GB and have been on the OCZ support forums to read through their memory guide & given all the advanced settings a go for extra stability...its not that the memory won't pass memtest @ 233mhz, but itll instantly fail prime95 with anything over 220mhz.

Considering I bought the stuff based on Oskar's first run with the DFI board back in 2003 and he hit 270 1:1 without fuss im a bit miffed as to why mine won't budge.

I'll drop the BH-5 in just to make sure its not the memory controller on my A64 and give it a burn...

Hooked up the booster as well last night, wouldn't boot with it hooked up & the values on the display started around 25 and kept on going up...