[HOW TO] Update SPD

Hi,
here is a short tutorial on how to change the timings of your RAM using Thaiphoon Burner to get better overclocking-results.

CAUTION:
USE THIS ON YOUR OWN RISK! YOU MAY DAMAGE YOUR RAM/NOTEBOOK!!

I Use Thaiphoon Burner 7.X on my Windows 7 64 bit.
(you need the "full Version" to be able to write the modified data to RAM!)

1.) Start Windows with "deactivated Driver signature force"
(F8 before windows starts)

2.) Read Data from Ram
Press on" Read" and choose your RAM to want to read from.


3.) Press "Editor" to open the timing editor

4.)Choose the frequenz where you want to change the timings
The ratio FSB to RAM is 1:3.
The default FSB is 133mhz so the RAM is running @ 400 Mhz (you can not change this!) so i change the value (Min SDRAM cycle time) so the Clock frequenz is showing 400Mhz.


5.) Choose the latency you want to use at 400Mhz
Change the value "Min CAS latency Time" so that the "DEF CAS" is showing the Latency you want to use. ( in my case: CL7)


6.) change the timings
Of course you have to change all the other timings.
Well - i use 7-7-7-20 and i changed the other values a little bit - maybe someone know how to calculate the other timings - i just raise them up a little bit......


7.) Press next to choose what you want to do with your new config.
I always update the Hex editor.

After that i check the checksum (EEPROM - correct Checksum).


Now you can write the timings to RAM and make a reebot.



IMPORTANT:
- After the first "READ" save your config in a file to have a backup!
- DON'T ever change the CL over CL8! The Bios is not able to work with the RAM using CL9 or higher!
- I don't know whether my timings are perfekt - but they work fine ;-)
- When you "killed" a ram and the notebook will not come up anymore: use a working RAM, start your notebook and plugin the not working RAM while the System is running (ON YOUR OWN RISK!) it works fine - Thaiphoon Burner is able to work with this RAM an you can restore the timings from your backup.


Why to change the timings?
The Bios is using the RAM @400Mhz with the specific timings (6-6-6-18 in my case.)
Whe I use an overclocked FSB from 166 Mhz, the RAM is working at 500Mhz (you overclocked your RAM very much!!!)
So you have to slow down the timings to get a stable work of the RAM.

My results:
With the 6-6-6-18 timings, i could go to 164Mhz FSB

with 7-7-7-20 timings, i could go to 172 FSB stable (175Mhz is "intel-burntest-stable but crash when starbing 3dmark)

with 8-8-8-23 timings, i could go to 180Mhz "intel-burntest-stable but crash when starbing 3dmark

at the end I could use this at stable settings:
(running intel burn test @ maximum for over 1 hour and run 5 turns of 3dmark06 in loop.)

Core i7 @ FSB: 172 Mhz and ThrottleStop
GPU: 0,95Volt with 535Mhz Core - 1284Mhz Shader - 948Mhz Memory
3dMark 06 scores:
8660
8649
8657




Have fun ;-)

 

Excellent Thaiphoon guide. I'm usually cheap with the rep but this guide is definitely worth it.

 

nice guide.

i wish this mattered on the R1...

 

+Rep. You are amazing.

 

Awesome guide. Thanks!

Increased my OC from 170 to 191 (I was able to do 10 wprime runs. I'll test out intel burn over the weekend) when I changed my latency to cas 8.

 

Noob question: does changing your ram latency slow down your ram? (noticeably)

 

Overtime probably as you are stressing it more but no... I am assuming CAS latency is interpolation which the smaller the value the faster however I am unknowledgable in the overclocking field. Someone like DavyGT would know this...

 

Amazing! I'll have a go at this when I get home!
Thanks for the guide. Can't rep+ you as I need to spread the love apparently
Fingers crossed for 180 !

The ram is still running at a faster speed than stock so it will compensate for the slower timings.

 

Hi...

Thanks for your rep !!

Well.....
let me try to explain it with some facts:
(remember.... fsb:RAM = 1:3 )
CL6 @ 400Mhz: (6/400 = 0,015) 0,015 access per seconds
CL6 @ 500Mhz: (6/500 = 0,012) 0,012 access per seconds
CL7 @ 500Mhz: (7/500 = 0,014) 0,014 access per seconds

So we slow down the RAM to stay in the "normal" range!

So as you can see: we slow down the timings, but the "acces per seconds" stay the same..... the "ram performance" is nearly the same but the more MHZ on CPU will be great!

(well.. i dont know whether my calculation is correct - but i hope you know what i mean!!)

WOW... nice result!!!!
i was able to work with this clocks too, but when i start a game or a (graphic-) benchmark, I get a crash...

Does everything works fine with games?!

 

+rep for the long and thought out post, great guide. Depending on if my Ram is what is holding me back (Planning on testing when I have time) I might be doing this to see if I can break the 9k mark.

 

I would realy like to breake the 9k in 3dmark06 - but me GPU is not going very far
"only" 535Mhz......

 

Im able to do graphic intensive benchmarks with 180 blck. Did a couple at 183 and most were successful but it crash one time so I'll stick at 180. Better than 170 lol.

New 3dmark 8664

 

nice scores !!!!

 

This is a very well thought out and greatly appreciated guide! +rep

P.S. too bad its $30 xD. Oh well Ill try to find the money somewhere. Definitely worth it if I get it to work.

 

Megamilchmann, if you don't know what timing delays to use set them to standard JEDEC values from the DDR3 Speed Bin group box.

 

Hi,

I know about that - well I couldn't find detailed timings jet.

Maybe we can make a little collection that i can update at the first post.

 

how do you write the file to the memory?

 

Anyone made any progress on this?

PC is rocking its new OCZ SSD and want to pump the performace some more

 

no, because it is a $30 program that requires a paid email account...


there has to be a better/free option...

 

You could install Windows XP SP3/Vista/7 32 without a key and use Thaiphoon Burner 6.3. No other free alternative that works- EVGA SPD tool does not flash, SPDtool is outdated and new Thaiphoon Burner trial versions don't flash.

 

no one bolds the fact that the new one sucks

some of the sites are a little shady that still have 6.3 version, but it WORKS

 

If only I had the patience to install XP 32bit

Edit: Scratch that... I have an old inspiron laptop lying around... would that work?

 

if it takes DDR3 memory...


I did a vista install because it takes 1/2 as long as XP...



I still can't get past a 275 FSB though

 

Well that won't work. It's DDR2 only. Would I be able to transplant the HDD w/ XP 32bit into the m11x solely to flash the DDR3 memory?

 

you may need the VID mod then.

did you try just one stick at a time to rule out a bad stick?

 

possibly, but it would be more of a PIA than installing vista/xp...

 

Yeah but if i installed it then I would need to reinstall over 300gigs of data onto my HDD again. I found a spare 8gig USB ill just create a bootable on. THanks.

 

So you must buy Thaiphoon Burner?

 

No.

 

Will this work with one of those bootable CD ROM's? I have hirens boot disk with loads of utilities on and it can boot XP off the disk/pendirve.

 

Right finally got round to doing this!!

I'm @ 178 at the moment! Stability testing.

Any chance of some setting for 8-8-8-20??

Pleeeeease

Passed x5 no problem.

And My TS bench with 2GB of RAM (Testing one at a time) is 42.682. Is this good?

185FSB TS Bench 40.966 @ 7-7-7-20
188FSB TS Bench 40.124 @ 7-7-7-20

Can I get into the 30's at 7-7-7-20??

Woooh 191FSB TS Bench 39.624 @ 7-7-7-20

Looks like I have a godly chip and RAM!!

 

I tried to do this so long ago with my G73 using SPDTool for the same reason.

It didnt work and I found not all ram is capable of having the spd timings flashed so I figured that was the reason. So I guess I will give this a shot to see if it works when SPDTool failed.

 

I actually paid for the full version at £23.. I guessed it would be worth it for the support. (They have been very fast on the email).

Give it a shot. Going to do a thread later with all my results.

 

mardon, many thanks for supporting our intentions!

 

No problem, you were fast to reply to my initial email which is a big plus in my book so i'll happily pay the money.

£23 for 324Mhz is worth it in my book

Grat news both sticks can run at 191, so currently got 4GB and will be running various bench marks throughout the day.

Very happy man. 15 from 133 to 191.. Who'd have thought it!

39.515 TS Bench with 194BLK @ 7-7-7-20 and 4GB RAM.

What a monster i5 I have!!

 

congrats!

BTW can I use this for M11x-R1 if yes/no please explain

thanks

 

Cheers. Not sure if this software would work for the R1 TBH. I know the overclocking method is different.

Here is my 3Dmark06.

 

So are you saying i'd be better using the settings below:


Rather than these settings:


Very happy with the product currently testing 194BLK. 10 Intelburn test runs in and going well. 67C max temp.

On a side note. ITS VERY VERY IMPORTANT to set the Intel Graphics Chip to max battery. I can only get 175BLK with this set to balanced. Set it to Max battery and i'm up in the 190's!

 

Well, I find it hard to advise anything on these timings, because they are very specific for each system. I would not change something if the highest result have been achieved.

 

Will flashing to the top set of timings damage the RAM in anyway? They look slightly faster than what i'm running now so wouldn't mind giving them a try.

 

mardon,
There is a risk of making your computer unbootable at very low SPD timings. As you probably aware, the memory controller of the processor uses SPD timing delays for self-configuring. If it is not capable of operating at low timing delays you will see a black screen when you turn on your computer. To recover the SPD firmware you need one good DIMM module to pass POST and to enter the BIOS Setup Utility for DIMM hot-plugging. Discard BIOS changes and run Windows. After that, run TBurner and restore SPD firmware from backup.

 

So I should only try one stick at a time. I have been doing this currently.

I'll report back my findings.

 

Guys, is there any thread at forum.notebookreview.com dedicated to Thaiphoon Burner software discussion? Vitaliy Jungle is thinking of releasing a special edition of the utility for notebookreview.com. BTW, the new version 7.1.3.0 is coming June, 16th. The new version enables you to store any ASCII notes in the SPD firmware.

 

I dont think there is a standalone thread that I have noticed.

 

First post here but have been reading for a while.

Bringing this thread back after a month.

I could not get the trial of Thaiphoon burner 7.1.3 to work no matter what I did (still says kernel driver blocked even though booted with f8 and have UAC off). So yesterday I created a 5GB partition and installed windows xp 32 bit on it, using easyBCD to allow me to dual boot with my current windows 7 install. I then downloaded .net framework 2.0, thaiphoon burner 6.3 and CPU Z.

Here is my problem. I used the timings megamilchmann posted and flashed one my sticks of ram. Now under the SPD tab of CPU Z the ram timing changed from 6 6 6 15 to 7 7 7 20, but under the memory tab it still says the ram is being run at CL 6. My overclock has not changed either, still cannot get past 172.

Oh and thanks to everyone on here especially Davy GT and Unclewebb, I would have never known any of this was even possible without notebook review .

 

Wow I never thought of this. I havnt tried changing timings because I am not prepared to do a fresh install or use a different HDD to change timings. So does creating a partition and installing a 32 bit OS on it work?
Also, once the ram timings are changed would it be possible to delete the partition and return it to the C drive? (not that I wouldnt mind if I lost 5 gig)

 

Yes it seams to work well but I still have not managed to get my ram flashed successfully. I think you would also be able to delete the partition afterwards and then extend your windows 7 partition to absorb the freed space.

If you want to do the dual boot here is what I did:

-Create a new partition big enough hold windows XP
-Change hard drive operation from AHCI to ATA, XP will not recognize hard drive otherwise.
-Install XP on the partition
-install .net framework 2.0
-Run EasyBCD (it is free and I used version 1.73 because 2.1 beta was not working for me) and add windows XP to the windows 7 boot loader and rewrite the 7 boot loader over the XP boot loader.
-Then you are free to boot into either OS as long as you remember to switch between AHCI and ATA.

I would also recomend downloading the programs you want to and putting them on a flash drive because i was not able to get windows XP to connect to the internet. Or just leaving them on your win 7 partition and retrieving them from their.

After more testing I have discovered that it is simply not flashing my ram. It changes the JEDEC profiles but never seems to be writing the hex values to the ram. The hex editor values of my desired 7 7 20 timings and a read of my ram look totally different is this normal? I checked and rechecked that I was following the instructions at the beginning of this thread. Oh well, just running at stock timings for now, can OC to 172 so not too bad.

 

OK, well post something back if you get it to work. Currently when I OC above 166 I get BSOD

 

I can't comment on how you've done it because I purchased the program. But i'm guessing if it says your timings are 7-7-7-20 in thaiphoon and CPUz then thats what they are. Just try using set PLL to see if you can OC any higher.

 

I finally got around to this, and bought the full version of the burner.

Moded the SPD with Megamilchmann's setting is the root post of this thread and all was good.

Prior to modding the SPD the highest I could get was 164 in the BIOS. Now I can get 175 to work, but it fails some of the harder IntelBurn tests so I am running at 172. With just one RAM stick 175 was coming up stable.

Anything higher than 175 is crashing though at this point aren't we jumping to the CL8 setting? So not sure if editing that would help.

I boot at 134 then have a shortcuts for setpll to 170, 172, 175 on my desktop. After the reboot cycles I am now able to go straight to 175 (or 172 which I generally stick with).

3DMark06 Results post = 9222