How DDR 3 will run at 1066 MHZ on my intel board

[myelin]

Hello i have just bought Intel DG 41 WV board with G41 chipset, it only supports 4GB DD3 @ max 1066 MHZ, so i bought 2 sticks of 2GB 1333 MHZ ram. My Procesor is E2180 Dual core at 2.0 GHZ @ 800 MHZ.

Now the problem is that my RAM is running at 800 MHZ and although there are settings to manually change the speed of ram to 1066 in bios, i do not want to change them unless i know what i am doing.

These are MHZ settings: 800, 1066 and and SPD settings which are i do not understand. If i just change mhz without changing SPD than i get a beep and i have to reset CMOS

If i buy 1333 or 1066 MHZ or just another 1066 MHZ dual core, will my ram automatically switch to 1066 or not? What should be best upgrade for me 1066 FSB or 1333 FSB processor? or should i just keep my 800 MHZ processor?

Thanks.

Edited October 10, 2011 by myelin

[MagicAndre1981]

SPD ( Serial presence detect) = a part on the memory which makes it possible for the computer to know what memory is present, and what timings to use to access the memory.

Run CPU-Z and post a picture of the SPD tab for all modules and a picture of the Memory tab.

[myelin]

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[MagicAndre1981]

change the "Command Rate" in the BIOS to 2 and you can use the RAM with 533MHz. Set the timing to 7-7-7-20-27 and it should work.

[CoffeeFiend]

Now the problem is that my RAM is running at 800 MHZ and although there are settings to manually change the speed of ram to 1066 in bios

I wouldn't bother with it as it's not going to make any difference in system performance. Just see for yourself in any benchmark, like this one that google returned as the first result.

What should be best upgrade for me 1066 FSB or 1333 FSB processor? or should i just keep my 800 MHZ processor?

If it's fast enough for what you do then keep the CPU. If it's not fast enough then you have 3 main options:

1. a basic Core 2 Duo based CPU that will be a bit faster e.g. a Pentium E5700. That's the cheapest route you can take, with a ~75% increase in speed (noticeable but not quite like a "modern" CPU either)
   
2. a somewhat faster Core 2 Duo like my current CPU (the FSB speed is mostly irrelevant), a Core 2 Duo E7500 (I only got it because it was free) which still sells for $130 and really isn't worth the price IMO. A newer i3 2100 at $125 is almost twice as fast (almost 4x faster than your E2180) and that's the entry-level CPU of the current generation
   
3. moving on to something newer, like a 2nd generation Nehalem CPU (i3 2100, i5 2500k, etc) which would make a huge difference in speed but for more $
   

[myelin]

change the "Command Rate" in the BIOS to 2 and you can use the RAM with 533MHz. Set the timing to 7-7-7-20-27 and it should work.

I did this and i had beeps and no display at startup. I think Intel has locked these settings with FSB of processor!!! I had to remove the battery to reset CMOS! BTW there are no command rate settings available in Intel board!

Thanks i have decided to get ASUS g41 mobo which will allow me to max my ddr 3 to 1333 along with few more tweaks and buy a core 2 duo E6550

[CoffeeFiend]

Thanks i have decided to get ASUS g41 mobo which will allow me to max my ddr 3 to 1333

Well, that doesn't really make any sense:

-why waste the extra money on a new board, just to get faster RAM, when the benches I've linked to clearly show it makes no actual improvements?

-why buy a discontinued Core 2 Duo which is clocked almost at the same speed? It'll make very little improvement over your E2180 in most tasks (about 25%, barely enough to notice anything)

I would personally call that a waste of money (I'd sooner keep what you had as-is and keep the money too)

Edit: MagicAndre1981 adds a 4th option: AMD. Same price as a i3 setup really. It's basically a trade-off between less cores that are way faster (i3) vs more cores that are way slower (AMD). If your workloads benefit from a lot of cores AMD wins, otherwise Intel does. I personally have no use for a large amount of slow cores. More cores sitting idle does nothing for me, especially while those that do get used are a lot slower!

I mean, it's quite sad to see the entry level Intel i3 2100 score on par with AMD's most "high end" 6 cored monster X6 1100T from AMD in Photoshop... or actually score higher in sysmark... But also getting more FPS in pretty much every single game is a big deal killer for most. Its higher price and higher TDP are only adding insult to injury. Unless you're into video encoding a lot or such, then AMD might be a good pick still.

[MagicAndre1981]

why do you want to buy such an old CPU and a new board? Instead I would buy an AMD Socket Am3+ Motherboard (AMD 9xx chipset) + AMD Phenom II X4/X6 which is cheaper and better.

[myelin]

-why buy a discontinued Core 2 Duo which is clocked almost at the same speed? It'll make very little improvement over your E2180 in most tasks (about 25%, barely enough to notice anything)

ok, i think i got your point, but will 1333 MHZ processor not make a difference over 800 MHZ processor?

[CoffeeFiend]

ok, i think i got your point, but will 1333 MHZ processor not make a difference over 800 MHZ processor?

Its FSB speed? Not really. They (Intel or AMD) ensure it's fast enough to feed the CPU with the instructions, and it's typically faster than it really needs to be anyway.

The only things that would make a difference with that other old CPU is:

-it's clocked at 2.33GHz vs 2GHz for your E2180 (~15% faster across the board)

-it has more L2 cache (1MB vs 4MB) which will gain you another small boost (more in some apps, less in others)

Overall, the difference in speed between both CPUs is pretty minimal. It's just enough to notice if you're paying attention to that (or in a benchmark), but not enough to make a marked difference in everyday scenarios. Unless it's really cheap (like my E7500 was) then why not. I sure wouldn't pay a lot for a 4 year old CPU that's almost no faster than what you already have.

[puntoMX]

Thanks i have decided to get ASUS g41 mobo which will allow me to max my ddr 3 to 1333 along with few more tweaks and buy a core 2 duo E6550

Get the Gigabyte GA-G41MT-USB3 or so if you want to start overclocking, but like Coffeefiend says it is better to get a 45nm CPU (E3500 or so) as you will benefit more from it.

[CoffeeFiend]

Get the Gigabyte GA-G41MT-USB3 or so if you want to start overclocking

That old CPU should overclock nicely for sure. My old E2180 OC'ed ran faster than this E7500 I now have does. But yeah, you need a OC-friendly board first.

but like Coffeefiend says it is better to get a 45nm CPU (E3500 or so) as you will benefit more from it.

Then again, when you look at the price of a new board and new CPU vs the extra performance you get, and it still makes the i3 very tempting (budget permitting):

GA-G41MT-USB3 = $65

E3500 = $60

Total price = $125 for something ~45% faster -- about $2.77 for each % of speed increase

vs

an inexpensive board (e.g. GA-H61M-DS2) at $60 or so

i3 2100 = $125

Total price = $185 for something ~340% faster -- about $0.54 for each % of speed increase

Personally I'd spend the $60 more if I could afford it and get something MUCH faster out of it. Honestly, buying a socket 775 CPU in late 2011 isn't the best option (unless you get a really good deal)

[myelin]

ok, i have decided to stay with my system and save for an upgrade. Thanks

[MagicAndre1981]

yeah an Intel 2100 + H61 is also fine. Low power consumption + good speed.

[puntoMX]

Then again, when you look at the price of a new board and new CPU vs the extra performance you get, and it still makes the i3 very tempting (budget permitting):

GA-G41MT-USB3 = $65

E3500 = $60

Total price = $125 for something ~45% faster -- about $2.77 for each % of speed increase

vs

an inexpensive board (e.g. GA-H61M-DS2) at $60 or so

i3 2100 = $125

Total price = $185 for something ~340% faster -- about $0.54 for each % of speed increase

Personally I'd spend the $60 more if I could afford it and get something MUCH faster out of it. Honestly, buying a socket 775 CPU in late 2011 isn't the best option (unless you get a really good deal)

Well, I mend "or" not "both" , small investment and the OP could still sell what was left over. Intel is pushing S775 out and has raised prices on that platform; before you could get an E3x00 CPU for 35-40USD and a G41 mobo with DDR3 for 45-50USD. This makes buying a CPU with mobo combo with S775 less attractive indeed.

yeah an Intel 2100 + H61 is also fine. Low power consumption + good speed.

Low power consumption is why I swap my computers with G41+E3200 (DDR2 and 2 years in use) for i3 2100+H61 chipset (DDR3).