| RAM Optimization |
|
One of the most important tasks to improve the performance in our PC is the optimization of the RAM or memory of the system. By making the necessary adjustments in the BIOS we can increase the productivity of the system. Here the step by step. Almost every time the system access the RAM to read, write and make search procedures. This makes very useful to change some parameters to improve the system performance. Lets see some important concepts before starting. The RAM modules have some physical limitations that makes them impossible to work at high frequencies. With the improvements in technology and science this will be forgotten, till then we will have to use the actual properties to make effective the operations already mentioned. The better the quality of the RAM modules , more adjustments we can make to improve the performance without harming the normal performance of the system. STEP 1 – SPD Table The chips incrusted in the modules have work conditions that are determined by very small circuits included in the modules. This is known as the SPD table (Serial Presence Detect), with a size of 256 bytes. The values introduced by the manufacturers in this table are usually conservative, to minimize errors and maintain the RAM stable. The typical case is assembling modules with high quality chips and a performance capable of working with aggressive timings, together with tables SPD that describe low values. We can avoid the lecture of the table by BIOS disabling the “Auto Detection” function which allows a manual configuration. STEP 2 – Erasing the CMOS The worst thing that can happen with this procedure is to have a non-bootable system, caused by a synchronization error in the access to RAM configured in the last step. If this happens we have to reset BIOS, disconnecting the power cable of the power supply and changing the position of the CLEAR CMOS jumper. In this case we will have to configure all the BIOS again. STEP 3 – Changing RAM properties The parameters used to adjust the RAM behavior are normally in the BIOS menu called Advance Chipset Setup/Advance Chipset Features. We have to make the adjustments in the following order: DRAM Timing (DRAM Timing Selectable) Disable this option to allow the manual configuration. This allows to enable 4 parameters:
The variable that interest us is CAS Latency (can appear as CL). In DDR modules this value increases to 2/2,5/3 cicles (T o times) RAS Precharge usually changes between 2/3 and 4 cicles. Active Precharge Delay between 5 and 8 cicles. STEP 4 – Verifying The idea is to use the fewest cycles in each task, the lowest values should be the ones that give the system a better performance. A standard value for a DIMM DDR module is 3/4/4/8 according to the parameters mentioned in the previous step. As the value that really matters is the CAS Latency, if there is a 3 we can try changing the value to 2,5. If every works ok after executing normal applications is because the system is stable. If the system turns instable we should change the correspondent value and return to the initial one. If the system doesn’t boots we will have to apply the STEP 2 (Erasing the CMOS). Here you can see a couple of examples:
So in general terms we can try with the four values until we find the lower value that allow us to obtain a stable system with a better performance. It is recommended to measure the performance of the RAM and compare it with a specialized software.
( 1 Vote ) |
