Free 2000-4000MB/s Memory Write perf boost (at least on Gigabyte A75)

[Formula350]

Noticed a hugeeee difference in memory performance between the ASRock A55 Pro3 and it's replacement, Gigabyte A75-UD4H. The ASRock was getting anywhere from 2000-3000MB/s better Write speeds, around 10,000MB/s to 11,000MB/s. The UD4H was only managing 6,000MB/s to 8,500MB/s (I did break 9,000MB/s in an unstable config though).

Initially I thought it was a problem with the CPU-NB (Mem Controller) in the BIOS, which I discovered was not running at it's full 900MHz at any DDR3 speed, which it should auto configure it 900MHz when running at DDR3-1866. Instead it was stuck on 720MHz, which is what DDR3-1600 auto configs to, and that's a healthy speed difference!

Informed Gigabyte and they got a beta BIOS out to me, which it now provides manual NClk (CPU-NB) divisor control, but Auto is still bugged and not running at 900MHz. Regardless, you can select a divisor of 4.00 and that is 900MHz, so everything is peachy there! Hopefully they'll release that BIOS soon (my board may have died though so I can't continue testing it )

However, that unfortunately didn't resolve the problem with the Write performance. While tinkering with the F7 release, I had decided to "Enabled" the "C6 Support" option (Default is "Disabled") and what do you know... FIXED WRITE SPEEDS! Overclocks don't seem to be effected by Enabling C6 either, so that's good.

To enable C6 Support, just go into the Advanced Chipset BIOS menu and it's the second option in the list Simply cursor down to it, and press the + key on the keypad or hit Enter and select "Enabled". Back out and goto "Save Changes and Exit" (or Press F10 from any menu) and that's it, right as rain

(To those wondering about the Beta BIOS. There are a couple new bugs in it that could cause problems for some. The biggest, which will result in your system not POSTing and requiring a CMOS clear, is the selection of any NClk Divisor lower than 4.00 (900Mhz) -- IOW selecting even 3.75 (960MHz) will require you to clear it. Also, the Memory Timing Menu's Proc ODT's "Auto" option does not work, not sure if it's broken any further, but it jumps to 60Ohms and doesn't display as "Auto" if you select it. So as a result, and not knowing Gigabyte's policy, I don't feel right with uploading it anywhere, I'm sorry. )

[Massman]

Thanks for the info!

I feel comfortable uploading that BIOS, if that's okay with you. Most of the users here understand the concept of beta-bios and know there are some risks involved if you try them.

[Formula350]

Originally Posted by Massman

Thanks for the info!

I feel comfortable uploading that BIOS, if that's okay with you. Most of the users here understand the concept of beta-bios and know there are some risks involved if you try them.

Hmm... <_> Well, alright, but I'm including a disclaimer!! lol