Can memory Command Rate be set to 1T on A7N8X ?

Beenthere · § #1 10-24-2004, 04:08 AM

Searched every where but can't find an aswer to the question:

Can the memory Command Rate on the A7N8X be changed from CMD = 2 to CMD = 1 ??? CMD=2 is the default as confirmed by Sisoft Sandra.

If the CMD rate can be changed where is the settings as I can't find it in the BIOS or any reference in the User's manual or the ASUS Support docs??? I've already set the 2-2-2-11 memory options but do not find a Command Rate BIOS option any where. I'm sure others have been thru this and I suspect the Command rate is NOT adjustable on the A7N8X series Mobos???

Tunes67 · § #2 10-24-2004, 04:44 AM

From what I understand.. The CPC is the Comand Rate on Nforce2 Chipset boards. I have been told that my A7N8X-E Deluxe board has this defaulted to a 1T command rate. I havent investigated this much more than that. Hopefully this info is accurate and that it helps you out. Also.. for my 2 cents.. I find Sisoft Sandra to be woefully inaccurate at just about any test I throw at it. I would try and find a second opinion from a different source, maybe Everest Home Edition (dunno if this lists the command rate off the bat though) when checking system config information or sensor readings. Cheers.

Tunes67

scrandman · § #3 10-24-2004, 05:55 AM

For what it's worth, 1T command rate is about the only thing that Sandra reports right with my memory.

Beenthere · § #4 10-24-2004, 06:01 AM

Thanks for the feedback folks.

I'm NOT a fan of Sandra as it does mis-identify a lot of stuff but the memory settings shouldn't be too difficult to determine.

Tunes67 I'm not sure what you are referring to with "CPC" as the Command Rate BIOS adjustment. Can you elaborate as I don't see a reference to "CPC" in the Asus manual or as an option in my BIOS. Is "Everest Home Addition" some system diagnostic software or something???

TIA

Tunes67 · § #5 10-24-2004, 06:26 AM

Everest Home Edition is a system information gathering program.. presents system settings, bios settings, OS, RAM, Network info.. etc.. and has a little ram read/write bench in it as well. Google it.. pretty easy to find. As for the CPC.. From what I have read in the memory forum and here in the Asus forum.. you may need one of the "Custom" bioses in order to access it.. I'll be honest and tell you that I have no idea what the acronym actually stands for LOL

I am sure there will be other folks along to help here that have more specific knowledge of the feature and how to access it. Assuming it is accessible on your board. Maybe we will both learn something here

Tunes67

Tunes67 · § #6 10-24-2004, 06:29 AM

Also.. have you checked in the Sticky notes at the top of this forum? Lots of info in there about our boards. And there are custom bios links to I believe.

Tunes67

**Senor Panadero** · § #7 10-24-2004, 08:49 AM

I tried to answer Tunes when he asked the same question. I believe that CPC 1 is turned on by default in all of the Nforce2 boards, other than maybe some of the mATX ones. Don't have much to base that upon, but they all get similar memory performance out of the box. When running a CPC Off bios, the performance drops below what I think you'll even get at the bios defaults, maybe even lower than with CPU Interface to Optimal (which has often been pointed at as a CPC setting in disguise). With some patience and flashing and testing it wouldn't be hard to determine that for sure, but I'm not up for it, links to the CPC Off bios are in the sticky at A7N8X->Bios Mods.

The next best way might be to ask a bios modder that is familiar with the timing tables. Welcome to ask trats in one of his threads.

trats · § #8 10-24-2004, 05:30 PM

cpc is on by default in the asus bioses that i've looked at

.

you can check with wpcredit:
pci bus#0 dev#0 func#1 offset 84, 85, 86, 87

84 85 86 87
F3 13 0F 03 = cpc enabled
F3 13 0F 23 = cpc disabled

the values can't be changed after boot; that's was why it was incorporated into the bios bpl module

.

Beenthere · § #9 10-24-2004, 10:36 PM

Thanks for the feedback folks.

Thanks for the tip on Everest. It's is a nice info. program but unfortunatrly it provided no timing values for my memory other than the latency test with an excellent score on 80.7 nano.

I tired to download cpcredit but I get an "Invalid host" error message no matter what I do.

From running countless Sandra benches with every A7N8X BIOS memory option possible, it appears that CMD =2 is the only choice on this Mobo short of a hacked BIOS. What the benches did show was that the "optimal" settings which are the "default" settings, LOWER Bandwidth by about 6.5% from the best bandwidth figures obtained by selecting "User Defined". This is interesting because the performance increases WITHOUT changing the 2-2-2-11 timing settings. So this means some other timing options are being altered but according to Sandra it is not the CMD rate which remained at "2" regardless of the BIOS options selected. It would be interesting to know how much change a CMD =1 makes but it probably is of little system performance value and the CMD =2 value will work with a wide variety of memory.

Of course it would have been nice for ASUS' Tech Support to answer the original question which was sent to them thru their online Tech Support Applet...

**Senor Panadero** · § #10 10-25-2004, 02:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beenthere

...I tired to download cpcredit but I get an "Invalid host" error message no matter what I do.

Works for me. I have several versions now, here is the latest. Should be easier there as there are blocked IP's as on A. Hoda's site.

Quote:

From running countless Sandra benches with every A7N8X BIOS memory option possible, it appears that CMD =2 is the only choice on this Mobo short of a hacked BIOS.

The answer above from the bios hacker was...

Quote:

Originally Posted by trats

cpc is on by default in the asus bioses that i've looked at

you can check with wpcredit:
pci bus#0 dev#0 func#1 offset 84, 85, 86, 87

84 85 86 87
F3 13 0F 03 = cpc enabled
F3 13 0F 23 = cpc disabled

the values can't be changed after boot; that's was why it was incorporated into the bios bpl module .

So I checked with WPCRedit. Both of my Deluxe boards show the "03" showing CPC 1 is on.

Click Me

Quote:

What the benches did show was that the "optimal" settings which are the "default" settings, LOWER Bandwidth by about 6.5% from the best bandwidth figures obtained by selecting "User Defined".

Yes, that should be the case. Optimal is the lowest setting. Or maybe I am misunderstanding.