Hi I want to buy the Bus Pirate if I can reprogram/overwrite the stock/default JEDEC timings for DDR-6400 CSODIMMs and replace the stock values with max overclocked values of the timings below (at stock voltage - not looking to adjust this as laptops with locked BIOS’ will ignore anything above 1.1v):
Command Rate (CR): MUST be able to replace GARBAGE & totally unnecessary 2T timings with 1T timings.
CAS Latency (CL)
tRCD
tRP
tRAS
tRFC
Also, along these lines, would like to know what accessories I should buy for it with my use case above. Would like to reprogram desktop DDR5 modules in the same manner, but this is 2nd priority.
So AI says this can’t be done (changing default SPD values) as the RAM manufacturers put fuses in to prevent any reprogramming it sounds like.
Have you actually reprogrammed the DEFAULT SPD of any RAM so that your new settings get auto-detected as the DEFAULT ?(XMP/EXPO doesn’t count - not looking to add or edit profiles as they get ignored by companies that lock down their BIOS’ and only DEFAULT SPD values load.)
So can I do want I want then on say, Kingston DDR5-6400 CSODIMMS, and reprogram the DEFAULT JEDEC SPD values at 1.1v? (not interested in adding additional SPD/XMP/EXPO values = 100% useless - MUST OVERWRITE the default JEDEC SPD values, and those values must get loaded by default on a laptop with a locked-down BIOS, and I expect to see the tighter timings + 1T Command Rate when I open CPU-Z in windows.
Also, is this fairly straight-forward and easy, or a NIGHTMARE with high risk of bricking the DIMMs? I have experience with chip-programming, and own a couple of programmers which I’ve mostly used to direct flash BIOS’ to motherboards.
Yes, and like those messages above which are obscure and non-specific, everything was highly technical, and failed to state the obvious - hell, even the PRODUCT PAGES THEMSELVES for the Bus Pirate & the DDR5 adapter, failed to state specifically that ALL TIMINGS can be adjusted AND default JEDEC timings could be overwritten (with the exception of Command Rate as that it decided by system BIOS). If this fundamentally BASIC information isn’t listed on the product pages (which is extremely important and silly not to mention), then one would naturally assume that you COULDN’T do those things as they are not being bragged about. One shouldn’t have to go tearing through the forums to find this kindergarten-level basic information that should be clearly and boldly written on the product pages.
Ironically, it was AI (premium/max thinking mode vs basic - what I first used) that solved it all for me, and confirmed that the Bus Pirate w/ DDR5 adapter and the devices on ebay could indeed do what I needed.
Sadly though, noone has created a GUI that automatically extracts all the RAM’s primary & secondary timings so they can be edited simply without having to do a manual HEX deep dive.
Wow! Not sure where you live, but kindergarten around here is mostly social and emotional learning, with the occasional kid still learning to use the potty. The kids in your area are way more advanced!
In all seriousness, the BusPirate is designed by hackers, for hackers. Can you hack on the chips? Yes. As for your question:
Maybe that’s not something with a single answer. Nightmare mode differs for folks. If you’re concerned that you will brick the DIMM, don’t mess with the timings. I’m sure you’ve heard about manufacturers testing parts from a single line, and binning them based on quality, then making multiple levels of final product. Could you put tighter timings? Maybe. Would that DIMM be worth anything? NOBODY here can answer that for your DIMM except you, and even then only with pricey test equipment.
If you try it, please share results (success or fail) and what all you tried. I’m sure lots of folks (including myself) would find the process fascinating.
I think there is a mismatch in expectations. The BusPirate is something like a “multi protocol adapter”, making it easy to send and read data on different communication standards. So for example if i buy a new chip from the internet, i can test it without needing to compile firmware for a micro controller.
There are several adapter boards (planks) that make it easier to connect different things to the BusPirate from a hardware point of view.
BusPirate works quite low level (Bits and Bytes), meaning it is useful in many different applications, however you must know what you want to do (And how to do it).
So with all that said, can you interface with DDR5 ram? Probably, according to this forum some people did it. From what I understand, there is just a I2C chip onboard which saves the parameters. You will have to find out if you can reprogram the chip. Could you brick the RAM in the process? Maybe ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The BusPirate is not an “automatic RAM speed enhancer”. Maybe in the future there will be an automatic script or GUI that allows a user to do that using the BusPirate. YOU could be the one to write this program and then give it back to the community, so others then can use it.
But naaah. @ ramguy just lost social points for bad introduction and entitled tone and thats it. Live on this forum goes on.
If OP is on linux then guess what you may try to reprogram SPD just by system itself no additional hardware needed. But you need to know exactly what to write via I²C. Once I OC’ec DDR3 1866MT/s to 2133MT/s but I did it on running system one RAM stick at the time. So when I bricked one at some point I had the other half of RAM to boot from. And then reverted SPD because ram didnt work as ram but I²C interface was accessible fortunately.
You just do:
modprobe i2c_dev
And voila i2c-tools package and you could do it.
I²C addresses were like 0x50-0x52 range on Ivy Bridge back then.
