RAM issues

[Roman Totale]

So I recently bought some extra RAM, and somewhat inevitably I'm now having issues. Specs first:

GA-EX58-UD5 Intel X58 Motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz D0 Stepping overclocked to 4.00GHz
Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel

I have 6 slots in total (oo-er), 3 of which were used up with the above. For extra I bought:

Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL9(9-9-9-24) 1.65V

After I'd put them in I turned my PC back on, but was just met by a black screen. I did a bit of Googling and thought it might be to do with the voltages, so I took out all but one of the extra RAMs (it's in a fiddly spot that means having to take the CPU fan off) and went into the BIOS. I haven't got screen shots of the BIOS, but general settings were as follows:

DRAM voltage

Normal 1.500v
Current 1.640v

I fiddled around increasing the value (tried 1.66v, 1.68v, 1.72v and 1.8v), but every time I added another stick of RAM (to take it up to 5) again the PC would start but nothing would display on the monitor.

I've taken a few screen shots of CPU-ID to see if that helps (note, these are all taken with the 3 original sticks of RAM plus 1 extra, although I don't think that's doing anything as the control panel states I have 8gb of installed memory but only 6gb available).







Any help appreciated, but please keep it simple (I no do computer well).

[TezzRexx]

I'm not good with voltages but looking at that screen, it appears that the new RAM is at 1.650, whilst the rest is at 1.50.

Have you tried removing all the old RAM, and tried just using the new RAM in the slots? I'm wondering if they're is a compatibility issue there.

[HereComesPete]

I would suggest checking your motherboard bios version, try this - http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstrick ... verwin.htm guide on how to find out. Then check the board on the manufacturer website to see if there's a newer revision and what if anything it's been updated for.

I would hazard the issue is it's trying to run all the ram at high speed and it can't do it. You'll probably need to drop the MHz in the bios and set the voltage to 1.65 across the lot if that's what's on the sticker stuck to the side of the stick.

[deject]

Yeah I would try each stick individually and stress test them to see if it's a flaky module. I would think running at 1.65V would be very dangerous for 1.5V RAM as that is right on the 10% line that is basically the limit of overvolting.

Check your motherboard's RAM Support list to see if your RAM is listed there, and a BIOS update wouldn't hurt. Also, check to see if there are reports of issues filling all the RAM slots. I know mobos have failed hard for no apparent reason just because all the slots are used, even with 100% known working modules.

[Roman Totale]

Right, I've found an update for BIOS but I'm going to have to flash it with Qflash, which I think I might save till the weekend.

I've checked the old memory sticks and they also say 1.65v, so I'm not sure why CPU-ID shows 1.5v.

I've also had a look at lowering the speed in BIOS, but the only option I could see was 'System Memory Multiplier'. It was set at 8 so I've changed it to auto. Do you know if speed settings would be shown as anything else?

Cheers all.

[FatherJack]

From a quick look at your motherboard manual it looks as though you have 3 channels of memory pairs, not two channels of triplets. Normally the channels can differ but the pairing has to be identical memory as they are configured though the same interface, ie: channel 1 set to 9-9-9-24, channel 2 set to whatever.

This could mean you're either stuck with two pairs in dual-channel mode (or a triplet and a singlet) or need to replace one of the old ones with a new one identical to the others you've just bought.

I could be wrong, as I'm not really up on the modern hardware specs, but if I'm reading your manual right, these are your installation options:

[buzzmong]

Fj sort of beat me too it, but this is why it's normally recommended to get matching memory modules.

Looking at your CPU-Z read out, they've all got timings all over the place, as well as all seem to be running at different Hz rates.

[Thompy]

Not sure I get your pic FJ, talking about triple channel and pairs. Triple channel works in triplets no? Like this:

[FatherJack]

Not sure I get your pic FJ, talking about triple channel and pairs. Triple channel works in triplets no? Like this:

In this case, I don't think so - the colours are misleading. Triple channel means three channels of course, each with it's own (virtual) memory controller - in the BIOS you can set speeds independently for each channel, but not each slot, so if you have a mix of RAM you need to ensure the identical ones are paired up.

If you had only three sticks in that pic you'd stick 'em in the red holes - so all three channels were used and you got maximum throughput - but they wouldn't necessarily have to be identical sticks as you can set each channel to a different timing scheme if you wish.

[Thompy]

Oh right I get it. See when you buy memory they talk about identical modules and you buy kits, so I presumed if you put 3 into the red slots they had to be identical. But it's only if you're running 4-6 modules that pairs (1 blue + 1 red) has to be identical?

Perspective shift.

Edit: wikipedia seems to describe it as I first thought, so a bit confused here, maybe we're talking at cross purposes.

[FatherJack]

Oh right I get it. See when you buy memory they talk about identical modules and you buy kits, so I presumed if you put 3 into the red slots they had to be identical. But it's only if you're running 4-6 modules that pairs (1 blue + 1 red) has to be identical?

Perspective shift.

Pretty much, yes when you are running in triple-channel mode..although with Roman's mobo (and probably others) five sticks aren't supported at all, and the channels aren't actually hardwired to the slots such that when running in dual-channel mode (ie: forget the two left-most slots in your pic exist) the channel pattern is reversed so one identical pair goes in blue, the next identical pair in red - as was traditional on boards with only four slots. I don't know why they did it like that and didn't just have three different-coloured pairs of slots.

[deject]

This is exactly why all mobo manufacturers should get together and do it one way, because some do it the way pictured (i.e.: each channel has different colors for its sockets) and some do it the right way (i.e.: each channel has its own color for all of that channel's sockets). At least with three channels there is slightly less ambiguity (e.g.: 3x2 instead of 2x2), but you have to really pay very close attention to which sockets you fill when you're putting it all together.

I've checked the old memory sticks and they also say 1.65v, so I'm not sure why CPU-ID shows 1.5v.

I've also had a look at lowering the speed in BIOS, but the only option I could see was 'System Memory Multiplier'. It was set at 8 so I've changed it to auto. Do you know if speed settings would be shown as anything else? .

The standard voltage for DDR3 RAM is 1.5V. Unless you're overclocking the memory you have, you should absolutely not be running at 1.65V. WHen you overclocked the CPU, did you do a multiplier only overclock? If so, then the RAM speed should not have been affected. If you adjusted the the base clock speed, then you should reduce the System Memory Multiplier until the speed is around the 1600MT/s that your RAM is rated for. With overclocking, you might end up slightly under 1600 to be stable.

Honestly though, I'd try that BIOS update before doing too much to it. If you never did update the BIOS before, it is very likely that it could solve it for you.

[HereComesPete]

His memory was overclocked by overclockers as part of the pre-build deal if I remember correctly.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

Ofc, 1.5v is the jedec spec.

performance memory makers will often spec a higher voltage so they can actually get the ram to do what they want.

[deject]

Ofc, 1.5v is the jedec spec.

performance memory makers will often spec a higher voltage so they can actually get the ram to do what they want.

Yeah, typically you want to stay within 5-10% of spec when overvolting, but that can lead to shortened life spans and such. It can make overclocking more stable, and usually RAM either lives for decades or is DOA these days so life span with OC'ing is not usually a concern. If the new RAM tests fine on their own, then I'd say it's probably a BIOS issue and the update should fix it.

[mrbobbins]

I think FJ has found the issue, there's a nazi spider on your motherboard causing grief.

[Roman Totale]

It's ok, I smashed around inside the case with a hammer, so I think I might have got rid of the spider. Mind you I'm not sure - should I flush it out with water just in case?

Right, updating BIOS isn't going so well. As mentioned I'm having to flash it with Qflash, but whenever I try to make a bootable USB flash drive it says that no valid DOS system files can be found. I'm using the correct file as well, so I don't understand why that isn't working.

I've double checked and the old memory has the same stats as the new memory:

1.65V
1600MHz

The inside of my PC looks like this:



You might not be able to see it very well, but the existing memory is in white slots, and the empty ones are blue. I'm guessing this means that each colour has its own channel.

In a minute I'm going to try just running it with the new memory, taking the old stuff out, and see how that goes.

[FatherJack]

You might not be able to see it very well, but the existing memory is in white slots, and the empty ones are blue. I'm guessing this means that each colour has its own channel.

No you have three channels, it says so on the motherboard right there - each channel has one blue and one white slot. Checking the new memory all works is a good first step, though.

[deject]

Right, updating BIOS isn't going so well. As mentioned I'm having to flash it with Qflash, but whenever I try to make a bootable USB flash drive it says that no valid DOS system files can be found. I'm using the correct file as well, so I don't understand why that isn't working.

Is the flash drive formatted as FAT32? The manual says that Q-Flash only works with FAT32, FAT16, and FAT12 (i.e.: floppy disks).

Also, is there a reason you can't use Gigabyte's @BIOS utility to do it from Windows? I haven't used it myself, but I used MSI's similar utility and it worked just fine.

[deject]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang on a second.

I was looking at the supported memory list for your mobo (located here), and if I'm reading it correctly, it only supports one module per channel when running at 1600MT/s. To run two per channel you can't exceed 1333MT/s. Apparently this is some kind of limitation with the X58 chipset.

If I understand this correctly, then, is that the motherboard is reading the XMP info from the RAM correctly and trying to run all 6 DIMMs at 1600MT/s but the X58 can't handle this and fails to POST. Try manually setting the RAM to 1333 or 1066 (by using the Base Clock and the System Memory Multiplier) and see if it will boot. If it does, you're either going to have to live with the lower speed or return the new RAM and exchange it for larger capacity modules to get more RAM.