ZeroError Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Hi, I recently installed an additional 2gigs of corsair XMS DDR2 (1024x6400 W/ 800Mhz) on to my ASUS P5N-E SLI. I now have four 1 gigabyte sticks of memory installed. I'm running Vista Ultimate 32 with all updates including KB929777. I also updated my bios to 0703 on my mobo. Heres the problem. When I attempt to to boot with all four gigs. My computer wont boot. It just freezes at the "press DEL to enter bios" and "press TAB for settings" screen. My computer will just hang on that screen. If I try to press DEL or TAB nothing will happen. So then I remove 1 gig so what I would now be running just 3 gigs. My computer will boot just fine I then just tried running with my two new sticks of memory. Everything ran just fine with the new sticks. Only when i add the 4th stick @ 4 gigs the computer wont get passed that above mentioned screen. Has anyone encountered this or am I just the unlucky one? Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 The memory controller can not keep up with the extra DRAM at the rated 6400 speed. You will need to drop the speed of the DRAM from 800Mhz to 667Mhz. If you had purchased 4 X 1024MB of PC8500 (1066Mhz) DRAM, then you would have had to drop to PC6400 (800MHz) DRAM, etc. 2 X 2048 will not issue this problem. This is a problem of all 4 banks being populated. Think of it this way. If you have a small phone book, then when you go into the index to find the page where you will find the phone number you are doing so at a certain speed due to the pages of the Index. Then you have to drive through the pages to get to the number. Now if your index is twice as large and the pages twice as many, then it takes longer to access the data. Now DRAM has a Strobe and the length of the strobe is how long the rows and columns can be left open before they must be refreshed. There is not enough time for the dram to be refreshed and then accessed with 4GB at the full access speed of the DRAM. The chipsets are optimized for 2GB, not 4GB and for 2 DRAM slots, not 4 DRAM slots populated. You can overclock the FSB (and hence the Memory Controller Hub = MCH) to gain some extra bandwidth and thus access the capabilities of the DRAM since the chipset is now clocked up. Usually when you clock up the FSB and concurrently the Memory Controller Hub (MCH) you need to raise the voltages of the CPU/MCH a bit as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroError Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Wow, thanks that did the trick. I now am running all four sticks. My next question is am i better off running 3gigs at 800 or 4gigs at 667. I'm a little illiterate when it comes to memory and speeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted October 31, 2007 Corsair Employees Share Posted October 31, 2007 If you install three modules on that MB it would run in single channel and for sure 4 Gig at DDR667 would be better performance. In addition, it will depend on how you use the system weather or not DDR667 with 4 Gig or 2 Gig at DDR800 would be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 for sure 4 Gig at DDR667 would be better performance. In addition, it will depend on how you use the system weather or not DDR667 with 4 Gig or 2 Gig at DDR800 would be best. ^^Totally Agree^^ If you are very seldomly making use of a 4GB system and 98% of your programs work within the 2GB barrier, then you are running these programs slower since you are at 667Mhz. 3GB at 800 is definitely in single channel mode and would not be beneficial as you would notice the speed drop as soon as you actually made decent use of the memory subsystem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroError Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Rgr, I'm just trying to beef-up my system for new onslaught of games coming out: Crysis, COD:4, Gears, & Assassins Creed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I have played the Crysis Demo at 1920 X 1200 with 4X AA and a 8800GTX 620/2000 and 2GB of 8500C5 @ 1200 (2.35v VERY active cooling) and no issues at all. No lag, etc but only time will tell with the full version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroError Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 Thats pretty solid. I'm running the demo with everything maxed out at 1680X1050 but only getting 15-20 frames per second. I don't have anything over clocked though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 What do you have for a cooler on your CPU? Download CoreTemp - Information Regarding the VID and Thermal Output of Your CPUHere What is your VID and idle temps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroError Posted October 31, 2007 Author Share Posted October 31, 2007 My CPU temp idles around 35-39 celsius. I have a Thermaltake V1 cooling fan. I used the Nvdia monitor to establish my GPU temp. It shows it at 72 celsius. Its an EVGA Nvida 8800GTX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Ok, your idle is decent enough to see what can be done. Post in the Enthusiast section and I will help you gain a nice clocking. If you have messenger, you can pm me with your messenger as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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