breaker Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Well, when my sticks of Dominator RAM failed, I blamed the RAM, but I have been reading around the internet, and a lot of folks have been having issues with P35 chipset Gigabyte motherboards killing their PC-8500 RAM!! So, what do you think I should do to best hedge my bets against my mobo from possibly killing my RAM again? (if in fact it was the fault of the mobo, one can never be sure) I was thinking I would run it at the lowest possible voltage, as long as it was stable of course. Also, I will run it at DDR2-800 since I will be using 4 sticks. I will run the timings at spec. of 5-5-5-15 2T. Or should I just let SPD set it? Finally I got fans for above the RAM just in case. If my RAM dies again, I guess I will RMA the mobo. See this thread for some GA-P35C-DS3R nightmares: http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthread.php?t=25051 Thanks, breaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Set the DRAM to 2.1v and 4-4-4-12 at 800Mhz. Test each stick singly. Then in pairs. Then finally in the four slot configuration. Use Memtest from http://www.memtest.org. You should not have any issues with this. speed and the timings. Results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaker Posted February 20, 2008 Author Share Posted February 20, 2008 DerekT - Yeah when I first did my build, I ran at those settings you just said. But the RAM died. Could have been a bad batch or bad luck. Or my motherboard. It worked fine for 5 or 6 months, then BAM, all kinds of problems. As far as my new RAM (from the RMA), I just got it and haven't installed it yet. Anyway, I am cognizant concerning how to run stable, I was mainly looking for expert advice concerning long term reliability. But you know, I want to believe I should be able to do 4-4-4-12 long term, but I am worried the model of motherboard I have is not good. In that case, I suppose it is hopeless and I should just buy some other brand, and using 5-5-5-15 wouldn't be any safer. Or would it? That is my main question... long term "safety", aka babying the hardware. :sigh!: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted February 20, 2008 Share Posted February 20, 2008 Possibly the Motherboard overvolts. I don't know if that DRAM will respond to 800Mhz with 1.9V. It wasn't made for that speed or voltage so you will have to try and find out if it will make a stable boot and system. What version is the DRAM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaker Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 Possibly the Motherboard overvolts. I don't know if that DRAM will respond to 800Mhz with 1.9V. It wasn't made for that speed or voltage so you will have to try and find out if it will make a stable boot and system. What version is the DRAM? I know I will have to experiment. I just opened the box and the version is 2.3 which means it has Qimonda ICs. I know those can run at a lower voltage on some motherboards. However, I'm not sure how using 4 sticks will work. I suppose it is like always, try and see, keep notes, test. I was kinda hoping someone would have more hints, but I guess I have pretty well researched things at this point from all of the forums I have been reading. Especially this one, I have read many posts here over the past few weeks. Thanks everyone, and thanks Ramguy, this forum is a great support tool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaker Posted February 21, 2008 Author Share Posted February 21, 2008 OH no! One pair is version 1.2 and the other is version 2.3. I give up. maybe I'll just sell it all and start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted February 21, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted February 21, 2008 With 4 modules on that MB I would suggest setting the memory frequency at DDR800 and see if the system is more stable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaker Posted February 22, 2008 Author Share Posted February 22, 2008 Cool. I am going to run just one pair (the Micron ones) for now and see what I can do with them. I put a Dominator Airflow fan on the pair. Also, I have been able to run at 2.1v. I used a +0.2 for the Gigabyte OverVoltage setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vector03 Posted February 22, 2008 Share Posted February 22, 2008 I'm building my new machine with the same MB and RAM you are. I'm running torture test on Prime95 and I'm having similar issues to yours. I bought 4x 1GB (same exact memory as you). I was unable to even install Windows XP x64 until I removed all but 1 stick. After getting that installed I shutdown and installed a second stick. System rebooted without incident. Started Prime95 again and almost immediately an error was thrown. I was curious so I installed a third stick and the system would not pass POST. Removed third stick and system loaded. Started Prime95 again and almost immediately an error was thrown. Removed second stick (running with only 1 stick now) and torture test ran for 8 hours straight without a problem. I checked with Gigabyte's Memory Compatablity chart and this memory doesn't appear to be on the list but when I run the compatability check on Consairs website, it's there and recommended. What gives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breaker Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Please tell us what all of your settings are and the revision(s) of your RAM and mobo... check here: http://forums.tweaktown.com/showthread.php?t=25051 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted February 25, 2008 Corsair Employees Share Posted February 25, 2008 I would suggest testing the modules on another make of MB to help verify the issue. But I dont have a problem replacing your modules if you want to try that, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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