Hokuto Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 First time new builder here (see specs in profile), and I finally got my monitor today, so I loaded a single stick of memory, disconnected all but my programs HDD (currently empty), cleared the CMOS, and fired up, and it booted well and I got through to BIOS. I upped the DRAM voltage to 1.9V since that's the testing voltage advertised by Corsair for this DRAM, and manually set the latency to 5-5-5-18, and I then tried adding another stick of memory--again, the computer booted fine. Unfortunately, when I try adding the final two sticks of memory, I get nothing, no video, no beeps, zilch. Is this a latency issue? Should I downgrade the frequency from 800? I guess my next step should be to test each stick of memory separately, but are there any other general troubleshooting or adjustment tips someone here can give? I'm not particularly into overclocking, and I just want a good, stable system. TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted July 23, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted July 23, 2009 With 4 modules I would suggest setting the memory frequency at DDR667 and set the memory Voltage to 2.0 Volts and set the NB/MCH/SPP Voltage to +.2 Volts as well and test the system with http://www.memtest.org. In addition, with some MB's (Mostly ASUS) you have to disable legacy USB in the bios when running any memory test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 With 4 modules I would suggest setting the memory frequency at DDR667 and set the memory Voltage to 2.0 Volts and set the NB/MCH/SPP Voltage to +.2 Volts as well and test the system with http://www.memtest.org. In addition, with some MB's (Mostly ASUS) you have to disable legacy USB in the bios when running any memory test. Thanks much. I'll let you know how things turn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted July 24, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted July 24, 2009 Yes please do and if you have any more questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 Yes please do and if you have any more questions! Ok, here I am again. I've had good success with 2 sticks running at default values, and loaded Windows 7 (64bit) RC without any problem. 4 sticks is the "sticking point" so to speak. I tried your suggestions with the following settings: DRAM voltage: 2.0V NB voltage: 1.2 (up from base 1.10) Legacy USB: disabled DRAM freq: 667 Latency: 5-5-5-18 Results: first time, NG (no beeps, zilch). Upon reset, POST okay, but computer hangs at the "loading express gate" message. I disabled express gate, but no change, so next round of settings: DRAM voltage: 2.0V NB voltage: 1.22 DRAM freq: 667 Latency: 6-6-6-18 Result: NG I continued raising the NB voltage till I got to 1.3V, at which point I got through POST, but no Windows (error page shows). At NB 1.32V, I get the "startup repair" page, then BSOD. Next settings: DRAM voltage: 2.0V NB voltage: 1.34 DRAM freq: 667 Latency: 5-5-5-18 With these settings I usually get past POST, but windows gives me a variety of responses, including the startup repair page, windows error recovery, etc. One time Windows actually tried to boot, then retreated again to the BSOD error page. Errors listed variously include things like "Phase 0_initialization failed" and "page fault in non-paged area." The BSOD "technical information" lists what appear to be memory addresses like the following: ***STOP: 0X0000001E (0XFFFFFFFFC000001D, OXFFFFF88000DD8002, OX0000000000000002, OXFFFFFA8003A8C600) ***ataport.sys - address FFFFF88000DD8002 base at FFFFF88000DD4000, Datestamp 49ee8daa I was first able to get past POST stably when I raised the NB voltage up to 1.34V, but this is getting into the "yellow zone" in the motherbook manual. I'm wondering whether I should continue pressing the NB voltage up, or change something else, first? On a more general level, the mobo manual (and BIOS) says that "DRAM frequency lower than 800 MHz may cause system boot failure due to spec violation." Since I'm now at 667, I'm wondering: does this mean I would have better luck buying a faster DRAM (like Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF), then lowering its frequency to 800? Any advice from the RAM pros highly appreciated!:D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted July 29, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted July 29, 2009 Let's get them replaced, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Let's get them replaced, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace them. Sorry I've been offline this past week--we had home guests and I had to clear the computer off the dining table. Regarding RMA'ing the memory: Thanks for the offer. I'm going to run memtest on it for a couple of days on the four sticks first and see what the results are. I've got two sticks in currently and memtest is running. --Is that the best way to do it? or should I run the test on each stick individually? Never mind--I figured out that last part by myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Over the past days I've done numerous memtest86 passes on all four memory sticks (individually) and got zero errors, so I'm assuming there's no problem physically with the memory. Do you think I should still RMA them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Over the past days I've done numerous memtest86 passes on all four memory sticks (individually) and got zero errors, so I'm assuming there's no problem physically with the memory. Do you think I should still RMA them? It sounds as if it would not help with your problem. If they are testing OK, an RMA will not solve your issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Thanks. I basically have decided to forego lots of BIOS tweaking in the attempt to get these modules to work together. No real reason to run everything hotter for that bit of gain. Instead, I'll run 2x2GB until another certain manufacturer gets back to producing 4GB sticks again, then replace with a pair of those. I think my mobo just isn't in the mood to play nice with all 4 slots populated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellowbeard Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 You should probably still try more voltage on the NB to run 4 modules. 1.25v - 1.3v. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 BTW, he's Yellowbeard and not Redbeard :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 You should probably still try more voltage on the NB to run 4 modules. 1.25v - 1.3v. Thanks for the response. I've tried NB voltages in steps up to 1.42, actually, but no joy. I also tried changing the latency to 6-6-6-19, and the DRAM frequency to 667, although I'm wary of doing that, since the mobo/BIOS warns that setting the frequency lower than 800 may prevent booting due to spec violations. The other alternative might be to try buying faster memory (e.g., TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) and reducing the frequency to 800, but without some assurance that it will work, I don't like testing the vendors' return policies too heavily. I've also tried setting the tRFC to 55 (I read somewhere that might help). Anyway, with various combinations of the above changes, the computer will usually POST with all four sticks, but it won't load Windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrocs Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Hi Hokuto, did you test each memory slot on your board? I had a somewhat similar problem with my board. After a lot of headaches, I finally found out that one of the slots, I didn't use before, was broken. Regards, Harro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hokuto Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 Hi Hokuto, did you test each memory slot on your board? I had a somewhat similar problem with my board. After a lot of headaches, I finally found out that one of the slots, I didn't use before, was broken. Regards, Harro I didn't do the entire memtest86 test in all four slots, no, but I have generally tested two sticks of memory in both banks 1/3 and 2/4, and they both worked fine, so unless there's something more delicate involved (and there could be, I guess), I really don't think that's the issue. Anyway, I'm doing fine on two sticks (4GB) in slots 1/3 at present, and since I've got to wait 'till October anyway for Windows 7, I'll just continue testing till then and hope that 4GB sticks of memory are available from Corsair or some other manufacturer by then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted August 5, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted August 5, 2009 Just remember with 4 modules you will have to slow the memory down when all four are installed. With 4 modules I would suggest setting the memory frequency at DDR667 and set the memory Voltage to 2.1 Volts and set the NB/MCH/SPP Voltage to +.2 Volts as well and test the system with http://www.memtest.org. In addition, with some MB's (Mostly ASUS) you have to disable legacy USB in the bios when running any memory test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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