Gigabyte Sniper 3 + Corsair Dominator Platinum 1600 (32GB)

Hey guys,

I built a rig based on the Gigabyte Sniper 3, always expecting to use Corsair Dominator Platinum 1600 RAM, since it looks so damn cool, and I just assumed it would be supported.

After installation, I went into the BIOS to bump the memory frequency up to 1600MHz, and no matter what I do, I can't seem to get it to stick. I save changes, reboot, and the BIOS lists the RAM frequency as 1333, as does CPU-Z (667).

So, I come here, check out the compatibility page, and notice that it's not listed as supported for my motherboard. How can that be?

Anyway, does it make sense that RAM that's not supported would work at 1333 but not 1600? Can anyone confirm that this RAM is indeed not supported, and that I'm therefore relegated to pawning my perfectly good RAM off on eBay and swapping it out with something inferior? (I can't upgrade to 1866, it's just too damn expensive).

Thanks,

ChrisPowers

It is compatible, but what your describing wouldn't be an issue with the memory but your BIOS.

All you should need to do is load set-up or optimized defaults, enable XMP , save your changes and exit. Then post a screen shot of CPUz's memory and SPD tabs please.

Anyway, does it make sense that RAM that's not supported would work at 1333 but not 1600?

No, memory doesn't quite work that way.;):

Do you have the latest BIOS for your board?

Hey Peanutz,

Thanks for the super quick response. I'll do exactly what you requested and post the screens as soon as I get home. In the meantime, I updated my PC specs for your perusal. To answer your question, I do have the latest stable BIOS for my motherboard (Gigabyte Sniper 3, BIOS version F7).

Thanks,

ChrisPowers

So, before reloading defaults and taking those screenshots, I decided to try the advice of a good samaritan on another forum, and bumped up the voltage on my DRAM. Turns out the default value of 1.5V wasn't enough to run at 1600MHz. I never realized that RAM behaved that way, where too little voltage would result in settings being scaled back without giving any indication as to why. I guess I just expected a boot failure or crash of some kind.

Anyway, since raising the voltage yielded immediate results, I decided to start stability testing immediately. At 1.65V, I was able to run IntelBurnTest successfully at 2048, as well as 24 hours of Prime95 on Blend.

Thanks to those who took the time to chime in.

@Peanutz: If you're still curious to take a look at my settings, let me know and I'll post some screens.

Anyway, since raising the voltage yielded immediate results, I decided to start stability testing immediately. At 1.65V, I was able to run IntelBurnTest successfully at 2048, as well as 24 hours of Prime95 on Blend.

The bump in voltage is normal. However, you shouldn't need as much as 1.65v. I would try 1.55 first , then 1.6v. and 1.65v as a last resort.

I never realized that RAM behaved that way, where too little voltage would result in settings being scaled back without giving any indication as to why

It doesn't. The MB won't scale back the memory frequency. But too little voltage can affect stability greatly. When you populate all your memory slots it put increased load on the memory controller. That bump is often used to compensate for that load. But the memory would have had to be set to 1600mhz to begin with.

The bump in voltage is normal. However, you shouldn't need as much as 1.65v. I would try 1.55 first , then 1.6v. and 1.65v as a last resort.

Ok, I'll do that. I actually tried 1.55V first, which worked as far as allowing 1600MHz, but it failed pretty quickly in Prime95. 1.60V was probably enough. It also worked, although Prime95 did produce an error after 12 hours or so, but I believe that was more related to the processor temperature, which is something I'll have to deal with.

It doesn't. The MB won't scale back the memory frequency. But too little voltage can affect stability greatly. When you populate all your memory slots it put increased load on the memory controller. That bump is often used to compensate for that load. But the memory would have had to be set to 1600mhz to begin with.

Well, it seems to be doing that in this case, or whatever it's doing is something I don't understand. I literally changed no settings but the DRAM voltage. At 1.50V, it reports 1333MHz in BIOS and CPU-Z; at 1.60V, it reports 1600MHz. I assure you, I touched no other settings.

Can you post a screenshot of CPUz's memory and SPD tab. And also if you can the BIOS settings where your seeing 1333mhz please.

If all you did was change the voltage then it has to be running at 1333mhz. I believe the 1600mhz your seeing in CPUz is just SPD information which is static and never changes. It's more or less just a list of the timings and such for 1600mhz, but isn't actually active.

I would go ahead and enable the XMP profile , manually set your voltage to 1.6v,save and exit, then take your screenshots. It might be worth posting both before and after if it's not too much trouble.