PC2-8500 won't boot at 1066

[gsephton2000]

Hi,

I've just swapped 4gb of OCZ pc2-6400 for some OCZ pc2-8500 gold edition.
Before I swapped the ram I went into bios and loaded the default settings as my RAM and CPU were both overclocked.

After installing the new ram I cannot get it to run at 1066. It will only post at 800mhz.

These are the settings that I have tried:
I'm using a GA-EP45-DS3R with F10 bios and an E8400.

CPU CLOCK RATIO: 9
CPU FREQUENCY: 3.60 (400x9)
CPU HOST FREQ: 400
PCI FREQ: 100

SYSTEM MEMORY MULTI: 2.66C (=1066)
TIMINGS: AUTO (5-6-6-18)

CPU VCORE: 1.325v
CPU TERMINATION: 1.3v
DRAM VOLT: 2.1v
DRAM TERMINATION: 1.0v

Can anyone suggest any problems with these settings or recommend any changes?

Thanks

 

[Big.Wayne]

Hi gsephton2000,

Have you tried with the FSB at 333MHz?

 

[gsephton2000]

I have just tried the above settings and changed:

CPU HOST FREQ: 333
SYSTEM MEM MULTI: 3.20B (333mhz fsb)

Still no joy.

I have also tried FSB @ 200 and 400.

At the moment it is stable with the E8400 @ 4.05 and RAM @ 890 (5-5-5-15) ratio 1:1

My only other idea is to drop the CPU clock ration to x8 and push the frequency up gradually from 445

 

[Big.Wayne]

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R

Intel® P45

Hello again gsephton2000,

is that your motherboard above?

If so it shouldn't have any problem running DDR2-1066 so I wonder what is going on? . . . . For testing purposes I would suggest you load CMOS Defaults and from there is should be as easy as just selecting DDR2-1066, everything else should set itself automatically?

Could be you have a faulty stick? could be the stick isn't fitted correctly or has some fluff in the slot?

If the memory doesn't run at DDR2-1066 speeds after you reset the BIOS and hand selected the memory frequency it maybe worth testing the sticks one by one, this would help the trouble shooting process . . . .

 

[gsephton2000]

I think the problem is solved.

I had tried every possible configuration in the bios and the best that I could achieve was 950mhz @ 5-5-5-15. This was around the limit of my old OCZ 6400 which got me thinking about the dimm slots. I tested one stick with no joy, so I tried moving both modules to the empty slots (2 & 4). First time, set the RAM to 1066 and it boots to windows no problem. Ram appears in CPU-Z @ 533!

Thanks for the help

 

[Big.Wayne]

Strange? . . . maybe something wrong with the other slots? or some guff in there?

It's no problem using the other two slots although if they are faulty after double checking, triple checking them you may want to consider an RMA if there is any warranty left, failing that if the system runs just fine with the other two slots then you may just choose the easy life and leave it like that!

Once your sure the sticks are nice and stable @ DDR2-1066 using the 333MHz-FSB you should be able to switch the FSB up to 400MHz and change the memory multiplier so that the sticks are still running at DDR2-1066!

 

[gsephton2000]

I hoped it would be that simple!

Everything seemed fairly stable at 333, however when I tried to play MW2 sp I started seeing artifacts ingame. It only happened when I looked down the sight of a weapon (zooming in), the screen suddenly goes white and game eventually crashes. Even stranger, it didn't happen on the multiplayer version, even though it's the same game. Thinking that my 9800GT might be dying I tested it in GTA IV and NFS:SHIFT, in GTA I ran the benchmarking tool and everthing seemed fine and averaged 52 fps @ 1360x768. Shift also ran without any noticable problems/artifacts.

So I started testing the RAM with memtest86. @ 1066mhz and everything else default there were 1576 errors on the first pass. @ 800 there were 0 errors on the first pass.

Tried booting @ 800, went into MW2 sp, same artifact problem. Removed RAM and replaced with older pc2-6400, still artifacts. Deleted game and reinstalled, same problem.

I have reseated the 9800gt, checked fan for dust etc but to no avail. The gpu temps at idle are around 40c so I don't think it's an overheating problem.

So now i'm left with a gpu which might be dying, RAM which miserably fails memtest at rated speeds and a generally unstable rig.

Yesterday when I was trying to get the RAM to work my system was cycling more than lance armstrong. Could this have damaged my graphics card? I had no problems with it before I swapped the RAM over. Also is it worth putting in an RMA request to OCZ for the RAM as it failed memtest at rated specs?

 

[Big.Wayne]

Hey gsephton2000,

that sounds like a pain lol

Cannot begin to decypher the problem from that description as it could be so many things . . . have you got a backup of your O/S? . . . it may be time to fully reset the BIOS and start again.

What the main concern would be is to find out if there is something faulty or whether its just not been configured properly . . .

I would re-install your original memory, reset the BIOS, wipe the disk, re-install O/S, make a backup of fresh O/S, install drivers, apps and games and make another backup, then begin trouble-shooting.

Getting errors in Test #1 or Memtest doesn't always mean the sticks are faulty, could be something to do with the CPU, the Northbridge etc. Have you manually set the voltage for the memory? does this make any difference?

I think you should probably list your full hardware spec, age, bought new used etc

 

[gsephton2000]

It is a knightmare, and like you say it could be any number of things.

I'm in the process of copying everything across from my primary hard disk ready for a clean install and the original RAM is back in.

Full Spec:
Antec 900
Corsair HX620w
GA-EP45-DS3R with F10 bios
E8400
OCZ PC2-6400 4gb (5-6-6-18) and the replacement OCZ PC2-8500 4gb (5-6-6-18) Gold
9800GT 512mb
500GB Samsung F3 (primary HD)
500GB WD
750GB Samsung F1
320GB WD (taken from a mybook)
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Sony DVD-RW

Everything is around 12-18 months old apart from a couple of the HDs and the soundcard which is 3-4 years old. Everything is bought new apart from the pc2-8500 which is 2nd hand (which might not have been a good idea). Before yesterday I had no problems with stabiliy, I generally had my E8400 at 3.6-3.75 and ram at 840-900 and it was rock solid. I have a feeling/assumption that by messing about in the bios yesterday and therefore going through so many cycles/posts/boots etc that I've damaged either one or more of my components.

Regarding memtest I manually changed the voltage to 2.1 when it was running at 1066 but left all other voltages/timings etc at stock with a fsb of 333.

 

[Big.Wayne]

After installing the new ram I cannot get it to run at 1066. It will only post at 800mhz

So everything was ticking along nicely, games were fine etc then you swapped out the ram and things started going downhill? . . .none of the problems you are having now existed before you swapped out the ram?

Out of interest are you using Memtest86+ V4.00

The thing that is weird is the no post when you switch up the memory frequency from 400MHz to 533MHz and the way it only worked in slots 2&4 and not 1&3

I'm not familiar with Gigabyte motherboards as I've been on ASUS for the past several years but I am familiar with the Intel® P45 Express Chipset and don't see that Gigabyte boards can be that different from ASUS in the way they implement the chipset . . .

Everything is bought new apart from the pc2-8500 which is 2nd hand (which might not have been a good idea)

I can see how you would think that but I nearly always buy used memory and haven't had any problems so keep an open mind. It does seem like there is a memory problem going on here but if push comes to shove the OCZ sticks are covered by a good warranty but the OCZ techs will prefere it if exhaustive tests take place before the sticks are RMA'ed.

If you want to be really sure the sticks are naffed all you need do is test them individually, normally you would use the memory slot nearest the CPU but it sounds like you didn't have much luck with that before so you may have to check the stick across all the slots incase the problem is motherboard related . . .

I totally sympathize with you as trouble-shooting isn't much fun but if you stick at it and keep a level head you will get a result, don't run out of patience or get heavy handed with the hardware as this won't help you at all.

Most of us have been in this situation before and generally now rely on swap-out techniques to speed the trouble-shooting process along . . i.e if you had another set of DDR2-1066 from a different manufacturer that you could install and found the problem went away you would draw a conclusion faster. . .

Your hardware all looks like quality kit and the fact its all worked great until you swapped out memory does kinda give us a big clue. Pity you don't have a mate nearby who could test the memory for you in his/hers machine as that would also help you zero in on the problem.

Let us know if you test the sticks one by one, take care to make sure the RAM is firmly inserted into the slots as I've had issues with errors before that were solved by physically re-installed the memory? fluff. bad fit etc?

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

[gsephton2000]

No none of the problems were evident before yesterday and the RAM swap.

Quick update:
Shutdown PC> reseated GFX card and swapped the 1066 for 1 stick of 800. Also removed the power to the mobo and removed the cmos battery.

Reconnected everything with the singe stick of 800 and ran memtest86 (yeh 4.0). 2 passes with no problems.

Then a clean install of Win7 x64. After this I shutdown and swapped the 800 for a stick of 1066 and ran memtest (all bios settings were at default so the ram was set to 800). Did 2 passes with 0 errors.

Tried the same stick in another dimm slot, again 2 passes 0 errors. Then added the second stick of 1066 (again still running at 800), passed memtest.

Next step was to reinstall MW2 to see if the artifact problem had been solved. It had, and hopefully it will remain that way.

Then I decided to try the RAM at 1066, with a 400fsb and E8400 @ 3.6. Posted first time, ran ANOTHER memtest and again 2 passes 0 errors. I was going to leave everything at default but decided it would be pointless to reinstall all my apps etc and then try the overclock, and then start from scratch again.

It is still early days so i'm going to do some testing with memtest, orthos and prime95 to determine serious stability but so far so good.

However, it does leave me wondering what the issue was originally. My initial thoughts (if components do prove to be fine) is that I damaged the OS during the cycling process yesterday. A number of times I had a setting which posted and failed/bsod during win7. At one stage I had to do 6-7 restarts to get the OS to respond. Essentially it is a bit of a mystery and as I said I won't be satisfied until i'm sure everthing is ok again.

Again, cheers for the input big wayne

 

[Big.Wayne]

However, it does leave me wondering what the issue was originally

Beats the hell out of me lol!

Sounds like you did some good trouble-shooting there, the only thing I would have done differently is just after installing the fresh O/S with the safe single stick of memory @ DDR2-800 . . . I would have then made a backup before adding a second stick and most definitely before booting my O/S at DDR2-1066, at least I would have waited till it passed 10 full loops of Memtest!

If I get time I will re-read this thread through again and look for any clues, can't say I've seen a memory installation open a Portal-To-Hell quite like this before!