Conflicting memory? Crucial Ballistix

[Yao]

I have the following:

Abit AV8 3RD Eye motherboard
Crucial 1Gb (2x512MB) DDR PC4000 Ballistix Dual Channel Kit

Its been running fine for over a year now. I decided to boost the memory last week and ordered from OcUK the following:

Crucial 2GB (2x1GB) DDR PC4000 Ballistix Dual Channel Kit

When I installed it the BIOS only registered 2Gb. I called up tech support who suggested I reset my CMOS and swap the memory around (DIMM 1/2 for DIM 2/3). When I did this the BIOS only registered 1Gb.

So I now only have the 2Gb Ballistix Dual Channel Kit in and am wondering what the problem is. Can anyone help or give me some advice, please?

Thanks,

Yao

 

[Yao]

Thanks for the responses.

I'll try putting the sticks in one by one tomorrow, but since I can run the new 2x1Gb sticks fine without the initial 2x512MB ones would I be right in saying they are working fine?

I also haven't manually set the memory timings. Below is the tables from the manual. I understand the first table and this is fine for me, but the second table I have no idea what single and double ranks are.

2-3. Install System Memory


This motherboard provides four 184-pin DDR DIMM slots for Single/Dual Channel DDR 400/333/266
memory modules with memory expansion size up to 4GB.

Table 2-1. Valid Memory Configurations

Bank Memory Module Total Memory

Bank 0, 1 (DIMM1) 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB 128MB ~ 1GB

Bank 2, 3 (DIMM2) 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB 128MB ~ 1GB

Bank 4, 5 (DIMM3) 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB 128MB ~ 1GB

Bank 6, 7 (DIMM4) 128, 256, 512MB, 1GB 128MB ~ 1GB

Total System Memory 128MB ~ 4GB



Table 2-2. Unbuffered DIMM Support For AMD 939-pin Processor

===Single Channel 64bits===
DIMM1....DIMM2....DIMM3....DIMM4....Maximum DRAM Speed
SR.........N/A........Empty.....N/A........DDR400
DR.........N/A........Empty.....N/A........DDR400
Empty....N/A........SR..........N/A........DDR400
Empty....N/A........DR..........N/A........DDR400
SR.........N/A........SR..........N/A........DDR400
SR.........N/A........DR..........N/A........DDR400
DR.........N/A........SR..........N/A........DDR400
DR.........N/A........DR..........N/A........DDR333
===Dual Channel128-bits===
SR.........SR..........Empty.... Empty.....DDR400
DR......... DR......... Empty....Empty.....DDR400
Empty....Empty..... SR..........SR.........DDR400
Empty....Empty.....DR......... DR......... DDR400
SR......... SR......... SR......... SR......... DDR400
SR......... SR......... DR......... DR......... DDR400
DR......... DR......... SR......... SR......... DDR400
DR......... DR.........DR......... DR......... DDR333
*DR = Double Rank and SR = Single Rank

To reach the performance of Dual Channel DDR, the following rules must be obeyed:

• When installing TWO DIMM modules: Install DIMM modules of the same type and size for
slots [DIMM1]+[DIMM2] or slots [DIMM3]+[DIMM4].
• When installing FOUR DIMM modules: Install DIMM modules of the same type and size for
slots [DIMM1]+[DIMM2], and slots [DIMM3]+[DIMM4].

 

[Yao]

Yep that was the table I was thinking about. Put your 1GB sticks in where it says DR and 512MB sticks where it says SR. So it will be: 1GB 1Gb 512MB 512MB . DR = Double Sided Memory (1GB and old 512MB) SR = Single Sided Memory (most 512MB now).

Yep. I tried that when I first encountered the problem. The wierd thing is that the BIOS then registered only 1Gb of RAM. I'm suspecting a conflict is happening here. Is it worthwhile exchanging these for a different brand of memory?

I would try the one by one approach, but since putting the 2x1Gb actually gives me 2Gb of RAM it would appear that they are actually working fine.

This is such a pain. Is it still worth doing the memtest?