DDR3 memory compatibility

Mr3uk

Mr3uk

Mr3uk

Associate
Joined
7 Sep 2008
Posts
3
Hi guys,

Theres a bit of a long story involved in the reasons for doing this so Ill just see if anyone knows without explaining why.

I have 4gb of OCZ platinum http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-271-AS (q9550 on Asus striker II extreme nforce 790i)

I am wondering if I can add 4gb of this ram http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-172-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387 to the system?

I had some problems with the OCZ platinum on this board at first because the motherboard was only giving it 1.6v. Once I managed to get into the bios tho and set it to 1.9v it has been working. The system does freeze though at least once a day and I am almost 100% sure it is because of the ram.

So the basic question is will 2 different voltage dual channel kits work on this motherboard or will I fry the corsair if I plug it in and try and boot without clearing the cmos first.

I apologise if I am not very clear, I havent had anything to do with computer parts since I first built this machine around a year ago so my memory is a little foggy on certain terminology.
 
Welcome to the forums.

Mr3uk said:
I had some problems with the OCZ platinum on this board... The system does freeze though at least once a day and I am almost 100% sure it is because of the ram.
Click to expand...

Before adding any more memory you need to establish first whether or not your existing memory is corrupt. If it is, adding more memory, no matter how compatible or incompatible it is, will only increase your instability issues - if the current memory is the cause of your present problems.

Have you run memest for a few hours? Is the rig clocked at all?

If the system isn't clocked and it fails memtest - go onto test each stick individually. If one or both sticks fail you probably need to rma and start again with fresh sticks

With the above in mind I’m afraid it kind of negates this next part of your question…

So the basic question is will 2 different voltage dual channel kits work on this motherboard or will I fry the corsair if I plug it in and try and boot without clearing the cmos first.
Click to expand...

However, it's not advisable to mix such mismatched voltage memory. To, even, attempt to get the 2 mixed sets running you would have to volt the corsair way over its warranty limit straight away.

Basically, find the root of your present memory problems first – and work from there.

If you have any questions about the above memtest just post away - or just let us know how you get on with the tests.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply Plec. After hearing that I think I will just bin the platinum sticks. I think it is too late to rma them had them for quite a while now and there where a lot of issues with this particular brand of memory on this mobo. Shame I didnt research just a little bit more about that before buying!

Ill get the corsair in there and run mem test for a few hours. If the problems are cleared up with this ram then I will most likely order another 4gb later on :)

Thanks again for the help!

edit: Reason for asking if they would run well together was incase there was an option to run different voltages for each dual channel kit. Im not prepared to over volt the new set though so I will give it a miss.
 
STOP!

Don't bin them they will still be under guarantee - plus you need to clarify that they are at fault first! It may be that you have other underlying issues... (I'm not saying you have but you need to rule out the possibilty before sticking in more memroy.)

Run the memtest - it's a time consuming process but you don't have to sit and watch it.

If it fails on individual stick/s - rma them - you could sell on the replacements if you're getting the Corsair regardless.

I admire your decisiveness. ;)
 
Last edited:
Thanks again Plec, I dont know about decisiveness, probably more likely impatience haha.

Ill have to pop out and get some blank cd's tommorow so I can run memtest unless theres some way to run something from windows? I am pretty sure that is what stopped me running memtest in the first place, and I just learned to live with the freezes.

It will be handy if I find a fault with them and can get a new set to sell as you suggested.

Thanks!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom