DONT use OCZ RAM with Abit IP35 / IP35-E

Shrapnel

Shrapnel

Shrapnel

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Hi folks,

I'm writing this to help others who might be in the same situation as I was recently. DONT BUY OCZ PLATINUM with your Abit IP35 or IP35-E. (This stuff : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-072-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813)

It has a strong chance to cause your machine not to boot, post, or be able to enter the bios when you first get it!

After checking the spec on these forum I built 2 machines with the above combo and got one that wouldn't post and one that wouldn't even initilise the machine at all.

The reason for this is because these OCZ Ram sticks (and maybe others in the OCZ range) aren't happy to run at 1.8v. Sadly this is the default voltage that the motherboard supplies when you turn it on!

This can be fixed by using a DIFFERENT BRAND of memory to boot the machine, go into the bios, increase the DDR2 voltage to 2.0. Save, exit, and swap the ram.

Full details here:
http://forum.uabit.com/showthread.php?t=132102


I hope this helps someone. Please remember this the next time someone asks for a spec check :-)

Cheers.
 
Theres been lots of specs going around the lately with Abit boards and OCZ ram without any problems and also Overclockers have Abit IP35's with OCZ in the Bundles which are guaranteed to be compatible.
 
Mine wouldn't boot initially with this RAM, simply reset the BIOS using the switch on the back of the board and turn the PC on, it will come up fine. There is no need to get hold of any other RAM.

Change the RAM voltage in the BIOS and save the settings then everything works perfectly well.
 
I know not everyone will have this issue, but it does exist and can be avoided through a different choice of RAM. I had this on BOTH machines I was building.

Mks2005 the problem is that you can't actually get into the BIOS to change the voltage in the first place.

It's worth noting that both motherboards that I got from OCuK have BIOS 11 on them that was particularly picky about Ram voltages. Maybe OCuK are flashing their bundles with a later BIOS that isn't so picky.

Just trying to help some people out here.
 
zarj said:
Mine wouldn't boot initially with this RAM, simply reset the BIOS using the switch on the back of the board and turn the PC on, it will come up fine. There is no need to get hold of any other RAM.

Change the RAM voltage in the BIOS and save the settings then everything works perfectly well.
Click to expand...


I did the same after reading about the auto setting in the bios = 1.8 volts
you can either boot with just one stick in and the 1.8 volts stock is enough to boot or do the above like it did. takes all of 30 seconds..

now the combos running with zero problems ram/mobo related
 
Believe me mate, I tried everything to get this working before finding the guys over at the aBit forums. Using a single stick didn't solve it for me. BTW I've read that using 1 stick in Dimm slot 4 is recommended (not slot 1 as you'd think). I'm glad your's is running well.
 
i was on the verge of buying the OCZ 4gb package that's on offer this week with the pro version of the abit. I don't have any other ram i can use to boot - should i avoid? :confused:
 
My IP35 and 2GB OCZ fired up perfectly first time.

It then failed on Vista installation a couple of times. I checked on Microsoft's Knowledge Base for the error code I got, and it mentioned memory. I checked the OCZ website for the specs, and saw 2.0V. I then went into the BIOS and upped the memory voltage to 2.0, and it's been working flawlessly ever since.

Not really a show-stopper, just a 30 second inconvenience.
 
My IP35 Pro had issues - firstly with the "ATI Crossfire" 2GB set, and also with the HPC Reaper 2GB set - both were 6400 DDR2. Was really gutted as well since I love OCZ ram, so I had to move back to my old PQI stuff, then I sold that and got some Geil which runs great.
 
The single stick fix does work for a lot of people though. The system I built for a friend would boot with 1 stick in any slot, but fail with 2.

Didnt need to give it 2V though. 1.9V was sufficient for 100% stability.
 
maliCe said:
i was on the verge of buying the OCZ 4gb package that's on offer this week with the pro version of the abit. I don't have any other ram i can use to boot - should i avoid? :confused:
Click to expand...

I have two systems both with OCZ and the IP35 Pro and both allowed me into the BIOS to change the voltage without problem.
 
I tend to re-set the bios before going for the first full boot on a new build anyway, which seems to cure the problem for most people.
 
I'm glad this has helped a few people (and I see some of the regular spec'ers are chosing Geil Ram for use in the Abit boards. Good work lads.)

To MaliCe - I don't think you will have a problem. The IP35-Pro board uses a different bios to the IP35 and IP35-E. This fault seems particularly bad with version 11 of the bios (which I the boards from OcUK on monday has installed).

To Pc-Modd - It's not an issue of undervolting, I hear it's because the bios choses timing that the OcZ can't run at 1.8v (because they chips aren't great - hence needing the higher volts for stock speeds).
 
I have 2gig of that in an IP35 for company pc and even have it running at 1.8V

Initially had problems but now it works fine
 
I had to flash my bios on my IP35-Pro to get it to work properly.

I suffered frequent crashing, fluctuating memory voltages etc until the bios was flashed. This was with the budget overclockers ram.
 
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