Strange RAM Voltage readings

Liam123 · 31 Aug 2011 at 11:56

I Have 8gb of this ram ---> http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-ddr3-pc3-10666-gold-low-voltage-triple-channel.html which i got off overclockers.

Ive had it for a while know and all seems fine but i recently got a new cpu cooler so i attempted to overclock my 1090t.

I found that even on fully stock settings i would get comeplete lock ups under prime 95 testing and im pretty sure its the ram.

So i checked the ram voltages and AMD overdrive said i was on a 1.5750 voltage but the bios said 1.5 volts. This is strange as this website ----> http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-ddr3-pc3-10666-gold-low-voltage-triple-channel.html says that the Ram i have is at stock 1.65 volts.

Has my ram been undervolted and should i turn it up to 1.65?

Plec · 31 Aug 2011 at 15:36

The memory you've linked to has been tested up to 1.65V so if you're having stability issues i would increase the memory's voltage until things become stable - obviously 1.65v being the max (if it's a memory issue.).

There nothing wrong with undervolting memory as long as things remain stable.

Did you set the memory up manually - you may want to check your timings/frequency as these too could be running under stock if you left settings on auto?

Liam123 · 31 Aug 2011 at 15:39

Timings are fine, upped voltage to 1.545 in bios but still cant run a prime 95 on fully stock cpu settings without a complete freeze.

Justintime · 31 Aug 2011 at 15:43

Try 1.6 or 1.65v.

Plec · 31 Aug 2011 at 16:16

Liam123 said:
Timings are fine, upped voltage to 1.545 in bios but still cant run a prime 95 on fully stock cpu settings without a complete freeze.

As above, you may as well knock the memory up to its rated voltage so you can rule out lack of juice as being the problem.

Liam123 · 31 Aug 2011 at 17:15

Highly doubt tht I got 650W corsair PSU and only a GTX560ti SOC

Surveyor · 31 Aug 2011 at 17:58

Plec said:
As above, you may as well knock the memory up to its rated voltage so you can rule out lack of juice as being the problem.

Liam123 said:
Highly doubt tht I got 650W corsair PSU and only a GTX560ti SOC

Plec meant lack of juice for the RAM not lack of juice for the whole PC.

Liam123 · 31 Aug 2011 at 20:08

Oh sorry. Ive upped it to 1.65 and seems the problem is fixed, going to drop it down until the problems starts again

Plec · 1 Sep 2011 at 20:25

Surveyor said:
Plec meant lack of juice for the RAM not lack of juice for the whole PC.

Thanks Surveyor, my reply should have been a bit more comprehensive.

Liam123 said:
Oh sorry. Ive upped it to 1.65 and seems the problem is fixed, going to drop it down until the problems starts again

Great - hopefully the increased voltage has solved your stability issues.

I would test each voltage drop for a couple of weeks as memory issues can be very intermittent.

Sunbed · 2 Sep 2011 at 08:47

Does dropping memory voltage reduce power consumption much?

Sunbed · 6 Sep 2011 at 16:07

... Anyone? Just wondering why you would want to lower RAM voltage below recommended?

Plec · 6 Sep 2011 at 16:44

Sundance said:
... Anyone? Just wondering why you would want to lower RAM voltage below recommended?

Less heat, perlongs life of memory (in theory), slightly lower power consumption and with some setups - notably Sandybridge - if your clocking the system it's recommended to have the voltage below 1.58V.

It's always good to get the lowest possible voltages for core components such as memory and CPU - mainly for temps and longevity of part (and manufacturer's recommended settings/guides)

Sunbed · 6 Sep 2011 at 23:56

Thanks, I'll tweak it later.

Plec · 7 Sep 2011 at 13:11

No problem.

What's the make up of your system and what brand/spec of memory have you got installed?