Suspiciously easy upgrade?

eddyc · 1 Mar 2011 at 09:01

So I just added another 4GB of RAM to my system. The process I followed was something like:

Looked at RAM currently in system - 4GB of OCZ Obsidian (1600MHz @ 1.65v)

Looked at RAM I bought - 4GB of OCZ Platinum (1600MHz @ 1.35v)

Q: Can I run the sticks at different voltages
A: No

Q: Will OCZ Obsidian Run at lower voltage?
A: Set OCZ Obsidian to 1.35v. Ran memtest 86+ Completed one full pass with no errors.

Stuck the new RAM into their slots. One stick of each type in each channel so overall the channels balance.

Ran full pass of memtest. Pass.

Booted. All looks good. Ram running at 1600MHz. Dual channel mode. OC still there. North bridge still at 2600. Ran prime blend for 8 hours. Pass, no errors.

The only thing I can see that has changed is that my Command Rate has changed to 2. Bit annoying but I assume it will not make that much difference.

I think I will leave memtest running over night tonight but other than that, is there anything else I should have looked at or can I be happy?

Cookeh · 1 Mar 2011 at 17:23

Be happy, I'm actually surprised that worked!

You've done all the tests I would, might be worth running a game on it though?

NathWraith · 1 Mar 2011 at 17:45

mixing RAM is never good but if it works, it works. Suprised it does though!

eddyc · 1 Mar 2011 at 21:09

I was really surprised too. I actually put off getting round to putting the RAM in because I assumed it would be such a nightmare.

Oh well all good.

My new 1090t comes tomorrow.

After that no more upgrades for a good long while. Might have to wait till bulldozer v2

joeyjojo · 2 Mar 2011 at 01:19

Nice undervolt

I would memtest86+ and Linpack it to death for as many hours as possible.

eddyc · 2 Mar 2011 at 11:55

joeyjojo said:
Nice undervolt

Thanks! Fingers crossed it holds.

joeyjojo said:
I would memtest86+ and Linpack it to death for as many hours as possible.

Have run quite a bit of memtest and prime but I'll leave memtest going overnight one night.

I had never heard of linpack. Is it necessary to do both do you think?

rickh · 2 Mar 2011 at 12:02

I've had PC's pass days worth of memtest, prime and linpack tests but randomly blue screen a few months later.

You'll probably OK, but sometimes stability degrades over time.

Sayso · 3 Mar 2011 at 18:39

I thought Linpack mainly stressed the CPU and it was Prime Blend that was the Memory/mobo killer/tester

joeyjojo · 3 Mar 2011 at 21:07

Sayso said:
I thought Linpack mainly stressed the CPU and it was Prime Blend that was the Memory/mobo killer/tester

The two linpack tests I am familiar with are Intel Burn Test and Linx. They use cpu and memory very intensively, both. I lost all faith in prime many years ago when Linx came out. I've primed for 8 hours and had a BSOD soon after.

mukhs11 · 7 Mar 2011 at 14:25

i heard if u run ram above 1.5v for SB it can damage CPU life?

aastii · 7 Mar 2011 at 16:17

mukhs11 said:
i heard if u run ram above 1.5v for SB it can damage CPU life?

It can potentially because of the memory controller and north bridge on the die itself, rather than the memory controller only being on the die, and the rest of the chipset on the mobo