- Feb 12, 2014
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Hi all, would like a little help with a custom-built PC I put together for a friend.
A college friend of mine recently requested I helped him build a new PC. I put a list of parts together for him. He's not too tech-savvy, so someone else physically put it together for him (not me, his roommate).
The problem they're facing right is that the memory is stuck in single-channel mode, and the OS is seeing all 8GB of memory but says only 4GB is usable.
So, over a lengthy SMS conversation with my friend's roommate, we tried as much as we could to resolve the issue, to no avail.
What we tried:
Updating the BIOS - We didn't actually, since it was already at the latest version, 1.60.
Re-seating the memory - My friend tells me he switch the slots repeatedly to try and resolve the issue. He even removed the CPU and put it back in.
Checking 'Maximum Memory' in MSConfig - It was unchecked.
Lowering the clock rate of the memory from 1600 to 1333 - This did nothing.
We want to try raising the voltage going to the memory, but both of us are a little iffy about messing with voltage levels and we don't want to burn out the memory controller.
Something worth noting:
My friend's roommate insisted that a 500W power supply was enough, I don't know if that might have anything to do with the problem - I always buy power supplies with enough wattage for everything and room to spare.
Anyway, any help is appreciated, both of us have pretty much exhausted our knowledge of custom systems.
Part list is as follows. OS is Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit, genuine. All parts are brand-new.
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Thanks for any help,
Kyle
A college friend of mine recently requested I helped him build a new PC. I put a list of parts together for him. He's not too tech-savvy, so someone else physically put it together for him (not me, his roommate).
The problem they're facing right is that the memory is stuck in single-channel mode, and the OS is seeing all 8GB of memory but says only 4GB is usable.
So, over a lengthy SMS conversation with my friend's roommate, we tried as much as we could to resolve the issue, to no avail.
What we tried:
Updating the BIOS - We didn't actually, since it was already at the latest version, 1.60.
Re-seating the memory - My friend tells me he switch the slots repeatedly to try and resolve the issue. He even removed the CPU and put it back in.
Checking 'Maximum Memory' in MSConfig - It was unchecked.
Lowering the clock rate of the memory from 1600 to 1333 - This did nothing.
We want to try raising the voltage going to the memory, but both of us are a little iffy about messing with voltage levels and we don't want to burn out the memory controller.
Something worth noting:
My friend's roommate insisted that a 500W power supply was enough, I don't know if that might have anything to do with the problem - I always buy power supplies with enough wattage for everything and room to spare.
Anyway, any help is appreciated, both of us have pretty much exhausted our knowledge of custom systems.
Part list is as follows. OS is Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit, genuine. All parts are brand-new.
CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 980DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Thanks for any help,
Kyle
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