I have searched a bunch of threads here on this issue as best i could and well, there seems to be quite a few solutions for this irritating problem, and for some, was never able to be fixed at all.
The CPU is a Core i7 960 and the Mobo is a Gigabyte X58AUD3R that can handle up to 24gb of memory. The BIOS version is "FE" (Award). The revision for the Mobo is 2.0, which is where the FE was used first on the 2.0 revisions (you can't download FE from their site, only FF, FG and FH). Those later 3 don't seem to support any new kind of memory or cpu compatibility issues, and 2 of them are beta, the other only added support for 3TB HDDs, so that being said, i wasn't going to bother messing with these BIOS versions if it didn't have any relevant updates for this problem.
Yes, unchecking MAX MEM under MSCONFIG did NOT help at all, so let's get that out of the way right now.
Let me explain what happened and how this all originated. The comp was taken to a local shop to be cleaned up and had a new CPU fan put on and given a new case. Now of course, to do all that, the mobo and every component attached to it would be removed and put into the new case. When the comp was given back, everything was fine, yet suddenly the 12 gigs of memory it had on it at the time, was not fully registering under the BIOS, yet Windows (10) was picking it up. However, only 4 were usable. The memory setup it had at the time was 6x2GB sticks, Kingston HyperX Genesis, PC10700 (667/1333).
At this point, i tinkered around with the sticks, switched them around, cleaned them, cleaned the slots as best i could, and after doing all of this, well, the news got worse. The only way to get any of the memory to be 100% usable, was to put 2 of the 2GB sticks into Channel C (slots 5 and 6). Windows then showed 4GB being fully used. However, now it's using single channel framework. I tried 2 sticks in Channel A--nothing. 2 sticks in Channel B--nothing (it won't even boot). Tried 2 sticks in both Channel A and C (B was vacant), and then in B and C (A was vacant) and this once again loaded up Windows, this time showing 8GB total, but now with just 4 usable. The only way to get it working normal was with only Channel C being used. The BIOS itself shows a "-" for all the memory specs of the sticks for A and B when Channel C is being used (i can't boot if nothing is in Channel C anyway, as the other Channels seem to be borked at this point). It shows everything just fine for C and shows the sizes of the other sticks if they are in A and B, yet no specs at all. And of course, Windows recognizes all 12 gigs (or 8 gigs), yet it can't be used. CPU-Z even shows the unusable memory sticks and all their stats. Very weird. It's like it's there, but it's not there. All i can deduce from here is that something is wrong with the mobo/mem channels or the CPU itself which is causing the BIOS to not detect things properly.
I know that the CPU microcode largely controls the memory and has a major role there, so any problems concerning the CPU will affect the memory. Keep in mind, all of this worked just fine until the comp was worked on by this shop (who of course, won't ever be getting a single penny out of me again, and after looking at their feedback on FB, well, it seems i was not the only one experiencing problems that would occur when it was returned). That in itself lends more validity to them being the cause of the problem. Since they were literally working on the CPU fan, and also removing the mobo to put it into a new case, i would assume it is highly likely they screwed something up or jolted something pertaining to the CPU. I mean, thing is though, would this really cause 2 whole channels (four memory slots) to become totally useless? I could see one, but FOUR? Like what did these guys do? Drool on it, or spill beer on it? However, i don't know what else to think, because again, the memory functioned fine before it went in and all 12 gigs were usable.
So...rather than take it back to them, i decided to buy 2x8GB sticks and pop those in and just use Channel C for now so i can at least have a decent amount of memory for the time being. They are Kingston HyperX Fury 1866 (PC14900). This is well within parameters of the MOBO, as it can handle up to 2200. Now yes, i do know that X58 boards do not "officially" support 8 gig sticks, yet after researching all of that, i did not come across a single person on forums or on YT videos saying that it did not work whatsoever (the only thing being said was they MAY NOT work). In fact, many were able to put 6x8GB sticks in and got a whopping 48gig out of it on X58 mobos. All of these users had different mobos (Asus, Gigabyte), different memory (Patriot, Kingston, G-Skill) and various CPUS (930s all the way to 990X). The reason it is not supported is because basically the 8GB sticks weren't around (or just on their way out) as the X58 boards were also just making their way out. Not to mention, filling all 6 slots in order to get the official 24GB max could only be done with a 6x4GB pattern, hence the official limit.
Once i got the 2x8GB sticks, well...good news and bad news. I put both in Channel C to start with (the only channel where anything will work and all memory is USABLE) and the system wouldn't even boot. So, i took one stick out of slot 6, and whaddaya know, it boots up just fine. No "recovering lost DRAM" error with the 3 cycle rebooting nonsense either (forgot to mention this above--it does that when any other sticks are in Channel A and B). Windows loaded right up, all 8 gigs usable. No problems whatsoever. Yes, single channel mode, but oh well, it's better than 4GB, right? So, i shut down again, and put the other 8GB stick in the 1st slot of Channel B (trying for Dual Channel). Nothing, won't even boot. Then i did the same for Channel A. Yep, it booted...but of course, back to the damn "recovering lost DRAM" garbage, and back to square one, because once in Windows, it then showed 16GB total with 8 usable.
Just to make it known too, ALL memory modules (the 6x2GB and the 2x8GB) work perfectly fine. They all work and register properly within BIOS and Windows if they are put into Channel C. Therefore, it is NOT the sticks themselves that are defective, and all i can target at this point as being defective is the memory banks or the CPU itself.
As for Voltages, well, the weird thing about the 2x8GB dimms, is they show on the actual labels to be 1.35v. The site says this is the LOWEST supported (not its max). Yet, CPU-Z when i looked at it there, shows 1.35v. Even the XMP there showed it at 1.35v. Like um...how can that be possible? When i bought these, i made sure they were 1.5v. The specs on the page (got them at Newegg) outright said 1.5v. So where is this 1.35v coming from? Why is CPU-Z showing the lowest voltage possible? Also, why is it i can get one of these to work, but not both? It's beyond frustrating, because either of the 2x2GB sticks work fine in Channel C (which show as 1.5v in CPU-Z), yet only ONE of the 8GB sticks work. With both in there, i can't even get it to boot. Siiiiigggh. Could this be a voltage issue? Is 16GB being put into one channel, somehow at too low a voltage? The BIOS supposedly says the DRAM voltage is 1.5v, which just confuses things more, since CPU-Z doesn't show that, so i have no idea what voltage it is and if false positives are showing up.
Allow me to digress for a moment here too. Maybe someone can be so kind as to explain another related voltage issue here, which is kind of contrary to this one. On another comp, i have PC10700 (667/1333) memory in Triple Channel. It was at 1066 optimal at first, before setting up XMP. But after doing that, CPU-Z shows the DRAM Frequency to be 800mhz (1600). The BIOS shows the "Current DRAM Frequency" to be 1600mhz as well. Yea, that's nice to see, however, how is that possible? The RAM is only rated for a max bandwidth of 667/1333 (the SPD literally states this). Like....Whuuhhh? Just totally dumbfounded on that one. Again, my guess is a false positive and i am actually getting 1333, not 1600, because again, those sticks arent PC12800. The BIOS on that comp is using American Megatrends v8.14.
Anyway, that about wraps this up. Apologies for the long post, but i tried to include every bit of info and troubleshooting i could muster up. I just don't know what else to conclude, other than the mobo/CPU having physical damage of some kind. Whatever help anyone can give (many here are light years ahead of me when it comes to all sorts of technical issues) to possibly rectify this problem would be greatly appreciated. Totally at my wit's end here :-/
The CPU is a Core i7 960 and the Mobo is a Gigabyte X58AUD3R that can handle up to 24gb of memory. The BIOS version is "FE" (Award). The revision for the Mobo is 2.0, which is where the FE was used first on the 2.0 revisions (you can't download FE from their site, only FF, FG and FH). Those later 3 don't seem to support any new kind of memory or cpu compatibility issues, and 2 of them are beta, the other only added support for 3TB HDDs, so that being said, i wasn't going to bother messing with these BIOS versions if it didn't have any relevant updates for this problem.
Yes, unchecking MAX MEM under MSCONFIG did NOT help at all, so let's get that out of the way right now.
Let me explain what happened and how this all originated. The comp was taken to a local shop to be cleaned up and had a new CPU fan put on and given a new case. Now of course, to do all that, the mobo and every component attached to it would be removed and put into the new case. When the comp was given back, everything was fine, yet suddenly the 12 gigs of memory it had on it at the time, was not fully registering under the BIOS, yet Windows (10) was picking it up. However, only 4 were usable. The memory setup it had at the time was 6x2GB sticks, Kingston HyperX Genesis, PC10700 (667/1333).
At this point, i tinkered around with the sticks, switched them around, cleaned them, cleaned the slots as best i could, and after doing all of this, well, the news got worse. The only way to get any of the memory to be 100% usable, was to put 2 of the 2GB sticks into Channel C (slots 5 and 6). Windows then showed 4GB being fully used. However, now it's using single channel framework. I tried 2 sticks in Channel A--nothing. 2 sticks in Channel B--nothing (it won't even boot). Tried 2 sticks in both Channel A and C (B was vacant), and then in B and C (A was vacant) and this once again loaded up Windows, this time showing 8GB total, but now with just 4 usable. The only way to get it working normal was with only Channel C being used. The BIOS itself shows a "-" for all the memory specs of the sticks for A and B when Channel C is being used (i can't boot if nothing is in Channel C anyway, as the other Channels seem to be borked at this point). It shows everything just fine for C and shows the sizes of the other sticks if they are in A and B, yet no specs at all. And of course, Windows recognizes all 12 gigs (or 8 gigs), yet it can't be used. CPU-Z even shows the unusable memory sticks and all their stats. Very weird. It's like it's there, but it's not there. All i can deduce from here is that something is wrong with the mobo/mem channels or the CPU itself which is causing the BIOS to not detect things properly.
I know that the CPU microcode largely controls the memory and has a major role there, so any problems concerning the CPU will affect the memory. Keep in mind, all of this worked just fine until the comp was worked on by this shop (who of course, won't ever be getting a single penny out of me again, and after looking at their feedback on FB, well, it seems i was not the only one experiencing problems that would occur when it was returned). That in itself lends more validity to them being the cause of the problem. Since they were literally working on the CPU fan, and also removing the mobo to put it into a new case, i would assume it is highly likely they screwed something up or jolted something pertaining to the CPU. I mean, thing is though, would this really cause 2 whole channels (four memory slots) to become totally useless? I could see one, but FOUR? Like what did these guys do? Drool on it, or spill beer on it? However, i don't know what else to think, because again, the memory functioned fine before it went in and all 12 gigs were usable.
So...rather than take it back to them, i decided to buy 2x8GB sticks and pop those in and just use Channel C for now so i can at least have a decent amount of memory for the time being. They are Kingston HyperX Fury 1866 (PC14900). This is well within parameters of the MOBO, as it can handle up to 2200. Now yes, i do know that X58 boards do not "officially" support 8 gig sticks, yet after researching all of that, i did not come across a single person on forums or on YT videos saying that it did not work whatsoever (the only thing being said was they MAY NOT work). In fact, many were able to put 6x8GB sticks in and got a whopping 48gig out of it on X58 mobos. All of these users had different mobos (Asus, Gigabyte), different memory (Patriot, Kingston, G-Skill) and various CPUS (930s all the way to 990X). The reason it is not supported is because basically the 8GB sticks weren't around (or just on their way out) as the X58 boards were also just making their way out. Not to mention, filling all 6 slots in order to get the official 24GB max could only be done with a 6x4GB pattern, hence the official limit.
Once i got the 2x8GB sticks, well...good news and bad news. I put both in Channel C to start with (the only channel where anything will work and all memory is USABLE) and the system wouldn't even boot. So, i took one stick out of slot 6, and whaddaya know, it boots up just fine. No "recovering lost DRAM" error with the 3 cycle rebooting nonsense either (forgot to mention this above--it does that when any other sticks are in Channel A and B). Windows loaded right up, all 8 gigs usable. No problems whatsoever. Yes, single channel mode, but oh well, it's better than 4GB, right? So, i shut down again, and put the other 8GB stick in the 1st slot of Channel B (trying for Dual Channel). Nothing, won't even boot. Then i did the same for Channel A. Yep, it booted...but of course, back to the damn "recovering lost DRAM" garbage, and back to square one, because once in Windows, it then showed 16GB total with 8 usable.
Just to make it known too, ALL memory modules (the 6x2GB and the 2x8GB) work perfectly fine. They all work and register properly within BIOS and Windows if they are put into Channel C. Therefore, it is NOT the sticks themselves that are defective, and all i can target at this point as being defective is the memory banks or the CPU itself.
As for Voltages, well, the weird thing about the 2x8GB dimms, is they show on the actual labels to be 1.35v. The site says this is the LOWEST supported (not its max). Yet, CPU-Z when i looked at it there, shows 1.35v. Even the XMP there showed it at 1.35v. Like um...how can that be possible? When i bought these, i made sure they were 1.5v. The specs on the page (got them at Newegg) outright said 1.5v. So where is this 1.35v coming from? Why is CPU-Z showing the lowest voltage possible? Also, why is it i can get one of these to work, but not both? It's beyond frustrating, because either of the 2x2GB sticks work fine in Channel C (which show as 1.5v in CPU-Z), yet only ONE of the 8GB sticks work. With both in there, i can't even get it to boot. Siiiiigggh. Could this be a voltage issue? Is 16GB being put into one channel, somehow at too low a voltage? The BIOS supposedly says the DRAM voltage is 1.5v, which just confuses things more, since CPU-Z doesn't show that, so i have no idea what voltage it is and if false positives are showing up.
Allow me to digress for a moment here too. Maybe someone can be so kind as to explain another related voltage issue here, which is kind of contrary to this one. On another comp, i have PC10700 (667/1333) memory in Triple Channel. It was at 1066 optimal at first, before setting up XMP. But after doing that, CPU-Z shows the DRAM Frequency to be 800mhz (1600). The BIOS shows the "Current DRAM Frequency" to be 1600mhz as well. Yea, that's nice to see, however, how is that possible? The RAM is only rated for a max bandwidth of 667/1333 (the SPD literally states this). Like....Whuuhhh? Just totally dumbfounded on that one. Again, my guess is a false positive and i am actually getting 1333, not 1600, because again, those sticks arent PC12800. The BIOS on that comp is using American Megatrends v8.14.
Anyway, that about wraps this up. Apologies for the long post, but i tried to include every bit of info and troubleshooting i could muster up. I just don't know what else to conclude, other than the mobo/CPU having physical damage of some kind. Whatever help anyone can give (many here are light years ahead of me when it comes to all sorts of technical issues) to possibly rectify this problem would be greatly appreciated. Totally at my wit's end here :-/
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