Problem with DDR?

[himji]

I posted this in the gigabyte forums but I've had no answers there so I thought I'd try here incase it's because it'd get missed in there due to low traffic. Mods, please delete the other thread if this goes agains the TOC.

Ok I bought a GA-8S655FX-L (Rev1.0) and stuck in Kingston 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz Non-ECC CL3 (3-3-3) 184pin DIMM's (Kit of 2 x 512mb) which has been running fine for nearly a year.

I then decided to upgrade as I need alot more ram, so I bought 2 x Kingston 1GB 400MHz DDR PC3200 DIMM 3-3-3 ok, exactly the same memory apart from the size which I did because I figured that will be the least painfull upgrade.. right?? How wrong was I! :lol:

Anyway, The setup was, I had the two 512mb dimms in slot 1 of channel a and b with the two 1gb dimms is slot 2 of channel a and b. thus using the DDR correctly and getting the best performance out of my dimms.

Anyway, I had lots of errors and random crashes so I knew something was wrong. I then ran memtestx86 and it came up with lots of errors on test 5 (I think that's where it does a block copy between the modules).

So I then tried to insert the dimms in different configs. The upshot of that is I can have the dimms in any combination (2x512, 1x512+1x1gb, 2x512+1x1gb, 2x512 on one channell and 2x1gb on one channel) etc but if I use the correct config, i.e 2x512 across 2 channels and 2x1mb accross 2 channels, I get the errors. Thus I think the issue is when the mobo tries to use DDR with two sets of modules, it errors.

I've been running with the 1gb dimms fine for nearly a month now so they aren't faulty. I've installed the latest mobo firmware (F) and I've installed the latest drivers fwiw (since memtest works on the bios level it shouldn't affect the OS). I've also tried gigabyte support but the best suggestion I've had from them is not to use different memory sizes

I am right in thinking that you can mix DDR memory as long as they are on seperate channels and the same slot?

Any help would be appreciated Thanks 8)

 

[mpjesse]

So basically your problem is this:

Using 4 DIMMs in any dual channel configuration (all at once) results in instability and crashes.

Correct?

 

[himji]

You're gooood

Yes, Dual channell DDR = nono as far as my tests go. I haven't got any other DIMMS to fully test that out tho It's a P4 prescott 3ghz BTW

 

[sturm]

coming from the manual it says

3. Four DDR memory modules are installed: Ifyou install four memory modules at the same time, the Dual Channel Technology will operate only when those modules have the same memory size and type.

It sounds like they would all have to be 512 or 1gig sticks. This would be the first time I have seen where you couldnt run 2 different size sets in dual channel.

So both sets run just fine by themselves but not together. Hmmmmmmmmm.

 

[himji]

The manual for the mobo I guess?

Thanks for that, I'll check it out. It pleases me that after speaking with Giga-byte support for nearly 2 weeks they haven't been able to tell me that :lol:

 

[Newbinator]

It's funny I found this post. I am going through almost the exact same thing. Here's what i got:

Gigabyte ga-8ipe1000pro
Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz
2gb of Kingston pc3200 (DDR400) non-ecc

Anyway, I at first purchased 2x512, and cuz i was thinking of overclocking the memory i bought and installed those monster ramsinks that use thermal adhesive. They seemed to work fine until i decided to buy and install 2 more 512 sticks. That comes to a total of 2GB (4x512) in dual channel memory slots (Yes, I'm sure i installed them correctly; i'm not a noob.) Bottom line is that hearing about your horror story and experiencing mine i would say that its not an issue of mixing memory. I did also try updating the firmware and drivers, and trying every possible combination of memory. I also ran a slew of memtests. The first pair of 512 I put in, nothing. The second pair I put in by itself, nothing either. But when I ran it on all four sticks it came up with thousands of errors. I think it was on test No. 5 too. And don't try talkin' to gigabyte techsupport; they are no use. I havn't been stymied by a problem like this in a while. If anyone has any suggestions or possible solutions i'm open, but after this i rufuse to buy from gigabyte. I recommend that if you are thinking about buying one, DON"T. They suck ass!

 

[apache_lives]

Sis may also have something to do with it

 

[himji]

Newbinator. Yes it sucks. Gigabyte are going on about kingston using different chips in the differnt dimms but it still doesn't make sense, I need to follow up with some stuff to them...

Apche, what do you mean sis? Is that the onboard sound?

 

[apache_lives]

i believe that boards using a SiS chipset - second most hated chipset brand for me after VIA.

 

[Anoobis]

i believe that boards using a SiS chipset - second most hated chipset brand for me after VIA.

Yes, yes...very true!!

 

[Vile]

I though SiS was actually suckier than VIA 8O

 

[Crashman]

SiS started making better chipsets than VIA when their 735 (Athlon XP) chipset took out VIA's KT266. VIA responded by THREATENING MOTHERBOARD COMPANIES that if they used the 735, VIA would ship their orders late. Because USERS LIKE YOU were demanding VIA chipset boards at that time, motherboard makers paniced, and most decided against using the 735.

SiS has been making good chipsets ever since. Of course what VIA did is illegal in the U.S., but VIA did this in Tiawan.

And SiS has been having marketing issues ever since, which has relegated their products to low-end boards.

 

[Crashman]

This is a common issue, across multiple board brands and chipsets. The usual fix is to increase DIMM voltage, I suggest 2.7 to 2.8v for added stability. Increasing DIMM voltage increases signal strength.

 

[himji]

Yes it's sis...

I'll give that a try crashman, is there any risk involved in increasing the voltage?

Also, my memory is guaranteed for life, is there going to be any woth in sending it back and getting it repalced?

 

[Crashman]

Only in theory. In practice I've never seen nor heard of 2.8v hurting PC3200 RAM, which is 2.6v to start with.