Asus A8N-E: How to run 3 sticks of RAM?

[plui31]

I have been running dual channel 2x512MB on A8N-E. I just got one stick of 1024MB and I wanted to stick it in. I've tried a few configurations but each time when I have all three in, my system wouldn't boot.

The one way I can get 2 of them in and booted is when the 1024 one is in B2 and one stick of 512 in B1. Any idea how I can get this to work?

 

[boonality]

Um are they the same speed? what about voltages? Can you at least post the info we need to answer your question, such as what RAM were you running before, and what RAM are you wanting to add? In terms of brand/speed/voltage/timing

 

[boonality]

For example, an AN8 board should only support DDR333 and DDR400 I believe. So that's a start.

 

[plui31]

Is there a way to check the voltage? Is it listed on the RAM itself? Because the 1 GB I just bought from someone.

I'm almost certain all 3 sticks are DDR400 but I'll go home and check. Thanks for the reply.

 

[boonality]

Also the AN8 boards (at least my ABIT) has BIOS updates as recently as last year. It won't hurt to update the BIOS and see if that helps.

 

[plui31]

I'm really not sure what sort of info you needed. Here's what I found about the Kingston 2x512MB:

ck Cycle Time (tCK): 5ns (min.) / 10ns (max.)
Row Cycle Time (tRC): 55ns (min.)
Refresh Row Cycle Time (tRFC): 70ns (min.)
Row Active Time (tRAS): 40ns (min.) / 70,000ns (max.)
Single Power Supply of: +2.6V (+/- .1V)
Power (IDD0): 3.744 W (operating)
UL Rating: 94 V - 0

The 1Gb module:
Corsair ValueSelect 3-3-3-8

Is that what you were looking for?

 

[antas]

This a DDR1 right?

Look again into your mobo manual ... For the RAM you should take some point into considerations. But first I really recommend your mobo's manual.

See if it's can support 3 stick mem, which is something that I really doubt. This board is a dual channel memory, not a triplet channel Which means that we should use 2x or 4x. Any mobos with dual channel mem can run 1x mem, but doesn't mean it can always run 3x. Some can do and some can not. Even if we can do 3x, I really against it, since it will hamper the performance not to mention the instability that might occur.

 

[plui31]

hmm...I think you might be right...I couldn't find anything in the manual about 3 sticks...

 

[antas]

Well, I'm kinda not sure myself Since shadow just said that dual channel mobo can run 3 sticks. Which I want to get confirmation, still looking through 3 sticks issue.

Your problems might also from other things anyway, that is the mem specification, especially the voltage settings. Some memory have different voltage settings. This may cause one of your sticks can not be recognized by your mobo. You should see on this issue to.

 

[plui31]

I believe the 1GB Corsair is 2.5V and the dual channel Kingstons are 2.6V...what I found in the mobo is that the lowest voltage I could set to is 2.6V. My guess is that shouldn't be a problem because I could run 1x1GB and 1x512MB?

 

[antas]

Have you tried to use 1 stick only (your 1GB)? Just to see if it's really working.

Because you mention that the lowest voltage you can set is 2.6V in your board, which is not the specification of the corsair 1GB. I'm searching the corsair websites but couldn't fine any luck, and I dont' know the series of yours. So the voltage seems to be the problem now ...

 

[antas]

NOTE: Before do this, please check whether your corsair can run at 2.6V, otherwise you'll damage or at least lose the warranty. I'm checking corsair websites but couldn't find specific info on voltage ...

 

[KingTech]

See if it's can support 3 stick mem, which is something that I really doubt. This board is a dual channel memory, not a triplet channel Which means that we should use 2x or 4x. Any mobos with dual channel mem can run 1x mem, but doesn't mean it can always run 3x. Some can do and some can not.

 

[boonality]

This thread is kinda old, I'd say at the worst he could go from 1GB (2 x 512) to 1.5GB (1 x 512 and 1 x 1GB). OP, you get email notifications? how did it turn out?

 

[sunny27]

hi! i use the same motherboard.
i had the same problem.
i suggest you upgrade to bios v.1011. use the asus flash utility to flash your bios through windows.v.1013 was unstable on my machine-boot failures would crop up now and then.1011 is the most stable bios for A8N-E.
there are 4 slots 2 black and 2 blue for the ram.use the black slots for your 512mb modules-and the blue for the 1gb module-don't ask me what for or why -- i used this combination for my transcend 1gb ddr400 and 2x512mb transcend ddr400 ram sticks.there was an issue with my ram timings the 1gb stick had timings of 3-3-3-8 and the 2x512 sticks had 2.5-3-3-8.this caused my ram to run at 333mhz instead of 400mhz.i got rid of the 2x512 modules for another transcend 1gb ddr400 stick with timings similar to that of my other 1gb stick of ram.

 

[sunny27]

also check the frequency by plugging the ram modules into separate slots.this would help you detect the problematic module or the problematic memory slot.

 

[plui31]

I ended up selling the 1GB stick...ended up losing some money just to recoup...I'm running a 3200+ single core on it so I'm contemplating if I should just upgrade the mobo+cpu+memory. The only thing is, I don't play games or do anything intensive on it. So it's more like a want than a need.

Instead of getting an upgrade, I'm thinking of using the money and get an EeePC-like laptop when a whole bunch of them will be released later this year