Intel D865PERL Can't Handle Corsair & Kingston DIMMs

[Uter]

A long time ago I bought a new D865PERL motherboard (p4 3ghz cpu) with a matched set of Corsair Value Select PC3200 DDR DIMMs (VS512MB400) CL2.5. I put them in staggered slots so they ran in dual channel mode. Later I purchased Kingston PC3200 DDR DIMMs (KVR400/512R) CL3 and installed those in the remaining two staggered slots. All the DIMMs are 512mb. All was seemingly good but after a couple weeks I started noticing really strange things happening: corrupt files, errors copying files, program crashes. Long story short I determined the Kingston modules were bad using memtest. I RMA'd the bad ram (both modules so I would get a matched set back).

I received the new modules and installed them and again after a couple weeks noticed weird things happening. This time memtest reported the Corsair modules were bad. I RMA'd them and put the Kingston modules in Bank 1. I got the new Corsair modules and installed them in Bank 2. Again strange things were happening after a while, so I ran memtest and found the Kingston modules were again screwed. I RMA'd those and haven't tried installing both sets of modules together in a couple years now, but I still have one brand new package of RAM here, and both companies verified their RAM is compatible with this board and the other RAM.

I would like to install all the RAM to bring the system up to 2 gigs after all these years, but obviously either the board can't handle these two types of modules together, or the board can't handle different types of modules in different banks in dual channel mode. I would like to sell the modules and get something that works if I can figure out if the problem is the RAM or the board.

I have ran the board for months on both the Kingston and Corsair modules without issues, so I know each brand/type works by itself in the board. I always had the BIOS settings set to auto. Does anyone have any idea what's going on? Does all the RAM have to have the same cache latency?

 

[r_manic]

Have you tried putting in the sticks sequentially? I don't know where you heard that staggering them would turn on dual-channel mode. That should be activated regardless how you install the RAM, AFAIK.

 

[4745454b]

No, it does matter. The sticks need to go in the correct slot for dual channel.

The only thing I can think of is you need to manually set the timings/voltage. Make sure the CL gets set to 3, and try manually setting the voltage. Perhaps the memory controller isn't reading the SPDs correctly. Try setting for 3-4-4-8, with ... 2.5v? I don't remember what DDR1 memory runs at.

Edit: Mostly true zip, except MSI is famous for braking the color "rule".

 

[Uter]

Have you tried putting in the sticks sequentially? I don't know where you heard that staggering them would turn on dual-channel mode. That should be activated regardless how you install the RAM, AFAIK.

I heard it from the manual. It tells you which slots to put the modules into to enable dual channel mode. If you just put two matching sticks in slot 1 & 2, and another matching set in slot 3 & 4, dual channel isn't enabled, and it indicates that on boot. To enable dual channel you put matching sets in slots 1 & 3, and 2 & 4. I haven't tried running them sequentially because it wouldn't be in dual channel mode and I'd rather get RAM that can run in dual channel if I was going to do that.

The thing that's strange with what happened is the modules would actually be damaged after running for a few weeks together. The last time I tried them together I ran memtest every couple days for over a week and it took 2-3 weeks for this to happen. I was hoping someone knew some definitive information about this problem, as I've read a few similar stories over the years and it was always blamed on a bad board or bad RAM, but clearly it's not bad RAM, and I have my doubts it's a bad board because it can run either of the brands by themselves without issue.

I guess the only solution would be to install the modules again and play with the timings and voltages. I'm assuming if the bios uses the wrong voltage it can damage RAM, but what about if it's the wrong CAS latency? If I put the modules back in and see the voltage is correctly set in the bios, is it safe to assume one of the other settings damaged the RAM? Otherwise I might as well just remove it immediately if the voltage is correct? I'm just thinking if the settings are correct (which I'm fairly sure they were when I originally installed it) I won't know if any adjustments helped until the RAM is bad again, and I just read a comment last night on another forum where someone said some boards need the RAM settings adjusted when running in dual channel.

 

[bytor54]

This is nuts, I just came to the Memory forum to post a question about some RAM issues on an old Mobo.... guess what it is? 865PERL!

So anyway... I thought I'd just slightly hijack a piece of this thread to help cut down on number of threads. If this is improper protocol, I apologize.

I have a machine with an Itel 865PERL that is running two 512MB Apacer sticks of PC3200 CL3. The Mobo manual says the it requires 2.5V ram, but the sticks do not seem to indicate the voltage.

I used the NewEgg Memory Configurator to find some RAM to upgrade this machine. Most of the recommended RAM was 2.6V or above. I ended up order one of the few 2.5V ones with good customer reviews. I went with G.Skill DDR-400 @GB Kit F1-3200PHU2-2GBNT. The label on the outside of the kit package indicates CL3-4-4-8 2.5V.

However, the labels on the individual sticks indicate: 2.6V-2.75V

I went ahead and gave them a try anyway and everything seemed OK at first. The system recognized all 3GB and showed in Interleaved Dual Channel Mode. However, when we tried to run Photoshop, it would fail to initialize 9 out of 10 times. I tried switching banks, tried running only the new RAM, ran Windows Memory Diagnostic, all with no success. Memory passed simple diagnostic, so by no success I mean no clues as to problem.

Other programs would run (Excel, Thunderbird, Firefox, etc.) but no luck with Photoshop. It would try to load, but it would show that is was doing something with memory right before it would give the "Application Failed to Initialize" message.

Any ideas? Is it likely that the voltage is the issue here? I'm planning on returning/exchanging this RAM, but am hoping for a little input before I contact the egg.

Thanks,

PS, I hope my experience and whatever comes of it is also of some help to you too Uter!

 

[Uter]

This is nuts, I just came to the Memory forum to post a question about some RAM issues on an old Mobo.... guess what it is? 865PERL!
...
The Mobo manual says the it requires 2.5V ram, but the sticks do not seem to indicate the voltage.

I just checked my modules and what's interesting is the Corsair (that's still new in the RMA returned package) is 2.5V and the Kingston (that has currently been in my machine for almost 2 years) is 2.6V. I never noticed the manual specifying 2.5V, but I just verified that it does state that. Now I'm wondering if the Kingston modules work fine by themselves but because they're 2.6V it causes the system to fail when used with other modules. Maybe I should go back to the Corsair modules and get another set of the Corsair 2.5V.

...
PS, I hope my experience and whatever comes of it is also of some help to you too Uter!

I don't know if it's related but you may have helped me figure this out.