BIOS detecting incorrect RAM voltage?!

[Guest]

have two sticks of Corsair http://www.corsair.com/memory/xms-classic/xms3-ddr3-memory/cmx2gx3m1a1333c9.html... They are rated at 1.5V. But in my BIOS DEFAULT it says 1.6V. However, I can set it back to 1.5V. Would a higher voltage be damaging? Why would my motherboard GA-EP45T-UD3LR boarddetect 1.6V as default?! All this time, it probably has destroyed my RAM, then. I have the latest BIOS, too...

 

[henydiah]

no .. it's fine rated DDR3 1.5v -1.65v , different motherboard then the delivery will be different VDIM

 

[mryoink]

I would recommend manually setting it at 1.5v as that is the rated voltage of your RAM, however 1.6v should not do any kind of permanent damage. You may also want to verify the RAM timings and make sure they are set properly as well for the best performance.

As to why your motherboard defaults to that I am unsure, as 1.5v is the standard for ddr3 1333 and bios typically will default based on the SPD of the ram, however the P45 was originally designed with DDR2 running at up to 2.1v in mind and may simply be due to it being an older chipset design that was somewhat updated to use DDR3 since that's around when it first came out.

 

[RetiredChief]

^ While the standard is 1.5 V the 775 used Ram that was from 1.5 -> 1.65 Volts.
What I would recommend is downloading CPUID CPUz. when you run it there are two memory tabs, one for what the memory is running at and the 2nd tab will show you what you can normally use. If Your Bios is not setting it to the proper speed, CL values, and voltage you can set it manually. I dought running your ram @ 1.5 V caused any problems as in some cases the recommend fix if you have a stablity problem with the ram is to raise the Dimm voltage slightly. I would use the lowest voltage that the Ram will run at rated spec and maintain stablity. To check stability I run prime 95, blend mode for about 4 hours - Must monitor temps for the first 30 min to make sure you are not getting to hot (normally use HWMonitor to monitor temps.

Added:
CPUZ: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
HWMonitor: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
Prime95: http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

Most 775 systems will not set the memory to it's rated values, but use a default setting.
If it is incorrectly Identifing it, the problem could be you need to update your bios.

 

[Guest]

Most 775 systems will not set the memory to it's rated values, but use a default setting.
If it is incorrectly Identifing it, the problem could be you need to update your bios.[/quotemsg]


these are the specfications for ram.... I have the latest BIOS, too...

DIMM # 1
SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
Part number CM3X2G1333C9
Number of banks 8
Nominal Voltage 1.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 6.0-6-6-16-23 @ 444 MHz
JEDEC #2 7.0-7-7-19-27 @ 518 MHz
JEDEC #3 8.0-8-8-22-30 @ 592 MHz
JEDEC #4 9.0-9-9-24-34 @ 666 MHz

DIMM # 2
SMBus address 0x52
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700H (667 MHz)
Part number CM3X2G1333C9
Number of banks 8
Nominal Voltage 1.50 Volts
EPP no
XMP no
JEDEC timings table CL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-tRC @ frequency
JEDEC #1 6.0-6-6-16-23 @ 444 MHz
JEDEC #2 7.0-7-7-19-27 @ 518 MHz
JEDEC #3 8.0-8-8-22-30 @ 592 MHz
JEDEC #4 9.0-9-9-24-34 @ 666 MHz

 

[henydiah]

The specfications for ram in your post with latest BIOS seem correct and no wrong

 

[Guest]

i just having one query...

is this common for bios to set above voltage than specs

 

[henydiah]

yep ... it's usually depend at motherboard will auto change voltage RAM