Ram Help

[dionlu]

Hi I recently bought a set of kingston khx6400d2k2/4g ram though it doesn't seem to work with my current ram which came with my asus m4a785-m mb, a set of kingston kvr800d2n5/2g ram x2 totaling to 8gb of ram. I tried running memtest but it found no errors. I also unticked maximum memory on msconfig and with my bios I tried voltage overclocking it to the the max voltage and it still doesn't seem to work. I constantly get the bsod and my computer only lasts for so long till it goes black and I get no image on my monitor. So I was just hoping I could get some help, i've reset my bios to default as I originally had no idea what I was trying to do to begin with. And I am currently running windows 7 64-bit

 

[GhislainG]

What are the timings of the old modules? You can use CPU-Z to check them. Increase the voltage to 1.85v or 1.90v and set the timings to match the slowest set of modules.

 

[dionlu]

What are the timings of the old modules? You can use CPU-Z to check them. Increase the voltage to 1.85v or 1.90v and set the timings to match the slowest set of modules.

Hi thanks for the reply though between the two tabs of memory and SPD in CPU-Z which timings would I take the one from the memory tab or the one from the SPD tab? And if my voltage setting in my bios is set to auto does it not automatically adjust to it? Also how would I set the timings to match the slowest set of modules through bios? Im not reallly familiar with configuring bios so I kinda need some guidance with that as well...I apologize for the tons of questions im asking..

 

[GhislainG]

Could you post pictures of both (or provide details)? The motherboard will automatically adjust to SPD values, but voltage probably is too low for 4 modules. Did you read this thread before buying 2 additional modules? http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20100105025929796&board_id=1&model=M4A785-M&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

 

[dionlu]

Could you post pictures of both (or provide details)? The motherboard will automatically adjust to SPD values, but voltage probably is too low for 4 modules. Did you read this thread before buying 2 additional modules? http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20100105025929796&board_id=1&model=M4A785-M&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

The old ram is on the left and the new one is on the right there was no differences in the timings from what I can tell only difference was with my old rams amp numbers which I really don't understand. I took these 2 screenshots with 1 set of ram in at one time. And I previously adjusted my voltage in the bios to approx 2.4 v which is the max with all 4 modules in and my computer would boot up but no image on monitor, maybe it was too much?

Edit: After reading around I realized that the SPD tab are the values which my mb can possibly run at but after looking at my memory tab there still is no difference between the 2 rams the values of both rams are as:

CAS# Latency: 5.0
RAS# to CAS#: 5
RAS# Precharge: 5
tRAS: 18
tRC: 24

 

[GhislainG]

2.4v is way too much for modules that should run at 1.8v; you're lucky they still work. Try 1.95v max and if you still have problems (most likely), then lower the timings (6-6-6-24) or the frequency to 667MHz to see if it helps. It should be easier to run 2 x 4GB than 4 x 2GB.

 

[dionlu]

2.4v is way too much for modules that should run at 1.8v; you're lucky they still work. Try 1.95v max and if you still have problems (most likely), then lower the timings (6-6-6-24) or the frequency to 667MHz to see if it helps. It should be easier to run 2 x 4GB than 4 x 2GB.

How exactly would I lower the timings or changing the frequency? And well i currently have 2x2gb and also 2x4gb and im trying to get 8gb

 

[GhislainG]

Do the 2 x 4GB work? You can change the timings and speed if you set Memory Clock Mode to Manual and DRAM Timing Mode to DCT 0, DCT 1 or Both. The chipset configuration can also affect memory.

 

[dionlu]

Do the 2 x 4GB work? You can change the timings and speed if you set Memory Clock Mode to Manual and DRAM Timing Mode to DCT 0, DCT 1 or Both. The chipset configuration can also affect memory.

Um well the 2x4gb are the new ones I bought and surprisingly there was a instance that i got a bsod which happened without my old ram being in there. I changed the bios settings according to the timings and configured options you told me above with all the ram in, though when i ran a memtest again this time it gave me so many errors that I can't even count them. With the chipset configuration I didn't change anything yet as I don't know which options to change maybe that will help? As well im currently running a memtest on my new 2x4gb ram even though I think the errors really came from the bad bios config inputs I made.

 

[GhislainG]

Try again with the Auto values and only one module at a time. Did you Google for stable settings with that motherboard? It should work at 6-6-6-24 and stock voltage; if it doesn't then the modules are not compatible. Are they on the QVL or are they certified compatible by Kingston?

 

[dionlu]

Try again with the Auto values and only one module at a time. Did you Google for stable settings with that motherboard? It should work at 6-6-6-24 and stock voltage; if it doesn't then the modules are not compatible. Are they on the QVL or are they certified compatible by Kingston?

The auto values with all the ram in, showed no errors with memtest but I still get bsod and with the settings of 6-6-6-24 and stock voltage, im just a little confused as I thought my ram is only capable of running at 5-5-5-15? I checked the OVL for my mb and the model KHX6400D2K2/2G does show up but only difference I have is that instead of 2G I have 4G does that really matter? KHX6400D2K2/4G

 

[GhislainG]

Since 6-6-6-24 is slower than 5-5-5-15, it should work fine. Leave the memory at the default values (5-5-5-15 at 1.8v). You need to run Memtest for many hours or passes. If you get no errors, you could also run Microsoft's memory diagnostics for several hours. If memory passes all tests without failures, then it's time to determine what else is wrong. Do you have a good and stable PSU?

 

[dionlu]

Since 6-6-6-24 is slower than 5-5-5-15, it should work fine. Leave the memory at the default values (5-5-5-15 at 1.8v). You need to run Memtest for many hours or passes. If you get no errors, you could also run Microsoft's memory diagnostics for several hours. If memory passes all tests without failures, then it's time to determine what else is wrong. Do you have a good and stable PSU?

Uh well iv'e tried running memtest again with the default values and with the values you suggested above but both came out with errors or the computer just restarts and stays at a black screen and now i can't even seem to get a screen on the monitor but my computer does turn on. The screen only comes up now only when I have 1 set of ram in. And with my PSU I don't think its a problem its a 600w PSU. At this point i've tried running every single possible input of the ram in A slots and B slots reversed and vice versa and with different bios values but no luck...I mean both rams work fine just independently by themselves its just when its combined it doesn't seem to work..They have the same speed..same cas latency and same brand but different model, so im just kinda frustrated at this point.

 

[GhislainG]

A 600W PSU means absolutely nothing. Are all voltages within specs? What make and model is it? The memory modules are fine; the issue should be the PSU, motherboard or CPU (not very likely).

 

[dionlu]

A 600W PSU means absolutely nothing. Are all voltages within specs? What make and model is it? The memory modules are fine; the issue should be the PSU, motherboard or CPU (not very likely).

Ok um how exactly would i know if the all the voltages are within the specs? My PSU model is OCZ600MXP.

 

[GhislainG]

It's a good PSU. If you don't have a DVM, check voltages in the BIOS. At some point you'll have to start swapping parts. Do you have another PSU that you could try? Is the motherboard still under warranty?

 

[dionlu]

It's a good PSU. If you don't have a DVM, check voltages in the BIOS. At some point you'll have to start swapping parts. Do you have another PSU that you could try? Is the motherboard still under warranty?

No unfortunately I don't have another psu and im just bummed out about what to do now nothing seems to work even though the ram I bought should work.

 

[GhislainG]

It's difficult to identify the cause of your issues without replacement parts. You've already determined that all memory modules are working fine. Since memtest doesn't fail, but the system crashes once the OS is loaded, we need to know more about your system configuration. Do you have a video card and if so, have you tried removing it to see if it helps?