RAM Problem

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:09 pm

MY MoBo (ASUS P4C800) runs DDR RAM, its max is 4gb, i've had two 512 sticks in it for the last two years (model number CORSAIR: VS512MB400) and i recently purchased two 1gb sticks to add to that (model number CORSAIR: TWINX2048-3200c2pt) but they wont work together, here is a copy and paste of my message to a friend about it:

i just got 2 more gigs of ram, i plugged em in, totaling 3gb, it ran just dandy for about 5-10 minutes, but i wasnt getting a page file reading in the system diagnostics... then it crashed
and i couldnt get it to load windows till i took the 2gb out
then i tried it with just the 2gb and it worked fine
im sure it wasnt the other RAM ports , i tested them
so they dont want to work together?
theyre both corsair DDR

(next day)

i tried them together again
and it worked fine for almost 3 hours
i used soulseek, my internet browser (opened up like 20 tabs in firefox) AND played battlfield 2 for a couple hours
then it got sketchy, then crashed again
when i rebooted , it froze and rebooted itself over and over and over till i unplugged it and removed one of the sets of ram
they do have different latency stats
the VS is 2.5-3-3-8 and the TWINX is 2-3-3-6
could that be it?

any help would be appreciated, i need to send a $40 rebate int he next 3 days if i plan to keep the RAM, but i need to know if i should send them back (by reason of it not working) and get a different set, if so what set would be compatible? i am unsure why this one wasnt.. any ideas?

Daywrecker · Post by **Daywrecker** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:06 pm

They need to be the same speed. For example PC3200 wont work with PC3000. Atleast on any motherboard i've seen. But i think there should be a way in the bios to run the high speed ram lower to match the other ram. But as a general rule all modules should be the same speed.

tvuk · Post by **tvuk** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:11 pm

Yes they will work, you just sometimes need to manualy adjust the memory speeds instead of leaving it on Auto.

As for the original problem - I heard Windows XP has problems working with more than 2GB of RAM, maybe that's the problem here. Try asking Corsair support, maybe they can tell you more...

Post by **ph1l0r** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:13 pm

Afaik your Mainboard is a Dual Channel setup so using more than two Dimms doesn't work like expected most times or yields a performance penalty.

You can use http://www.memtest86.com/ to check if the RAM is plain broken or if it's an issue of the 2x 512 and 2* 1gb working together (which is my guess). Just sell the 2x 512gb and be happy with 2GB.

Good Luck!

Mail in rebates... Poor bastards. Never seen that in Germany hehe. Not that anyone would buy anything here if he had to wait like 6 weeks for the refund to get the "good" price.

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:11 pm

12 weeks is more realistic for rebates.

Poke your head around in this Asus forum about your motherboard model and memory. Good place for Asus info.
http://www.abxzone.com/forums/index.php?

Some motherboards are infamous for not being stable when all 4 slots are filled. Others have to drop down to 333 to be stable. Plus each motherboard only supports so many "ranks". Each stick of memory may be 1,2, or 4 ranks depending if its a x4 or x8 chips and if both sides of the stick are populated. Most motherboards only support 8 ranks total. Finding rank info on motherboards and memory isnt easy. As for speeds, it should be automatic. Most motherboards will drop down to the slowest speed.

Make sure the pairs are in the 1+3 slots and the 2+4 slots.
Update your BIOS.

Definitely run the memtest86 as its simple and will show memory errors. It will find memory problems even in times were windows seems to boot properly. I prefer memtest86plus as it seems to be more up to date and you can make a bootable cd from the iso file.
http://www.memtest.org/

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:16 pm

Ash2Dust wrote: Make sure the pairs are in the 1+3 slots and the 2+4 slots.
Update your BIOS.

you mean the 1GB sticks will not be adjacent? they will have a 512 between them? i thought that you put the same type side by side, how could i not know that?

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:29 pm

This is my EVEREST memory report reccomended by Leroy

I don't have a floppy drive so i cant make a bootable disk with memtest86

Field Value
Memory Module Properties
Module Name [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Serial Number None
Module Size 1024 MB (2 ranks, 4 banks)
Module Type [ TRIAL VERSION ]
Memory Type DDR SDRAM
Memory Speed PC3200 (200 MHz)
Module Width 64 bit
Module Voltage SSTL 2.5
Error Detection Method None
Refresh Rate Reduced (7.8 us), Self-Refresh

Memory Timings
@ 200 MHz 3.0-3-3-8 (CL-RCD-RP-RAS)

Memory Module Features
Early RAS# Precharge Not Supported
Auto-Precharge Not Supported
Precharge All Not Supported
Write1/Read Burst Not Supported
Buffered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
Registered Address/Control Inputs Not Supported
On-Card PLL (Clock) Not Supported
Buffered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Registered DQMB Inputs Not Supported
Differential Clock Input Supported
Redundant Row Address Not Supported

Memory Module Manufacturer
Company Name Corsair Memory, Inc.
Product Information http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/products.html

look it says 3200 at 200mhz, isnt it supposed to be 400mhz? or am i thinking of something else...

and the latency isnt as low as it should be.. 3 instead of 2

under my chipset settings it says
"Chipset Controller
Type: Dual-Channel 128-bit
Active Mode: Single-Channel 64-bit"

i still cant remember what dualchannel means, does that change automatically?

zeplin05 · Post by **zeplin05** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:29 pm

correct you will need your better ram should be in the blue DIMM slots, if your asus has the color coded slots like mine, also just make sure you manually clock the ram to the same speeds then it should work right.

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:33 pm

zeplin05 wrote:correct you will need your better ram should be in the blue DIMM slots, if your asus has the color coded slots like mine, also just make sure you manually clock the ram to the same speeds then it should work right.

holy crap.. i never read that anywhere in the half a dozen RAM FAQ/Tutorials i've read... i just assumed they would go side by side because that's how i've seen them in other machines.. side by side...

let me try that...

how did you find that info out? can't believe how long i've been without it..

zeplin05 · Post by **zeplin05** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:36 pm

IT professional, I have been building all my machines with ASUS Mobo's everyone I go to lan parties with ASUS mobos solved this problem a few times. I am not really an IT professional yet but I could be!@!!@

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:59 pm

ok now it says its dual channel active, it SEEMS to be stable, but oddly, when i booted up my startbar was on my other monitor.. wouldnt revert till i disconnected the second monitor.. weird.. now that's fixed.. seems to be doing ok, in everest it says the 512 sticks have a 2.5CL and the 1024 sticks have a 3CL , why would the smaller ones (who supposedly have a CL of 2.5, be FASTER than the bigger ones with a supposed CL of 2?

if it keeps running then i guess it doesnt matter but we'll see...

StarLord · Post by **StarLord** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:38 pm

Do you use your computer for professional application? Because if not, more than 2go (even 1go) of ram is pretty useless...

zeplin05 · Post by **zeplin05** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 5:52 pm

The lower the CL the better off you are, = faster so you will prolly have to under clock your 2.5 cl to match the 3 cl.

DeJaPu · Post by **DeJaPu** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:47 pm

i understand that lower means faster zep, i was mentioning that the readings EVEREST (diagnostics program) was giving me were the opposite of what the RAM supposedly is.. the faster one shows up as slower and vice versa. it still running fine now.. some things take a minute to open but i can't tell if it's any different than before...

sysmetrix doesnt seem to be able to read more than 2gb of RAM, anyone familiar with sysmetrix? (not relevant or important, just wondering..)

Starlord: 1gb of ram isnt enough to run BF2 optimally.. and i still can't run on full with 2, but fact o the matter is , i HAVE this much so i'm trying to utilize all of it, tis a bunch of money.

gonna go play a game of tennis with my dad, hope my system keeps goin

still an open forum , if anybody has any more ideas about the latency differences?

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 7:59 pm

You can download your motherboard manual from www.asus.com.tw and it will tell you some information about adding memory and running it in dual channel. It may or may not talk about ranks.

When windows doesnt run reliably, corruption does happen and a reformat/reinstall may be in order. Before doing that, make sure you pass several loops of a good memory test.

Use the memtest86plus and boot it from the CD drive. Great program, use it.

Latency's are burned on a chip on each stick. When your mobo bios has its memory timings set to auto, it reads the chip. You can set your mobo to manual and specify your own timings. Make sure you run extensive memory tests if you're aggresive with your timings. Corruption of files on the hard drive can happen. Ultimately the mobo will assign different timings depending on the bus speed. 133 will have different timings than 200.

The memory ur using is DDR (double data rate) and reads data on the rise and fall of the clock signal. So 200MHz clock means data is flowing at 400.