schtebie

Anyone running over 1 GB of RAM and using all 4 DIMM slots? is there a particular brand that I'll need? Right now I'm running 2x512MB Corsair XMS3200C2, but having seen all these memory issue threads, I'm kinda scared about buying 2 extra DIMMs. Any suggestions?

warpten

I'm running 1.5gigs of ram using all 4 slots. From first boot after build I had a perfect running machine. Not one issue cropped up. I do not overclock.

I used only Asus reccomended RAM.

My personal opinion is that some RAM issues are related to using non reccomended vendors or models.

You can get a list of reccomemded RAM for your MB from the ASUS website.

schtebie

I was actually considering getting the exact same ram to double my total RAM. Does that mean that if my original 2 DIMMs work fine, 2 more will work as well?

twajetmech

If the memory you are using right now is working well, there should be no problem adding another 2 dimms of the exact same memory, but, with all 4 dimm slots populated you may not get performance mode to work (PAT). You will also have to bump the memory voltage up a bit, to 2.75....which is well within the safe margin to run ddr memory with. Also, unless you are doing video or photo editing, you will not notice any difference in performance from 1gig of memory to 2 gigs. If the memory you are choosing is not on the mobo's QVL list showing use of 4 dimms, its going to be hit or miss wheather you will run into any issues or not, contact the memory mfg and ask, since they tend to do their own qualifying beyond that of Asus.
twajetmech

Wozer

go to Asus's website and download the QVL for your MoBo...

some DIMMs will NOT work in all 4 slots...

I'm using 2GB of Kingston 512 from the approved list, and its just fine

schtebie

I'm kind of a newb to this all...but what does altering the voltage affect? Everyone seems to be pretty concerned with changing memory voltage, but what exactly does it do?

twajetmech

Imagine a light bulb that is supposed to run on 115V but you only supply 90V it will work but it won't be bright. Well, memory is similar, if enough power isn't supplied it can't process info fast enough or without errors and then your computer locks up of freezes. That's why you see the memory is given a range of operating voltage, every mobo is a little different, in your case the stock 2.6V isn't cutting it so go up to 2.75 and see how that works, Corsair memory is known for needing more volts than they specify and is one of the reasons people have issues with it.

schtebie

is it possible to fry the RAM with too high a voltage?

update: i am now running 2GB of RAM 4x512 MB Corsair XMS3200C2 and it works great. i'm running a 2.80E OC'd @ 3.08, and all is running smoothly. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I also added a Ultra X-Connect powersupply. My case is clean as a whistle

twajetmech

Yes it is possible to fry ram with too much voltage, for typical ddr memory I would not reccomend going over 2.9V. Most mfg's only warrrenty up to 2.8V....Why, how much volts are you running your memory with ? FWIW, Corsair usually requires a bit more volts than most to get a decent OC.

schtebie

well, as far as i know (with my limited knowledge), the motherboard adjusts the settings necessary to maintain the overclock correct?

Rtstrider

I would stick with one gig of ram...I just bought a second gig and installed it...All that second gig is good for is eye candy...And I'm running 2 gigs worth of Kingston Hyper X PC4000

Wozer

Its all according to what you are doing...if using your box as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) then 2 gigs of ram is definitely not eye candy...some of the new VSTi's with large sample libraries suck ram down like it was water.

bbeermat

Rtstrider, is PAT enabled in your system and what clock speed are you running the RAM at?

Rtstrider

PAT Enabled, processor 3.2 Northwood, and FSB 800 Mhz. I don't care to overclock so much, because when I do, I have to monitor everything...And that just takes the fun out of your whole computer/gaming experience

pzwovr633

My specs:
Alienware AREA-51 (480W PSU)
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
Pentium 4 3.4GHz HyperThreading enabled
4 x 512MB Corsair XMS PC3200LL
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy Gamer 2
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900XT 128MB
Windows XP SP2
WD 120GB HD (PATA)
Seagate 160G (SATA)
USB Maxtor One Touch backup drive 160G
ASUS DVD-ROM
Lite-On CD-R/W

Ok I have several questions.

I had similar concerns upgrading from 1GB to 2GB RAM. I decided my best bet was to stick with buying from Alienware, even though it was more expensive. To make a long story short, a month later I am still having problems. Next time, I'll be buying from Newegg.com or other online stores, and save some money. Alienware did not even provide me with new RAM, they gave me returned RAM (out of box, had colored dot stickers on them indicating tests were done to approve them). The RAM did not have errors but caused the system to crash when used by itself, or in conjunction with the working RAM originally installed in the system.

Ok here's the problem now. Alienware sent me brand new RAM this time, and it works by itself just fine. However when using both the new RAM and the old, (2GB total) my system becomes unstable.

Rarely what will occur is a blue screen indicating PFN_List corrupt. Which indicates a problem with the memory being read.

What is more frequent is that a particular online game that I play, will crash, or will freeze up. Sometimes it freezes my entire computer so I can't even CTRL ALT DEL out, or reboot. I have to reboot via the switch on the case.

With Farcry, gunfire sounds will remain occasionally in intensive battle scenes. If there are a lot of mercs firing at me, occasionally a merc I kill will still be firing his gun. That is, the gunfire sound will remain but everything else will behave normally (merc dies, no gunfire graphics). Removing either of the pair of 512MB DIMMS and running with just 1GB, does not result in this problem. So it seems it's a memory issue. Farcry never freezes up unlike the online game that I play.

Lastly, the reason I am using 2GB RAM is that I run 3 instances of the online game, and each use 333MB of memory.

I tried bumping the voltage to 2.75, and it had no effect.

Again, I'm using Corsair XMS PC3200LL memory (low latency). 1GB installed always works fine, yet 2GB causes these problems. What steps could I perform to troubleshoot this issue?

walkngdude

I remember reading a post here by skinnypix that said he had problems with his RAM running too hot when all four slots were used. I think he built a fan mount there to keep them cool. You might try a search.

Marc

skinnypix

You remember correctly. I'm running my Mushkin 222 Special at 2-2-2-5 timings, PAT & Turbo enabled, @ 2.75V. I ram Memtest 86+ & got no errors with each pair individually, but when both were installed I got errors after 15 minutes (or so, as I recall). I felt the RAM & it was hot -- I quickly assumed that was the problem! The two sticks for each color are paired so close together, there is hardly any room between them -- certainly not enough for effective cooling.

I ran the system with my case open & with an external fan blowing on the RAM to test out my theory. I had no errors in the 24 hours I let Memtest 86+ do it's thing. I then build a small bracket & mounted a small fan pointed at the memory. I also but a pot in series with the fan (50 ohms as I recall) to slow the fan down for noise reasons. I ran the system for 1/2 hour & verified that even with the slow speed, the memory was cool to the touch. I then ran Memtest for another 24 hours -- no errors. The system had been crash & error free for about 5 months now.

--Alan

walkngdude

I recently burned out a stick of Mushkin special 222 and RMA'd my sticks back. This is the second RMA for this RAM for me. The fist pair I bought had a bad stick in it.
This time when I put the new sticks in, set the timings tight, turned on turbo and Performance acceleration mode and then ran memtest 86+ the RAM passed as last time. But then I touched the stick in the slot that the last two bad sticks were in when they failed and it is very hot. This "hot slot" is the blue one closest to the front of the PC and the stick in the other slot is very cool. I have since moved my RAM to the black slots and seems to run a bit cooler.
I haven't been able to do more testing just yet because I crashed my system in an unrelated issue and haven't yet been able to bring myself to Fdisk the system yet. But when I finish reading more of Clintfan's stickys I'll have it up again.
But I wonder if my board has a problem with this one RAM slot or if the case isn't getting air there. I have an Antec case with four fans so it should be getting air.

Marc

Windows XP Pro sp2
Pentium 4 3.4 ghz
Mushkin 1GB '222 Special' PC3200
ASUS P4C800E-Deluxe
Two WD Raptor 74 GB Hard Drives in Raid 0
Asus Radeon 9800 xt
Creative Audigy2 ZS
Antec True 550 Watt

Geewhizz

Here's hopeing some kind soul can help me out here.

I'm running the following machine:

Intel P4 3.0
Asus P4C800
WinXP
TwinMOS DDR PC3200 (2.5 CAS latency) x2 512 Dual Channel (1mb total)

I wanted to add another x2 512 Dual Channel (1mb total) as above so I brought the exact same TwinMos DDR PC3200 but when it arrived today I noticed the CAS latency was 3.0
I've placed the ram exactly where it should be placed in sockets 1+3 and 2+4 and when powered it appears to boot up (as it makes all the right noises but it wont switch the monitor on. I've tried the 2 new sticks of ram on their own and they work fine but not when all 4 sticks (2gb) are placed ?

My questions are - do all 4 sticks have to be the same latency ? and if I need to bump the memory voltage up a bit, to 2.75 as mentioned above (if thats the problem) how do I do it please ?

Any replys, I'll be most grateful for :)

twajetmech

go into the bios, and you will find under the advanced menu a choice to select the ddr reference voltage, select 2.75, save, and reboot.
No, the latancies do not have to be the same (although its prefered) but all the memory will have to run at the latency of the slowest memory dimm.