http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?t=92272

I am quite troubled by this situation with my computer. I had suspected that the original sticks and the new sticks were in conflict with each other somehow, but I no longer believe that's the case after running Memtest86 on all sticks. Kingston absolutely swears that because the RAM is matching types with the same serials and batch numbers that there's no conflict between the sticks. Abit, on the other hand, insists that the problem is with the RAM since I can verify that all 4 banks are running properly. Anyone have any suggestions, or can recommend something I have have missed?

[Edited on September 20, 2005 at 8:32 AM. Reason : typo]

9/20/2005 8:32:11 AM

Has any of your debug steps included running it at the slowest settings possible with all four sticks?

You said you had the settings to Auto, and if the hyperX has ddr500 built into its SPD, then your mother board might be reading this and trying to run at this speed, which I'm not sure if there are any mobos around that will do DDR1 with 4 modules at that kind of speed.

Then again, I have no clue how the SPD is set in these modules, it may just be ddr400 and even then your mobo probably still can't do 4 sticks at this speed (most mobos fixed at 333 in dual channel with 4 modules)

9/20/2005 10:26:27 AM

Try manually setting the memory timings in the BIOS. If that dosen't work, the old RAM and new RAM won't work together. Memtest 86 won't really help you spot incompatability considering that it will run on damn near anything.

9/20/2005 12:19:50 PM

But what speeds should I set them to? I am currently running 2 sticks at 3-4-4-8 with 2.7v of power. It seems like I need to rein them in a bit, but I really don't tinker with my RAM speeds at all.

Actually, let me ask another question on top of that. This RAM is 533mhz, and my board supports 400mhz. I already knew all along that the RAM was overkill and wouldn't be using its full potential. If I set the timings to 2.5-3-3-7 (which is the same as the 400mhz sticks), will this manually force my RAM to slow down a bit so that the motherboard can keep up?

I am becoming more and more convinced that the board simply can't handle the RAM in this case. Still, though, that doesn't really explain why Kingston can't give me a straight answer as to how to solve this problem.

[Edited on September 20, 2005 at 12:28 PM. Reason : typos]

9/20/2005 12:25:12 PM

force them to ddr333 (166mhz FSB setting) and see what happens.

I'm no expert, that is, I don't know the little ins and outs and what your bios screen looks like or what frequency your stuff will default to because I only have 2 ddr400 sticks and haven't had to tinker with mine yet.

I don't think it is the timings as 3-4-4-8 is pretty relaxed.

9/20/2005 12:27:56 PM

I'd manually set the RAM timings to the spec list for the particular RAM that you bought. This will at least force all the RAM to run at the same speed.

9/20/2005 12:48:01 PM

Based on reading what you have gone through already, I can say this pretty assuredly.

That board doesn't support a loaded config with HyperX memory. There could be 1000 different reasons, but you have exhausted everything I have ever told anyone to troubleshoot memory.

If you want a quick and cheap solution, sell the hyperX on ebay and purchase one of the dimm's listed on Abit's approved list for the IC7 (they have 30 dimms listed). Pocket a little money and keep on trucking.

Otherwise, upgrade to a new motherboard and processor, whether 775 P4 or a A64.

9/20/2005 12:50:20 PM

I'm starting to agree that the board can't support this much RAM, but I had never believed it before now. It's supposed to be able to suit up to 4 gigs of RAM, but I guess it has to be significantly slower stuff. It makes me madder than hell that after waiting almost an hour to talk with Abit tech support, the guy I spoke with was extremely rude and insisted that there was nothing wrong with the board. I would have thought that with all of the information I gave him about it, he would have just simply said "the board can't support RAM which is that aggressive."

Now I think I am painted into a corner. I really don't want to part with the RAM, nor can I part with the processor since I don't wanna drop the cash on a new one. Maybe I should try to find another board... Suggestions would be appreciated.

9/20/2005 2:32:34 PM

look at the i865pe boards from Asus and MSI.

9/20/2005 2:54:32 PM

Even my nforce4 board can't support 4 sticks at anything greater than 333. It's a specification if I am not mistaken even though certain boards (the DFI nf4) will manage it.

What are you doing that you need 2 gigs?

9/20/2005 3:59:30 PM

Quote :

"What are you doing that you need 2 gigs?"

Um... just games, actually.

The problem with a replacement board is that because my processor is 875P, it definitely limits my choices. Even more so is that I have yet to find information on any one board which definitively confirms that it'll handle 4 sticks of RAM this fast. The Asus P4C800-E Deluxe seems to be the leader of the reviews I've read, but all of the tests seem to be done with 2 sticks.

9/20/2005 4:11:09 PM

1Gb is the sweet spot for most games.

9/20/2005 4:17:27 PM

Quote :

"look at the i865pe boards from Asus and MSI."

I would avoid MSI.



I know for a fact i had a roomie in the past porcha running 4 sticks in an abit board. It was some IC7 version (god knows there are 400 fucking hundred diff ones).

[Edited on September 20, 2005 at 4:36 PM. Reason : .]

9/20/2005 4:35:08 PM

Yeah, I've had several Abit boards in the past and eventually wound up running 4 sticks in them. I know, I know, it's not the best way to do things, but every once in a while I would stumble across a really good deal on RAM and couldn't pass it up. This is also one of those times. Out of all the Abit motherboards I've ever had, I've never once experienced a problem like this.

Although the IC7-MAX3 is supposed to be able to support up to 4 gigs of RAM, the documentation never specifically mentions which types of RAM it can do that with. I am starting to think that the analogy for this situation is like I'm trying to put a Murcielago transmission into a Miata. This still doesn't really get me any closer to a solution, though. Even if I were to haul off and buy the Asus P4C800-E, there's still no guarantee that it'd be able to run this stuff full-bore.

But back to a previous question - if I reset the timings to that of PC3200, would it at least cap my RAM so that I could run it at slower speeds?

9/20/2005 6:42:08 PM

Have you tried more vagp or vdd/chipset? I bet its the northbridge crapping out, and vagp=vdd on several 875/865 boards.

And does your board have BIOS adjustment of the Command rate? It should be a 1T or 2T setting, try 2T if possible.

9/20/2005 6:50:44 PM

OK, I know just enough about what I'm doing to think I am following that last comment... I don't quite follow Northbridge, though?

My VAGP is set to 128. I did try to switch it to 256, but the same thing happened. I'm running a less-than-3-month-old BFG GeForce 6800 GT. Inexplicably, my last one bit the dust but BFG replaced it for free. I never could figure out why that card died since it was never overclocked. (By me, anyway. BFG sells them slightly overclocked, hence the lifetime guarantee.)

As for setting the command rate, it automatically assigns Dual Channel. I've looked everywhere to see if I could manually change the 1T/2T settings, but I just can't find it anywhere. I know some other Abit boards will allow you to change this, but I don't believe mine does. I've dug through every BIOS setting, so I hope I'm not just absentmindedly overlooking it.

9/20/2005 7:23:13 PM

if you want to bring the pc by my house sometime, ill take a look at it. at this point id like to investigate the fucker myself.

quinn and porcha can come over too and we can have a computer demon bbq and beer day.

9/20/2005 10:13:12 PM

^

9/21/2005 1:08:20 AM

Now that sounds like an offer I'll take you up on. PM sent.

9/21/2005 8:30:54 AM

are you only changing the CAS timings and not the frequencies and ratios? I would set all 4 dimms to 200mhz 2.5-7-4-4-1T. If that doesn't post, goto 166mhz. Also, are you running the latest bios? your two sets of could ram have fundamentally different chips (like bh5 and tccd) this could be an issue.

9/21/2005 9:13:30 AM

fundamentally different?

The controller shouldn't care about the chips provide he runs the whole rig within its specs.

9/21/2005 9:16:40 AM

Quote :

"are you only changing the CAS timings and not the frequencies and ratios? I would set all 4 dimms to 200mhz 2.5-7-4-4-1T. If that doesn't post, goto 166mhz. Also, are you running the latest bios? your two sets of could ram have fundamentally different chips (like bh5 and tccd) this could be an issue."

Yes, I'm changing the CAS timings. I can't figure out how to switch between 1T/2T. I believe my ratios are already set to 1:1, but I'll double check that tonight. What would you advise I set the ratios to if 1:1 is not working?

I also had someone suggest that there might be some kind of RAM chip problem, so I tested one stick of the original with one stick of the new and the test passed with flying colors. I think it's safe to say that I can rule out that type of problem after this test. Kingston also assures me that since the RAM is the exact same make and model, and the serial numbers and batch numbers all match, this isn't the culprit.

And yes, I did flash my BIOS to the latest IC7-MAX3 build. Which, by the way, was last year. Apparently, Abit has discontinued the IC7-MAX3, but continues to produce the IC7-G. Word on the Abit forums is that Abit had a lot of problems with the MAX3 and they're not willing to own up to it, so they're just gonna sweep it under the rug. That really infuriates me more than anything else, because the Abit tech support dickhead I talked with on the phone was extremely rude and acted like he was personally insulted that I would even question something could be wrong with the motherboard.

9/21/2005 11:52:27 AM

Quote :

"The controller shouldn't care about the chips provide he runs the whole rig within its specs."

Yeah, I haven't attempted to overclock a single thing in the whole time I've been running this rig.

9/21/2005 11:54:08 AM

Quote :

"My VAGP is set to 128. I did try to switch it to 256, but the same thing happened. I'm running a less-than-3-month-old BFG GeForce 6800 GT. Inexplicably, my last one bit the dust but BFG replaced it for free. I never could figure out why that card died since it was never overclocked. (By me, anyway. BFG sells them slightly overclocked, hence the lifetime guarantee.)"

You're talking about the AGP Aperture Size. I'm talking about the "AGP Voltage" option under "Softmenu setup." Try higher settings of that, but don't go over 1.7 or so.

9/21/2005 4:04:45 PM

keep the ram at 1:1 ddr400/pc3200, forget cas timings I can garauntee they aren't the issue if you're managing to post. this requires you to set fsb manually and disable spd. also a lot of new higher end boards like my dfi nf4 make different bioses for different ram chips. I had to order a replacement bios for flashing with the wrong ram type image.

9/21/2005 6:16:52 PM

Quote :

"You're talking about the AGP Aperture Size. I'm talking about the "AGP Voltage" option under "Softmenu setup." Try higher settings of that, but don't go over 1.7 or so."

Ah, gotcha. I misunderstood. The highest I can set the AGP voltage to is 1.65v. I tried this with all 4 sticks in, but no dice.

9/21/2005 9:39:19 PM

Quote :

"keep the ram at 1:1 ddr400/pc3200, forget cas timings I can garauntee they aren't the issue if you're managing to post. this requires you to set fsb manually and disable spd. also a lot of new higher end boards like my dfi nf4 make different bioses for different ram chips. I had to order a replacement bios for flashing with the wrong ram type image."

Actually, I'm using my crappy laptop to post. I can still run my main PC with 2 sticks, but any more than that and it bombs no matter what timings I have set.

9/21/2005 9:43:21 PM

P.O.S.T. not post.. like on the wolfweb

9/21/2005 11:37:37 PM

LOL! Misunderstood once again.

I cannot get beyond the BIOS with any more than 2 sticks. The last thing I see is the "Verifying DMI Pool Data" message, and then it just sits there and does nothing.

9/22/2005 8:17:40 AM

yeah, that's beyond P.O.S.T. you cant even get into the bios if you don't POST. like I said, it's a ram speed setting issue, not CAS

9/22/2005 4:27:25 PM

Hot damn, I got it working. Someone on the Abit board suggested I flash previous a BIOS just to see if 18 was bugged. Sure enough, I rolled back to 15 and I got it running on the first try. I'm running stock numbers aside from the 1.7 voltage bump for the RAM, but so far it looks like this is going to work after all. I do so hope so, I am way beyond triggerhappy for Battlefield 2 now.

9/22/2005 5:29:13 PM