Helllo everyone. I'm new to the forums but have used this site for quite a while to help make choices on equipment & do research before buying. I generally like to build the best-bang-for-buck type rigs. I am a gamer & also use CAD software. I've built probably close to 150 computers (used to do small business IT consulting), but I never got really into the hardware side of things regarding OC'ing, voltages, and how things function on that basic level.
I built this rig about 2.5 years ago & it's still runs great. I am about to start playing a new game & doing some side CAD work at home & thought I would do some upgrades to squeeze another year or two out of it. On black Friday I found a good deal on the G.Skill ram listed below. I just looked at the base info (I stayed up really late to grab a Thrive tablet for $199 & the ram was an impulse buy). Well, I just saw that it was DDR3 1600 which I knew to be what I was currently running. I however did not think to check to ensure my MoBo supported the default voltage for the G.Skill modules.
When I installed them, the PC wouldn't post, it just gave me a power error & beeped. I forget the exact verbage. I also forgot that the MoBo was manually configured to 7.7.6.18 1.9v instead of on Auto. I updated my Bios last night to enable the core unlocking feature that was added to attempt to unlock my 4th core, while in there, I saw that the default timing for my mobo is the same as the G.Skill, but the lowest voltage it will configure to is the default 1.6. I can't set it down to the 1.5 that the new memory is listed to work at. I'm going to try to install the memory again & see if it will post, but I wanted to post up here & get input from people with far more knowledge than myself.
My question is, is there a way to change my bios settings or OC this memory to make it work with the higher voltage? It was pretty late last night when I was done getting the Bios updated, then reconfiguring my Raid settings to it would recognize the OS (running 2 WD blacks in raid 0). I haven't tried putting the ram back in since the manual timing/voltage settings got wiped when I flashed the bios. The MoBo is very OC friendly as I can configure everything manually with ease.
Thank you very much for taking time to read my post & I hope there's a way to make the RAM work, I'd love to quadruple my ram & not have wasted that money on memory I can't use!
I attempted to edit/add some info. I am not running the current Muskin at 1666, i'm running it at 1333 at the specified timings & voltages. It has been extremely stable & I do not mind running the new ram at 1333 or OC'ing it. I just hope to make the new memory work with my rig. Again, thank you for your time.
The kit you´got is designed for the Sandy Bridge-E And X79 Express plataform. They are a Quad channel kit for Intel X79 LGA 2011, while your motherboard supported dual channel . As they are DDR3 they might fit into the DIMMs, however you might be experiementing a bit of incompatibility.
If I was you I´d return the kit, then I´d get a dual channel kit from your motherboard manufacturer memory support list.
On the other hand if you can´t return the kit, and decide to keep it, then you can try manually set frequency, latency and voltage in the bios.
Message edited by jemm on 12-14-2011 at 08:12:16 PM
The detault timings are the same as the new kit, however, my mobo only goes as low as 1.6v & the new memory operates at 1.5. I don't know enough about the settings to know if I can simply run it at a higher volt, or if I need to tweak some other settings along with the voltage to make something else work right or be in a correct multiple. Also, I can't return the kit because I took one of the module's head spreaders off to fit under my huge CPU cooler.
Another thought, I thought the Dual Channel just meant it was a pair of modules sold together. Example, my first ram kit was 2 sticks of 2gb. 2x2 for a total of 4gb. My new set is 4x4 for 16gb. Am I mistaken? I googled to try to find out more on that but an article I found said there was no home PC that actually used a 4 channel setup. That's why I'm posting here, to shed more light on my situation.
Thank you for the reply, and I will try to get them to work tonight now that the timings are rest & match the new ram, I just ran out of time last night & had to get some sleep before work.