DDR2 800, 4dimms + gpu?

[ejn85]

I have:
EVGA 730i motherboard
C2D E7400 cpu (stock cooler)
GSkill GSK F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ R DDR2 800 (purchased 2x 4gb kits, 2packs of 2x 2gb sticks)
EVGA Nvidia 275gtx FTW edition gpu
WD 2x 160gb sata hdd raid0 (operating system)
WD 3x 1tb sata hdd raid5 (storage)
Corsair 1000watt psu
Windows 7 x64 RC

I have RMA'd the motherboard with EVGA because I cannot run all 4 dimms of memory and a gpu in the pci-ex slot; the same problem persists on the new one.
it power loops prior to post before the bios choices come on the screen,
when I remove 1 dimm of memory it boots but cpu is always at 100%
If I remove the gpu and use 4 dimms everything is fine
I have reinstalled the os multiple times on single drive, jbod, and raid0; all equal the same result
All memory and Dimms test good as does gpu

Ive contacted EVGA again in an attempt to get resolution on the issue and they recommended changing timings and voltages in the bios and contacting ram manufacturer for recommendations.

I have turned down stock voltages and stepped them up one at a time until things were to the point of me being uncomfortable going any farther and the system temp on the board was higher than i was comfortable with also. Each incriment on the voltages when i was changing them needed a total of 3 reboots for a good controlled test (1:boot into bios change settings, 2:reboot to make sure settings work and dont cause another issue on their own, 3:reboot with four dimms full and gpu), all of which resulted in the same conclusion.

I also changed timings but not as thoroughly.

All of this testing has left me greatly frustrated and without any more ideas any help would be greatly appreciated.

(this is a copy of the email i sent tech support, they recommended a forum post)

[Tradesman]

What FSB are you running? Are you running them linked or unlinked? What is your tRFC? Have you tried running them at 667? (just to check for troubleshooting)? Are you running latest BIOS?

Rather than run through a ton of questions/answers...could you post screen shots of your BIOS settings or list them out?

In the meantime try your FSB at 1066. Set your RAM timings manually 5-5-5-15, voltage 1.9 command rate 2T, unlinked, RAM speed 667. raise tRFC to 80.................

if that works, leave all the same and raise Speed to 800.

.........but, if you can get your BIOS settings posted before trying, I can be looking for other problems

Tman

[ejn85]

i was leaving everything stock; timings, volts, etc. the pictures show how things have been set while not working. i leave the fsb on auto so the cpu is 1066 and mem is 800. i tried linked and unlinked all with the same result. on the linked it has the option for synced or not, both options dont change the out come. when i ran unlinked i tried the 667 and that didnt work either. i didnt change the tRFC, i didnt see that option.

sorry my posts are approx only 2/day, im stuck at work and then mess with it at lunch and right after work. ....again, thanks for the help.

pics of my bios:
http://img252.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=basicfsb.jpg

[Tradesman]

Know how that goes, I pop in whenever I get a chance to check my e-mail accounts, and then normally throw the forums up on a system at night as I work on other things (my business's books, proposals, invoices, etc)

[ejn85]

so, after an evening of messing with the system i still have no luck at all. the tech from gskill that i was emailing gave up on me i think and told me to rma the mobo but evga wont do it because i just did and the problem persists and they think that it is the memory. wtf. got any other thoughts?

[Tradesman]

Could you lay your hands on a different graphics card, just to test with for a couple hours. If not, may want to try your GPUs previous driver, a newer version if available or if a beta is available, try it. Another thought would be to downclock your GPU a bit (again for testing, can work it back up later if it is a problem...I say this because the system at post will try and allocate some of your RAM to the GPU and they may be conflicting.

or

How about two sticks (at first) speed 800, tRRD 4, tRC 34, tWTR 12, CPU Core 1.2, FSB 1.25, and the rest as is.

I'll to research it a bit and see if I can do better than off the top of my head

Tman

[ejn85]

i will try that at lunch today. i have tried another much smaller gpu and it still has the same problem. i dont think i have the option to run the dimms on seperate settings, but i will definately check. i will also try to downclock the current gpu.

[GSKILL TECH]

Try using two memory sticks first. The weird part is that you state all 4 sticks work properly without the GPU... Keep us posted on the results.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[ejn85]

i had less time at lunch than i thought, i tried my two 2gb sticks + two 1gb sticks (borrowed from work) + gpu and it works. i definately tried all four of my 2gb sticks again last night and it works.
last night i also tried changing the timings as you mentioned, i set everything as you said except my tRC doesnt go that high. i also tried a differnt gpu and all 4 dimms full. everything didnt work.

i called evga again and they sent me to "tier 2" techs (mostly so i could repeat this entire story again) and he said dont use my ram and use memory that came in one big kit rather than 2 kits of 2. i tried explaining to him that they work together unless the gpu is hooked up, whereas they work when they are all together without gpu or i can run 2 sticks together that didnt come packaged together or i can use A DIFFERNT BRAND in the other 2 spots just fine. he did mention something about rma'ing the board for a different one all together but the problem with that is its the 750i and it only has 4 sata ports which wouldnt be so bad but i have FIVE hdd that i run constantly plus an esata port on my case plus dvd drive (soon to be bluray). he said that he could rma this board but it would result in the same thing. wtf. i feel like i got screwed over, its not that i am asking the products to do something they didnt already advertise they could do.

im willing to do more trouble shooting but i think im going to attempt to get something replaced, whether its the ram for a 4pack (to squish the compatibility conversation) or the mobo remains to be seen.

[GSKILL TECH]

It's not a memory issue. Adjusting timings and such won't do anything if they already work fine without the GPU. I don't understand though.. you changed the mobo, tried a different GPU, all with the same results... so odd. Happen to have another PSU? How long have you had the Corsair for?

Tough issue.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[ejn85]

i started this fiasco with a 650psu (forgot the brand or specs, handed it down) and ran that at first and it did the same thing so i thought it was because i didnt have enough juice to run everything so i took out the gpu and ordered the corsair 1000w psu and when it came in i tried everything again with the same outcome. to answer your question i have had the psu since the middle of august-ish. i dont think it is a matter of power because i can run gpu + 3sticks of ram + all my other crap and turn volts up and i dont lose power, even when i turn down power and hook it all up i should atleast get a post where in that scenario i am trading one stick of ram for more power consumption and vice versa. i have even limited my hdds from 5 to 1 and removed fans (not cpu) and dvd r/w to run 4sticks + gpu for it not to work.

[Tradesman]

Have you checked your voltages to the PCI set (your graphics card and other PCI) slots