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  • Voltage locked.

    My system:
    HP Envy Phoenix 810-430CTO
    MSI z97 motherboard (OEM)
    Intel i7 4790k
    Nvidia GTX 980
    BIOS: AMI version 80.13
    Windows 8.1

    I can't find a way to change the voltage for my DRAM. I'm sure users have experienced this issue before. Wondering if anyone has found workarounds.

    I bought a G.SKill DDR3-2400 PC3-19200 16GB(8x2) RAM kit before actually checking my BIOS. It seems that HP limits what users can change in the BIOS. There is absolutely no DRAM settings, I can't even check what speeds and voltages they are running at in the BIOS. I figure that's no problem, I probably can use third party software to make the changes and see the settings.

    I used Intel Extreme Tuning Utility and am able to customize all the timings, but I notice there is no voltage control. As there are so many fields to customize, I just choose to use one of the XMP profiles they have for the DDR3-2400mhz, I figure maybe it would change the voltage also.

    After a restart for the changes I go into CPU-Z and check. The SPD tab shows the timing tables for my RAM. I go to check the MEMORY tab and it shows the timings were changed successfully by the Extreme Tuning Utility. Once again, the only thing that it doesn't show is the voltage.

    I'm racking my brain to figure out what programs I can use to actually check voltage. I downloaded HWinfo64 and SpeedFan. I still don't see the actual voltage of my RAM. I'm just hoping at this point, since everything booted and is running that maybe the voltage is set at the correct voltage (1.65 volts). I test it out on The Witcher 3 and get the BSOD saying MEMORY_MANAGEMENT.

    I test the memory modules with Memtest86 to make sure I didn't get bad memory modules. Ran the test at the default 1333mhz for 24hours with no errors. I changed to the 2400mhz XMP profile in the extreme tuning utility, then test again with Memtest86 and within the first 30 mins I'm already getting errors.

    This leads me to believe that the Intel XTU isn't able to change my DRAM voltage to the required 1.65 volts that it needs to function correctly. I've exhausted all the possibilities that I can think of besides modding the BIOS. I do not want to risk bricking the MOBO.

    The only thing I can think of now is to lower the RAM to operate at 2133 or 1866mhz with tighter timings. 2133 might need 1.65 volts so maybe 1866 is better.

    Has anyone figured out how to change DRAM voltage? At this point, I can't even check my DRAM voltage to see if they are at the correct settings. I think the BIOS has the DRAM setting locked at 1.5 volts. I'm frustrated that I spent more money for higher frequency RAM when the BIOS doesn't even allow me to change the voltage to let the RAM operate correctly.

    Why would HP sell a high end gaming desktop and advertise that you can overclock, but not allow users to.

    Thanks for reading through all that, I've given up hopes of trying to change the RAM voltage. My question is can you give me the speed and timings that will allow this kit to operate at 1.5 volts?

  • #2
    Most kits with specifications of 2400 11-13-13-31 at 1.65V can run 2133 11-11-11-28 at 1.50V. So that is the first thing i would try. If that does not work either, try 2133 11-12-11-28 or 11-12-12 or just go lower to 2000 11-11-11-28.

    For the secondary timings reuse those from the XMP as a starting point, you can always try to manually tighten them up a bit later on.
    Team HardwareLUXX | Show off your G.SKILL products!

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    • #3
      Thanks for the quick reply, would 1866 at CL8 or CL9 be better/faster than 2133 at CL11?

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      • #4
        You would probably need more than 1.50V for 1866 CL8 and 2133 CL11 is still faster.
        Team HardwareLUXX | Show off your G.SKILL products!

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        • #5
          Thanks for all your help. I used the XMP profile for the 2400mhz on XTU like you suggested and worked my way down. It looks like it's stable at 2133 with 10-11-11-28 T1 (used CPU-Z to verify). I'm not too familiar with the secondary timings. I don't want to mess up the ratio for the T1. Are you familiar with secondary timings or should I just experiment.

          Right now this is what I have:

          tCWL: 7
          tRRD: 6
          tWR: 16
          tRTP: 9
          tWTR: 9
          tRFC: 255
          tFAW: 26
          tRC: 39
          tREFI: 9375

          There isn't an actual field for command rate, it just shows up as T1 when I check CPU-Z.

          Ran a resource heavy application for 30 mins and it didn't crash (it crashed after about 5 mins when I had it at 2400mhz and didn't crash at all with 1333mhz for 2 hours. I determined from this that the BIOS locked my RAM at 1.5 volts). I will run Memtest86 overnight to further check for stability. At 1333mhz it had no errors. Crosses finger***

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          • #6
            If everything is stable through long time testing, save your settings as a bios profile to usb storage. That way even if you have to clear CMOS, because the system does no longer POST, you can just load your tested settings as a starting point again from usb.

            tCWL: 7 -> 6
            tRRD: 6 -> 5 ,4
            tWR: 16 -> 14, 12
            tRTP: 9 -> 8, 7, 6, 5 (no need to go lower than tRRD)
            tWTR: 9 -> 8, 7, 6, 5 (no need to go lower than tRRD)
            tRFC: 255 -> 240, 230, 220, 210, but going too low might get you very late errors during testing so it can be very time consuming

            Just ignore the other settings unless you are primarily benchmarking memory with that system. Don't change too many values in step, or else it is difficult to find the actual culprit for introduced instabilities. Do quick stability testing in between, save temporary profiles in BIOS or take notes on paper if you are old school. Your final settings test extensively for stability.
            Team HardwareLUXX | Show off your G.SKILL products!

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            • #7
              No errors, but I do get a note "ram may be vulnerable to high frequency row hammer bit flips". Is this something I need to worry about? Should I change the timing higher?

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              • #8
                Originally posted by tuvi3t4u View Post
                No errors, but I do get a note "ram may be vulnerable to high frequency row hammer bit flips". Is this something I need to worry about?
                There is background information available about this, if you are curious. It is not an issue during normal use of the computer, as the vulnerability has to be targeted with a very specific artificial method to be exploited.

                Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Row_hammer

                Originally posted by tuvi3t4u View Post
                Should I change the timing higher?
                I you are worried, you could as a workaround lower the tREFI significantly. Below a certain value your memory should no longer be vulnerable. Doing so will reduce memory performance slightly.
                Team HardwareLUXX | Show off your G.SKILL products!

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                • #9
                  Thanks for all your help, I hope this thread helps anyone else with high voltage ram and a locked bios. So disappointed in HP, will never buy from them again. This is a great RAM kithe, nothing but quality from G.Skill.

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