2x2gb F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL dual channel issue

[jayriordan]

Hello,

I purchased a kit from newegg of GSkill RAM ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277 ). The RAM is spec'ed as supporting dual channel and is also spec'ed to run at 1600 (800mHz). However I cannot get my RAM to stabilize at the proposed specifications on the box in dual channel configuration. I have tried loosening timings, tightening timings, changing voltages and frequencies on my motherboard to better suit the RAM and I couldn't come up with a stable setting. Moving one stick into another slot on my mobo. and out of dual channel the RAM is stable. How, if at all, can I stabilize this in dual channel at the specified rate of 800mHz?

Motherboard:
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157167

Processor:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 140W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGIBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103692

Other notes:
The mother board has been RMA'd once due to a faulty RAM channel.

Thank you.

[GSKILL TECH]

Did you raise CPU-NB Voltage +0.1V? Along with the basic memory settings, you should have no problems.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[jayriordan]

Yes I increased the NB voltage by +.1 and changed the timings to the listed 9 9 9 24; and tried the 9 9 9 27 timings recommended by Gskill support when I was determining the faulty RAM slot in the original motherboard. I tried to stabilize the RAM by upping the voltage a small amount but stopped at 1.6x because there wasn't even the slightest change in behavior.

[GSKILL TECH]

CPU-NB Voltage not NB Voltage.

There are two different ones.

For sure settings, try DDR3-1333 8-8-8-24 1.50V

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[jayriordan]

If I wanted RAM that ran at 1333 I would have bought RAM that ran at 1333. I bought RAM that was supposed to run at 1600. If you're going to tell me that it cannot run at 1600 stable; I think this is the last set of Gskill anything I purchase.

[GSKILL TECH]

I did not say that. I am troubleshooting the problem. If DDR3-1333 8-8-8-24 doesn't work, then you may have a CPU or motherboard problem. If it does, then it is a voltage problem.

I am more than aware that you purchased DDR3-1600 memory to operate at DDR3-1600. Also, double check to make sure you have the latest BIOS.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[jayriordan]

In 1333 the RAM runs rock solid. I have the latest version of the BIOS as well. For this version of BIOS, the CPU-NB voltage is listed as NB voltage; the description text describes this. For this motherboard there is one NB voltage.

In 1600 dual channel the RAM does not work fine; but in single channel it works just fine. I was looking to upgrade with another kit of the same RAM but with 4 sticks in 4 slots I want to be able to run them at the speeds they were designed to run at in the configuration they were designed to run in.

[GSKILL TECH]

Since you can not adjust CPU-NB Voltage, raise memory voltage to 1.60V. This should work fine for DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24.

For 4 modules, you will most likely need to downclock to DDR3-1333 8-8-8-24. This would probably be faster than DDR3-1600 CL9 anyway.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[jayriordan]

Hello Gskill support;

I have deduced with the help of MemTest86 and your input that it is not the RAM at fault but the motherboard. Since I have two open slots I tested each module individually with Memtest which each passed except when seated in one specific slot on the board. Right now I have the RAM running at its designated timings 9 9 9 24 @ 1.59v in the other two slots (other channel) of the motherboard at 1600 just fine. I have contacted ASRock for RMA. Please note that this is the SECOND ASRock motherboard of this model with the same issue. I apologize that I had assumed that the second motherboard did not have the same issue as the previous one but as it turns out that is exactly what happened.

[GSKILL TECH]

Glad to hear you were able to figure it out. Also, the reason you can't run 8GB @ DDR3-1600 is because that motherboard can not support it. Since you are swapping motherboards, you may want a different one that can support CPU-NB Voltage adjustment so you can operate 8GB at rated specifications. This voltage boost is required as the AMD CPU is not capable of DDR3-1600, let alone 8GB of it. We were able to get DDR3-1600 stable with 4GB by raising DRAM Voltage to force CPU-NB Voltage to naturally rise on its own. But for 8GB, chances are it will just be overloaded/unstable.

Thank you
GSKILL TECH