Incompatibility

[Britton30]

Mobo Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3
CPU Phenom II x4 965 BE Oc 3.63GHz, BSCLK 201, mult 18
GFX Radeon HD4600
OS Windows 7 Ult 64bit
HDD Seagate 500GB
RAM F3-12800CL7D-8GBRH, 2x4GB, 7-8-7-24, 1.6V, 1600
NB 1.4V
CPU-NB 1.2v


I have RMAd this mobo two times due to a no POSTing issue. IT will run fine for several days and then on a reboot several things have happened.
1. Goes into a reboot loop
2. Startup Repair loop without a fix
3. Blank screen

Resetting CMOS helps some and then I will get nothing but a blank screen which a CMOS reset does [B]not[B] help. I decided to pull one stick of RAM and voila! it worked again normally.

Memtest has been run for 8 hours, 7 passes with no errors. Tested each module in different slots without errors as well. Having two slot populated doesn't work even though memtest says the RAM is good.

I have also tried booting with no drives, two different drives and a USB stick to no avail when I get the black screen. I have switched GFX cards (GTX460), no help.
Seems this RAM is somehow defective although it tests good. I also tried to boot to a DVD, including a Windows DVD. All fans and lights work, but no POST.

Ideas welcome, RMA?
Gary

[Tradesman]

How does it run with a single stick? Do you have any other sticks of DRAM, or could you borrow some to try in the mobo. Could try raising the CPU/NB to 1.25 or so.

[Britton30]

It seems to be fine with the one stick. I have tried CPU NB at 1.25-1.3 and the same issues persist.
I also have two kits of F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM (4x2GB) which runs fine with all four slots populated.

[GSKILL TECH]

Do you have the latest BIOS?

Thank you
GSKILL TECH

[Britton30]

Yes, I have the latest alpha BIOS, F3. There is a beta, F4B which I am hesitant to use being a beta.

[Tradesman]

Sounds like you may have a bad stick, could try raising DRAM voltage about + .03 to see what happens, else run Memtest on the stick that seems to be causing problems, could also be a BIOS issue with 4GB sticks, so might try the Beta

[Britton30]

Tman, I have run memtest every which way but loose with no errors. See first post. I will try the RAM V boost.

[Tradesman]

We'll see if I can get GSkill to chime in today, am thinking RMA or maybe your B3 just can't handle it, normally suggest a C3 version for 1600/8GB, have you considered 1333 at 8-8-8-24, would be near same performance as 1600 native

[Britton30]

I was thinking about RMA too but since this RAM has passed memtest I don't think its bad., something about it and my board the don't work and play well together. B3, C3, are you referring to the CPU? It is a stepping 3, Revision RB-C3, 125W not the 140W version. I had tried using this RAM with a PhenomII X6 1055T with the same hardware and still had the same issues occur.

[Tradesman]

My fault on that, saw the BE in the first post and wasn't thinking right, (been fighting a bad head cold for a few days now), the C3 should be able to handle the sticks, have you tried 1600 at 8-8-8-24? Maybe the native CL7 is too tight for the MC

[Britton30]

My fault on that, saw the BE in the first post and wasn't thinking right, (been fighting a bad head cold for a few days now), the C3 should be able to handle the sticks, have you tried 1600 at 8-8-8-24? Maybe the native CL7 is too tight for the MC

No I haven't tried that one but I will. At the moment I am at 1333, 8-8-8-24 and so far so good. Thanks for hanging with me on this frustrating issue. :-)

[Tradesman]

How's it going, any progress?

[Britton30]

No progress in getting to 1600 yet. Have tried all suggestions and hit it with a big hammer with no results. It has been recommended to RMA them because they may not be matched perfectly. That is from email, gskilltech, I think.
These were a gift to me and I can't produce a receipt for them, will I still be able to RMA them?

[Tradesman]

Should be no problem as far as I know, drop a line to rma@gskillusa.com and explain about the gift, they are off weekends, so would prob be Mon-Tues before you get a reply

[Britton30]

Thanks Tman, I appreciate your help!