GA-P35C-DS3R DDR3 Memory size limit

[Pennybags]

I'm working on this particular board, and I've installed two 4 GiB DDR3-1333 (G.SKILL F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL) modules. While BIOS and OS see all 8 GiB of RAM, I'm having dramatic slowdowns when both sticks are installed. Both sticks work individually in both DDR3 slots, so it's not a memory or board defect as far as I can tell. CPU-Z reports identical properties for the memory in both 1x4 GiB and 2x4 GiB configurations. Does anyone have any idea what the problem might be?

Edit: Ran a cycle of Memtest86+ once on each stick, and then once on both. The individual tests completed a cycle in about 40 minutes, while I had to stop the simultaneous test after 2 hours where it was stuck on 18%. There's definitely something going very wrong.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi try increasing the DRAM voltage a touch. Also make sure that you have one stick in Channel1 and one stick in Channel 2 not both in the same channel that is the two GREEN slots.

The next thing I would want to check is the memory properly. This does take a long time but there are no shortcuts. Please follow these instructions exactly.

I would suggest that you download and run the latest version of  Memtest86+ to check your RAM first.

Memtest86+        http://www.memtest.org/

Insert one stick of memory in slot 1 and run Memtest on it for at least 10 complete loops/cycles and if there are no errors then swap it over with the next one and continue untill you have checked all  modules.
 
If you have any errors the module is faulty.

If you have any faulty modules you will have to return the whole kit as they are matched.

Post back when you have done that with the results.

[Pennybags]

I went through the BIOS before posting, looking for memory-related settings, but I could find nothing to do with voltage or timings. The BIOS on this board seems fairly awkward and very limited unless there's some magic button that I need to push to get to the advanced settings. I'm fairly certain that the memory is running at 1.5 V, as it should be, however Memtest86+ reported 7-7-7-20 timings, whereas this particular memory is rated at 9-9-9-24. With regards to slot configuration, there's really only one way to do it when you have two sticks and two slots.

As per my previous post, I ran one Memtest86+ cycle in each configuration in order to rule out any OS issues. This memory has been through extensive Memtest86+ cycles in other machines, and works perfectly.

[Dark Mantis]

With regards to slot configuration, there's really only one way to do it when you have two sticks and two slots.

Actually you have six slots on the motherboard . I know that four of them are for DDR2 memory and the other two for DDR3 RAM. But just because you realise that there are plenty of people who wouldn't.

As per my previous post, I ran one Memtest86+ cycle in each configuration in order to rule out any OS issues. This memory has been through extensive Memtest86+ cycles in other machines, and works perfectly.

That is as may be but that isn't the correct way of running it and so isn't worth anything.

[Pennybags]

I think it's fairly safe to assume that I've done all of the Memtest86+ testing that I need to do. This memory has been through many cycles on several boards with no errors, and it has gone through a cycle for each stick on this board and worked as expected, at the expected throughput. It should be reasonable to conclude that the modules are in working order. The issue I'm facing is not caused by memory corruption, but rather a drastic slowdown when both sticks are in this board (and only this board) simultaneously.

[Ztimpy]

I am thinking about upgrading to 2x4 Gb DDR3 as well.
Did you ever get it sorted with the slowdowns?

I did read somewhere that it can be related to bios version, which Bios are you running?

[SolidlyStated]

Ztimpy:

Yes, I think that his BIOS version may be Pennybag's problem.  I've seen that issue come up  on similar setups.

I have the GA-P35C-DS3R MoBo rev. 1.1 with the F10 BIOS and am running Win7 64-bit.
I have installed 8GB of G.Skill (2x4GB) DDR3 1333  F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL RAM.
My system recognizes all of it at the rated speed and timings without having to adjust anything.

So go ahead and install it.  The extra capacity has sure helped my system, and has also enabled me to experiment with the super speed of RAM disks.
I'm still holding out though for Memristor & MRAM technology to provide high-speed, nonvolatile,  universal  type of storage.

I'm actually very curious to see what would happen if I installed 2 - 8GB DDR3 DIMMS  into the P35C for a total of 16GB.

I can't find any mention anywhere of anyone else trying it.  That's probably because most people who are installing that much RAM have a MoBo that has more than two DDR3 slots.

The 16GB is for another newer system and will be tested just temporarily in the P35C to see what will happen.

After I test it, I'll post back here so the attempt can be indexed somewhere.

[Dark Mantis]

I'm actually very curious to see what would happen if I installed 2 - 8GB DDR3 DIMMS  into the P35C for a total of 16GB.

I can't find any mention anywhere of anyone else trying it.  That's probably because most people who are installing that much RAM have a MoBo that has more than two DDR3 slots.

The 16GB is for another newer system and will be tested just temporarily in the P35C to see what will happen.

After I test it, I'll post back here so the attempt can be indexed somewhere.

Thanks as it would be great to have it tested out for sure.  I suspect that the memory controlller will be overloaded and not able to read it or at least it all but that is just conjecture so physical testing is always better.

[SolidlyStated]

I'm not going to be able to get to test it myself as soon as I had hoped, but here's someone who reported getting 16GB DDR2 to work on a GA-P35-DS3L three years ago: http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=17728

He credits his success to updating the BIOS to F9B (BETA). 
I use F10 BIOS and Sisoft SANDRA shows that 8GB is the Maximum Memory Capacity for the system.

[Shockwave_X]

Hi ppl

I have GA-P35C-DS3 ( not GA-P35C-DS3"R").
My BIOS version is F7a (the latest vers for this model on autoupdate from gigabyte official).
I've installed 2x1GB ddr2 but I would like to replace it with 2x 4 GB _DDR3.

So, is it possible? If it will work properly?

tnx

[Gatuso]

check QVL of mobo for compatibility

[teknology9]

@Shockwave_X

I dont think you can.....have a look at the memory configurators from Crucial and Corsair


Crucial

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=GA-P35C-DS3R&Cat=RAM

Corsair - you will have to find your motherboard from the drop down menu.....but here is the link:

http://www.corsair.com/learn_n_explore/?psu=yes


teknology9

[Shockwave_X]

tnx for responese..

I oredered this:
http://www.gigatronshop.com/memorija/kingston_8gb_2x4gb_ddr3_hyperx_blu_1600mhz_cl9_-_khx1600c9d3b1k28gx-12611

I'll response if it work or not

[Shockwave_X]

Hi,

GOOD NEWS for all

I have Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3

I bought 2x 4GB DDR3 - KINGSTON DDR3 HYPERX BLU 1600MHZ CL9 - KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX

Works perfect on 1333MHz (not 1600) and read all the memory!

Cheers
Ivan

[Dark Mantis]

That is good news for you and the many others who would like to upgrade their platforms with more memory. Thanks for letting everyone know.