Z68X-UD3H-B3 Motherboard + Ram Issue

[jstein86]

Hi,
I recently bought a machine for a custom computer builder. Specs below. The computer runs great and there were no issues out of the box but when i tried to upgrade the ram from 8gb to 16gb the issues began.

I went out and bought the exact same ram as in the machine Kingston 8gb 1600 memory kit 240 pin. I installed the ram in the two open slots, two adjacent slots closest to the processor. After installing the ram I tried to boot and the machine would just continuously reboot (didnt even see the bios screen). Initially I though there might be a problem with the ram so i removed the new ram and the computer booted fine again. Then i decided to take the original ram in the machine and move it from the two slots furthest away from the processor, when i did this I had the same issue and computer would just continuosly cycle power. My initial thought was that maybe the slots on the motherboard are bad. Any ideas? Thanks!

OEM INTEL I7-2600K 3.40 GHZ 8M LGA 11
1TB SATA III 7200 RPM 3.5" HARD DRIVE
2x 4 GB DDR3/ 1600 MHZ MEMORY
ASETEK 510LC 120MM WATERCOOLER
CASE FAN 120 MM       
BLACK SONY 24X DVDRW
GIGABYTE Z68X-UD3H-B3 INTEL Z68 SLI/C
XTREMEGEAR 800 WATT POWER SUPPLY   
ASUS XONAR DS 7.1 CHANNELS 24-BIT 192
EVGA GTX560 TI 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E DIRCTX

[GTOJim]

Not sure if it will help but you might try flashing the latest BIOS.

I purchased the same motherboard about a week ago, it came with BIOS version F2, the latest is F4.

[Bradley]

Well i didn't hear about like that problem before. Do you ask from any shop about this problem?

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome.

Your problem is an easy one to sort out there as your computer builder put the modules in the wrong slots in the first place. They should have been in DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 not the two slots he had put them in. The two channels are Channel A: DDR3_2, DDR3_4 Channel B: DDR3_1, DDR3_3

Probably the issue you encountered when you upgraded the memory was that you were still trying to run them under the "Auto" settings in the BIOS. You willl have to manually configure the settings to fill all the banks.

[jstein86]

Thanks everyone for replying.

I think i am slowly getting closer to the root cause. I did a bit more investigation and noticed the ram is 1.65v where on the motherboard it's set to 1.5. I am guessing when the builder was putting the machine together they may have tried slots 2 and 4 and the machine wouldnt boot so they moved them to use both channel A and channel B to spread out the voltage. Does this sound reasonable?

 I am now wondering what I would need to do to get all 4 sticks to work, should I be increasing the voltage on the motherboard to 1.65v, I went to the bios and increased to 1.65 but the number became red and became concerned so i changed it back to 1.5 and decided to check on the forum before i break anything. Any thoughts on this one. Thanks!

[ex58]

Not sure if it will help but you might try flashing the latest BIOS.

I purchased the same motherboard about a week ago, it came with BIOS version F2, the latest is F4.

In "Advanced Memory Settings":
System Memory Multiplier- 1600
Performace Enhance -Standard
DRAM Timing Selectable-Quick
Channel A Timing Settings-Set you memory manually in BIOS,as per sticker on it.

Then in "Advanced Voltage Setting",set:
QPI/Vtt Voltage- 1.10-1.12V
System Agent Voltage- 0.95-0.96V
PCH Core- 1.08-1.10V
DRAM Voltage -1.64-1.66V

You can also flash to latest BIOS F5 or F8.

[jstein86]

Out of curiosity if I flash my bios will i still have to set all these settings. My preference is to set as few settings as possible as it reduces the chances of bricking the motherboard or damaging the processor.

Thanks.

[Dark Mantis]

I think i am slowly getting closer to the root cause. I did a bit more investigation and noticed the ram is 1.65v where on the motherboard it's set to 1.5. I am guessing when the builder was putting the machine together they may have tried slots 2 and 4 and the machine wouldnt boot so they moved them to use both channel A and channel B to spread out the voltage. Does this sound reasonable?

No, that is unlikely, as he had put both the sticks in the same channel. It was merely a case of not checking the manual/specs and didn't realise the configuration had changed.

I am now wondering what I would need to do to get all 4 sticks to work, should I be increasing the voltage on the motherboard to 1.65v, I went to the bios and increased to 1.65 but the number became red and became concerned so i changed it back to 1.5 and decided to check on the forum before i break anything. Any thoughts on this one. Thanks!

You will need to increase the voltage to 1.65v to get the memory to work at 1600 mhz as you want. The memory was the wrong spec really for the board, again not checked up to see what the requirement was, he should have used something like Corsair Vengeance which will run at 1600 mhz at 1.5v rather than the higher 1.65v.

[jstein86]

Hi,
Okay tired all the settings recommended and then switch the ram from DDR3_1, DDR3_3 -> DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 and then the computer would just cycle power and the bios screen would never show. I've enclosed screenshots of the bios so maybe someone can take a look at those and let me know if i set something wrong.

In addition I just wanted to check for interest if maybe it's a issue with DDR3_2, DDR3_4 so i went to the store and purchased two sticks of PNY ram,  4gb DDR3 PC3-10666 (MD-4096SD3-1333), I believe this ram is set for 1.5 V. (unlike the existing ram which is 1.65V) I set the bios to optomized to remove the "new" settings i made. I removed all the sticks that came with the machine and installed these in slots DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 and when i started the machine i had the same issue the computer would just cycle power and never show the bios screen. I then took the two new sticks and moved them DDR3_1, DDR3_3 and the computer booted again.

I am quite confused what to do next.

(Screenshots of bios enclosed)

[Dark Mantis]

By doing what you have done with the memory you have forced it to work in Single Channel mode. This makes me believe that the other channel is faulty. That could be the CPU as the memory controller is now a part of that or it could be the motherboard. It is now a case of RMA one to see which it is unless you have another CPU to swap out for testing purposes.

[rohit91]

Same problem here and with the exact same slots.

[Dark Mantis]

Have you tried to do an extended CMOS clear before rebooting ?

If not folllow these instructions exactly:

Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least one hour before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Optimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self like disabling the floppy drive, disabling the full screen logo and making the HDD the primary boot device and then press F10 to save and exit.