Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: vermio on December 24, 2013, 08:40:20 pm
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Hi,
I have a GA-970A-D3 m/b updated with the latest bios (f12).
The cpu is an athlon fx 8150.
I've been using "optimized defaults".
I have installed 2X4 gb of kingston ram at 1333 Mghz. Right now have installed it in the white slots (channel 3 and 4) but I also tried the blue ones having the same issue.
The problem is that windows recognize only the 6gb as you see in the screenshots.
Right now I'm using windows 7 64bit but the same happens with 2008 Server 64bit.
But cpu-z shows that 8gb exist but in single channel (instead of dual).
I have to mention I ran memtest from bootable cd and memory has no errors.
Above that, when I tested having only one memory slot installed, windows reported - correctly - 4 gb.
But when I install the memory slots in different colours, windows report 8 gb. Unfortunately in single channel (which is correct according to the manual).
Where is the problem?
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What revision is your motherboard?
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1201 (12ME-970AD3-1201R)
Read from the manual
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It seems that no one knows anything about my problem or doesn't want to help...
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Only the rev 3 boards support the 8150 - you don't have that when you have F12 bios!
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Only the rev 3 boards support the 8150 - you don't have that when you have F12 bios!
I don't understand what you're saying. I already work with fx8150.
Considering the bios ver (F12) I just upgraded in case I see my problem solved.
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The board revision is printed on the system board at a corner - read it and check CPU compatibility with that particular revision.
When you have F12 it is NOT an Rev 3 board hence not authorised for the 8150 hence your problems.
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Rev 1.4 also supports 8150
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The board revision is printed on the system board at a corner - read it and check CPU compatibility with that particular revision.
When you have F12 it is NOT an Rev 3 board hence not authorised for the 8150 hence your problems.
The issue came up before the upgrade.
Any other thought?
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I woukd try a linux live CD and see if that problem still exists. If it does you got a weird windows problem.
If linux gives you the same problem, just try different RAM slots. If it does not help, try completly different RAM.
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You still have not verified which revision your board is.
For example this is a revision 1.4 board. Note REV: 1.4 in the corner.
(https://home.comcast.net/~egkenny/images/GA-970A-D3.jpg)
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I woukd try a linux live CD and see if that problem still exists. If it does you got a weird windows problem.
If linux gives you the same problem, just try different RAM slots. If it does not help, try completly different RAM.
I booted from an old ubuntu 11.1 live cd (that was the only one i got). In system info it showed me 3,2 gb.
But let's suppose that it's memory issue. Then why cpu-z shows me 8 Gb?
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You still have not verified which revision your board is.
For example this is a revision 1.4 board. Note REV: 1.4 in the corner.
(https://home.comcast.net/~egkenny/images/GA-970A-D3.jpg)
It's not very easy to open the case in the place where it is. I'll do it when there will be serious reason
But I bought it on December of 2012 (if that means anything).
Isn't there any other way to find this out?
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You still have not verified which revision your board is.
For example this is a revision 1.4 board. Note REV: 1.4 in the corner.
(https://home.comcast.net/~egkenny/images/GA-970A-D3.jpg)
It's not very easy to open the case in the place where it is. I'll do it when there will be serious reason
But I bought it on December of 2012 (if that means anything).
Isn't there any other way to find this out?
If you still have the box it might have the revision number on it. The Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 I have has the revision number on the box. Otherwise I do not know any other way to find out.
The GA-970A-D3 (rev. 1.4) board came out a few months before you got your board so it could be that board. It still could be a GA-970A-D3 (rev. 1.0/1.1) board depending on how fast the seller turns over their stock. It is important to know which one because the board did not support the AMD FX-8150 until revision 1.4.
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Well.
I opened the case and first of all I saw that it was rev 1.4.
After that, I made some tests, changing the memory slots.
I easily found out that channel 1 is unusable. The dimm I locate there is not used.
If I try to boot with only one 4gb dimm into slot 1, nothing happens (not even beep's).
If I put one dimm into channel 0 and another into channel 1 then it ignores the second one.
Now I put the two dimms in slot 0 and I got 8 gb but it single channel mode.
It's better than 4.
It seems a m/b problem to me unless someone knows that this can be adjusted from bios.
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I am not sure how you are referencing the slot numbering. According to the manual:
|4|2|3|1|
Two Modules:
|-|X|-|X|, or
|X|-|X|-|
In other words two modules can be in either slots 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 for dual-channel.
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Correct.
3 and 1 are unusable.
Hence
no dual channel can be achieved.
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POINT NO.1- If you install more than 4 GB of ram on a motherboard, (I.e: let's say for the hell of it, you install 12 GB for example), and you then install any 32 Bit version of any windows operating systems, the motherboard for reasons I'm don't fully understand myself anyway, will only report and use the first 3 GB of that 12 GB ram, the remaining 9 GB will be ignored and not used.
POINT NO.2 - If you install more than 4 GB of ram on a motherboard, (I.e: let's say for the hell of it, you installed the same 12 GB again just for an example), and you then install any 64 Bit version of any windows operating systems, the motherboard for reasons I'm don't fully understand myself anyway, will only report and use the first 3 GB of that 12 GB ram, the remaining 9 GB will be ignored.
Thinking more in-depth about this, I think the reason why all motherboards only see a small majority of ram when large amounts of memory are installed, has something to do with 2 things...
1st, the PC's binary code is programmed using only zero's and '1's which is the bios's programming language which is every computers main default running language, this CANNOT be replaced, changed, altered or manipulated or tampered with in any way.
2nd, when Microsoft start writing in a beta format, a brand new language that they incorporate into that new system, it's written in such a complicated way that even before you install it, it automatically detects and searches for what hardware you have connected to your motherboard, what version that hardware is, then it communicates directly with your BIOS program, then it checks your hard disk partitions and how big your hard drive is, then it checks to see if the motherboard is able to cope and support it's language, and then, if all those check results come back as true, THEN it will go ahead with the installation.
Nowadays of course we don't have to use sata drivers to configure and format our hard drives, the operating systems do all the work for us which is extremely useful....but as for why your USB isn't working on a 64 bit system, the answer is simple....your drivers for the USB are not the up-to-date and right ones for your OS and motherboard.
Check the specs,
Chris