Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: Ben on September 26, 2011, 10:24:22 am
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I purchased 2 sets of "Kingston" Hyperx blu ddr3 1600 1.65v ram.
each set has 2 @ 2Gb ram =8GB.
My problem is I cannot get my system stable using all 4 sticks, I have tried to manually set the volts, timings, etc, but to no avail.
When I contacted Kingston this was their reply:
"Dear Kingston Customer,
Thanks for you contacting Kingston Technical Support.Please be noted that Kingston recommends customer to install 1 kit of HyperX memory installation for better stability. Since when install more than or equal to 2 kits of HyperX memory, system may not be stable and we
don't guarantee if the memory can overclock to published speed under this condition. Besides, all Kingston products are tested individually to meet our
published specifications. Not all systems or motherboard configurations will operate at these published specifications. Optimal settings for individual system configurations may be less than the published HyperX module speeds and timings. Performance from installing additional kits is not guaranteed. Remove existing memory before adding HyperX to achieve optimal performance. Overclocking the CPU or the Memory Bus may result in
damage to computer components. Kingston does not recommend that any user attempt to run their systems faster than OEM or system published
specifications. Please refer to your OEM, system or other component vendors technical specifications for any additional information"
So what they are telling me is I should have bought 2, 4GB sticks & not 4, 2GB sticks, as it makes my system unstable, why was this not mentioned to me at the computer store I got them from,as I asked if they would be okay.
I am hoping that someone out their had the same problem & found some way to get around it, as I said I have tried playing around with the BIOS but this is more of a guessing game to me.
Ben.
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Welcome Ben
Right one thing at a time....did you get a BSOD code we can work with ...... it'll be something like......0000000xXXX
But do this regardless.........Put 1 stick into your boards master slot and test each module with Memtest.....ten full passes each and post your results
yes this takes a long time but is critical to finding a fix......and fix it we can!
We'll talk later about Kingston.....10 yrs ago they were number one ...... not anymore with that sort of attitude.....what a load crok that email!
Aussie Allan
Aussie Allan
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G"Day Aussie Allan.
Have ran all tests on my chips, with 3 chips & all settings on manual everything is okay.
Some of the tests I have run are: Memtest, Intel, OCCC, Prime & HeavyLoad, all turned out okay on the 3 chips 6GBs.
Just that my system hate's having all 4 (8GBs) in, it does a dummy spit.
I have done these tests individually on each chip, at times my temps were 80c.
Another problem I have discovered when I can get it running on all 4s as soon as I put a USB thumb drive in, my system locks up, but only on the 4, it is okay on the 3 chips.
So I am wondering if there is an underlying problem.
I am running an Intel i7 2600/430 GPU/Corsair TX650 PSU/Gigabyte GA-X68X-UD3R-B3 board F5 BIOS.
Win 7 Home premium 64 Bit.
No BSOD yet.
Thanks hope this helps.
Ben.
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Hi
It is possible that you have a power problem but I think it is much more likely as Allan has suggested that it is due to your memory. You will have to increase the voltage on the memory controller to make up for the increased loading. You may also need to tweak other settings as well. It can be sorted though as long as the modules are ok. If they are not don't forget to RMA the whole kit not just the faulty one.
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Hi Ben
Right! so the memory passed all tests!...... Bugger! ... we'll have to do this the long way....
Need you to confirm you're running manual at 1600, ....1.64 - 1.66V....CL 9-9-9-27 and can you confirm which memory out of these....and can you tell me what your QPI/VTT voltage is might also help.....sorry for all the question but all are relivent
Thumb drive wobbles confirms unstable me thinks!..... DM is probably right there as well with the power slant .... we might have to tweak a few settings a touch
KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G
KHX1600C9AD3B1/2G
KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX
KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4G
80C is warm but manageable if this is full load not idle....you didn't say what cooler you're running ?...if your running water you're in real trouble :D .... If you can get it back home, you want to try out a new thermal compound ....IC Diamond ..... truly a wicked break through .... dropped my load temps by 6C
thats enough for now
Aussie Allan
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Just a word about the voltages. If your default voltage for this memory is 1.65v you will need to increase it up to 1.68 -1.70v even when you have all four sticks running.
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Just a word about the voltages. If your default voltage for this memory is 1.65v you will need to increase it up to 1.68 -1.70v even when you have all four sticks running.
Live and learn!.... Thanks DM ... I do know Kingston Memory has a high voltage tolerance, ....should have though of that!
Aussie Allan
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Only one caveat to that bit of advice and that is to make sure that the QPI/Vtt is kept to within 0.5v of the voltage you use otherwise you risk burning out the memory controller. Therefore if you are using 1.7v you must have the QPI/Vtt to at least 1.2v to be safe.
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Sorry about the delay, just got home from work.
Okay here goes at the moment my system is stable at 6Gb. Tried it with all 4 sticks (8GB) System froze on start up. So back to 3 again.
Kingston ram "KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX"
Bios settings;
XMP on, Extreme turbo on, Running 1600MHz on manual, Dram v=1.655v, VTT 1.1v, PLL 1.830v, timings 9-9-9-27.
CMD 2. Latency A=2, B=1.
running 3.8GHz. Multiplier 38.
Ran Prime for 2 hrs on this setting no faults.
CPU Cooler is a Noctua NH-U9B-SE2. plus 2 Noctua NF-S12B FLX 120 case fans.
Will increase volts & see what happens.
Thanks.
Ben.
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Hi Ben
Just to be clear I take it that the motherboard that you have is actually a GA-Z68X-UD3R-B3 not a GA-X68X-UD3R-B3 as you posted ?
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BEN
Right .....for starters QPI/VTT and Memory voltage MUST maintain a ratio of , and not exceeding a .5V differential ....(it can be lower, but not higher) at the moment you are at .55V differential
this can damage your controller in the CPU or the Memory or both ..... Raise QPI/VTT and keep it within .5 of the memory voltage
Aussie Allan
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Wow thanks for that extra info regards volts.
At the moment I am running 8Gb, Turbo at standard, But will change the VTT volts to 1.2, as Dram is at 1.7v.
Yep typo was "Z" sorry about that.
So far my system has been running without a hitch. Also I disabled Isochronous support & now my USB is stable as I can plug it in without my system freezing I also transferred 20GB of data to my USB HDD without a glitch.
Will change the volts on the VCC & run some tests.
Thanks again guys.
Ben.
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Well good luck and if you hit any other snags(not sausages!) we have more tricks to use. ;)
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Okay so far so good, running at turbo standard (standard,turbo,extreme) might try turbo tomorrow.
VTT 1.2, Dram 1.7. 'Ran heavy load' all okay, ran 'Intel burn test' at standard, high & stress, on stress the animated flame stopped for a second or 2 but I still could move my mouse so computer was not frozen like the other times.
By the way are the Noctua fans a good brand, I only went on price plus I love the beige/brown look.
Thanks again.
Ben.
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Yes the Noctua fans are some of the quietest compared to performance on the market. Personally I am not a lover of the colour but that isn't too important after all.
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Intel Burn is like Nuking a system...... It's personal....... But I think it's overkill........did you get a look at the temps when it stalled ?
Aussie Allan
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Well guys it seemed you did the impossible, this is the second day running my system & still no crashes. Yippee.
When I say impossible I actually tried a couple of other sites before coming here. You are the only ones to have solved my problem & in a short time as well.
You deserve a pat on the back. I was so close to ditching my ram for 2 4GB sticks.
Thanks again.
Ben.
PS what is the difference between running the multiplier at it's max & having the performance setting at "Turbo or Extreme"?
As at the moment it is at 38x with performance at standard. Is there really any benefit?
Thanks again.
PS. Yes the temps were max 80c.
Ran the test again without a hitch, the animated flame stopped a couple of times but my computer did not lock up.
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Ben .....where are you in OZ anyway ?
Glad I/we could help a fellow countrymen ...... Now if you could just get me out of this place by sending me a Qantas ticket ..... it's bloody freezing here during winter ........................ But I can't complain too much, ............. it's only lasts for "NINE MONTHS" :D
Try "Turbo" and check stability ............. there all small,incremental gains ............"Extreme".........I've never had any luck with this setting in the last 5 boards :'(....... as far as your PS ...... again there's marginal gain ..... but only if it's stable is it of any use
Every build is different, every CPU is different, .... you just have to tweak these setting on and see if it's still stable and whether there's any performance gains or not, ...... quite often it only shows up in benchmarks or 1 or 2 extra frames at best
you will get much better performance gains from clocking and/or faster/tighter memory
Keep in touch 8)
Aussie Allan
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Hey I don't know what your complaining about I am freezing my nuts of here its 20c & raining, South Aussie.
Any back to business, will give the turbo a go.
Will leave out the extreme.
A little more detail regards my system; Case is a Thermaltake Armor+MX, 1 Pioneer DVD r/w, 1 LG Blu Ray r/w, Monitor 27' AOC, 1 WD Blue,1 Terabyte HDD,1 Wd Blue, 500 GB HDD. Plus the 430 GPU which I intend to have upgraded soon, just undecided as to what one.
Will let you know how I get on with the Turbo setting.
Ben.
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LUXURY!..........this was taken off the UK meteorological office web-site for the UK
Winter temperatures average 4.4 °C (40 °F )......................
Summer temperatures average about 15.6 °C (60 °F ) ...........
precipitation regional dependent , between 700mm to 2000mm PA
It's warmer in my fridge... :D My nuts have perma-frost........
Keep in touch re tweaking and another little gem......tightening memory timings will have a far bigger impact then raising memory speed ;)
Aussie Allan
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Ran Prime with Turbo on, froze half way through so back to standard.
Any ideas on mem timings?
Plus my Bios has CMD at 2 on A, & 1 on B channel Should I just leave them alone or have both on 1 or 2? plus what difference does it make if any?
Ben.
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Hiya Ben
Here's a ripper of a tutorial I think you're ready for..... long read so book mark for reference, I have and still open it up probably weekly...
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26
you have 9-9-9-27 at 1600..........I'll let the tute guide you .........but because you already have 1.7v for memory 7-8-7-22 is possible....but at what Mhz....start with 9-9-8-27 and test....then 9-8-8-27 and so on......and heres another cracker that easy to follow for general clocking written by a Guru.
Enjoy.......Aussie Allan
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Hiya Ben
Here's a ripper of a tutorial I think you're ready for..... long read so book mark for reference, I have and still open it up probably weekly...
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Understanding-RAM-Timings/26
you have 9-9-9-27 at 1600..........I'll let the tute guide you .........but because you already have 1.7v for memory 7-8-7-22 is possible....but at what Mhz....start with 9-9-8-27 and test....then 9-8-8-27 and so on......and heres another cracker that easy to follow for general clocking written by a Guru.
Enjoy.......Aussie Allan
Sorry mate ... forgot to add the link...http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/538439-guide-overclocking-core-i7-920-930-a.html
Aussie Allan
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Thanks for this will do some serious reading here.
Will let you know how I get on.
Ben.
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Enjoyed the reading, at lot to take in.
Anyway changed my timings, but should have first written down your recommendations, as it is I put them at 8,9,9,27.
Still works though.
So my changes thus far are;
CPU Vcore 1.340 (auto). VTT 1.225v (man), PLL 1.830v (man), Dram 1.700v (man), XMP off, CLK ratio 42x, Sys Multiplier 16.00, locked at 1600MHz.
Performance enhance = Standard (still having Turbo issues) migth leave it at standard for the now.
BCLK (1000) 100MHz CMD both at T1.
A few more things I am trying to get my head around, Hyper threading, Isochronous & virtualization.
I use my system for Video & photo, transferring,rendering etc, no games.
Thanks again.
Ben.
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Hyper threading, Isochronous & virtualization.
First one is important for Photo and video editing...... you have say 4 physical cores..... software can make the system (OS/APP) think there 8 cores (4 virtual cores + 4 physical cores ) ..... applications run faster .... it will reduce your over-clock ceiling, ... but not by very much and out-ways having it turned off (Hyper-threading)
Second one I won't even go into in detail as I don't understand it that well myself....but what I'm prepared to say, ... Isochronous Support is the option that enables and disables the lanes between the Northbridge and the Southbridge controllers. Enabling this option allows for multiple data streams of equal size between the two controllers........and Virtualization........Unless you use software that supports it or you want to run W7 and XP at the same time......you don't need it .... or thats my understanding of it anyway......I'm light in this area
Aussie Allan.....PS just a shot in the dark, try 8-8-8-24 cross your fingers and see if it runs ;)
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HA,HA we must think alike I just changed the settings to ,8,8,8,24.
Plan to leave virtual off.
The only other thing I have changed since last post is I now have XMP on. Multiplier at 34, now reading 3.78MHz.
I am running prime as I type, will let it go for an hour or so.
CPU 100%, Temps: Core 0 t0 3 = 60,60,60,60c fluctuating, Fan 1 =1713, Fan 3 =1316, fan 4 =1264.
For my readings I am using 'Speed Fan' 4.43 &' CPUID' Hardware Monitor, the readings seem to be pretty close to each other 1 or 2 degrees out, 'CPUID' showing the higher temps.
Have noticed that when I used "Intel's" BurnTest I had much higher temps 80c.
So if all goes well I might just leave it as it is.
Must admit this is the longest I have gone without it freezing or turning off.
Ben.
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Virtual off is good......sound like you don't need it anyway......more stability
Intel Burn is a stress test I think not real world.......I have a mate that can crash his system with Intel burn at the highest settings running 3.6.....but he can game all day at 3.9 and edit photos at 4.1.....I have water , and at 60-60-60-60 your system runs tighter then mine...my lowest / highest cores are 52 / 58C
If it passes at 8-8-8-24 ... very cool for those dimms ..... if you want to press it a bit further..... 8-8-8-22 you never know .... when you think you have a stable clock.....run it over night ..... if it passes .... then it's stable.......3.78 is quite respectable......as your experience increases .... and with 60C temps on load......3.9 will be the next chapter if you're that way inclined ..... spend your time reading up ..... you're now in the area where your exploring the last 5% of what over-clocking is all about ;) .... good for you!
Aussie Allan
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Okay, now running Prime, (small FFT) to begin with this time. System settings are now; Multiplier 42, showing 3.88 on Intel ID, but 4.10 on windows own System?
Also have re set my timings they are now 8,8,8,22.
Regards my temps, I am using only the 1 fan on my Noctua CPU cooler, it came with 2 fans one to push, the other to pull, I am using the push one at the moment I suppose if I used both my temps would be lower, but by using the one fan my temps are pretty stable.
Temps are hovering mid 60c.
Ben.
PS. Regard your temps, why don't you stick your computer out your window you wouldn't need any fans or coolers, Haha.
At the most a heater.
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Hiya Ben....Wow, on ya way now!
A side effect people really don't understand is if you whack on both fans you can lower the fan speed on both fans for the same CFM (Cubic Feet Minute) lowering the DBA (Decibels) quite substantially if you run a manual fan controller.....I recently added two AKASA speed fan controllers that have 3 channels and 2 USB headers .......(Not bad for $14US each).......nice little 3.5" bay mod.......10Watts per channel so I did a little handy wire mod combining 3 fans down to 1x 3 pin connector ........ now I have 6 fans over two controllers for the RAD in push pull and It doesn't sound like a hovercraft anymore
8-8-8-22 ...... way cool you reached this ..... way better performance then trying to go from 1600 to 1800Mhz by a mile.....no more heat as well
Thought about using the Arctic conditions that I'm blessed with........ but I hate sitting at the monitor dressed in a -7 one piece ski-suit
Truthfully though there's some pretty weird people and setups out here (UK)......know one bloke who has 4" lagged flexible ducting coming into his house ..... through a bedroom......into the lounge room .......suppling his Monster PC.......A year ago his wife gave him an ultimatum of "Me or the PC".......... to bad, ... she was really nice ;)
Aussie Allan
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Noise not that bad, also I moved one of my fans, it used to sit in front of the HDD's now I have it at the back & it seems to be pushing better air.
Temps so far for the CPU =33, 31, 29, 37c respectfully.
HDD's 29, 28.
GPU =28.
This is all normal running.
I notice it seems to pass okay running Prime at 'small FFT' but when on Blend it freezes after half an hour.
Any ideas?
Also noticed when I run prime, besides the temps going up my wattage goes up also is this okay?
Ben.
PPS.
Almost forgot, Thanks DM for the voltage settings for my ram.
RE; Fan controllers, looking at the 'Aerocool Strike-X Front Touch Panel' & the 'AeroCool Touch2000 Front Touch Panel'.
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A system is stable if it does not fail with what YOU do with it.....if you thrash it with a 3 screen flight SIM ..... you might only be able to run at 3.7.
If the worst you do is a bit of photo-editing....you might be rock solid stable at 4.1 .....it all comes down to your personal usage and what programs you use as to stability ...... best test is to just run it for a week or two and see how it goes under the present config.....if you get the occasional problem....just back it off a tad.....CPU or memory
I notice it seems to pass okay running Prime at 'small FFT' but when on Blend it freezes after half an hour.
Any ideas?
Probably the tight timmings......again try just using it for a while
Also noticed when I run prime, besides the temps going up my wattage goes up also is this okay?
More volts ... more heat.....it's all relative and normal.....with your temps.....you have nothing to worry about!
Aussie Allan
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PPS.
Almost forgot, Thanks DM for the voltage settings for my ram.
RE; Fan controllers, looking at the 'Aerocool Strike-X Front Touch Panel' & the 'AeroCool Touch2000 Front Touch Panel'.
No problem only to glad to help. ;)
I agree with Allan there about the stability. It is really how you decide to class stable. Each of us probably has our own ideas.
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Thanks for that just didn't want to nuke my system.
Will see how things go for a while.
Ben.
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Just a short note to say that all is okay with my system, been running like a Dingo on heat.
Just thought I would add this in, when I was replacing my stock cooler with the "Noctua" one I didn't like the idea of having to rip out my mobo every time I had to replace or fix my cooler, so when I removed the mobo I cut a hole in the back panel so now I can bolt & unbolt to my hearts content, also cut out a square hole on my back side cover & glued a blue acrylic panel there, why? because I felt like it.
Ben.
Again thanks to you guys for all your help.
So until I have another problem for you to solve have a G"Day.
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Glad to hear everything is working out alright Ben and I did the very same thing on my last case as there wasn't a big enough hole in the motherboard tray. A bit of customising later and everything was much easier. ;)