Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: Glaucous on July 05, 2010, 02:27:24 pm
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I've used BIOS F6 with my Gigabyte card, and I've also always used 8 GB RAM Corsair (4 sticks).
As soon as I installed F7a I started to get memory errors, and memtest showed a bunch of errors when using four sticks, but none when using two. I do realize that using four sticks often comes with stability problems, but it worked great in F6 (and previous).
I'd just like to say that this problem exists. Since I don't have a AMD Phenom x6 processor the F7a BIOS is quite useless to me, so I just flashed back to F6 and it all worked fine.
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For future reference when you fill all the ram slots it is often necessary to increase the northbridge voltage a little to compensate for the extra loading.
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I did increase it to 1.2v without any luck.
Edit: Did you mean Northbridge or CPU-Northbridge?
I think I need to try to get this BIOS working, what should I try increasing and what maximum voltage? CPU-NB or Northbridge?
AMD Phenom 2 x4 940
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Hi,
I think I need to try to get this BIOS working
First question, Why do you need to get F7A BIOS working if everything was fine with F6? You really don't need to update the BIOS unless there is a known hardware issue (support of new CPU) or something being added that you need, such as the Core Control Option.
Another thing that is puzzling me is the BIOS version. Normally a letter after the first 2 characters would indicate that it is a beta version but, checking the Gigabyte site there is no indication of it being so, with BIOS versions being identified from F1 - F6 then suddenly F7A! It could well be a beta version, although it doesn't say so.
You don't actually state the specification for your Corsair RAM. If you could post back with this info it might help to understand what could be wrong. Also, are you Overclocking? I have a Phenom ii X6 1090T and 8 Gig of Corsair Dominator 2 kits of CMD4GX3MB1600C8 1.65 V running OK (on a different board GA-790XTA-UD4) but it was very glitchy and I had real problems getting it stable.
(after posting this I noticed glaucous had started another thread.....
I recently installed BIOS version F7a, however this version made my four sticks of RAM very unstable, no I installed F6 again. But now I can't get my onboard Realtek LAN to work at all, the drivers aren't able to be installed (again) and it won't show up in Device Manager (with hidden devices shown).
Another problem which might be related is that my Windows 7 (and Ubuntu Live CD and Wubi) boots are very slow.
Load Optimized BIOS -> Restart -> Install F5 BIOS -> Restart -> Load Optimized -> Restart. No luck.
Next step is to remove two RAM sticks and try out F7a and see if the LAN is working there.
And yes, the LAN cable is working with other computers.
As the problems are linked and to save confusion, I have directed users to post answers and advice to this thread only)
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Thank you, let me clarify why I (thought) needed to get this to work again. When I rolled back to F6 the problem was that the LAN card stopped working, but apparently it wasn't the BIOS update itself, but that I have had the computer unplugged for a while.
I read around on the internet and noticed that some people had problems with their onboard LAN after unplugging the computer. So when I unplugged and plugged in the computer again, the LAN started working again.
Not sure of the reason why I installed the F7A in the first place, but it's working anyhow.
And I'm also quite curious of the "A" in F7A BIOS.
Reason behind the two threads is that I thought the problems weren't connected, and therefor would be easier to keep the threads separated.
Anyhow, the problem is solved, and it wasn't a BIOS problem. Now the only odd problem I have is the slow Windows and Ubuntu loading times, which seems to decrease A LOT when only using two sticks of RAM, although I didn't have the problem before. I could try flashing back to F6 again.
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I have to agree that it does seem strange that loading times are increasing when you add more memory and this could still be a BIOS issue.
Does the PC seem to take longer to POST when you first switch it on or does that seem OK and it takes longer to actually get the OS loaded and running with the extra RAM?
When you flashed BIOS and went through Load Optimized Defaults, did you disable floppy drives and other Integrated Hardware that you are not using? This can sometimes cause an issue, especially the floppy drive.
Flashing back to F6 would give a clearer indication if the problem is due to the F7A BIOS and I have had some strange issues with BIOS updates which actually cause more problems than they solve and have had to roll back to an earlier version that was more stable.
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I have already turned off every unused feature. Now I tried rolling back to F6 (again again) and turning tweaking every setting as they should be. The loading times are however still slow in both Ubuntu and Windows.
Please note that the slow loading doesn't occur in POST, but when Windows/Ubuntu is actually loading, thus it might seem like a driver problem. But since it didn't exist before this BIOS update/downgrade, and especially since it occurs in BOTH Ubuntu (Ubuntu Live CD as well) and Windows, it seems odd.
And the slow loading did disappear when using two sticks.
Edit: Okay problem solved. I had apparently forgotten to remove a 2048 MB RAM Disk from "RamDisk Plus" software, which loaded this RAM Disk at every boot, therefor it took a while to load into Windows with 8 GB RAM. But with 4 GB RAM there wasn't enough RAM, and the RAM Disk was skipped. I'm not sure why Ubuntu took a while, but I'm hardly using it anyhow.
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I did increase it to 1.2v without any luck.
Edit: Did you mean Northbridge or CPU-Northbridge?
I think I need to try to get this BIOS working, what should I try increasing and what maximum voltage? CPU-NB or Northbridge?
AMD Phenom 2 x4 940
It is in the MIT section of the BIOS and set System Voltage Control to Manual which will then alow you to set the Northbridge voltage. Just go up in small steps, if you go too far the setting will flash red so put it back down.
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I do know where I change it, but more than often there's confusion between the motherboard's Northbridge and CPU-Northbridge.
But right now it seems stable and I shouldn't need to change it.
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Ok, well that's good news and at least you have some more info for the future.
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Edit: Okay problem solved. I had apparently forgotten to remove a 2048 MB RAM Disk from "RamDisk Plus" software, which loaded this RAM Disk at every boot, therefor it took a while to load into Windows with 8 GB RAM. But with 4 GB RAM there wasn't enough RAM, and the RAM Disk was skipped.
Ah, it's simple when you know isn't it! :D To be honest, I would have been struggling to come up with that as an answer so it's good that you discovered the problem yourself.
For future reference, if you do need to increase the voltage to the Northbridge you can do so in M.I.T. under System Voltage Control. Once you set it to manual the items can be altered (they are locked when it is set to AUTO). You need to increase the heading that reads: NB/PCIe/PLL Voltage Control.
ATB
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Starting to get some odd problems with my RAM. Now I can't boot (loop restart) with four sticks at all, only when using two.
Corsair XMS2 Xtreme TwinX DDR2 PC8500/1066MHz CL5 2x2GB (TWIN2X4096-8500C5) two sticks
and
Corsair XMS2 Dominator TwinX DDR2 PC8500/1066MHz CL5 2x2GB (TWIN2X4096-8500C5D)
pretty much the same except the cooler.
I've tried bumping the Northbridge (not CPU-NB) to 1.4 volt (maximum), no luck there. The RAM voltage is at 2.1 which is the spec for the RAM. I'm using 5-5-5-15 (18 made no difference) and 800 MHz (4.00x). I also tried bumping the CPU-NB by 0.1v but it didn't help.
Should I try tweaking the CPU-NB voltage, or perhaps try lowering the MHz of the RAM?
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Does your Dominators have an XMP setting? If so try using that.
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I'll try that.
Other things I've tried:
- 667 MHz
- 1.4v CPU-NB
- 1.4v NB
Back in 5 minutes.
Edit: Tried it and it did not help.
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It might help to drop the speed of the ram. I thiink it's a case of try it and see.
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Honestly sounds like a memory controller problem that most quad cores had. I did'nt read where you mentioned what cpu you had but by the specs of the ram being 1066 i'd guess its a quad. Dealt with that problem myself and after i got it working it lasted a whole 4 days and i never got it working again so that was that.
Now the 6 core handles 8 gigs of ram just great and i've not had a problem with it at all.
Also as it works fine with 4 gigs of ram id say it was a ram problem or a cpu problem and not motherboard related at all. I myself would go to manufactures forum and try my luck there. Memory controller is part of an amd cpu. There is no memory controller on an amd motherboard for an amd chip at all.
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I've got AMD Phenom 2 x4 940. I guess I'll try my luck at the AMD forums as well. Good to know that someone else had somewhat the same problem, since it was actually working for a while.
Edit: I've found a setup which works at the moment. Here's the short thread from AMD forum: http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=259&threadid=136098&enterthread=y
Edit: I went back to F1, which didn't help at all at first. Then I tried different combinations of the memory sticks.
Slots:
1 - non-dominator
2 - none
3 - dominator
4 - none
did not work
1 - non-dominator
2 - dominator
3 - none
3 - none
worked
1 - non-dominator
2 - non-dominator
3 - dominator
4 - dominator/none
did not work
But at last this combination so far works,
1 - non-dominator
2 - dominator
3 - non-dominator
4 - dominator
It'll probably not stay stable, at least that's what I think, but so far it's looking good.
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It is always a bit hit and miss when using unmatched memory but at least you seem to be getting somewhere. It was good that autotech pointed you in the right direction.
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Glad you are finding the way. I had to get the x6 and the 890fx-udh5 to run 8 gigs with any sucess. It hasnt been so long ago that i have forgotten the fraustration and the countless days in trying to get it to work. To this day i still have 4 gigs of 1066 in my closet as i gave the other 4 to my daughter with the quad core when i upgraded.
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Heh, well, now it's not working anymore. I never tried turning off and on the computer yesterday after the "fix", just restarts. Because now when I turned on the computer, I can't use 8 GB anymore (I'm using 6 GB atm without dual channel).
So I'm stuck once again, might be time to give up soon?
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Have you tried posting in the AMD forum? If so have you had any pointers there?
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http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=259&threadid=136098&enterthread=y
Yes I posted at the AMD forums, and he says it's probably a BIOS issue.
Edit: After rearranging the sticks the way they were the very first time, it's working again. I've tried restarting, turning off and on, everything. But I guess this setup won't last forever either, I'll probably be back with another error. :)
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I have just read through the entire thread again and it is rather complex. I did notice that you haven't cleared your CMOS before loading the BIOS setup defaults. So that might be worth a try. The other thing is to run memtest86 on the memory and check that all the modules function properly. Run it on them one at a time for at least half a dozen loops.
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Got a BSOD and now I can't boot again.
But isn't clearing CMOS the same as "Load optimized defaults"?
Otherwise I just do:
Load Optimized -> Reboot -> Flash -> Reboot -> Load optimized
Should I replace Load Optimized with CLR_CMOS?
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No, the CMOS stores a list of your hardware that is installed so if you change anything of importance you need to update the CMOS. Loading the BIOS defaults just tells the BIOS how to behave with the hardware it finds.
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So it would actually make sense to CLR_CMOS if I add new RAM modules?
Anyhow, I'll try flashing it that way you said.
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To clear the CMOS you need to unplug the computer. Remove the CMOS battery(CR2032 silver disk) and then change the jumper over on the block usually marked CLR_CMOS or CRTC etc. Leave it like this for a couple of minutes at least (officially it is ten seconds but I don't find that is long enough). Put the jumper back in it's default position and then replace the motherboard battery. The CMOS is now wiped. Now you can boot up into the bIOS and load the setup defaults, save and exit.
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Oh I see, I usually just put a screwdriver between the pins and it resets (at least the BIOS settings). Anyhow that's what I did just now, and flashed to F6, and it booted up nicely. I'm going to let memtest run for a while on all of them, to see if there's any error using them, if there's a problem I'll run memtest individually. Or try clearing CMOS your way.
I guess putting a screwdriver between the pins just resets BIOS settings and not CMOS?
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And if you are unlucky like my son, when he tried to do it that way he blew up his motherboard >:(
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As long as you unplug that shouldn't happen, right?
By the way, for how long do you think I should run memtest? I know some people run it for like 12 hours.
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Hi,
although I am not running your motherboard ( I am using the GA-790XTA -UD4), I've done a little experimenting over the past day, to see what problems, if any, I encountered with 8 gigs of RAM and my old Phenom ii X4 965 C2 140W. I am no expert and I have limited resources but I thought it was worth a try to see if I could help solve this for you.
My RAM is Corsair Dominator rated at 1600 Mhz and it runs fine with my Phenom ii x6 1090T but, as soon as I tried it with the X4, I had no end of BSOD's and the only way I could get it to run was to use optimized defaults @1333Mhz. I couldn't even get 4 gigs to run at stock without it being very fussy, as soon as I pulled it back to 1333Mhz, it ran fine.
So, to my mind, the problem is either the CPU or the BIOS. Now, I know this doesn't help you directly but and it's a big but, I can recreate a very similar problem on a different motherboard with different BIOS, the common factor is a Phenom ii x4 CPU. And, the memory controller is built into the CPU!!
Once you have re-set CMOS and loaded Optimized defaults in BIOS try running with just 4 gig of RAM to see if you can get it to run OK. If it works, without issue I would then contact both Gigabyte and AMD, explaining your situation and asking them for a proper answer as to why you are unable to run 8 GIG without issues.
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4 GB works without any problems whatsoever. I just flashed and cleared CMOS, and I am now running memtest with 8 GB RAM. My guess is that memtest will work well, but that I will later on not be able to start the computer anyhow.
I will try to contact AMD/Gigabyte in case I get problems again. The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.
Edit: Oh, and thank you for testing it out. :)
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Hi absic115, so that is where you were hiding yesterday. Anyway great work. ;)
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The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.
Edit: Oh, and thank you for testing it out. :)
I agree it shouldn't be a problem and never really was with the older CPU's and memory controller on the Mobo, but now....... who knows!
Edit: I think this is one of the questions that really needs a proper answer, rather than groping in the dark. If there is an issue then it needs to be sorted and the more definite evidence that can be gained the easier it is to go to these big companies and state your case. I just hate being a ping pong ball. By, taking the time to run my own tests you now have a 2nd example that there is problem somewhere along the line.
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Well, now I got a MEMORY_MANAGEMENT BSOD. So I increased the NB voltage to 1.2 and decreased memory speed to 667 MHz. Going to see if I get any BSODs now.
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The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.
I agree it never was so much of a problem in the past mixing different memory as long as they conformed to the general format but now chipsets seem to be much more picky even about the type of memory they will work with down to specifics. It would seem that the AMD chips with the built in memory controllers might be even worse.
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Oh well, got a BSOD yesterday and now I can't boot with 8 GB RAM.
What would be the best way to contact AMD and/or Gigabyte?
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For Gigabyte Technical Support go here:
http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/support-downloads.aspx
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And AMD technical support go here:
http://support.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDSupportHub.aspx
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Starting to seem quite likely that it is one of my RAM modules that is broken, after a couple of Memtests and setups it seems like one of them fails at some times. I'll talk to Corsair about it.
Kind of annoying to actually find an error now, did some tests a few days ago and found nothing. Guess I wasn't very thorough.
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Sometimes it can take ages to show a fault, although more often than not they come up fairly quickly.
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Oh well I sent a RMA request to Corsair, hopefully they'll replace my memory modules. As soon (soon?) as I get new memory modules I'll try out 8 GB again.
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Well at least you got somewhere in the end. They are normally quite efficient and you shouldn't have to wait too long. Post back when you have them.
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Another potential memory problem with Corsair RAM and a Gigabyte motherboard.
Yes, we will see.
I having the similar problems, although mine occur with 2GB or 4GB and seems to depend how long the system is on before they occur.
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Got my RAM modules today, and it does indeed work so far.
I'd say the problem was without a doubt the failing module.
I'll be back if more problems occur. ;)
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Well let's hope that was indeed true and the system works ok now. Please keep in touch and let us know how it goes.
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Longest i got mine to work was a few day and i tested all memory by 4 gigs at a time and all were fine. Bet hes back i truly think its the memory controller in the cpu. I have had the 965 actually 2 of them anad the 9950 and the 3.0 be to many to count and until the x6 never could stay stable for long with 8 gigs.
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I wouldn't be surprised after what I learnt from absic it does indeed sound like a problem with the memory controller.
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Longest i got mine to work was a few day and i tested all memory by 4 gigs at a time and all were fine.
I truly think its the memory controller in the cpu.
There does appear to be some major difficulty in getting RAM to run with some of the AMD CPU's and normally this is only resolved by running the RAM at 1333 Mhz or less and this still doesn't guarantee system stability. Not really sure if this is a CPU memory controller issue or one due to BIOS but as it seems to be a problem on other makes of Mobo too, I tend to lean towards the CPU Memory Controller being the cause.
UPDATE:
Having done some further research on this issue it might be worth noting that on AMD's website it states that for the Phenom ii CPU's: Type of Memory Supported = Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500(DDR2-1066MHz) and PC3 10600 (DDR3-1333MHz) Check here: http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/processors/athlon-ii-x2/Pages/AMD-athlon-ii-x2-processor-model-numbers-feature-comparison.aspx
There are a couple of other interesting items to read, they are a little bit old now but I think they are still relevant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenom_II
http://tech.icrontic.com/news/amd-explains-phenom-ii-memory-downclocking/
As most of the information available on the internet seem to be a little dated now, I am going to be running some test using a 965 and 1090T CPU to see if this is still accurate or if some of the newer BIOS updates have solved the problems.