Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: absic on July 25, 2010, 05:05:14 pm
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In an effort to resolve AMD AM3 CPU/Memory issues that are being found by some members of the forum I have undertaken to do some testing to see if I can come up with some real answers to help all users faced with similar problems.
The main area of concern is the inability to run RAM at stated speeds above 1333 Mhz if all of the memory slots are filled on the motherboard. I myself have faced this on my own PC and am using this as a comparison set-up as I know that this is now working OK.
My current relevant System Specs are:
Mobo: GA-790XTA-UD4 (BIOS F4a Beta)
PSU: Corsair 620 Watt Modular
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1090T BE 125W
RAM: Corsair Dominator 2 x CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (8 Gig) Stated timings and voltage for this RAM is: 8,8,8,24 1.65V and it is currently working at this.
GPU: Sapphire Radeon ATI 4850x2 (1 Gig)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit (Retail)
At this stage I will only be using the AMD Phenom ii X6 1090T and AMD Phenom ii X4 965BE (C2 stepping 140W) processors that I have but I am hoping that, with some extra support, I will be able to also test with another AMD CPU. It would also be nice to test on one of the newer 8 series motherboards but I do not have access to one of these. (Gigabyte please note)
I will be using my own Corsair Memory as I know that I initally had issues with this when running with the Phenom ii 965 and although I could get all 8 Gig of RAM to run at 1333 Mhz it would not run above this. I will be re-testing my own set-up with this CPU to see if the F4a beta BIOS has resolved the problem and the RAM will now run at 1600 Mhz or if the problem is still there. I will also be using a spare ATI Radeon 4850 Card that I have not the 4850X2 that is in my Rig.
I am not overclocking and will not be overclocking any of the components during the tests. The idea here is to see if the 1090T CPU & RAM will work on the GA-770TA-UD3 motherboardboard at it's rated specs and if it does, will it still work OK when I change the CPU to the 965.
Thanks must go to IceColdBeer, who is one of the members unable to get his system running properly and he has sent me one of his GA-770TA-UD3 boards to help with the tests. Also thanks to Dark Mantis who has agreed to be available via telephone should the need arise.
I will update this thread after I have completed each stage of testing and would ask, in the interests of keeping this thread as clean as possible, that members refrain from posting here until all the tests are completed. If you have any comments, advice, or personal experiences of this problem that you want to add could you please send them to me via PM.
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OK this is the first stage of testing with the Base system running stabily with 8 Gig of RAM at 1600 Mhz.
I have listed below the basic PC configuration and BIOS Settings. I have also added links of Screen shots that I have taken so you can see if I have made any errors in my method of reporting or if they raise something that I have not considered or looked at. I haven't posted actual pictures here as they take up too much space and I think this thread is going to be long enough without them! :o
For this part of the testing process I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit with all of the latest updates. All hardware drivers are also the latest versions.
Main Components:
Motherboard: GA790XTA-UD4 - F4a beta BIOS
CPU: AMD Phenom ii X6 1090T
RAM: Corsair Dominator CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (2 Kits giving 8 Gig of RAM in total)
PSU: Corsair 620W Modular
Changes made to M.I.T. BIOS Settings:
Set Memory clock: Manual
Memory Clock x8.00
System Voltage Control: Manual
DRAM Voltage Control: 1.650V (Note: This shows in red as an overvoltage warning but is the correct voltage for the RAM)
Note: Regarding RAM Voltage reporting there is a discrepency in the reported values when checking with Various applications. CPUID H/W Monitor and EasyTune6 both show the correct voltage 1.65V. CPU-Z is showing it at 1.5V. BIOS shows it is at 1.65V So there is a possible programming glitch in the way CPU-Z is reporting things.
DRAM Configuration is left in AUTO and returns the following SPD figures: 11,11,11,29 according to Corsair these should be these 8,8,8,24 but I have not really noticed any major performance loss by leaving them as is.
For BIOS screen shots check the following links:
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/524/test001005.jpg
http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/2759/test001004.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3923/test001003.jpg
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/8547/test001002.jpg
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4548/test001001.jpg
The following links are to images of various software utilities and how they are reporting things.
http://img829.imageshack.us/i/test001014.jpg/
http://img25.imageshack.us/i/test001006.jpg/
http://img64.imageshack.us/i/test001007.jpg/
http://img267.imageshack.us/i/test001013.jpg/
http://img837.imageshack.us/i/test001012.jpg/
http://img707.imageshack.us/i/test001011.jpg/
http://img819.imageshack.us/i/test001010.jpg/
http://img835.imageshack.us/i/test001009.jpg/
http://img837.imageshack.us/i/test001008.jpg/
This set-up has been running stabily, with these settings, since I installed the 1090T CPU on May 22nd. I haven't run memtest but I have used the PC for some very heavy Multi-track Audio Recording and also for transcoding/editing some very large Video files. Both of these tasks use a lot of Memory/CPU processing power and have not caused the system to fall over at all.
I hope this covers everything for this stage of testing but, if you feel I have missed anything please let me know.
I will now begin the next stage of testing. For this I will be only changing the CPU to an AMD Phenom ii x4 965BE (C2 140W). As I stated before, I could not get this configuration to run above 1333Mhz but, at that time I was running the F2 BIOS. As another member of the forum has just posted a thread with a very similar problem (check here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2386.0.html ) and is using very similar kit, I will skip testing with the F3 BIOS for this board and go straight to the F4A that I am currently using.
UPDATE: In an effort to make the tests as fair as possible it should be noted that a request has been made to ASUS asking if they will supply a similar spec'd board as this issue is also affecting them.
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I haven't run memtest but I have used the PC for some very heavy Multi-track Audio Recording and also for transcoding/editing some very large Video files. Both of these tasks use a lot of Memory/CPU processing power and have not caused the system to fall over at all.
I hope this covers everything for this stage of testing but, if you feel I have missed anything please let me know.
I think definitely run memtest for at least 2-3 passes. I thought I had a stable system for about 3 weeks, only to find later that the memory tests failed in the second pass. If there are memory errors, you may not know about them, depending on where they are. By the sound of things, the memory in your system configuration is working 100%, but memtest will confirm for sure ;)
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Hi IceColdBeer,
I really don't think it will prove anything that I don't already know. This system is rock solid but, in the interests of being as accurate as possible I will do as you request before I swap out the CPU.
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I don't want to clog up this thread so please excuse my insertion but I think that maybe IceColdBeer has a point at least it will act as a "standard".
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As requested I have now run Memtest 86+ for 2 complete passes without errors. (Test time took just over 2 Hrs 40 Mins)
I really don't think it is worth running Memtest for longer, on this set-up as there have been absolutely no issues in over 2 months of regular daily use with this configuration.
Check links for pictures:
http://img826.imageshack.us/i/test001015.jpg/
http://img413.imageshack.us/i/test001016.jpg/
http://img821.imageshack.us/i/test001017.jpg/
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DAY TWO
Main Components:
Motherboard: GA790XTA-UD4 - F4a beta BIOS
CPU: AMD Phenom ii X4 965BE (C2 Stepping) 140W
RAM: Corsair Dominator CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (2 Kits giving 8 Gig of RAM in total)
PSU: Corsair 620W Modular
Changes made to M.I.T. BIOS Settings:
Set Memory clock: Manual
Memory Clock x8.00
System Voltage Control: Manual
DRAM Voltage Control: 1.650V (Note: This shows in red as an overvoltage warning but is the correct voltage for the RAM)
DRAM Configuration is left in AUTO and returns the following SPD figures: 11,11,11,29 according to Corsair these should be 8,8,8,24 but I have not really noticed any major performance loss by leaving them as is.
F4a Beta
There were no problems running the RAM with these settings.
Image Links:
http://img291.imageshack.us/i/f4a004.jpg/
http://img339.imageshack.us/i/f4a003.jpg/
http://img687.imageshack.us/i/f4a002.jpg/
http://img245.imageshack.us/i/f4a001.jpg/
F3 BIOS
I had originally updated my CPU at the same time as updating the BIOS to F3 so hadn't actually tested it with the X4 CPU.
With exactly the same settings as the F4a BIOS I ran memtest for over 2 hours without errors.
Image Links:
http://img829.imageshack.us/i/f3003.jpg/
http://img205.imageshack.us/i/f3003.jpg/
http://img153.imageshack.us/i/f3002.jpg/
http://img814.imageshack.us/i/f3001.jpg/
On the F3 BIOS I also did a quick test with Corsair's stated timings of 8-8-8-24. I only did 1 pass of Memtest at these figures and I only tried this as I remembered that in my original set-up (with the F2 BIOS) I had tried running at these settings and had, had a lot of problems.
Image Link:
http://a.imageshack.us/img213/5338/img0247lm.jpg
F2 BIOS
Just to make sure that I was still having the original problem that I'd had when trying to run 8 Gig of RAM with the X4 CPU on this BIOS I tried to run memtest for this configuration. However, the PC wouldn't actually get past the POST screen and hung at the HDD check. It then wouldn't let me get into BIOS and I had to remove 4 Gig of RAM to re-set the system. This just confirms that the original problem is still present for me. I have to admit that I didn't expended too much time on trying to resolve this as I had anticipated such issues and, as I stated in my earlier post, I can get 8 Gig of RAM to run with the F2 BIOS set to Optimized Defaults.
Image Link:
http://a.imageshack.us/img94/6799/f2001v.jpg
I hope I haven't missed anything but, if you think I have or you would like something clarified, please let me know.
The next step is to undertake the main aspect of this process and that is to try and resolve the issues with the GA-770TA-UD3 that IceColdBeer has been having. See this thread for more info regarding that: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2273.0.html
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DAY THREE
Main Components:
Motherboard: GA770TA-UD3 - F2 BIOS
CPU: AMD Phenom ii X4 965BE (C2 Stepping) 140W
RAM: Corsair Dominator CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (2 Kits giving 8 Gig of RAM in total)
PSU: Corsair 620W Modular
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 4850
Changes made to M.I.T. BIOS Settings:
Set Memory clock: Manual
Memory Clock x8.00
System Voltage Control: Manual
DRAM Voltage Control: 1.640V (Note: This shows in red as an overvoltage warning)
DRAM Configuration is left in AUTO and returns the following SPD figures: 11,11,11,29 according to Corsair these should be 8,8,8,24 but I have not really noticed any major performance loss by leaving them as is.
I ran the initial test in Unganged Mode for 4 hours with no errors.
Image Links:
http://img210.imageshack.us/i/img0254xc.jpg/
http://img64.imageshack.us/i/img0255j.jpg/
http://img443.imageshack.us/i/img0258s.jpg/
I then re-set the AMD SATA Channel to RAID Mode and re-ran the test which again resulted in no errors.
Image Link:
http://img822.imageshack.us/i/img0261pa.jpg/
I then tried to run the test with the Memory in Ganged Mode. This caused the system to fail and return an Overclock warning. The BIOS was re-set to Optimised Defaults which resulted in the RAM being pulled back to 1333 Mhz with timings of 9-9-9-24 I was able to run the system at these settings for 3 hours and over 2 complete passes of Memtest without a problem.
Image Links:
http://img811.imageshack.us/i/img0264n.jpg/
http://img338.imageshack.us/i/img0267qpw.jpg/
I will re-run these tests tomorrow with the AMD Phenom ii X6 1090T CPU.
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Thanks Absic,
Any more test results :)
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DAY Four
Main Components:
Motherboard: GA770TA-UD3 - F3 BIOS
CPU: AMD Phenom ii X6 1090T
RAM: Corsair Dominator CMD4GX3M2B1600C8 (2 Kits giving 8 Gig of RAM in total)
PSU: Corsair 620W Modular
Graphics Card: ATI Radeon 4850
Changes made to M.I.T. BIOS Settings:
Set Memory clock: Manual
Memory Clock x8.00
System Voltage Control: Manual
DRAM Voltage Control: 1.640V (Note: This shows in red as an overvoltage warning)
DRAM Configuration is left in AUTO and returns the following SPD figures: 11,11,11,29 according to Corsair these should be 8,8,8,24.
As with the previous tests I initially ran it in Unganged Mode for 4 hours with no errors.
Image Links:
http://img413.imageshack.us/i/img0269dz.jpg/
http://img704.imageshack.us/i/img0270y.jpg/
I then re-set the AMD SATA Channel to RAID Mode and re-ran the test for over 2 hours which again resulted in no errors.
I then tried to run the test with the Memory in Ganged Mode. This caused the system to fail and return an Overclock warning. The BIOS was re-set to Optimised Defaults which resulted in the RAM being pulled back to 1333 Mhz with timings of 9-9-9-24. I ran the system at these settings for over 2 hours with Memtest without a problem.
Image Links:
http://img295.imageshack.us/i/img0271p.jpg/
http://img688.imageshack.us/i/img0283xo.jpg/
THOUGHTS:
With regard to the Northbridge heat issues experienced originally by IceColdBeer, I have to say that I didn't notice them. The Northbridge appeared to be running at about 40°C as he originally stated and I was able to keep my finger on the heatsink without a problem for several minutes. This was after running Memtest for over 8 hours in total. However, I should also state that the tests were conducted on a bench, not inside a PC Chassis and the ambient temerature was about 22°C. I know that IceColdBeer was facing much higher ambient temperatures. Also I did not have access to the same memory that IceCold Beer was trying to use and this could have a bearing on the lower temperatures that I noted but as the memory I was using was 1600 Mhz at 1.64V I would be surprised if this was the case.
Another difference is the CPU and again, I have not been able to test with the Athlon X2 that IceColdBeer had in his set-up. I don't believe this would have caused the Northbridge to run hot, in fact, I would have thought that the 965BE (C2) 140W CPU would have caused more of a problem.
These results seem to show that there is no problem with either the GA-770TA-UD3 or GA-790TXA-UD4 running 8 Gig of RAM at 1600 Mhz with the Phenom ii X4 965BE or the Phenom ii X6 1090T CPU's but you must make sure that the DCTs Mode is set to Unganged. This is not a problem with the motherboards but is due to the AM3 Memory Controller. If you want to run 8 Gig of RAM in Ganged Mode then by default you will be limited to 1333 Mhz. AMD deliberatly chose this path and the main reason is to give greater compatability with the Memory Manufacturers and to try and ensure platform stability.
If you have any questions, would like something made clearer or have any comments regarding these tests, please feel free to post them.
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Well I for one would like to congratulate absic for a very well run and thorough testing of these items and to thank him for all his hard work which I may say was done all off his own back without any help or backup from Gigabyte. To be honest I am appalled by the lack of interest the company has shown in this venture. The silence has been deafening!
Anyway I would say that absic's finding have substanciated many of our ideas about this memory/motherboard/CPU stuation.
Well done absic. 8) 8) 8)
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Thanks for the results absic115...
You've proved the motherboard is ok, just need to use a different processor and memory.
Although my memory was 1.5V, whether that was issue remains unknown.
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Yes, good job testing.... you have better luck than me.
Since I have same ga 770-ta MB but use a 965 BE 125w and cannot get it to use 8gb 4x2gb of OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK or 8gb 4x2gb of F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ at any speed, maybe I should try the Corsair ram used in the test.
Or buy a 2 x 4gb kit and run it in single channel if it also would refuse to run dual. Could also go to 1333 as it is a little cheaper.
Any suggestions as a brand to try if I go for the 2 x4gb kit?
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Hi,
Thanks for the comments but please bear in mind, the tests I ran are an indication that the board is OK with my RAM, PSU, Graphics Card and CPU's. I would have loved to have been able to conduct further tests with an Athlon CPU and different memory modules to try and recreate the issues that you have been having.
r9ball:
To re-iterate what I told you in a PM regarding memory configuration. You will not see any real gains by running your memory in Dual Channel (Ganged) Mode. In fact in bench tests, in most modern multi-threaded applications the opposite is true. AMD recommend running memory in Single channel (Unganged) Mode and they wouldn't do this if they didn't think it was correct. I can honestly say, with hand on heart, that on my own system I do not see any real time benefits between my RAM running at 1333Mhz Ganged, 1333Mhz Unganged or 1600 Mhz Unganged. Video rendering & other media encoding take roughly the same amount of time whatever the memory configuration. The way to gain a real term performance boost is to overclock the CPU and leave the RAM at 1333 Mhz.
As 4 Gig RAM Modules tend to be on the expensive side I do not have enough practical experience to be in a position to recommend anything in this area. The only thing that I know for certain is that my Corsair Dominator RAM runs OK on the GA-770TA-UD3.
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I would totally back up what absic's testing has shown that there is no performance gains to be had from trying to run memory in this situation in ganged mode.
I would like to reiterate that I think that Gigabyte could have been much more supportive of the work that absic was doing on their behalf and supplied some more hardware for him to test with. After all this is their Official Forum and the work done on here is on their behalf. If it wasn't for the help supplied here their support staff would be inundated. A fact that is sorely missed by them I think.
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Since the MB is cheaper to change than the RAM - need I say more. Also, you can get an MB with a newer chip set now for a good price.
Is there any special feature the GA770TA-UD3 has which means you have to use that MB. It isn't an expensive MB.
I used the GA770TA-UD3 because I wanted ESATA, USB3 and the coxial/fibre optic SPDIF.
If you change the MB, remember to check if the memory is QA'd first ;)
If want Gigabyte tech support, you'll have to contact them directly as it looks like they don't post back on this forum. To be fair, they gave me an updated BIOS to try which I never got around to testing as I didn't have time, for me it was just quicker to change the MB as it wasn't that expensive. My random memory errors were too time consuming and for me it was too risky.
At least absic has a tried and tested list of components if you want to upgrade.
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No there is nothing that special about this board that made it my only choice. Other than that ram issue, it works fine and I have decided to work around that. I was building a new pc and needed a board that could OC, PCI, SATA3 and this happened to have pretty good reviews and on sale so I chose it.
It is less hassle to1 switch ram than to unhook everything, re-install Win and other software and then the hassle of Win 7 prob wanting re-authorized.
Anyway, over with now unless it develops some other issue.
I am curious if they gave you a BIOS different or newer than F3.... last month, their tech support never mentioned anything newer than F3
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their tech support never mentioned anything newer than F3
One of the big problems with any Tech Support is that, they won't tell you about something until you scream and make a fuss or, they have tested it to death, say it's fine, released it, then seem very surprised when it doesn't work the way they said it would.
As with my own GA-790XTA-UD4 there is a BETA BIOS that I am running that is not on general release yet. I am prepared to take the risk and BETA test these things out but you have to be careful as doing so could really screw your system up. That is why Gigabyte and other companies don't just release them. I did try out the F3d Beta BIOS for the GA-770TA-UD3 (I have e-mailed it to you) but it didn't make any noticeable difference to the way the memory/CPU were interacting and as it is still only a BETA BIOS, I didn't include it in my full testing or in the results.
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Just saw this post. Very good information. Thanks for taking the time testing.
BR,
Skinfaxe
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Still researching the variables on the possible issues with running faster RAM and came across this article: http://www.ilsistemista.net/index.php/hardware-analysis/3-the-phenom-phenomii-memory-controller-and-the-ganged-vs-unganged-question.html with regard to the question of using Ganged (Dual channel) or Unganged (single channel) mode. At the end of this article they ask: So, what memory mode we should use? and answer it: All in all, I think that the unganged mode is the preferred one.
It is pretty heavy reading in some parts but, it is worth going through especially if you want a greater understanding of this subject and why AMD recommend running in Unganged Mode.
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I have added a new thread regarding this subject. Please check here for latest information: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2515.0.html
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Thanks to absic115 for his efforts! :)
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I can see from the test data that absic has found issue in the relationship between the CPU memory controller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_controller) and DDR3 frequency when it goes above 1333 MHz, but what I am not understanding what is the precise reason for the problem is. In all of the tests run by absic, as the memory controller is a bit unknown or is a black box whose workings are not measurable or transparent.
In a research paper from Corsair (AN806: Memory Upgrade Resource Guide (http://forum.corsair.com/v3/attachment.php?attachmentid=3803)), they suggest that running 4-modules of RAM puts "extra load" on the memory controller, but what that "load" is comprised of is not explained.
When the memory controller speed is increased for overclocking, it simply cannot manage the same amount of memory at that overclocked speed for proper stable communication with the CPU.
Here are some possible reasons (speculations really) for the problems that higher RAM frequency causes (1333 vs. 1600 MHz):
- the voltage is increased beyond the capacity of the memory controller;
- more bandwidth is used for data throughput than the memory controller can handle;
- more heat is generated, causing the memory controller to fail;
- a combination of all these causes "interference".
I am sceptical that the memory controller is the problem if it can't be explained why it is the problem. The reason why I am sceptical is that my CPU has Dual-channel architecture (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_channel), and in any case, the integrated memory controller (IMC) should enable the CPU to handle higher RAM frequencies anyway.
Basically, I just don't understand what is the precise reason for CPU/RAM bottleneck. It seems to me that if we could understand what is the precise cause of the bottleneck (rather than speculate), then perhaps we could adjust the Bios to achieve a theoretical RAM frequency maximum. Any ideas what causes the bottleneck?
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Hi,
Unfortunately AMD themselves have not clearly explained the problems with the Memory controller. All I have managed to find out is that during the design stage of developing the AM3 CPU they discovered that RAM running above 1333MHz created problems that couldn't be easily resolved and, as part of the design process, they designed the Memory controller's architecture to this speed or less. This doesn't mean that you can't run above 1333MHZ just that AMD do not guarantee stability if you do so. When I spoke to AMD about a possible BIOS fix they told me that it wasn't a BIOS issue but the design of the processors. When I tried to get more information regarding this they just reaffirmed that it was by design and wouldn't go into any further details than that.
When the memory controller speed is increased for overclocking, it simply cannot manage the same amount of memory at that overclocked speed for proper stable communication with the CPU.
I guess the easiest way to try and explain this is if you consider the information passing from the RAM to the CPU as water instead of electricity. If you have a river flowing at a steady rate the banks of the river contain the water without issue. However, if there is a sudden deluge of rain the riverbanks can't contain the increased flow of water and there is a flood that can cause a lot of damage
In the same way the Memory Controller has maximum throughput that it can control without issue. Increasing the amount and speed of the RAM causes a flood of information that the Memory Controller just can't handle, causing it to fall over.
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Another reason Absic is that in all electronics the higher you push the frequency the more heat is generated so that could well be the reason.
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Well... my guess is that someone at AMD didn't think that DDR3 would evolve quite this quickly. They probably designed these processors thinking that 1333Mhz would be enough for the nearest future and I'll bet that the new processors from AMD won't have this problem anymore ::).
I think this is a bandwidth issue, btw. If it were heat then better cooling on the CPU should solve this? Before that, wouldn't CPU temp rise if the IMC were to overheat?
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If it were heat then better cooling on the CPU should solve this? Before that, wouldn't CPU temp rise if the IMC were to overheat?
Not necessarily. We are talking about on a microscale here and the heat buildup could be very locallised and damage the controller circuit well before building up enough heat to show on the rest of the chip. Besides it is really a moot point as whatever the reason there is nothing that can be done to rectify it now the chips are built.
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Well... my guess is that someone at AMD didn't think that DDR3 would evolve quite this quickly. They probably designed these processors thinking that 1333Mhz would be enough for the nearest future and I'll bet that the new processors from AMD won't have this problem anymore ::).
According to this review from The Tech Report
The new Phenom IIs officially support DDR3 memory at up to 1333MHz, but the multipliers are present for 1600MHz operation. (http://The new Phenom IIs officially support DDR3 memory at up to 1333MHz, but the multipliers are present for 1600MHz operation).
Admittedly, they don't quote their sources, so may be it is idle speculation. Likewise, I don't buy into the idea that the heat builds up on a microscale causing localised damage, as DDR3 iss not connected to the CPU directly, so the memory controller does not "burn out" like a fuse. The HyperTransport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperTransport) allows the CPU and the DDR3 to run at different frequencies.
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As the quote from Tech Support states the multipliers are in place to run 1600 Mhz RAM and on my own 1090T I have been able to do this but, it is not recommend by AMD and I now run at 1333Mhz.
The questions that you want answered are, I think, beyond the scope of this Forum and you might be better contacting AMD directly. You can find there contact details from the AMD website here: http://www.amd.com/uk/Pages/AMDHomePage.aspx
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Although the Bulldozer series should be safe to use 1600 I`ve had the issue that I had to manually set the RAM speed and timings. If I only set the RAM multiplier to 8x it jumps back on reboot to 1333 together with the described error message. I have to manually set the timings to keep the 8x.
My system seems to run stable with these settings though. There have been crashes but they seem to be related to other settings.
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Absic will this work for GA990XA-UD3 with 4X4 kingston predator 2400MHz and AMD FX4170 4.2GHz. I mean to set it up at least on 2000MHz. Thanks
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My understanding of these CPU's from the info I have be given by AMD is that it is recommended if you want to run fast RAM (above 1600MHz) you should only use two sticks (1 per channel).
I know that some users have been able to run fast RAM with all 4 slots populated but I have no first hand experience of doing this so I can't say for certain if it will work or not. Sorry. :'(
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I'm running 16 GB (four sticks) of kingston HyperX Blu 1333 and Windows Assessment gives this memory a 7.9 rating.
Nothing wrong with 1333 :)
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I'm just adding to this to maybe help people out.
I'm running a Ga-990FXA-UD5 with a FX 8150 cpu and the memory is Mushkin Redline PC3-12800 with timings 7-7-7-18.
I had to do what somebody else posted on this thread that to get it to work I hard to set the speed & timing manually.
Memory speed set to 8.00 / 1600
Timings set to 7t - 7t - 7t -18t