GA-MA790GP-DS4H won't run Corsair DominatorDDR2 at 1066

[ImperialSun]

Hi guys

As title, although this seems a little strange to me as I previously had 2 x 1Gb DIMM of Corsair DominatorDDR2  RAM running fine at 1066 in the same board. I recently upgraded to 2 x 2Gb of the SAME memory and whilst it runs rock solid at 800 it BSODs or otherwise crashes / reboots before you can get logged into Windows when running at 1066.

For info my other system specs are: Phenom Quad Core 9850 BE, Nvidia 260GT GPU, 700w Tagan PSU, 1Tb SATA HD.

I've tried all of the different combinations of voltage settings and manual timings I can think of however the BIOS options don't actually give the option to set tRFC so not sure how that is arrived at.

I've tried to let the board auto detect the EPP settings but that doesnt work and I've obviously tried manually setting the memory timings to 5-5-5-15 @ 2.1v as per the rated settings from Corsair with no joy.

ANY advice would be appreciated on this as Im pulling my hair out based on the 2 x 1Gb DIMM working fine!

Worst case I could just leave the memory at 800 and tighten to 4-4-4-12 I guess but would rather not if I can help it!!

Thanks in advance.

Driz

[absic]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Before I get into the nitty gritty of setting memory timing's etc., could you post back with the model of CPU you are using?

[ImperialSun]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Before I get into the nitty gritty of setting memory timing's etc., could you post back with the model of CPU you are using?

Hi there, I just actually thought to update the OP with that info...

Phenom Quad Core 9850 BE / 700w Tagan PSU / 1Tb Seagate Barracuda SATA HD / Nvidia 260GT GPU

BIOS is latest for the board F7e (Beta)

Regards

[absic]

Thanks for the update.

Sorry, but I forgot to ask what BIOS version are you running?

[ImperialSun]

Thanks for the update.

Sorry, but I forgot to ask what BIOS version are you running?

Hiya

In my reply above, Im running F7e (beta) however I've just flashed from F6. F6 ran the 2 x 1Gb (Dual Channel) at 1066 just fine but did not work at all with 2 x 2Gb at 1066....both F6 and F7e run the memory at 800 rock solid (17 hours in Memtest without error)

[absic]

OK.

Just done a bit of digging for your Mobo and on the QVL it states: Note: Due to AMD AM2+ CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is only supported by 1 dimm per channel.

So did you remove your old RAM before adding the new sticks or have you filled all the Memory Slots on the Mobo? If you now have all 4 Memory Slots filled you won't be able to run your RAM faster than 800Mhz.

[ImperialSun]

OK.

Just done a bit of digging for your Mobo and on the QVL it states: Note: Due to AMD AM2+ CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is only supported by 1 dimm per channel.

So did you remove your old RAM before adding the new sticks or have you filled all the Memory Slots on the Mobo? If you now have all 4 Memory Slots filled you won't be able to run your RAM faster than 800Mhz.

I started off with the 2 x 1Gb slotted in the yellow memory banks (channel 0) as per my mobo manual, this worked fine at 1066. I then bought 4Gb TWIN2x4096-8500C5DF and replaced it for the original RAM. So yes, I removed the old RAM and I am still running 2 DIMMS in the yellow banks (channel 0).

Driz

[absic]

Under the M.I.T section of BIOS have you set the memory clock to the highest setting X5.33 or have you left it on AUTO? It can help if this is manually set to X5.33 for 1066 Mhz RAM as the AUTO setting will often downclock to X4.00 (800Mhz). You might also want to double check the settings for the Memory Controller Frequency as I think your CPU supports this feature.

All of the RAM settings are accessed through the DRAM Configuration heading, as you no doubt know and the Trfc settings should be available along with all the other adjustable parameters when you switch from AUTO to MANUAL.
The parameters for Trfc are: Auto (default), 75ns, 105ns, 127.5ns, 195ns, 327.5ns. and are independently adjustable for each of the 4 memory slots.

[Dark Mantis]

OK.
Just done a bit of digging for your Mobo and on the QVL it states: Note: Due to AMD AM2+ CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is only supported by 1 dimm per channel.
So did you remove your old RAM before adding the new sticks or have you filled all the Memory Slots on the Mobo? If you now have all 4 Memory Slots filled you won't be able to run your RAM faster than 800Mhz.

I started off with the 2 x 1Gb slotted in the yellow memory banks (channel 0) as per my mobo manual, this worked fine at 1066. I then bought 4Gb TWIN2x4096-8500C5DF and replaced it for the original RAM. So yes, I removed the old RAM and I am still running 2 DIMMS in the yellow banks (channel 0).

If you have them both in channel 0 as you say then you won't be able to run at 1066. You need to move one to channel 1.

[ImperialSun]

Under the M.I.T section of BIOS have you set the memory clock to the highest setting X5.33 or have you left it on AUTO? It can help if this is manually set to X5.33 for 1066 Mhz RAM as the AUTO setting will often downclock to X4.00 (800Mhz). You might also want to double check the settings for the Memory Controller Frequency as I think your CPU supports this feature.

All of the RAM settings are accessed through the DRAM Configuration heading, as you no doubt know and the Trfc settings should be available along with all the other adjustable parameters when you switch from AUTO to MANUAL.
The parameters for Trfc are: Auto (default), 75ns, 105ns, 127.5ns, 195ns, 327.5ns. and are independently adjustable for each of the 4 memory slots.

Hi there

Here are my settings in full:

EPP Mode disabled
EPP Vlolt Control Normal
Memory Clock - MANUAL
Memory Clock 5.33
NB Volt Control 1.35v
DDR2 Volt Control 2.1v
CPU NB VID Control 1.35v
CPU Volt Control 1.35

DRAM Settings:

Unganged ENABLED
DRAM Settings MANUAL
Cas Latency - 5T
RAS to CAS Delay - 5T
Row Precharge Time - 5T
Min RAS active time - 15T
1T/2T Command timing - 2T
TwTr Command Delay - 3T
Trfc 0 (DIMM1) - 127.5ns
Trfc 2 (DIMM2) - 127.5ns
Trfc 1 (DIMM3) - 75ns
Trfc 3 (DIMM4) - 75ns
Write Recovery Time - 6T
Precharge Time - 3T
Row Cycle Time - 22T
RAS to RAS delay - 3T

These all look fine to me but any guidance would be appreciated!!

Regards

Driz

[ImperialSun]

OK.
Just done a bit of digging for your Mobo and on the QVL it states: Note: Due to AMD AM2+ CPU limitation, DDR2 1066 is only supported by 1 dimm per channel.
So did you remove your old RAM before adding the new sticks or have you filled all the Memory Slots on the Mobo? If you now have all 4 Memory Slots filled you won't be able to run your RAM faster than 800Mhz.

I started off with the 2 x 1Gb slotted in the yellow memory banks (channel 0) as per my mobo manual, this worked fine at 1066. I then bought 4Gb TWIN2x4096-8500C5DF and replaced it for the original RAM. So yes, I removed the old RAM and I am still running 2 DIMMS in the yellow banks (channel 0).

If you have them both in channel 0 as you say then you won't be able to run at 1066. You need to move one to channel 1.

But if I do that they will be running in Single Channel mode surely?

The DIMMS are rated at 1066 for Dual Channel... I've also just removed 2 x 1Gb DIMMs from Channel 0 and they work fine at 1066 in Dual CHannel mode which is why I cant figure out why 2 x 2Gb of the same memory is giving me trouble??

[absic]

Hi Driz,

first off you have your memory in Dual channel mode it's just that you have an error where you describe slots DDR2_1 & DDR2_2 as Channel 0

Channel 0 is actually DDR2_1 & DDR2_3

Looking through your timings nothing is jumping out as being wrong.
Are you overclocking the CPU?
Have you tried running your RAM in the RED slots DDR2_3 & DDR2_4? This shouldn't make a difference but it might, so worth a try.
As I mentioned earlier, not sure if the 9850BE CPU has this feature but can you adjust the Memory Controller Frequency?

EDIT: Just another thought. Have you tried running just 1 stick of the new RAM at the rated speed? It could be that you have a bad stick, although they ran fine at 800 Mhz they might be falling over at the higher frequency.
Another thing might be to try running at 1066 with slightly loser timings as this can sometimes help.

[ImperialSun]

Hi Driz,

first off you have your memory in Dual channel mode it's just that you have an error where you describe slots DDR2_1 & DDR2_2 as Channel 0

Channel 0 is actually DDR2_1 & DDR2_3

Looking through your timings nothing is jumping out as being wrong.
Are you overclocking the CPU?
Have you tried running your RAM in the RED slots DDR2_3 & DDR2_4? This shouldn't make a difference but it might, so worth a try.
As I mentioned earlier, not sure if the 9850BE CPU has this feature but can you adjust the Memory Controller Frequency?

Oh I see, thanks for pointong that out lol...I will try the DIMMs in the red slots and see if I get any joy, I used the yellow slots purely because the mobo manual says the yellow ones are recommended when using 2 DIMMs. The only thing I found curious is the two different Trfc settings, seems two are set to 127.5ns and two are set to 75ns - could this cause a problem?

I'll also check for an option to change the Mem Controller Freq in BIOS and report back...

[absic]

The only thing I found curious is the two different Trfc settings, seems two are set to 127.5ns and two are set to 75ns - could this cause a problem?

I don't think this is a problem and is more than likely due to the fact that the Memory Slots are empty. You will probably find, when you swap the RAM over that these figures change too.

Yes the Mobo manual does recommend using the first 2 yellow slots and the only reason I suggest trying the other two is in case there is a fault.  Swapping the memory configuration should show whether or not this is the case.

[ImperialSun]

The only thing I found curious is the two different Trfc settings, seems two are set to 127.5ns and two are set to 75ns - could this cause a problem?

I don't think this is a problem and is more than likely due to the fact that the Memory Slots are empty. You will probably find, when you swap the RAM over that these figures change too.

Yes the Mobo manual does recommend using the first 2 yellow slots and the only reason I suggest trying the other two is in case there is a fault.  Swapping the memory configuration should show whether or not this is the case.

Okay so have been able to find out the following about my CPU...

Memory Controller Type: Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller, capable of being configured for dual 64-bit channels for simultaneous read/writes
Memory Controller Frequency: Up to 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory: Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2 8500 (DDR2-1066MHz)

Aside from the memory timings I can change the following in BIOS:

CPU Clock Ratio - AUTO
CPU Northbridge Frequency - AUTO
CPU Host Clock Control - AUTO

The above set to AUTO produce a CPU Frequency of 200

HT Link Width - AUTO
HT Link Frequency - AUTO

CPU Revision is DR-B3 with stepping set to 3

I'll power off now and try the memory in the red slots.

Driz