2gb sticks showing as 1gb sticks?

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

hi.
i've just built my budget pc but i'm having memory issues.

i have 2x2gb ddr in the correct slots. windows 7 (32 bit) is showing 2gb installed and 2gb available
i've installed sandra lite and it's suggesting i have 2x1gb sticks, but each stick is 2gb?
is this a 32bit os issue, or something else?


giabyte ga-970a-ds3
athlon ii x2 260 3.2ghz (stock heatsink and fan)
antec earthwatts 500
his hd4850 1gb ddr3
kingston ssd now v+200 90gb
200gb seagate hdd (not sure on spec)
philips dvd burner
2x2gb gskill ripjaw f3-12800-cl7-2gbrm

i believe the ram should be cl7 at 1.65v running 1600mhz
the bios is showing cl9 timings and 1.5v running at 1333mhz.

sandra is showing bank 10 1gb dimm ddr3 9-9-9-24 4-33-9-5-1t
bank 11 1gb dimm ddr3 9-9-9-24 4-33-9-5-1t

any ideas?

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

i've looked at dmi and got this
memory controller information-

maximum memory module 1024mb

in the memory module information, 3 banks are showing not installed and one bank is showing 2048mb installed.

would this suggestthat one stick is faulty or is the mobo only recognising 1gb per bank max and therefore 2gb per dual channel pairing?

i'm a bit confused?

i've run memeory tests through windows and all is ok there.

 

[hawkswoop]

HI there,
I also have this problem but through looking round and ask like you have done . If you check in the Bios it may say that you are running single channel only which would cause this issue as it recognises that both of the ram sticks are there but it will not run them both at the same time. This is a likely issue if you bought 2 2gb packs of ram seperatly not just a pack of 2 x 2gb ram

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

in bios, i have the option of ganged or unganged. it's set at unganged (default) two single channel.
i changed it to ganged -single dual channel, but no difference.
i've set it back to unganged.

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

on the dmi, i swapped the two sticks of ram over and it showed only one stick again, but in a different bank.
can i assume that one stick is faulty?
if so, do i need to put matched pairs in? i assume 2x2gb is better than 1x4gb?
i also assume, keeping the working(?) stick of 2gb and adding a different 2gb is a no-no?

thanks

 

[hawkswoop]

Yes it look slike one stick i faulty which is a pain because you could be risky and by one more 2gb stick a get away with it but it is a risk that would be annoying if it dd not work after this . Yes and 2 x 2gb is better than 1 x 4gb you could go 2 x 4gb?

 

[smorizio]

i think the motherboard only reading 1/2 of the ram sticks. i seen it happen before. i would look on the mb ram guild and try and pick up a set of ram that on the guild that been tested for your mb.

 

[ram1009]

How do you know the sticks are 2GB?

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

this kit is not on the mobo ram guide.
the ram kit is f3-12800cl7d-4gbrm ......on the package!
the reading on sandra lite is
bank 10 1gb dimm ddr3 9-9-9-24 4-33-9-5-1t
bank 11 1gb dimm ddr3 9-9-9-24 4-33-9-5-1t
channels 1
bank interleave 2way

memory module
manufacturer g.skill
model f3-12800cl7-2gbrm
type 2gb dimm ddr3
technology 8x(1024mx8)
then shows ram timings and voltages etc.

could it be 2x1gb sticks?

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

ok. removed ram to check specs on ram. has the same specs as on box. replaced one stick and pc would not boot. removed and put in other stick and pc boots. also sandra has exactly the same readings as it did when both sticks were in.
on inspection of the stick, the little teeth (like piano keys) on one side appears to have one missing. at least, all the others are gold and one is black. will need to find my glasses to have any chance of a closer inspection than that.


so.... one stick faulty!

damn!

 

[explainitlikeimanidiot]

SOLVED.
don't know how to put that on the thread starter?

bought two sticks of 2gb kingston 10600 ddr3
now showing 4gb installed and sandralite is showing 2 banks of 2gb each.

thanks for all your help.