4Gb Corsair 1066Mhz problem in gigabyte mobo

[russianlion]

In a nutshell,

Trying to upgrade RAM to 4GB Corsair Dominator Twin2X-8500C5DF in a Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 mobo. Always causes reboot upon attempt to start windows vista. Set the voltage at 2.1 and 2.2. Neither worked. Any suggestions(keep in mind modest level of knowledge).

 

[bobbknight]

Set bios to defualt spd and try to boot.
Load in safe mode if you can. To turn off automatic restart in system properties.
See what the error is and google it.
Make sure everything is pluged in properly, cards are seeted in the slots and ram is secure in their slots. Make sure the ram is in the proper slots. Check with Gigabyte and ensure the ram is compatable with you board.

 

[mikeynavy1976]

I had a similar problem with 8 GB of the same memory you have (although my motherboard is an EP45-DS3R). Gigabyte boards seem to be real picky about memory and Corsair, while a top brand, sometimes has issues I'm told. A few things to look at:

- Make sure your MCH voltage is at auto. Even though I don't want it this way, I've found that any value (no matter how high) other than auto causes something to go wrong (reboots like yours, failing memtest, etc.). With it on Auto the system is stable...go figure.
- I'm not sure about the voltage. With my system overclocked and using 8GB of memory I had to use 2.18V to get it to pass Memtest and keep tight timings. Gigabyte boards have terrible Vdrop and Vdroop which means you have to enter a higher value in the BIOS to compensate. 2.2V should've worked for you...you shouldn't have had to go that high either.
- Set the timings to spec and make sure your BIOS is showing you operating at 1066MHz or lower to start.
-Have you tried each DIMM by itself...i.e. tried to boot with 2GB? This would indicate a possible bad DIMM.

- Go to http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/welcome-gigabyte-technical-support-24883/ and ask there. There are some knowledgeable folks there.

 

[russianlion]

Set bios to defualt spd and try to boot.
Load in safe mode if you can. To turn off automatic restart in system properties.
See what the error is and google it.
Make sure everything is pluged in properly, cards are seeted in the slots and ram is secure in their slots. Make sure the ram is in the proper slots. Check with Gigabyte and ensure the ram is compatable with you board.

Cant seem to load in safe mode.

Cards are definitely seated.

The gigabyte manual for that mobo is older so it doesnt list that particular RAM. However, corsair's website definitely lists that RAM as compatible with that mobo.

I do appreciate the help.

 

[IH8U]

Also try a BIOS update. (this fixes some compatibility issues)

 

[russianlion]

I had a similar problem with 8 GB of the same memory you have (although my motherboard is an EP45-DS3R). Gigabyte boards seem to be real picky about memory and Corsair, while a top brand, sometimes has issues I'm told. A few things to look at:

- Make sure your MCH voltage is at auto. Even though I don't want it this way, I've found that any value (no matter how high) other than auto causes something to go wrong (reboots like yours, failing memtest, etc.). With it on Auto the system is stable...go figure.
- I'm not sure about the voltage. With my system overclocked and using 8GB of memory I had to use 2.18V to get it to pass Memtest and keep tight timings. Gigabyte boards have terrible Vdrop and Vdroop which means you have to enter a higher value in the BIOS to compensate. 2.2V should've worked for you...you shouldn't have had to go that high either.
- Set the timings to spec and make sure your BIOS is showing you operating at 1066MHz or lower to start.
-Have you tried each DIMM by itself...i.e. tried to boot with 2GB? This would indicate a possible bad DIMM.

- Go to http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/welcome-gigabyte-technical-support-24883/ and ask there. There are some knowledgeable folks there.

Thanks for the in-depth answer.


MCH was always set on auto. Ive also tried different voltage settings with no luck.

Each DIMM works fine by itself and boots fine. Its only when they're paired do I get issues.

Ive never played with setting the timings and really am unsure how to proceed with that. Ive been looking around but cant seem to find much specific to this motherboard.

 

[russianlion]

Tried everything at this point...different voltage settings...every operating speed available starting at 1066 and working down...every possible combo with slots and DIMMS.

Still getting Blue Screen of Death.

From researching this, it is not uncommon for this particular memory to give the BSD with no real fix available for different motherboards.

Maybe something to keep in mind if you are looking at these sticks. Way too picky for my liking.


Guess they are going back to Newegg and Ill have to find something more reliable.

Thanks for the help.