ABIT KN9S + 4GB Geil DDR2 = Windows freeze

[haowan]

Hi all!

Specs:
Motherboard: Abit KN9S
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 5200+ (cooled with Akasa Venom Voodoo)
RAM: 4x Geil 1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 (4-4-4-12, 2.1V) (GX22GB6400UDC)
Power: OCZ Mod-Extreme Pro 600W
Graphics: Asus GeForce GTX 560Ti DirectCUII
Storage: OCZ SSD 64GB + WD 2TB HDD
Other bits: SATA DVD burner, Card reader
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64

I have a KN9S motherboard with an Athlon 64 x2 5200+ I'm trying to get ready to overclock. Before I do that I want to get the 4GB of memory working.

I had 2GB of this Geil memory. I also have a single 2GB stick of Kingston value RAM. The three sticks play nicely together and I have 4GB of working RAM. However, the Kingston only works at 1.8V. So I got hold of two more identical Geil sticks at a reasonable cost, so that I could run the memory at the speed it wants to run at.

I subjected the new (and old) Geils to rigorous MemTest86++ tests and all was fine. However, when running in Windows, it doesn't take long before the system freezes. One time there was a bluescreen, a couple of times the machine simply reset, but all other times it is a freeze. It seems to work okay in safe mode. Twice it has frozen after running an Orthos test for both CPU and RAM. As soon as I clicked the button to stop the test it froze the machine.

I checked the BIOS and set the RAM to run at 2.1V, and then 1.8V, and set the timings to 4-4-4-12 and also tried Auto for everything. Nothing seems to stop the RAM from freezing Windows.

Bit mystified by this. Any pointers greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[o1die]

4 gb do not work nicely together in 3 slots on most boards and different voltage specs. I would sell the 2 gb stick and get another identical 2 x 1 gb to match your geil. If you can't find geil, get a 2x2gb kit instead and sell the geil also. I've found 2x2gb kits of ddr2 as low as $30 on craigslist.

 

[haowan]

Thanks. Maybe I wasn't clear - I have managed to procure an extra identical 2x1GB Geil memory. It is the identical sticks that are problematic. When I run all 4 1GB Geil sticks, that's when I get the freezes.

The 2x1GB Geil + 1x2GB Kingston configuration works great, but is less than ideal from the perspective of running the Geil at full whack or higher.

 

[o1die]

My bad. Must be the 2.1 voltage setting your board doesn't like. Check the "spread spectrum" setting in the bios and change it. Only two options: enable and disable. Can't hurt to try.