Question Any way to deal with dual/single rank incompatibility?

[pomoc.tpp2]

Hello,

Currently I have 2x4 GB dual-rank DDR3 1333MHz memory sticks by GoodRam. The motherboard I'm using is GIGABYTE GA-Z170-HD3 DDR3.

I have bought additional 2x4 GB single-rank (or "S" in the model name) DDR3 1333MhZ memory sticks by GoodRam, thinking it would be ok if I put them in separate channels (one pair in channel 1-3 and the second one in channel 2-4, as the motherboard manual suggests to do with memory sticks). Some sources, even from Tom's Hardware, did say that such a combination works in most of the cases.

However, each combination of these two pairs, or one pair + one stick from the second one, result in bad memory BIOS error (long intermittent beeps).

My question is: can you solve the (apparent) incompatibility of dual and single rank sticks?

I've seen suggestions like raising DRAM by 0.05V, but don't know if it'd apply here (moreover, I can't find such a setting in the manual). Also, would manually disabling dual-channel work? (so that BIOS doesn't try to conciliate between the two pairs)

P.S Interesting fact is that if I put 2x4 GB dual-rank in one channel, and then 1x2GB dual-rank in one of the remaining slots, BIOS also screams "bad memory". So what takes?

It's seems like the universe is doing all it can to prevent me from having more than 8 GBs.

Thank you for any input, otherwise I'm forced to return them.
Regards

 

[alceryes]

The issue here is that you have 2 sets of different RAM sticks. In order for 4 memory sticks to be guaranteed to work together, you need to get a 4-stick kit that is on your motherboard's QVL. Even 2 sets of the same memory on the QVL isn't a guarantee that all 4 will work together, even though there is a good chance it will work. However, it sounds like you've got 2 random 2-stick sets. That rarely works.

Note that the issue here is not necessarily the fact that one set is single rank and the other set is dual rank - although it's probably a contributing factor.

 

[pomoc.tpp2]

The issue here is that you have 2 sets of different RAM sticks. In order for 4 memory sticks to be guaranteed to work together, you need to get a 4-stick kit that is on your motherboard's QVL. Even 2 sets of the same memory on the QVL isn't a guarantee that all 4 will work together, even though there is a good chance it will work. However, it sounds like you've got 2 random 2-stick sets. That rarely works.

Note that the issue here is not necessarily the fact that one set is single rank and the other set is dual rank - although it's probably a contributing factor.

I see your point. But if rank difference is only a contributing factor, how come the two dual-rank sticks work alone just fine?

 

[alceryes]

Every motherboard is different in what it will and won't take. Usually OEM boards (HP, Dell, Lenovo) are much more forgiving and will often times work fine (at the slower DIMM speed) with mismatched sticks, whereas aftermarket, performance boards are much less forgiving.
It's just a straight-up compatibility issue. You could easily have 2 different sets (4 sticks) of single rank DIMMs and still be having the same issue. Get a matching 4-stick kit that is on your motherboard's QVL if you want to be absolutely sure.