Help! 2.2V ram on GA-965P-DS3? No can do, right? Urgent...

[DCorbett]

Hello!

Just yesterday I was at the computer store putting together a custom computer. The clerk recommended both a great deal on Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC2-6400 800MHz RAM ($190 Canadian, it's $225 US on Newegg!) and a GA-975P-DS3 motherboard. Being a noob and not a walking index of parts information, I pliantly agreed (I wasn't terribly certain about the RAM/mobo, unfortunately). Now, as I had a horrible sneaking feeling about this RAM/motherboard combination, I checked into it and I have discovered that the RAM is apparently 2.2V 4-4-4-12 timings and the MOBO happens to like 1.8V 5-5-5-(15?) timings. Uh, what do I do? Is that a really big deal, or am I just panicking about something that the clerk knows better than me? I intend to call them in immediately when they open and buy another motherboard instead, in the hopes that they have not built my computer yet.

Now, uh, will that ram do very badly on that motherboard like I thought it would? Which one should I get instead? The first one I was recommended, I believe, was an eVGA nForce 680i SLI model. I think it was the DualDDR 2 1200 model. Will that run 2.2V Dual DDR 2 800 RAM well? Would the eVGA nForce 680i LT SLI w/DualDDR 2 800 do better?

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[angelkiller]

Are you freakin out because the timing are not what they are rated for?

I'm going to assume that have a GA-965P-DS3.

Ok, just go into the bios. Once at the main screen press Control+F1. (Nothing should happen) Then go into the MIT. Somewhere there should be a Memory settings option (or something similar.) It should be set to auto. You want to change this to Manual. The timings should appear. Just change the first five to whatever you want. The voltages are near the bottom of that page. Since stock is 1.8v, you want to use +.4v on the memory.

Hope this helps. If I'm not clear just ask.

 

[wimcle]

Since pc2-6400 at cas5 isn't going to perform any different than the cas4 you spent an extra $100 for I wouldn't worry so much if the motherboard is a little picky....

PS: my ds3 mobo has no problem with 2.0+ volts

 

[DCorbett]

I can't get at the BIOS, I don't have the machine yet. In fact, there's a 90% cahnce that the machine doesn't even exist yet, other than as a pile of components. It's just that newegg comes with a rather prominent notice on the board that it is not supposed to run on memory other than 1.8V, 5-5-5-(15?) or 6-6-6-(18?) memory. The memory I have selected happens not to be that way. Since I don't have it yet, wouldn't it be better to avoid a potential problem before I get it? Or does it really not matter?

Yeah, it's a 965P - sorry.

 

[angelkiller]

Since I don't have it yet, wouldn't it be better to avoid a potential problem before I get it? Or does it really not matter?

The DS3 is known for its great overclocking abilities. I'd go for it because I'm sure some enthusiast is running their RAM much higher than 2.2v. Plus I'd also think that 2.2v VS 1.8v won't be damaging. (You might notice after 5+ years. Maybe.) But if you're not into taking risks, I'd just get another board. It's your money after all, and you should be comfortable on how you spend it.

Since pc2-6400 at cas5 isn't going to perform any different than the cas4 you spent an extra $100 for

When I adjusted my RAM timings from 5 to 4, I saw a 400 point improvement in PCMark 05. Not that that difference is noticeable :roll:, but it's there.

 

[IcY18]

All it means is that your ram will boot with only 1.8V to the ram. This is because most people don't buy high end ram and 2.2V could possible fry it. So if your computer won't boot it, which it still probably should just your ram would be running at 1.8V at DDR2-553 with 5-5-5-12, then you might need to get the cheapest ram you can and change the voltage to 2.1V and your performance ram would boot then.

From there if you want to run your ram at DDR2-800 then just change the voltage to 2.2 and you'll be fine. Nothing to worry about at all. This is typical with any board out there that they don't run your magical voltage for you ram on the first boot.

 

[DCorbett]

If I got an eVGA nForce 680i LT SLI instead, would that solve the problem of undervolted memories? It's not THAT much more expensive, and if it provided the peace of mind of having the proper mobo/ram combination, I'd be happy. (Plus, I hear their nForce 680i mobos are really good.)

 

[IcY18]

No, all motherboards will usually boot with the standard 1.8V, its not a problem of undervolting the memory its just the standard memory setting for DDR2, so motherboard manufacturers have to set it to 1.8V because any higher could be out of spec for low performance memory.

So what happens is that you boot your computer and no matter what motherboard or memory you have it will boot with 1.8V at DDR2-553 with 5-5-5-12 timings, from here you will have to change the voltage to the specified voltage of your memory, in order to run it at its rated performance, and then your fine.

The problem that newegg wants you to be aware of is that sometimes very high performance memory(Your memory isn't that high end) won't boot on some motherboards. To resolve this like i said earlier you would just need the find the cheapest set of ram to get the computer to boot so you then could supply the correct voltage to your other ram. This issue is almost completely gone now and most all ram and mobo's will boot at the standard 1.8V.

 

[DCorbett]

Thank you for the help! So, assuming it boots, I just have to set my RAM at its factory settings (800MHz, 4-4-4-12?) I figure I should get an 800MHz ram for overclocking purposes, by the way - will this have an implications on that?

 

[goldragon_70]

they will more then likely start up and test the machine to make sure it's working, and if you have them install an OS, they will have a problem if they don't adjust the bios. If there is a problem with the mobo and the ram they will probably know before they finish the build. They probably already know about the potential problem and will adjust the bios for you. You might want to call and let them now Just In Case. Really it's up to you weather or not your comfortable with the set up.

 

[DCorbett]

Great news! Yes, they're loading the OS, as I was able to cover the additional cost by OEM deals which I apparently could not have gotten otherwise. OK, then, I'll let them deal with it. I'm really happy to hear this. I was quite worried!