[SOLVED] Motherboard Z97-Pro Gamer Ram compatability

[drummond52]

I purchased a refurbished Z97-pro gamer motherboard to build for my Grand Daughter, this will be my second build so by no means an expert, and given the fact that I am 73 years young,
Anyway I am taking the parts out of a another motherboard that has I believe a faulty motherboard, I am using an Intel i7 – 4790K processor, a noctua NH-L9x65 cooler, the Ram I am using are: "Corsair Vengeance Pro Series DDR3 CMY16GX3M2A1600C9 4 X 8GB" these worked fine with the ASUS Z97 - WS motherboard, but do not show in the QVL capability chart, I went to ASUS web page and looked up there and they don't show.
I am trying to Bread board and am getting nothing, could the Ram be the problem, just trying to eliminate possibilities before I send this board back.

Thank you advance for any help

 

[Calvin7]

Part number is for a 2x8GB kit and not a 4x8GB kit.

Use of multiple kits of memory have no guarantee to be compatible together. You can do your own compatibility testing with no guarantees to see how they work together.

 

[MadsModsat]

Even if the RAM are not on the QVL, the technical specifications are natively supported for both CPU and motherboard, as far as I can tell.

Based on personal experience only, the z97 motherboards and the i7 4790K were not that picky about RAM.

I had an ASUS z97 RoG Maximus VII Hero motherboard and an i7 4790K, and I switched between a few different RAM brands and models while I had it, and I didn't encounter issues even when the RAM were not on the QVL, or were outside supported frequencies by the Intel IMC.

I did however make sure, that I only used RAM that came as a mactched kit, with the total amount of modules and capacity in one complete package. But I had several close friends using mismatched RAM, with no issues.

As mentioned by Calvin7, if the RAM modules you are trying to use were not sold as one complete kit, that might very well be the cause of the problems, if the problems are in fact caused by RAM.

Even identical RAM modules, that are bought seperatly, and not in a matched kit, are not guaranteed to work together without problems.
Sometimes it works perfectly, but in really bad cases, the computer don't even pass POST. And it is not really easy to predict what the outcome would be regardles of prior experinces

But again, based on personal experience only, I never really encountered problems with RAM on the old z97 motherboards, as long as they were confirmed to be in 100% working order, and the general specifications were compatible.
Any decent quality RAM modules, seemed to work everytime I tried different RAM, so to be honest, it was not something I paid much attention to at the time.

But I don't know everything in the world, and I don't know if I was just exceptionally lucky, but it seems to me, that more current motherboards and CPUs are much more dependant on specific RAM modules to operate without stability problems compared to some of the earlier motherboards and processors.

In OPs case, I would not immediately suspect the RAM - but it could probably be possible to confirm or rule the RAM out as a potential problem, by using just one RAM stick at a time, and see if it works - assuming the RAM modules are not faulty.
And also trying all DIMMS in turn and each module by themself, if the problems persist.

 

[drummond52]

Thank you for the replies, Calvin7, " how would I do my own compatibility testing "

 

[MadsModsat]

Thank you for the replies, Calvin7, " how would I do my own compatibility testing "

It is sometimes possible to confirm or rule the RAM modules out as a potential problem, by using just one RAM stick at a time, and see if it allows the computer to POST - assuming the RAM modules are not faulty.

Also, try one RAM module at a time in the different DIMMS in turn, if the problems persist, so you don't run into a problem if just one module is faulty, and you pick that one for testing by pure coincidence.

But if you are not seeing any kind of sign of life from the computer right now, I don't think RAM compatibility is the problem, I would personally begin troubleshooting PSU, GPU or motherboard

 

[drummond52]

Thank you for your reply. a far as the PSU is concerned, I thought that and contacted EGA and thy had e do the paperclip test and it passed, as far as the GPU is concerned I don't know what that is.

 

[MadsModsat]

Sorry, I meant graphics card. I used to use that term when referring to a graphics card, but it seems a lot of people just use the term GPU (graphics porcessing unit) universally describing both dedicated graphics cards and iGPUs that way, and it seems to have rubbed off on me.

Are you using the Intel HD4600 integrated "graphics card" (the iGPU), or are you using a dedicated graphics card connected through PCI-express?

Even if the paperclip method power on the PSU, if it has begun showing its age, or could be too weak for the system, all the paperclip test shows, is that the power supply is capable of turning on and powering itself.

If it produces too little power for the specific system, it is still possible for the system not to power on. But I don't immediately think that's the problem, because I suspect you have very few components currently installed?

Did you connect both the 8-pin CPU power and the 20+4-pin power cable for the motherboard?

I know it is a bit basic question, but sometimes little things like that can become lost among all the other important steps, even if one is fully aware it is neceessary.


Can I ask in a little more detail what the current status is?

Could you mention what exact componets are currently connected for your bread board test?
Make and model, possibly age of the PSU, would also be good to know.

When you try to power the system on, what happens?

Is it completely dead, or does it power on briefly, and then shut off compltetly. are there any lights flickering or fans turning for a second?

What kind of response are you seeing when attempting to power the system on the way everything is currently connected??

EDIT :
I know I specifically wrote 8-pin power for the CPU. Eventhough the motherboard in question has an 8-pin CPU power connector, a 4-pin connector should be perfectly fine as well, I just forgot to add it the first time.

 

[drummond52]

Thank you for your reply
in the specs it does not give what the integrated graphic card only says " integrated Graphics Processor- Intel® HD Graphics support "
I got the power supply July 2018
I have got the 24 pin connector and the 8 pin CPU connected
I have the processor, cooling fan and RAM, I tried all 4 sticks and nothing then 2 sticks with no luck.
When I try to power on by shortening out the prongs, the first time the fan moved for a split second and that was the only time. the onboard LED light is on
I am getting no response

 

[MadsModsat]

The Intel HD Graphics you see mentioned, is the graphics processing unit built into the CPU itself. Way back, when referring to onboard graphics, it was actually the motherboard that came equipped with a GPU chip, and could produce a signal without a dedicated graphics card.

Now, when referring to onboard graphics, it is almost always something which is built into certain processors, and the motherboard in a way just provides the platform to pass the signal on, you could say.

I'm sure you know all this, but the reason I mention this, is that using integrated graphics require very little power compared to some dedicated graphics cards. So to me, In this case where your are using an iGPU, it makes it less likely that the PSU is at fault.

If you had a graphics cards requiring a lot of power, it could even be some of the older generation AMD graphics cards which took a lot to power, it could indicate that the PSU could be inadequate, preventing the system to power on.

Unfortunately for me, the symptoms you describe, are a not as clear as I was hoping.

Your description of the very brief flickering of a LED, a fan turning half a revolution, to me that usually indictes a problem with the PSU, as the primary suspect. Ther are different reasons of course.

But you have so few components connected, and they require a relatively small amount of power, that it in a way eliminates the PSU as the most immediate suspect to me personally.
Aditionally you mention ithe PSU actually has an 8-pin connector for the CPU instead of only a 4-pin, and it is relatively new, so I don't suspect it could be the culprit because of being old and possibly underpowered.

The fact that it only did that once, and is now "dead", leads me back to suspecting power issue, or possibly the motherboard. So I'm a bit unsure at this point.

But in order to not just recommend troubleshooting steps at random, possibly resulting in a lot of wasted time on your part, and cluttering the thread, I hope someone else comes by very shortly, who recognize the symptoms and know the best way to move on from here.

I'll try to think of a solution in the meantime, I have a few thoughts on it, I just don't want keep leading you on to dead ends because I'm partially guessing what could be the problem, if that makes sense.

 

[drummond52]

Thanks for all your help

 

[drummond52]

I am going to return this motherboard, not going to buy off shore, wait all that time to find out its faulty

 

[MadsModsat]

I hope you didn't conclude from anything I said, that the motherboard is definately faulty. If so, I have expressed myself poorly, because at this point, I'm not sure at all what is the most likely cause for the problems


EDIT
As you are probably aware, people on this forum are online from all sorts of differnt time zones, you should give it a little more time, there are some very knowldegable people on the forum, you can get a lot of solid avice from - sometimes it just takes a little while