New Geil addition, why the problems??

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Blown_65

Blown_65

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Apr 3, 2006
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I just added another gig(2x512) of (Geil PC2-6400) to my Gigabyte S3 rig and now I'm getting problems... a few BSOD actually!? I have noticed that my "older" pair of 2x512 Geil PC2-6400 is being recognized as DDR2 533... I remember it used to, but when I oc'd my e6300 I adjusted everything properly in bios and all was running well at 400mhz/4-4-4-12/@ 2.1V..... All I did was drop in a "new" pair of the same memory and now I get random errors... I ran memory tests for hours, no errors!? What's weird is my "newer" pair will react with bios changes, ie: speeds and timings, while my older pair doesn't react at all... DDR2-533 all the time... ??? What am I doing wrong?? New bios, too. Thanks to any who read this!!

P.S.
My older pair runs fine w/out errors...
My newer pair runs with errors...
Together they have random errors...
No errors during MS memory tests...??
 
Please list the model numbers of all components in your system, including things like the CPU and PS, and each of the RAM modules.

... I have noticed that my "older" pair of 2x512 Geil PC2-6400 is being recognized as DDR2 533...
Click to expand...
What exactly do you mean by "recognized"?
...? What's weird is my "newer" pair will react with bios changes, ie: speeds and timings, while my older pair doesn't react at all... DDR2-533 all the time... ???
Click to expand...
What exactly do you mean by "react"?

I'd try running something like PC Wizard 2007 to get details on the actual memory bus speed/timings, along with the SPD values stored in each module.

Run memtest86+ on the system in each memory configuration if you haven't already.
 
Thanks for the reply...
1)By recognized, I mean the way the memory is seen in bios/windows/cpuz.... they all show my "older" pair only as DDR-533 while my "newer" pair can be seen as DDR-800 with proper settings.
2)By react, I mean when I change bios ram settings my "newer" pair will change speeds and timings along with those bios changes, while my other "older" pair will not change speeds/timings regardless of bios/voltage/timing changes...
I'm still wondering if my computer/ram speeds are being effected, slowed because of the mixed memory? If I leave everything alone in bios, except the voltages everything runs smooth, but cpuz shows my ram @ 266.7Mhz.... that's pretty slow.
 
BIOS, Windows, and CPUZ are all very different. For example, I've never seen Windows report DDR2 memory speeds.
CPUZ or something like PC Wizard 2007 are your best bet to understand what's going on. Remember that each DIMM contains an SPD with default timings at various memory speeds (this is what the BIOS "auto" settings use); it's important not to confuse this info with the *actual* speed/timings the system RAM is currently running at. This post may help to clarify things a bit: http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1249881#1249881
 
Hmm... ok, thanks for the noob rundown, but basically what it comes down to is this: I have two pairs of the exact same models of Geil DDR2-800. One pair runs at DDR2-800 when proper voltages are set in bios, the other pair will only run as DDR2-533 no matter what. This is using bios and CPU-Z as reference points, not windows, my mistake. The SPD's are exactly the same, the model numbers are exactly the same, the stickers show the exact same specs... so why do they run different is all I want to know? Is it possible for memory to get "stuck" on a certain speed? I've been in contact with Geil and hopefully they'll replace my "older" pair... it's just really annoying for the time being.
 
I've seen BIOS settings not being recognised in CPUZ properly before.... had 1GB of Corsair PC5400 at 4-4-4-12 timings in BIOS showing as PC5300 5-5-4-18 in CPUZ. Bios flash fixed it... don't know if this will help you much.... surely both should have same problems rather than one...? Could try getting on to mobo manufacturer.
 
...I have two pairs of the exact same models of Geil DDR2-800. One pair runs at DDR2-800 when proper voltages are set in bios, the other pair will only run as DDR2-533 no matter what.
Click to expand...
What happens when you put all 4 DIMMs in? The system will run all the memory at the same speed/timings, so that should give some info.
For us here in Internetland, it's hard to know *exactly* what you are doing, so if you could list the specific BIOS settings you are changing from auto, and include screen shots of CPUZ or PC Wizard 2007 showing the running speed/timings of the RAM, that would be a big help. Remember that it's the BIOS/Chipset that control the memory speed and timings, not the DIMMs themselves (although they provide "suggestions" in their SPDs). Also, unless you bought the two pairs of modules at the same time, it's very unlikely that they are identical, as all manufacturers are constantly making minor to major changes in their modules, even without changing the part number.
 
As of right now all 4 dimms are in... cpuz shows 2048MB running in dual channel mode running at 266.7Mhz, 1:1 FSB😀RAM @ 4-4-4-12. The only thing I have set in bios is the voltage @ 2.1V.... all other ram settings are at auto.
The SPD tab in cpuz shows my old pair with a max bandwidth of 333mhz with timings of 5-5-5-15....... while my new pair shows a max bandwidth of 400mhz with timings of 4-4-4-12..... The Geil stickers (the ones that are on the box, as well as on the ram heatsinks themselves, both state DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) with timings of 4-4-4-12 @ 2.1V........ The only thing I did change in bios, before, was set the RAM timings themsleves to 4-4-4-12 and changed the memory multiplier so the ram would run at 400mhz... well it changed all 4 dimms, but the timings where 4-4-4-18 @ 400mhz... BUT... Cpu-z still showed my old pair with a max bandwidth of 333mhz while the new ones where at 400mhz... and that's when I had BSOD's every so often.... thanks for the help, I really do appreciate it.
 
The SPD tab isn't too important... that's just info that the manufacturer has programmed into the stick. Plenty of DDR800 kits actually show up as DDR667 even though they are capable of 800 at the advertised voltage. It's possiblt that your original kit was DDR800, and that the current DDR800 they are selling is DDR667 that they've tested at 800 speeds, found to be stable, and are selling as such.

As long as the frequency on the memory tab is what you want it to be then it should be okay. Do you have Orthos? If not download it, set your RAM frequency in BIOS to 400mhz then run the Orthos 'blend' test for a while and see if it passes.
 
Something seems off there if you manually set all the timings in your bios. Did you? But at least they are at ddr2 6400 speeds now and cas4. Just drop those others to 4-4-4-12.
 
Ok, well I left the voltages @ 2.1 and manually set the timings to 4-4-4-12 as both pairs are advertized to run those timings at DDR-800. How long should I run Orthos? Here's a screen shot, no erros after 1 hour 42 mins.. They are all running @ 400mhz, but look at the timings... 4-6-6-18... that sux!!

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/7711/orthoskv7.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah that should be long enough. Some people like to run it for 4 hours+, but I find that if it's going to fail, it will do so within the first few minutes. Wouldn't worry too much about the 4-6-6-18.... I know it can be annoying, but the performance difference will be practically nil.
 
Yea, I guess your right... It's more than likely impossible that I'd be able to tell the difference between 4-4-4-12 and 4-6-6-18.... It just sux because that's why I bought them, because they where low timings and what do you suppose is going to happen when I overclock from here? Just leave the ram alone from here? Well, thanks for the help, I probably would've just bought new ram sooner than later, but I guess there's really no point, it's working, right? Thanks!
 
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