[SOLVED] Unable to get RAM in dual channel

[foxhound525]

I am rather stumped by this one.

I have been building PCs for years but only recently started CompTIA+, it was while studying this that I realised I never checked the memory configuration in the motherboard's manual when I did my current build. Ran CPUZ and low and behold, my 2 low profile Corsair vengeance 8GB DIMMs were running in single channel mode. FYI I have an AMD FX-8370 and GTX 1060 if that matters at all.

So I found the manual for my Biostar TA970 Plus, and found that you are meant to use slots 2 and 4 for a 2 DIMM dual channel set up. I had them in 1 and 2. After rebooting, I found something weird though, half my RAM now showed as system reserved and it still wasn't in dual channel mode. I've tried using slots 1 and 3, reversing the DIMMs to the opposite slot, and all to no avail. These corsair DIMMS came as a pair, so no issues there, and I can use the full 16GB with no issues at half speed (single channel) with no issues. But for some reason it refuses to go into dual channel and makes half the ram unusable when I try to.

There's nothing I can see in BIOS that alludes to this, and I've tried all the options with the same results on both win10 and win7 , so I don't think the BIOS version is the issue as the latest win7 BIOS update came out before I did this PC build and surely that would work if I just needed the newer BIOS update for win 10.

I've enabled XMP1 for a little extra RAM speed but that's little consolation when leaving so much on the table (I am getting 800Mhz when I should be getting ~1333 minimum).

Am I just misunderstanding how dual channel works? Is there something I'm missing?

 

[kerberos_20]

hi
hardware reserved means, ram was disabled
u can try to reseat it, check slot if there isnt some dirt/damage
or u can try slot 1+3

 

[brispuss]

Remove the CPU and check it and its socket for any sign of bent or damaged pins. There should be no dust, dirt nor debris on or among the pins/pads.

Remount CPU carefully and evenly.

If still having memory issues, then -

What is the Corsair Memory modules part number? Starts with "C".

 

[foxhound525]

Remove the CPU and check it and its socket for any sign of bent or damaged pins. There should be no dust, dirt nor debris on or among the pins/pads.

Remount CPU carefully and evenly.

If still having memory issues, then -

What is the Corsair Memory modules part number? Starts with "C".

The model is CML16GX3M2A1600C10. I think it's designed to be run in dual channel. Unfortunately I don't have any thermal paste at the moment so I may have to wait until I get my new CPU fan to check that

 

[bfollett]

I think you may be running at 1600Mhz and not realize it. Where are you seeing the 800Mhz. Many people who post here don't realize they need to double the frequency they see reported by programs like CPU-Z. That program doesn't display the 2X frequency that the memory is actually running at.

Bob

 

[foxhound525]

I think you may be running at 1600Mhz and not realize it. Where are you seeing the 800Mhz. Many people who post here don't realize they need to double the frequency they see reported by programs like CPU-Z. That program doesn't display the 2X frequency that the memory is actually running at.

Bob

Hi Bob

I am seeing 800Mhz in both task manager on the performance tab>Memory, and on the Memory tab for CPUZ, where it also shows Channel # as Single

 

[brispuss]

The model is CML16GX3M2A1600C10. I think it's designed to be run in dual channel. Unfortunately I don't have any thermal paste at the moment so I may have to wait until I get my new CPU fan to check that

That memory is a dual channel kit and is compatible with your setup.

Recommend that the CPU and its socket be checked as soon as possible, so as to either eliminate this as the cause of the issue, or to confirm that this was the cause of the issue.

 

[foxhound525]

That memory is a dual channel kit and is compatible with your setup.

Recommend that the CPU and its socket be checked as soon as possible, so as to either eliminate this as the cause of the issue, or to confirm that this was the cause of the issue.

Looks like you were right, I had 4 or 5 bent CPU pins. I took a long time straightening them out, accidentally broke one off (which disabled DIMM slot 4) but managed to straighten the others out despite them being bent at 90 degrees! Thank god I had toothpicks!

My RAM is now running in dual channel mode, but task manager and CPUz are still showing as 800Mhz, but in my BIOS it says XMP1 1600Mhz. Is that normal for dual channel? The CPUZ memory tab does now say dual instead of single too.

Also, my PC seems to be using far more memory at idle now, it used to use about 4-5Gb of Ram while not doing much but now its 7-8? It's not showing as system reserved or anything, but it seems a bit odd that its using more memory now than it did before.

 

[kerberos_20]

Looks like you were right, I had 4 or 5 bent CPU pins. I took a long time straightening them out, accidentally broke one off (which disabled DIMM slot 4) but managed to straighten the others out despite them being bent at 90 degrees! Thank god I had toothpicks!

My RAM is now running in dual channel mode, but task manager and CPUz are still showing as 800Mhz, but in my BIOS it says XMP1 1600Mhz. Is that normal for dual channel? The CPUZ memory tab does now say dual instead of single too.

Also, my PC seems to be using far more memory at idle now, it used to use about 4-5Gb of Ram while not doing much but now its 7-8? It's not showing as system reserved or anything, but it seems a bit odd that its using more memory now than it did before.

ram usage depends on running apps, its not anything unusual to see higher ram usage (when adding more ram), if u dont see issues with apps having not enough RAM (excessive HDD swap file), then u dont have to worry abut it

as for 800mhz vs 1600mhz
1600mhz is fake, its 1600mt/s

 

[foxhound525]

ram usage depends on running apps, its not anything unusual to see higher ram usage (when adding more ram), if u dont see issues with apps having not enough RAM (excessive HDD swap file), then u dont have to worry abut it

as for 800mhz vs 1600mhz
1600mhz is fake, its 1600mt/s

That makes sense, except the apps I'm running haven't changed, but I guess if the system knows more RAM is available then it uses it more freely? Thank you again for helping me solve all of this, you absolute legend!

 

[kerberos_20]

That makes sense, except the apps I'm running haven't changed, but I guess if the system knows more RAM is available then it uses it more freely? Thank you again for helping me solve all of this, you absolute legend!

its more or less garbage collection related + some windows caching