DFI Ultra Lanparty-D woes.... she won't get to windows in dual channel mode.

[JJ650]

I just recently got this motherboard and put the sucker together. I encountered a problem when trying to get it to opertate in dual channel mode. I am using two Mushkin PC3200 CL2. The board auto set the timings to 2-2-6 1T timings. I couldn't get to windows. The system would reset as soon as it got to the login screen. Various voltage bumps did nothing to help. I took a stick out and it booted and made it to Windows without a hitch. I then tried putting a stick in Dimm1 and 2 (seperately and together). The ram was recognized and set to DDR333 (non dual channel). Booted without a hitch. I tired each stick seperately and no problems.
As a precaution, I RMA'd it and ordered some OCZ Gold edition VX.

Same problems occured right away. The board autoset timingd to 2.5 CAS (wtf? This was supposed to be rated at 2-2-2 according to Newegg. The ID tag on the sticks have 2-3-3. Moot point but...). Timing wasn't an issue. I want dual channel mode to work first.

I did notice that a stick by itself in dimm bank 3 or 4 only results in the memory error code (long tones on the case speaker).

Do you think board itself has problems?

Anyone have similar problems or is there somthing I am missing? If it can get to windows, I think it may a stability issue. How can I set dual channel operation to 2T?

 

[rise]

well,dual channel should be banks 2 and 4 the oranges.

my ocz defaulted to 2-3-2-5 as opposed to 2-2-2-5, the rep said they do that so you can get an easyboot i guess.

anyway, you memtested the sticks? now that you're on vx, howmany vots you feeding them?

 

[JJ650]

Thanks for the post.
I did have it in banks 2 & 4 like the manual addendums state. I was trying everything else trying things out trying to figure out what was going on. I haven't tried any memtest yet.

**UPDATE**
I have it running in dual channel
I set it to 2T and it WILL boot to windows and runs stable. Currently I have the mushkin ram @ 2.7v


I am gonna throw in the OCZ and see how it fairs. Will update again in a few.

***UPDATE***

The OCZ ram doesn't seem to jive with this board at all. No amount of coaxing will get it in dual channel mode. This is kind of surprising really. I would expect both the Mushking and OCZ stuff to work equally as well since the both were on par with each other spec wise.

 

[rise]

glad you got it running anyway, i didn't understand what slots you were using.

if you haven't already, check out dfi.street. there are threads over there on people having a hard time running 1t in dual channel. do a search, i believe there are some ram specific bios you may flash to or some regular timings guides. might be worth taking a look.

good luck

 

[JJ650]

Thanks. I have been looking for something like that. Would be nice to run dual channel without a 2T nerf.

 

[Painman]

Have you tried the OCZ VX in the yellow slots? What is the actual product name/part # of the Mushkin?

Definitely do some research @ DFI-Street to see if you can get your issues ironed out with either RAM type.

 

[JJ650]

Yep. I tried the OCZ VX in the yellow slots.
The Mushkin info is:
2x512 PC3200 DDR Dual Pack
CL2 Blue 991140 033105


I'll do a bios update and try the OCZ again.

 

[Painman]

OK, just wanted to figure out what that Mushkin is based on... looks like Winbond UTT, likely the same as the OCZ VX. That would explain their similar misbehaviors

Winbond will work with the board, just have to test and tweak to get the two to get along... definitely head to DFI-Street for some pointers.

 

[Duke66]

Hi JJ,rise&pain,

Apologies for adding to your thread with a similar issue of my own: - I'm experiencing almost identical problems as yourself and I'd really appreciate your assistance. In summary if I install both memory modules in my Lanparty Sli DR board the system won't boot with general protection errors unless I disable the L2 cache. If I remove a stick of RAM (slot 4) the system runs fine, even with cache enabled - either stick works ok. I have tested the RAM (Memtest), CPU(Small torture test-9hrs) and even RMA'd the motherboard but with no luck. I haven't been able to find where I can change the CPC rate in the Bios to 2T - similar to yours - would really appreciate a nudge in the right direction. If you need any further info just ask - any advice welcome!

 

[Duke66]

slightly concerned about the following post...:
"PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE USING A "CO" REV. CPU THIS OPTION(CPC) WILL NOT APPEAR IN BIOS. THIS IS BECAUSE "CO" REV. CPU'S DO NOT SUPPORT 2T TIMING, ONLY 1T. IF YOU HAVE A "CG" REV. CPU, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SELECT EITHER AUTO, 1T, OR 2T."
taken from: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=329627

 

[Shimmishim]

Originally posted by: Duke66
slightly concerned about the following post...:
"PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU ARE USING A "CO" REV. CPU THIS OPTION(CPC) WILL NOT APPEAR IN BIOS. THIS IS BECAUSE "CO" REV. CPU'S DO NOT SUPPORT 2T TIMING, ONLY 1T. IF YOU HAVE A "CG" REV. CPU, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SELECT EITHER AUTO, 1T, OR 2T."
taken from: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=329627

C0 only refers to skt 754 processors... not 939

 

[rise]

no problem and welcome!

what bios are you using? i remember when the san diego first came out the boys at dfi.street were saying they didn't have a cpc setting anymore. some of the newer beta bios took care of that, i think the 5.10-3 but painman can probably answer that better.

good luck and if you haven't already check out dfi.street

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=22

lots of good stuff.

 

[Duke66]

Really pleased to hear that 939s aren't included (phew). I'm currently still hunting around on DFI street - thanks for the link (even though it's 1am and I have work tomorrow ). Will let you know how I get on in due course - thanks for such a warm welcome!

 

[JJ650]

A little update from my end. I retried the OCZ VX memory with some timings someone had from DFI street and a significant voltage bump to 3.2v (hey...just like the OCZ site says it needs. Imagine that ) and it booted right up to 2-2-2 1T. Made it to Windows without a hitch. Now that I have the "good" stuff up and running, time for some overclocking
Passed 2 memtest @ 230mhz with the same timings and no more voltage bumps. Will try for more later. It's rock solid and haven't had a problem yet.

Duke66....have you tried disabling you CPC in the DRAM settings? That was the only way I could get the Mushkin to boot in dual channel. Was having fits getting both sticks to run until I did that.
If that doesn't work, try a little voltage bump to 2.8v possibly and try again.

 

[Duke66]

Hi JJ,

I have searched throughout my BIOS for the CPC disable option and I can't find it! I spend a couple of hours last night trying to reflash with a range of Bios's at present it is DFI's 316 beta - but I can't see CPC - I assume it's at the top under Dram settings (http://www.angrygames.com/sli-dr_1.htm) I even tried to find the OskarWu bios mentioned in the link but with no success. Even if I could find a bios which will allow me to disable 1T I will be satisfied (almost!). Any links you may have come accross would be great - I have checked out the bios factory on DFI street and will head back there this evening.

 

[rise]

5.10 bios thread check through and se what best matches your ram as there are 3 versions. i think -3 or-2 is recommended.

3rd post here has all the others i think or at least a good deal of them.

the 5.10's are what you want i think.

 

[JJ650]

Duke,
The actual name in the bios you are looking for is"command per clock" or CPC for short.
Here is a snippit from the DRAM settings guide they have stickyed at the top of the 64motherboards forum


Command Per Clock(CPC)

Settings: Auto, Enable(1T), Disable(2T)

Command Per Clock(CPC) is also called Command Rate. It may be best in some instances to Disable (2T) w/ 2x512 RAM modules. It has a large Influence on Bandwidth/Stability.

From Adrian Wong?s site: http://www.rojakpot.com/
?This BIOS feature allows you to select the delay between the assertion of the Chip Select signal till the time the memory controller starts sending commands to the memory bank. The lower the value, the sooner the memory controller can send commands out to the activated memory bank. When this feature is enabled, the memory controller will only insert a command delay of one clock cycle or 1T. When this feature is disabled, the memory controller will insert a command delay of two clock cycles or 2T. The Auto option allows the memory controller to use the memory module's SPD value for command delay. If the SDRAM command delay is too long, it can reduce performance by unnecessarily preventing the memory controller from issuing the commands sooner. However, if the SDRAM command delay is too short, the memory controller may not be able to translate the addresses in time and the "bad commands" that result will cause data loss and corruption. It is recommended that you try enabling SDRAM 1T Command for better memory performance. But if you face stability issues, disable this BIOS feature."

 

[Duke66]

Thanks rise,JJ,pain - really please to report I have finally sorted it!

Flashed 510-2 bios which allowed me to turn 1T off and now I can safely boot into windows.
...Obviously the first thing I'm wondering now is whether I can get it back down to 1T - with my memory - is it possible with an increase in voltage (not something I've tried before). {just spotted above - answer will prob lie in DFI street}. Also now the system is set at 2T how much does this reduce the RAM 'speed' and is this more than compensated for by the fact that there are now two modules in dual channel? ie - will the system be running any slower!?
Thanks once again for your help - I've been tearing my hair out for some time, now all I need is a decent install of windows...

 

[rise]

1t vs 2t is a very smalll performance hit but there is no reason you shouldn't be able to run 1t. again, i'm not that up on ram thats not in my system so do a search at dfi.street and see what you find.

as for voltages, i'd get off stock or auto volts sooner than later. most of these boards undervolt so check what your bios readings are. mine typically read .03 less in bios and .06 less in windows on the core. the ram on the other hand reads .03 higher in bios and windows.

ram should all be fine up to 2.9 minimum and you see JJ needed alot more on his vx. mine seems not to like more than 2.8

edit--here are my volts on my 3200 winnie
startup- startup
cpu vid- 1.4
vid special- 104%
ldt- 1.2
chipset- 1.6
dram- 2.8

these are very safe volts