memory issues

[oldman420]

I have an ABIT nfm2 mainboard that was running a single dimm of MUSHKIN enhanced ddr2-800 1 gig
I purchase a dual channel a-data 2 gig kit same speed .
when I installed the 2 new sticks I got the long memory error beep when I remove the MUSHKIN dimm it boots fine.
I have tried to swap slots and it boots fine with 1 a-data and the MUSHKIN.
I am assuming that this board does not like to be populated with 3 sticks so I ordered an additional dimm of the MUSHKIN.
does my thinking seem right?
or will I be stuck with 2 expensive dimms of ddr2-800?


thanks fellas


oldman420

 

[Sdiver2489]

Do the mushkin and A-Data run off two very different voltages?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: Sdiver2489
Do the mushkin and A-Data run off two very different voltages?

This, and do they run different latency's?

 

[oldman420]

same latency 5 and same voltage and since they both ran fine together in dual channel I feel it must be the board is picky not too sure though hope I am right as I just ordered another stick of the mushkin.

 

[Lemon law]

To oldman420,

The devil is always in the details. And until you can put numbers on things, you have nothing to really guide you. But mixing ram is not recommended---because motherboards, bioses,
old bios settings, and memory are all very tricky and amount to a worm can---and when your ram send different spd's to the bios you pop the worm can wide open.

But the question also becomes---why do you need more ram?---and unless you have vista or huge memory needs, you reach a point of diminishing returns. The other question--and the other biggie is what is your memory through put---and are you running at ddr single channel---and at what memory bus speeds---or are you running at ddr2 dual channel speeds and at what memory bus speeds. But if you want ddr2---you will require two sticks of perfectly matched ram almost certainly---with a risk that populating your third slot will downclock the lot.

So to somewhat answer your own questions---download the following free programs---cpu-z, memtest86, either everest 2.2 or pcwizard 2007, and then you can start outputting and comparing statistics and benchmarks. And also download your mobo manual which will contain bios settings you need to study. And googling memory or overclocking forums will get you knowledgeable advice.

In my case, I had two differing sticks of ram---and they did play well together and suddenly my memory bus was running at PC2100 instead of the PC 3200 it should have. And it took me a lot of time reading up on memory---and some time playing with bios settings to get them working together---$0.00 to get over a 50% increase in memory through put.

Getting your answers require some knowledge--but there is always that element of trial and error----so you need a score keeper---and there benchmarking and testing programs tell you if you moved uphill or downhill.----and if your set up is capable of ddr2---and you are not getting it---you are probably going downhill and making things worse. Even if your computer runs fine and is stable----you are still aiming for the same in ddr2.

 

[oldman420]

thanks lemonlaw, I did some research on the ram the mushkin ram has operating voltages equal to the a-data ram however I think it is just a teensy bit faster its spd setting is cas -4 as the a-data is cas-5 aside from that the two did boot into xp in dual channel so the do play OK together according to CPU-z they are default-ng to 5-5-5-18-23 so thats pretty lax, I did some research on abits website and could not find and helpful info on the problem but I am assuming that the board does not play nice with 3 banks populated it has to be 1 2 or 4 not 3 I will find out for sure Monday when I get my new stick of ran to populate the 4th slot.

and yes 4 gigs is a cartload of ram but what the heck if it runs good I will never have to worry again about buying ram for this machine.

I run the setup at stack speeds even though I can get a 200 MHz overclock to 2.8 ghz stable I think I have plenty of power at 2.6.

it may help with p95 and folding though.

 

[Lemon law]

To oldman420,

There is a limit of something like 2.4 gigs for xp in the 32 bit version--and thats all the ram it will see-----and the more ram you add, the looser the timings you get in most cases.

But even if memory speeds downclock some---I can see Vista loving 4 gigs.---because vista knows how to put all the ram to work.

 

[oldman420]

I have a copy of vista I plan to install as soon as I get my hardware working well too bad about xp not using all the ram but I will do a dual boot.

 

[oldman420]

got it put the fourth stick in and bada bing she works like a charm. as a bonus I can get to a stable 2.9 ghz a 300 mhz oc on stock vcore and timings.