Mobo / RAM Question

[DevanVick]

Hello,

I have the Intel® Desktop Board DG33TL

MOBO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16813121315&Tpk=DG33TL

and

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Patriot RAM - http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16820220144

Unit was working properly - I initially had a defective mobo and while troubleshooting it with intel - they stated the mobo's memory must be 1.8v and the current memory I have is 2.2v and that the system will be unstable and is not compatible.

It was under my assumption that the ram would downclock and run at the 1.8v with no issues.

Any ideas?

If this will cause any kind of loss in performance or any kind of possible hardware / stability issues - please recommend a mobo to meet the specifications. Prefer not to exceed 175.00

Thanks!

 

[MegaVovaN]

Maybe rather, get a 1.8V RAM?

 

[DevanVick]

Mobo was FREE - RAM was not and very cheap around 30.00

 

[Jiggz]

Is there anyway to raise the RAM voltage in bios? If not, you will need to use 1.8V RAM. It's cheaper than ever and you want to make sure it's 1.8V. If you can find 1.8V RAMs around you might want to try it first to make sure it is not the mobo that has the problem.

 

[DevanVick]

Honestly I keep looking through the specifications and I cannot place where it lists the actual voltage for the RAM on the motherboard.

I think I am going to just purchase a new board to accomadate my 2.2V ram however how can I find a suitable board - I cant find it listed in any specs for the boards.

I know the board is defective - I used a windows based flash utility from intel - it shutdown and never powered up again. I manually jumped the PSU - Tested ok, jumped the Power switch manually - no power indication this was with no RAM installed just a bare bones.

Also cleared the CMOS and tried to go into recovery mode - same result.

Intel stated that the board was bad and they are giving me a RMA.

Edit - This is a gaming machine and I am very partial to the patriot memory I purchased, I have always had good results.

Thanks for the information!

 

[Andvari]

Most mobos have a way to up the voltages in the BIOS. You should make sure yours can't do that before you spend money on a new mobo. Or as someone else said, just get new RAM as it would be cheaper.

Oh, if it's a defective mobo then yeah obviously get a new one. Not sure what to recommend though.

 

[DevanVick]

Originally posted by: Andvari
Most mobos have a way to up the voltages in the BIOS. You should make sure yours can't do that before you spend money on a new mobo. Or as someone else said, just get new RAM as it would be cheaper.

Oh, if it's a defective mobo then yeah obviously get a new one. Not sure what to recommend though.

Once a new board comes on hand - I will check this. Friend has the same board I will check his first.

 

[Blain]

1.8v is a DDR2 standard. Buying memory rated at 1.8v is the best way to go.
"High performance" memory that NEEDS higher voltages to run aren't the best... IMO.

 

[Tullphan]

Originally posted by: Blain
1.8v is a DDR2 standard. Buying memory rated at 1.8v is the best way to go.

Examples of quality DDR2-800 ram rated at 1.8v, please?
Most of what I found @ Newegg using a power search was either A-Data, Wintec, Mushkin, Transcend, Kingston, & Corsair, but they were all 5-5-5-15 or worse.

 

[Blain]

Timings of memory make only "benchmark" differences these days. Back in the old PC-100 & PC-133 era, lower latency memory was an indication that you could probably OC it farther.

IMO, quality brands at 1.8v (2GB kits), are A-Data, Corsair DHX, Mushkin and Patriot.

Back to the original concern... "It was under my assumption that the ram would downclock and run at the 1.8v with no issues."

"Higher Rated" memory won't always volt back to 1.8v. Sometimes they won't even allow a system to boot up if set back to 1.8v.

 

[AmberClad]

I'm with Blain on this one. Much of the time, when you see people posting threads about problems with RAM, or with RAM failing after a few months, it's with the "performance" RAM that use 2.0v+. As far as the timings difference, I couldn't feel any performance difference between when I ran my Wintec AmpX kit at the stock 5-5-5-15 and when I ran it at 4-4-4-12 with a voltage bump. Which also brings up another point - even with standard grade RAM that is spec'ed for 1.8V and 5-5-5-X, you still often have room for some OCing or tightening.

On another note - Transcend has a kit (AxeRAM) that uses 1.8V, but supposedly runs 4-4-4-12 (NewEgg had it at some point)...