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Need help!! 8GB happy P55 motherboard

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Danacee

Junior Member
Currently I am the embattled owner of an Asrock P55 extreme and a core i7 860 with 2 2x2GB kits of G.skill CL9 1600. For a few weeks things were fine, then the infamous missing ram problem happened. It was not a matter of a socket re-seating (worked once then never again) ram issues or bios, I RMA'd one board and got sent back another.

The full 8 gigs worked fine again for a few weeks and here I am again. Same problem different month. These motherboards get to the point where I cannot roll back to 4GB because, then only 2GB shows up. Complete and utter crap, and if people on newegg hadnt been soo glowing I would not have even considered this board.


I just want to know from owners who are actually running 4x2GB ram, what motherboards work with this config. I'm past the point of caring if its a good bit more than the $140 these Asrock boards were.
 
What voltages have you tried? Specifically the VTT (IMC) voltage and the RAM voltage. You may need to raise these manually in the bios if you haven't already tried that.
 
I would get my money back if I could, but Asrock like all motherboard makers has a replacement only policy. Also one that leaves you high and dry on shipping. I've tweaked with every voltage and tried every possible trick (including channel timings) and cannot think of it being anything but a crap board.

I'd love to blame the CPU (well intel is partly to blame) but then the replacement from Asrock wouldnt have worked for 3 weeks.

I think I'm going to get a Gigabute P55A-UD6. The only possible aspect of a board that could be said to improve this problem is a thicker PCB, and gigabytes topend motherboards are as thick as they come. Also having 2 more sockets its seems to me they have actually given some engineering thought to making ram happy with P55, unlike every other motherboard maker. All other brands(Asus, MSI eVGA) are littered with reports like Asrock's to this problem even on higher end boards.

Might even say to hell with it and go X58, atleast when this happens to them only the socket is to blame.
 
WaitingForNehalem said:
Your RAM is on the list below correct? Can you drop the speed to 1333?

http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/P55%20Extreme.pdf
Click to expand...

Yes, and unlike every other P55 motherboard.. this damn Asrock never sees the ram again. Nothing coaxes it back into seeing it. Would blame the CPU, but then again the replacement worked fine for the exact same amount of time.

Thanks for the heads up n7, I found a special deal on a P55a-UD6 and couldnt pass it up. This is my first Gigabyte since my P35-DQ6, it was a love hate relationship but supposedly Gigabyte seems to have toned down the nannyware bios. Atleast they care on some level unlike Asrock and Asus, who only seem to give RMA's at gunpoint.
 
Danacee said:
... infamous missing ram problem happened.
Click to expand...

The following technique has SOMETIMES worked for me in the past, it is NOT bullet prof.

Try the following:

A. First revert your BIOS back to default or safe settings.

B. Make sure your configuration is JEDEC complaint, including voltage(!), as much as possible given the constraints.

For example: if your memory SPD is configured with default non JEDEC complaint setting, look in the BIOS of the motherboard to see if you can set the memory settings manually for JEDEC complaint setting.

The voltage setting is probably the most important one! If the voltage is ABOVE the JEDEC specifications, you need to look for the first lower JEDEC standard that your memory will work reliably in (assuming of curse you are able to set these settings in the BIOS).

C. Make sure that the memory module that is not recognized by your system is REMOVED from your system (or alternatively make sure that the memory slot that seems to refuse to recognize your memory module is EMPTY).

D. Test your current configuration for reliability (missing the offending memory module / memory slot).

E. Test you current configuration for reliability AGAIN with the memory module that did not participate in step D.

F. This the important step, the step that seems to be the one that makes the mysterious missing ram problem go away, YMMV. Warning: UN-reliable black magic ahead. [/BSD license]

Assuming that all the memory modules passed reliability testing in (as close as possible to) JEDEC complaint settings -

F.1. Unplug you system from the power grid.

F.2. Power up your system (will discharge most capacitors in your system).

F.3. Wait! A LOT! keep the system off the grid the whole night if possible.

F.4. Did i mention WAIT?

F.5. Install the uninstalled memory module(s).

F.6. Plug your system power cable back in, and power up your system (keeping your fingers crossed is optional).

If the above fail you can also try doing the same as the above but doing step F.5 after step F.2.


koby
 
I have 4x2gb (corsair dominator 1600) running on an MSI-GD-80. Never a glitch for me, worked from day 1.

I have not tweaked this board/mem combo yet.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Even though I'm getting rid of this board I'll try the steps by Kobymu, that way when the brand new rma comes I can sell it or toss it with a clean conscious.
 
Okay, tried the unplugged expunged overnight steps and and no luck. Ugh the one thing I hate about computer stuff is there is zero accountability for defective models.
 
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