Problem with new memory

[T0bias]

Hi,

I yesterday received 2x2 GB DDR2 Kingston Valueram 800 MHz (PC2-6400) to complement my 2x2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2 PC-8000 (couldn't get the OCZ ram anywhere) since I have been running short on memory lately - but unfortunately my computer wouldn't boot (just black screen immediately). I tried reseating the kingston memory, but that didn't help.
I then tried to remove my OCZ ram and then my computer booted just fine.

I guess this means that the Kingston and OCZ memory just don't cope with each other, so I could buy another pair of Kingston ram in order to get the desired 8GB of memory? Or do you think I should/can do some further testing in order to make sure that I don't run into the same problem with another pair of Kingston memory?

edit: By the way the rest of my pc is as follows: Core2Quad Q9450@2.66GHz, Asus P5K/EPU motherboard and GTS250 graphics card. If that is of any use

 

[Cerb]

Same density? Same voltage specs? Same latencies?

Try to have a matched set (FI, I got all of mine at different times, yet all are the same SKU, same specs), and then don't be surprised if you need to underclock it a little bit.

Try to manually set your latencies for the highest RAM stick, run them all slower (say, 667), and see if they play nice. Also, try the following configs, to see if they'll work, after the above manual settings:
Kingston black, OCZ yellow
OCZ black, Kingston yellow
Kingston slots 1 and 2 (black and yellow, OCZ slots 3 and 4 (black and yellow)

Finally, bump the voltage to 1.9V or 2V (official is 1.8V), to see if maybe you need more to run all sticks safely.

If you buy more, get the exact same model, to maximize the chances of all working.

 

[T0bias]

I haven't been experimenting with tweaking all these kinds of settings before - I've usually just insert the memory and run with everything on default

I remember my OCZ memory being rated at 2.1, but I also got told by some OCZ guys (I once asked on their forum), saying that it's also fine to use 1.8V. The Kingston memory are rated at 1.8V.

Right now I'm using 1.8V and it works fine with either the Kingston and OCZ - but not with both of them inserted at the same time.

It wouldn't be a too big expense to buy another pair of Kingston ram (I can just make the exact same order from the same dealer) - actually I'd prefer to just have the same memory in all slots.
However, before I would order 2x2 additional ram, I'd just like to know if I can be sure that I won't run into the same problem, ie. that it was something else that made the Kingston and OCZ ram not work together?

 

[Cerb]

Sadly, there's no real way of knowing 100%, except trying. However, it has been common for ages that mixing different RAM may cause problems, and it almost certainly incompatibility between the sets of RAM, rather than an issue with filling up all four slots.

 

[T0bias]

Yeah I know I can't get any guarantees, but if I'm not up for doing too much tweaking of various settings in order to make my new and old ram work together (my knowledge of it is very limited), you think it could make sense to go get another pair of Kingston ram?

Or is there anything quite simple I should check before placing an order?

 

[Cerb]

I would just get a pair that is the exact same model, and go from there. RAM incompatibilities are nothing new. It is a category of computer problem that's been around for decades, and will be around for more.

I've yet to see a dual-channel DDR2 motherboard not work with four identical sticks, though sometimes mild underclocking, or overvolting, is necessary, depending on chipset and specific board (I've never needed more than +0.1V, and Intel got the chipset part taken care of by the p45).

 

[T0bias]

Okay thanks. You don't think that it would make any sense to try and switch the new ram modules into the other two slots right? Ie. the slots that my old ram used before I took them out

 

[Cerb]

Okay thanks. You don't think that it would make any sense to try and switch the new ram modules into the other two slots right? Ie. the slots that my old ram used before I took them out

It wouldn't hurt to try it in all three configurations I mentioned in my first reply. Sometimes, the ordering matters, and you could get lucky.

 

[T0bias]

Hi again,
I ended up buying some additional Kingstom ram and now it works perfectly

Thanks for your help.

 

[T0bias]

Hm I am wondering why it seems I have less space left on my C: drive after installing the new memory? Can that be true?

I might be a little wrong, but I think I lost around 6-8GB? Seems like my pagefile is around 8GB (I don't know what it was before).

I only ask this because I have a 120GB SSD as system drive, so I like to know what takes the space. The free space has been at around 30-33% for a long time, but now I just noticed that it dropped to 26%.

 

[Cerb]

The page file may or may not have gotten bigger, I don't know how it handles that (I figure with 8GB of RAM, any program using more than what's available deserves to crash). You can check its size in My Computer -> properties -> advanced system settings -> Advanced -> Settings (under the performance frame) -> Advanced, then that last button in the first tab.

If you have hibernate enabled, it will increase the hibernate file (hiberfile.sys?) to the size of your RAM. Running "powercfg -h off" from an admin-level command prompt is the quickest and easiest way to disable it, if you don't use it.

 

[T0bias]

The pagefile is 8GB, but does it have to be so large?

The hiberfile.sys is 6GB or so, I read that it is often is 75% of the amount of ram, so that seems to be the case here. I only use it when my pc hibernates automatically - I guess it is a bad idea to decrease this?

 

[Cerb]

If you use hibernation, leave it alone. I can't say for you about your page file. Depends on how much you worry about it. I go without one, but for responsiveness reasons, would be moot with a SSD. If you don't ever get to using all your RAM, you can at least safely bring it down to 1-2GB (I think 4-500MB is needed for crash dumps on BSODs to work properly). The page file is for stuff you aren't using in RAM, and to handle the case where you need to use more memory than you have RAM, so the more RAM you have, the less needed a really big one is.

 

[bryanl]

I remember my OCZ memory being rated at 2.1, but I also got told by some OCZ guys (I once asked on their forum), saying that it's also fine to use 1.8V. The Kingston memory are rated at 1.8V.

The OCZ is rated at 2.1V because it passed all factory testing at 1.8V.

 

[Blain]

The OCZ is rated at 2.1V because it passed all factory testing at 1.8V.

Sounds cryptic... What does that mean?

 

[Phynaz]

Leave the page file alone. Microsoft knows more about how they manage memory than you do.

 

[bryanl]

The OCZ is rated at 2.1V because it passed all factory testing at 1.8V.

Sounds cryptic... What does that mean?

The key is the smiley face of sarcasm at the end of the quote. 2.1V DDR2 is never first quality memory.

 

[Habeed]

Change the page file. Microsoft just uses a formula to calculate page file size...about 1.5 times the amount of RAM you have. I would cut it down to say, 2 GB fixed and an additional 4-8 GB or so as the maximum size. (so windows would only increase the page file size if it needs it, leaving that space free on your SSD nearly all of the time)

Resizing page files used to cause fragmentation which was why you weren't supposed to do it on a HDD but that's ofc irrelevant on an SSD...

Do you use hibernate? I just use 'sleep' because it's faster and consumes about 4 watts.