My memory isn't in the Qualified Vendor List (QVL) I may have to RMA back to SCAN

[Jonessie]

Every New or overhauled rigs, I have built has always been Corsair memory. I recently overhauled my system with a new MB and memory. Because of the Corsair Hydro Series™ H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler in my case is quite close to the RAM. I decided on getting low profile memory instead because I was 99.98% sure that the heatsink on the RAM would have been very close to the fans on the liquid cooler. I looked at my supplier’s website and found a great low profile memory at 2133MHz which is great because my MB takes up to 2400MHz.

Although, when the memory was delivered today it dawned on me that I didn’t RTFM to check if the memory was in the compatibility list. To my horror it isn’t in the list of compatible memory, which means I can’t use it because it’s not in the list. I would need to speak to the manufactures of the board to ask if there has been any issue with this memory and ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z MB. It’s a logistical impossibility to check every single RAM module available on the market at the moment. If it’s not in the list it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not compatible does it…?

I have a feeling I will be RMA these back to my supplier and change this over for the following modules CMZ16GX3M4X1866C9R which are very good, but I am concerned that my HD100 Liquid Cooler is going to be very close to the memory. I have looked up the size of the memory and it comes in at 13.7mm I need to check the clearance from the modules to the HD100 Liquid Cooler and see what the clearance is. I initially purchased the Corsair Vengeance 16GB kit because it was a low profile version and there wouldn’t be an issue with the clearance from the modules to the HD100 Liquid Cooler.

If there is enough clearance then I shall change the memory over for these instead. At least I know that they’ll work and they are listed within the compatibility list. Memory that isn’t listed within the compatibility would it still work…? I haven’t tried it because I noticed it wasn’t within the list before I installed the memory.

The MB would have set the memory to 1333MHZ which is really annoying when it should be on 2133 instead with timings of 11-11-11-27 instead it would show as 9-9-9-24. Having memory on Auto is terrible, it’s dreadful for memory, although as a safety precaution most manufactures tend to stick with Auto.

The 1866MHz memory is a great piece of kit, but the height of the memory concerns me because I have a feeling this is going to be awfully close to the Liquid Cooler…?

Any help would be deeply appreciated; I have sent a support form to ASUS and just awaiting on their reply. They are pretty prompt with a reply, and if they come back and say that it’s fine then I shall install and use it. But I have a gut feeling they are going to say.

NO…

P.S. I shall speak to Scan tomorrow and I have a feeling I shall be raising an RMA...

[jim]

Compatibility lists just contain a selection of parts that were available for the motherboard manufacturers to test at the time of production.

They are by no means, and I can't emphasise that enough, a list of "the only parts that work". By and large, any DDR3 RAM will work in any DDR3 slot. Of course I'm ignoring the ECC/Buffered RAM from this, since it's not an issue here.

If you're buying thousands of these in a corporate world, maybe you would want to play it really safe and make sure it's on the compatibility list, but for the average home user, I would highly recommend ignoring them.

[Jonessie]

That was quick and a valid point.

If I set the Frequency to 2133 and the timings to 11-11-11-27 what would I set the DRAM voltage to, because it would have been between 1.488 and 1.500 whereas 1.800 would probably fail and wouldn't boot correctly.

[Lee H]

QVL lists mean squat to me - not worth the electrons wasted on the PDF download

The reason why is they tend to only test a handful of modules that are available to the local market near where the motherboard is made.

I find the fact corsair are part of the JEDEC family more reassuring.

[Yellowbeard]

QVL lists mean squat to me - not worth the electrons wasted on the PDF download

The reason why is they tend to only test a handful of modules that are available to the local market near where the motherboard is made.

I find the fact corsair are part of the JEDEC family more reassuring.

Agreed.

Additionally, you have to remember WHEN the QVLs are generated. The MOBO manual has to be premade to be ready to go inside the packaging. Intitial QVLs that are in the manuals are often outdated the day you buy the MOBO.

And, it's typically not a priority for MOBO makers to put a lot of time into testing every module under the sun to update the QVLs. They are already working on the next MOBO.