motherboard + RAM problem

Hello, I have this motherboard in the following configuration:

Athlon 64 3500+
2GB (4x512mb sticks) Kingston HyperX DDR PC3200 RAM
250GB Seagate 7200rpm SATA HDD
ATi Radeon X1600 Pro 256mb PCI-e x16

A while back, I wanted to remove the CPU but encountered some difficulty as the thermal compound had stuck the heatsink firmly to the CPU, and I ended up pulling the CPU out of the socket still attached to the heatsink as I removed it. I then tried heating the CPU and heatsink with a hairdryer to soften the compound so it could be separated. This worked, but when I put the CPU back in the system, it would not boot but just made a long 'beep' every 3 seconds or so, so I assumed the CPU was damaged and bought a new Socket 939 chip (Opteron 185).

When this arrived, I installed it but it would stil not boot and made the same beeping noise. As the CPU was brand new, I knew this wasn't the problem so I removed all the RAM chips apart from a single 512mb stick in the first RAM slot and reset the BIOS, and it booted into Windows perfectly.

I then added another 512mb stick in slot 2, and again it worked fine, recognising 1GB of RAM in Dual Channel mode. However, It will not recognise anything in the other two slots. When I put the other 2 512MB sticks in, it either hangs at POST or makes the same beeping noise with nothing on the screen.

I have tested all 4 of the RAM sticks on their own in the first slot, and they all work fine. Is my motherboard faulty, or does the Opteron not like the RAM?

Thanks.

erm shame you didn't seek advice before buying the opteron 185.............for £145 (at Scan) you could have bought a new motherboard and dual core Intel E2140 with 2gig ddr2 ram and on a stock cooler would do 2.6ghz +

Anyway any reason why you can't run your system with just 2X512 not bad for winxp

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Originally Posted by excalibur2

erm shame you didn't seek advice before buying the opteron 185.............for £145 (at Scan) you could have bought a new motherboard and dual core Intel E2140 with 2gig ddr2 ram and on a stock cooler would do 2.6ghz +

Anyway any reason why you can't run your system with just 2X512 not bad for winxp

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I don't do Intel, and I'm quite happy with the Opteron (Server equivalent of the Athlon FX-60).

I have always had 2GB in my system before, so there is no reason why it shouldn't work now.

Sorry to say but the FX-60 is a pile of junk. Whether or not you "do" Intel is regardless, you wasted money.

I got my E6600 for around 140 and it easily outperforms the FX-60 (i.e. your opteron) and overclocks far much more.

Sorry to say but it's the truth.

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Originally Posted by ms600

I don't do Intel,.

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Ah! maybe you didn't get my point.........Ok then, nice new AM2 M/B say £50, 2g of DDR2 say £35 which leaves £60 for a CPU, you might have been happy with a AM2 Athlon 64 4800.

There really isn't much value in the AMD / Intel debate. The bottom line is, he's already bought the processor.

With A64, the memory controller is on the CPU, so you might have had a slightly stronger / better controller on your old CPU that was capable of running all 4 sticks @ DDR400. By default AMD only certify running 3 sticks on A64 @ DDR333, so you should clear CMOS to see if this helps.

Also, going from single core CPU to an X2, you should either re-install Windows or do a repair install to get the X2 running properly (if you are on XP or earlier).

Edit: PS. in future you should twist the heatsink by at least 180 degrees before attempting to remove it as this should break the bond and save your CPU.

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Originally Posted by scrandman

There really isn't much value in the AMD / Intel debate. The bottom line is, he's already bought the processor.

.

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Well of course but remember posts here go on google so maybe hundreds, other than the originator of the thread, can get some ideas/advise on a similar situation.
So of interest is:- when do you hang onto (or prop up) an older system and break free to a new.

I can see that I'm not going to get any real help here, just a lecture from a bunch of Intel fanboys, so I'm gonna go it alone and see what I can come up with.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ms600

I can see that I'm not going to get any real help here, just a lecture from a bunch of Intel fanboys, so I'm gonna go it alone and see what I can come up with.

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LOL I was an Amd fanboy from the Intel 300a........it is wise to be a "floater" anyway was scrandmans help of no value? so you could try:-

http://forums.amd.com/forum/index.cfm?forumid=1