Memory Lapse - Thanks ECS

[t_aitch]

Recently bought an ECS RS482-m the other week to replace my DFI Ultra-D.

I planned to run my X2 4400+ with 2gb GSKILL ZX PC3200 Memory in it.

However the motherboard can only pick up one stick of memory and beeps constantly whenever a second chip of this memory is placed in. (Both sticks work fine as they were both tested in slot 1)

ECS support has been a big let down, and they have a lot to answer for.

I have flashed the bios to the latest version with no success.

Im guessing theres not much else i can do, but will this work below:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...7924&rd=1&rd=1

Thanks everyone

[scrandman]

Your sig is obviously outdated - it says you have an ASUS board, but you're talking about DFI, ECS & MSI boards now.

Is that memory in your sig what is being used, or something else?

[t_aitch]

Corrected now.

[scrandman]

Tried bumping up Vdimm a bit before adding the second stick?

[t_aitch]

I havent tried that yet, that might be a good idea.

Thanks for the speedy reply

[t_aitch]

Tried bumping the ram up to 2.7 rather than 2.6 and that hasnt made any difference.

That is also the max voltage for memory.

Any other ideas anyone?

If someone can definitely confirm for me that my memory will work in that MSI one, then ill buy that straight away.

[Harkin]

Tried bumping the ram up to 2.7 rather than 2.6 and that hasnt made any difference.

That is also the max voltage for memory.

Any other ideas anyone?

If someone can definitely confirm for me that my memory will work in that MSI one, then ill buy that straight away.

I cud be wrong but dont those volts seem a bit high? It usually says on the sticks what the volts/timings shud be.

[t_aitch]

I found from here: http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=605723

Specifications:
Package: 2048MB kit (2x1GB) dual channel pack
CAS Latency: 2-3-2-5 (PC3200)
Test Voltage: 2.6 ~ 2.75 V
PCB Board: 6 Layers PCB
Speed: DDR 400 MHz (PC3200)
Type: 184-pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Quality Control: Comprehensive rigorously tested in pair at dual channel environment

[Harkin]

Is it poss to try 2.75v as u are trying 2.7v. Otherwise it sounds like the motherboard cud be faulty

[t_aitch]

It doesnt go that far it ranges between 2.5v and 2.7v with .5 increments.

Im going to try a mates 2 x 512mb GEIL Value, if that works then im guessing the motherboard is definitely working

[scrandman]

Try relaxing the RAM timings to 3-3-3-8 and if that makes no difference, use 2T command rate (instead of 1T).

EDIT : PS those RAM voltages are fine - folks are just used to seeing DDR2 voltages on the web now which are a good bit lower than old DDR (1.8 ~ 2.2V as opposed of 2.5 ~ 2.8 in days of old!)

[t_aitch]

Unfortunately, i dont have any advanced memory timing options on this board :/

Which is a very big shame as this could have fixed it.

[scrandman]

Unfortunately, i dont have any advanced memory timing options on this board :/

Which is a very big shame as this could have fixed it.

I haven't used that board myself, but a review on Hexus for it shows BIOS screens that appear to let you change things from Auto to Manual that will allow you to make changes:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=6279&page=5

Edit: Also check out pages 34 & 35 of your manual - some changes are allowed.

[t_aitch]

Hmm, i havent got any of these advanced memory timing options:



I dont have the "User Config mode" or any of the advanced options available to me. All i have is "Memclock Index Value" and "Case Latency" Ive changed around cas latency but that doesnt get me anywhere unfortunately. Is there an option somewhere to enable this?

This was before and after the bios update btw.

[scrandman]

Some brands (Gigabyte I think) require you to press certain key configurations to open up hidden options (Ctrl+F1 I think). No idea if this is the case for you though...

[t_aitch]

Tried pressing Ctrl+F1 and i got a one new menu option, not shown in the picture above which didnt make any different unfortunately.

I just tried a friends 2x512mb Geil Value PC3200 memory, and it worked fine. I also tried mixing the combinations so i got the following results, including what im currently experiencing.

DIMM 0 - 512MB GEIL, DIMM 1 - 512MB GEIL.....Success

DIMM 0 - 1GB GSKILL, DIMM 1 - 512MB GEIL.....Success

DIMM 0 - 1GB GSKILL, DIMM 1 - 1GB GSKILL.....FAIL

DIMM 0 - 512MB Geil, DIMM 1 - 1GB GSKILL.....FAIL

Hope that helps.

That motherboard that was on ebay has now gone, so im stuck with this board now. However if someone can confirm that 2GB of GEIL Value will work with this board, im willing to buy a set just to sort my problems out