Asus Rampage III Formula keeps dropping RAM back to 16GB

M

mikel833

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Mar 11, 2011
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Hi,

I have 24GB of corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM. I just had it working at a cycle time of 90 and timing of 8-8-8-20 under the X.M.P. Profile..

Windows recognized all 24GB and CPUID confirmed all the timings. When I restart, the BIOS displays 16GB with all the same settings, and I can't get it back to 24GB... What is happening???

Thanks
 
Core i7 9xx is happening. The memory controller in them is very sensitive, just look around on internet, threads like "4GB instead of 6GB" or "8GB instead of 12GB". Try to increase Vtt/QPI/Memory controller voltage, but it won't help you much. The memory controller have sometimes issues with 3 modules, and pretty much all the time with 6 modules.
 
Check to see if you have the latest BIOS for your MB.


As posted above I7-9XXX is very delicate with running memory. If your memory is unstable at all it will not post proper amount.

I have had the problem before when over clocking ram on X58 with I7-930 and to get around it I had to tweak memory voltage and timings till all of it posted.
 
It did post all 24GB, but it went down to 16 after that.... So the timings were correct, and for some reason it didn't keep.
 
As i said - it's the memory controller. We have a server with 6x2GB. It runs happily for weeks, months. Then after reboot it drops to 8GB without any setting change. When you go to the BIOS and check out the M.I.T. settings, you can see that all modules were detected, but system uses only 4 of 6 modules for no logical reason. Remove all RAM modules, put them back, give a system 10 minute downtime, boot - and get 12GB again. No settings changed, no hardware changed - yet the system one time detects 8, another time 12GB.

Unfortunately, this is one of the biggest bugs of x58, and the only solution is to use as few memory modules as possible. Use of 6 memory modules equals asking for trouble. Even 3 modules often do this problem.
 
Well this defeats the entire purpose of my system purchase. If I wasn't going to be able to use 24GB, I would have gotten a 2600k...

Another weird thing... BIOS and Windows see 16GB... CPUID sees 24GB. What is up with that?
 
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Reason is in the post above you - in our gigabyte x58 board in BIOS on M.I.T tab you can see that all modules werer detected (equals to your CPUID, as you can read all SPD info from them), but the memory controller in the CPU decided to use only 4 of them.

In our case you could also see that the timings for one of the channels (B) were not present - the remaining two had 9-9-9-24, but the B channel had nothing.

Solution - lower the clocks to 1333 9-9-9-24 for now, try to run at that speed for a while. If RAM will still go missing once in a time, then increase the memory controller voltage to the safe maximum. If the RAM will go missing even after that, then you should try to switch to other RAM brand (many solved this problem by using Mushkin RAM instead of Corsair RAM). If all these advices fail, then you have a unsolvable problem.
 
Take your ram out and clean the copper/gold connectors with some electriconic safe alcohol. It might be dust or a layer of oxidation preventing electrical connectivity.
 
Reseat the RAM and try again. Simple. That's what I had to do on my system when I installed 3x4GB modules in my machine. Oddly, I had stability issues with 6x2GB DIMMs installed, but out of the three boards I tried, I never had issues with the system detecting all 12GB of memory.
 
I had the same issue with my EVGA Classified board.

I ran a Core i7 920 happily for over 2 years and then one day.....poof.....3.99 GB out of 6 would be seen by the OS for no good reason.
Now the BIOS and CPU-Z saw all 6GB, but the OS.........only 3.99!!! maddening at best.

I tried reseating the RAM.....nothing
I tried reseating the CPU.....nothing
I refit the HSF...........nothing.
Ran memtest........all good sticks.
Adjusted voltages and RAM timings......nothing
Reset the CPU to stock.......nothing
Ran the CPU on a different board........ran perfectly.

I don't know where my problem was, but it's a random but frequent problem on X58 boards.

I RMA'd by board, and bought a Rampage III Formula and a Ci7 930 and started fresh. So far so good.:D

I wish I could help, but there are reports all over the place of this behaviour, it's either the CPU or the board, or both.
 
Its not usually the CPU. The motherboard is far more likely. And not every brand / model of memory module will work 100% right in every board. Some are only validated in 2 DIMM configurations and others in 3 or even 6. If you want six DIMMs I'd suggest using the motherboard vendor's QVL list as a guide.
 
Dan_D, then how you explain that you can see the reports all over the place, from Asus through EVGA, Gigabyte; from X58 lowend to highend... It's not like it is happening only to Asus or only to Gigabyte - it is happening to every board, often even with QVL memory. In my case with the server - we run the RAM at DDR3-1066 @ 1.65V, and they still randomly go missing after reboot.
 
I have a system with 3 2GB modules and 3 4GB modules that I'm using for a training server for Hyper-V certs. 18GB total, and it will switch between 16 and 18 GB seemingly at random. It will see all 18, boot, get into Windows, then all of a sudden, drop to 16, run for a few days, then on the next reboot, go back to 18. I'm not overclocking. it's a base clock Core i7 950. (It was $180 at Microcenter, so I figured it would go well with my P6T for a training server.)

I'm going to increase the VTT/QPI voltage and see if that changes, after reading about this here.

on the up side, my virtual machines don't use nearly that much memory, so it hasn't disturbed those.

I have also found that if the chip doesn't seat right when it is installed, it will cause one channel to fail to be used. taking out the cooler, unlatching the chip, and moving it around a little in the socket (without fully taking it out, just jiggle it back and forth in the socket) helps with that.
 
faugusztin said:
Dan_D, then how you explain that you can see the reports all over the place, from Asus through EVGA, Gigabyte; from X58 lowend to highend... It's not like it is happening only to Asus or only to Gigabyte - it is happening to every board, often even with QVL memory. In my case with the server - we run the RAM at DDR3-1066 @ 1.65V, and they still randomly go missing after reboot.
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Then how do you explain the fact that the problem can usually be fixed with different RAM or a motherboard using the same CPU? CPU failures, real failures are extremely rare. I'm not saying they don't happen but they are much more unusual than motherboard failures.
 
It depends what we call a bug, or failure, maybe we just have a different view who is to blame. Hypersensitivity to RAM brand, memory controller problems are in my eyes problem of the CPU. If that RAM modules work in every other setup (AM3, Socket 775, Socket 1155, Socket 1156) but causes problem with Core i7 9xx memory controller, then the fault is in the memory controller. Especially if we talk about kits made for X58 setups. Before we upgraded to 12GB, we used 3x2GB kit from Corsair. Guess what ? It often dropped to 4GB instead of 6GB.

You can call it a CPU feature, i call it a problem with CPU.

PS: No one talks about CPU failures. We talk about the behaviour of the CPU which is very specific to Core i7 9xx and no other CPU exhibits this issue.
 
faugusztin said:
It depends what we call a bug, or failure, maybe we just have a different view who is to blame. Hypersensitivity to RAM brand, memory controller problems are in my eyes problem of the CPU. If that RAM modules work in every other setup (AM3, Socket 775, Socket 1155, Socket 1156) but causes problem with Core i7 9xx memory controller, then the fault is in the memory controller. Especially if we talk about kits made for X58 setups. Before we upgraded to 12GB, we used 3x2GB kit from Corsair. Guess what ? It often dropped to 4GB instead of 6GB.

You can call it a CPU feature, i call it a problem with CPU.

PS: No one talks about CPU failures. We talk about the behaviour of the CPU which is very specific to Core i7 9xx and no other CPU exhibits this issue.
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I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've worked with far more X58 boards than most. I own more than most do. I've never actually seen the "disappearing memory" thing. In the one instance I saw something similar, I had just installed 12GB of RAM in my own machine, and from the start it only showed 8GB of RAM. I shut the system down and reseated the last DIMM which corrected the problem. I've never seen the issue since. I know Kyle has seen it once in a while as well, but honestly I think such issues are over stated. It could very well be a motherboard issue. In fact I'd bet on it. Especially given the wide range of motherboard compatibility issues with different memory modules. Motherboard electrical design could definitely be the very heart of the matter. I don't think it's the CPU as again, I've worked with a lot of these CPUs and I've abused the crap out of them without seeing this type of issue.

And many of the instances I've read about, were resolved by changing memory modules and or motherboard. Not the CPU. How can it be a CPU bug / problem / design flaw / issue when the motherboard and or RAM replacements seem to be the most common fix for this issue?
 
This problem is rampant over at EVGA. No one has a grip on it but its only been seen with X58 boards. There's a big thread here too.
As I said Idumped my board AND CPU but kept my Corsair 6GBkit of TRX1600 ram. No problems to date.
 
magoo said:
This problem is rampant over at EVGA. No one has a grip on it but its only been seen with X58 boards. There's a big thread here too.
As I said Idumped my board AND CPU but kept my Corsair 6GBkit of TRX1600 ram. No problems to date.
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The problem being rampant with EVGA boards indicates issues with EVGA boards. Not X58 boards in general. With that said, my X58 3X SLI Classified never exhibited that issue. It had developed plenty of other issues of course, but not the issue of failing to recognize all the RAM. Even with 6 DIMMs I had no problems with the system recognizing the right amount of RAM. EVGA boards are quirky. Honestly I don't think they are on par with offerings from ASUS, Gigabyte or MSI. Despite overclocking well, they are plagued with quirks. Quirks which make them unacceptable given the price premiums they often command.
 
Well Dan, as you can see, there is a problem with ASUS Rampage III Formula, i have a issue with Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R ... Maybe for you it is acceptable to try and switch many boards or RAM modules to find a stable combination, but customers usually don't have that option.
 
faugusztin said:
Well Dan, as you can see, there is a problem with ASUS Rampage III Formula, i have a issue with Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R ... Maybe for you it is acceptable to try and switch many boards or RAM modules to find a stable combination, but customers usually don't have that option.
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I'm not having any problems with the Rampage III Formula. And I never said it was acceptable to switch out boards and RAM multiple times to find the solution. But again, I don't think its the CPU as much as the boards / chipset. All Intel chipset based boards are built to certain specifications, and those specs are sometimes flawed, or in some cases not strictly adhered to causing problems. Now I'm not saying the memory controller on the CPU isn't to blame, it very well could be but motherboard and chipset issues are far more likely. Motherboard QC is far more hit and miss than CPU QC seems to be. And again, not every motherboard manufacturer builds a good board.

I just don't think there is enough information to say that all Core i7 9xx series processors have a flawed memory controller design with so little information to backup such a claim. While there are a lot of problems with memory being recognized in some systems, that doesn't necessarily indicate the processor is to blame, especially given the other common denominators. And again, just because memory modules work well on one board doesn't mean that they will work on others. Not all X58 motherboards are created equal, just as not all processors are created equal.
 
Dan_D said:
He's also using 5 DIMMs and I'm not. These boards are very picky about the memory they'll run in a 6 DIMM configuration.
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I'm using a Rampage III Formula with only 3 DIMM's and I'm having the issue as well. I've tried using different slots, reseating the memory, running completely stock, etc. and I haven't been able to get the problem resolved. The only thing I haven't done is flash the BIOS which I plan to do soon.
 
wtburnette said:
I'm using a Rampage III Formula with only 3 DIMM's and I'm having the issue as well. I've tried using different slots, reseating the memory, running completely stock, etc. and I haven't been able to get the problem resolved. The only thing I haven't done is flash the BIOS which I plan to do soon.
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Is that RAM on the QVL? Not being on the QVL doesn't guarantee problems. My memory isn't and I've not had any issues at all with it. As for BIOS updates, 0702 is out now and its working perfectly for me. I'd give that a try.
 
Dan_D said:
I'm not having any problems with the Rampage III Formula. And I never said it was acceptable to switch out boards and RAM multiple times to find the solution. But again, I don't think its the CPU as much as the boards / chipset. All Intel chipset based boards are built to certain specifications, and those specs are sometimes flawed, or in some cases not strictly adhered to causing problems. Now I'm not saying the memory controller on the CPU isn't to blame, it very well could be but motherboard and chipset issues are far more likely. Motherboard QC is far more hit and miss than CPU QC seems to be. And again, not every motherboard manufacturer builds a good board.

I just don't think there is enough information to say that all Core i7 9xx series processors have a flawed memory controller design with so little information to backup such a claim. While there are a lot of problems with memory being recognized in some systems, that doesn't necessarily indicate the processor is to blame, especially given the other common denominators. And again, just because memory modules work well on one board doesn't mean that they will work on others. Not all X58 motherboards are created equal, just as not all processors are created equal.
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From my experiences, I don't think it's so much a problem with manufacturing quality as the tolerances Intel laid down. I've seen perfectly good servers have this same issue, and taking off the cooler, unlatching the chip restraint, and wiggling the chip around in the socket fixes it far more than anything else. On overclocked desktop machines, increasing the QPI or dram voltage fixes it when the "socket wiggle" doesn't.

The way the chips sit in the socket is the main problem. (I want to go back to the days when the pins weren't so sensitive and they were on the CPU instead of the motherboard. I've hated these new sockets ever since LGA775 came out. they just plain suck.) The pins in these sockets don't always sit in the middle of the pads, and then don't get full contact. Even if the chip is dropped in perfectly flat, sometimes the pins don't align right. The whole mechanism need to be reworked.
 
dgingeri said:
From my experiences, I don't think it's so much a problem with manufacturing quality as the tolerances Intel laid down. I've seen perfectly good servers have this same issue, and taking off the cooler, unlatching the chip restraint, and wiggling the chip around in the socket fixes it far more than anything else. On overclocked desktop machines, increasing the QPI or dram voltage fixes it when the "socket wiggle" doesn't.

The way the chips sit in the socket is the main problem. (I want to go back to the days when the pins weren't so sensitive and they were on the CPU instead of the motherboard. I've hated these new sockets ever since LGA775 came out. they just plain suck.) The pins in these sockets don't always sit in the middle of the pads, and then don't get full contact. Even if the chip is dropped in perfectly flat, sometimes the pins don't align right. The whole mechanism need to be reworked.
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And that's a valid point. I think its more common with cheaper boards which not only skimp on power phases for the DIMM slots but may suffer from warped PCB issues (due to the use of less PCB layers) and with a heavy ass heatsink installed, you could easy be warping the board bad enough to prevent some pins from making contact. It wouldn't take much board (and by proxy CPU socket) flex to do this.
 
Dan_D said:
Is that RAM on the QVL? Not being on the QVL doesn't guarantee problems. My memory isn't and I've not had any issues at all with it. As for BIOS updates, 0702 is out now and its working perfectly for me. I'd give that a try.
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No. My memory is TR3X6G1600C9, but only the rev 2.1 of this number shows up. Not sure if that means there are problems with the non-rev 2.1 or what.

Thanks for the recommendation of 0702, I'll pull that down and give it a shot.
 
wtburnette said:
No. My memory is TR3X6G1600C9, but only the rev 2.1 of this number shows up. Not sure if that means there are problems with the non-rev 2.1 or what.

Thanks for the recommendation of 0702, I'll pull that down and give it a shot.
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We saw problems with the Rampage III Formula and older versions of our Corsair Dominator DDR3 2000MHz C8 modules. Kyle mentions that in the review. I personally ran the same Corsair Dominator DDR3 2000MHz C8 v2.1 modules on my Rampage III Formula without any problems. Well at least I ran 3x2GB without issues. 6x2GB didn't work very well. It wasn't 100% stable even at stock speeds.
 
I use the latest revision of the TRX Corsair 6gb kit and have had no problem on my R3F.

As I said before, only after 2 years did my Classified finally go South.
 
magoo said:
I use the latest revision of the TRX Corsair 6gb kit and have had no problem on my R3F.

As I said before, only after 2 years did my Classified finally go South.
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Same here. My Classified didn't last as long as it should have.

mikel833 said:
Well I flashed the BIOS. No luck. I am reseating the RAM now.
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I'd have done that before flashing the BIOS. Though I actually flashed mine first, but that's because I was still running the 3x2GB Corsair Dominator modules and hadn't yet upgraded to 3x4GB Corsair Vengeance modules.
 
Hi all

I wanted to say that I'm glad that I stumbled onto this forum, I've been going nuts with an HTPC I've built with a i7 & rampage 3 formula with 6 sticks of corsair 2Gb ram that is on the QVL. This thing would give me random BSOD's all day long and I was about to get the sledge hammer out and pulverize the thing till I found this thread. I ended up taking out three of the dimms and its been running flawlessly since. I'm debating whether or not I should replace the three 2 GB dimms with three 4 GB modules to get me back to 12GB. Thanks for all the post's !!!!!!
 
maccardi said:
Hi all

I wanted to say that I'm glad that I stumbled onto this forum, I've been going nuts with an HTPC I've built with a i7 & rampage 3 formula with 6 sticks of corsair 2Gb ram that is on the QVL. This thing would give me random BSOD's all day long and I was about to get the sledge hammer out and pulverize the thing till I found this thread. I ended up taking out three of the dimms and its been running flawlessly since. I'm debating whether or not I should replace the three 2 GB dimms with three 4 GB modules to get me back to 12GB. Thanks for all the post's !!!!!!
Click to expand...

I would. If you grab the same modules I've got you shouldn't have any problems and the RAM is fairly inexpensive at that.
 
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