odd ram readings (x58)

[Skull_Angel]

hey guys odd problem here,

so I finally get settled into my new motherboard and just now realize the amount of ram during the bios post is off, instead of reading 6144 it reads 6136 (done a lot of reading and it seems to be related to pins on the cpu socket or dimm interface not making contact). I've already tested the ram in pairs, but then I noticed another oddity cpu-z reads the full amount (both running triple and dual channel).

by this point I'm just kind of weirded out. could it be that a pin isn't making good contact with the cpu during post, but is getting enough juice after booting? I'm also thinking this may be a bios bug, but I haven't read much about other rampage iii formula owners having much trouble (then again, there doesn't seem to be a lot of owners that post regularly, lol).

currently using the rampage iii formula, i7 950, g.skill pi 1600 cl7

 

[munkle]

You could try each stick individually in all the slots and if the bios shows that each ram stick contains its full amount of ram my guess is that it would be a bios bug. But if you find that one stick doesn't show up as full capcity in a ram slot it could be a bad stick or bad ram slot (so try that stick in other slots). I wouldn't think it is a cpu pin because last time I had a cpu pin that didn't make contact or was missing the machine wouldn't post.

 

[Skull_Angel]

well, I guess it's definitely the motherboard, won't post with a single ram stick in 1/2/5, and 3/4/6 doesn't even read the full amount. I thought the board wouldn't boot with one module at first after trying a single stick in 1/2 because it would with 2 modules in 1+2, but after trying a few more slots it finally booted.

all the pins seem fine (socket and dimms) and even reseated the cpu, but same results. at least I'm still within newegg's rma service date, lol.

at least I know it ain't the ram

 

[Skull_Angel]

new board just arrived and it seems to have similar problems.

dimms 1/3/5 don't recognize single sticks (doesn't post) and 2/4/6 only read 2040 out of 2048. when 2/4/6 are populated 6136 is read out of 6144.

after examining the chip, it's pretty evident that the first board didn't line up properly, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the new board as far as I can tell.

where the hell is my 8MB going!? lol

edit: seems that the ram value problem has something to do with the bios (either settings or the bios it's self), still haven't found out much for the problem with the dimms not reading the stick other than there being a bad contact somewhere.

 

[Chuklr]

new board just arrived and it seems to have similar problems.

dimms 1/3/5 don't recognize single sticks (doesn't post) and 2/4/6 only read 2040 out of 2048. when 2/4/6 are populated 6136 is read out of 6144.

after examining the chip, it's pretty evident that the first board didn't line up properly, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the new board as far as I can tell.

where the hell is my 8MB going!? lol

edit: seems that the ram value problem has something to do with the bios (either settings or the bios it's self), still haven't found out much for the problem with the dimms not reading the stick other than there being a bad contact somewhere.

Hi, Skull_Angel,

If you haven't already, you might want to post in Kyle's thread on x58 memory issues and describe what you are experiencing.

Chuklr

 

[Skull_Angel]

bah, I feel kinda dumb now if this is true. is it right that slots 1/3/5 (A2/B2/C2) won't read w/o having at least 2, 4 or 6 (A1/B1/C1) populated? this was never mentioned in the user guide that came with the board...

I'm starting to think the missing ram problem might be a slight compatibility issue with the bios, most r3f users haven't reported a similar problem yet, but I haven't seen any of them using the same ram (w/o knowing which chips are on what ram, it'll be hard to determine if this is true...). this isn't a case of entire dimms going missing or ram being bad, just bios failing to recognize a certain amount (8MB).

 

[Chuklr]

bah, I feel kinda dumb now if this is true. is it right that slots 1/3/5 (A2/B2/C2) won't read w/o having at least 2, 4 or 6 (A1/B1/C1) populated? this was never mentioned in the user guide that came with the board...

I'm starting to think the missing ram problem might be a slight compatibility issue with the bios, most r3f users haven't reported a similar problem yet, but I haven't seen any of them using the same ram (w/o knowing which chips are on what ram, it'll be hard to determine if this is true...). this isn't a case of entire dimms going missing or ram being bad, just bios failing to recognize a certain amount (8MB).

Hi, Skull_Angel,

Yeah, Intel based boards require that the 2/4/6 slots be populate before the 1/3/5 slots. Kyle has mentioned this in reviews and previews on a number of occasions.

Chuklr

 

[Skull_Angel]

Hi, Skull_Angel,

Yeah, Intel based boards require that the 2/4/6 slots be populate before the 1/3/5 slots. Kyle has mentioned this in reviews and previews on a number of occasions.

Chuklr

haha, after reading reviews here for so long I just totally skip the testing setup/methodology portions now. danm, I spent a good half hour reseating the ram to get the best results too, guess it's time to start over again with that portion.

 

[Skull_Angel]

finished retest (glad I was able to get max performance from the ram after the first installation), all dimms working fine.

I'm surprised I had to dig so hard to find it, but this is supposed to be the explanation as to why I'm missing 8MB. they really should make a note of that info in the user manual so that ppl aren't flipping the hell out searching through hell to find out why they're missing some ram... lol

 

[Chuklr]

finished retest (glad I was able to get max performance from the ram after the first installation), all dimms working fine.

I'm surprised I had to dig so hard to find it, but this is supposed to be the explanation as to why I'm missing 8MB. they really should make a note of that info in the user manual so that ppl aren't flipping the hell out searching through hell to find out why they're missing some ram... lol

Hi, Skull_Angel,

Glad to hear you're up and running and have discovered the answer.

Chuklr