*avoid* gskill 2GBZX with DS3

[Lestat]

ok well got my gskill 2gb kit of ZX today and just like people have reported it doesnt boot.

reason ?

1) the DS3 auto defualts the ram to 1.9v <-- dum since it limits you to cheap low voltage ram.
2) the gskill requires a minimum of 2.0v to boot properly. <-- the ram should be telling the board this and its not
3) after testing i am finding the DS3 auto boots the drma speed at 400mhz, even at 400mhz the ZX ram STILL requires 2.1v to boot.
and at 800mhz it requires 2.2v or higher.
4) for ME 800mhz 4-4-4-12 even at 2.2v will not boot. i have to set it to auto. but at auto its 4-4-4-12. this seems to be an issue with the motherboard.
5) If at anytime your system fails an overclock and does not auto reset its FSB to defaults... your s.o.l. you have reset the bios with the cmos jumper. This will force the vdimm back down to 1.9v and guess what that means ? you have to pull out the gskill and put in an old set that will boot. change the
vdimm to 2.2v. reboot power down change the ram back . then power on and hope it works.
6) this ram get warm and quickly too.
you NEED active cooling on this ram to make it run properly.


if you ahve the DS3 i would avoid this ram your system wont even boot unless you have some low voltage backup ram.

im pretty disappointed in all this. i expected more from gskill.

overclocking isnt that great either. not considering its the HZ's little brother.

[Kunaak]

I have 6 sets of DDR2 here, and only 2 are from the same company (corsair) and 3 conroe boards.

no board or ram I have, will boot at any higher then the lowest available voltage...

as far as I know, ram does not control what voltage its suppose to run at...

[Brahmzy]

That sucks...hope my Plat EL OCZ 800 stuff has better luck...

[Richard Dower]

Bad news then, guess this effects the DS4 and DQ6 also...appears to be a pure bios issue. Lestat...can you email Gigabyte techincal support with your thoughts and observations?

Perhaps we can qucikly get bios updates if people email and make enough fuss.

[Richard Dower]

G.SKILL techs were saying it's an issue with the CL being set to 3 by SPD, and 800MHz DDR2 will not boot with CL3.

I'm confused...i think G.SKILL need to consult with Gigabyte about this as people will read all this and not purchase their products if they don't work on these boards.

[Lestat]

i made a correction to one of my statements.
i made a mistake.
the board doesnt default the ram to 667 it defaults it to 400mhz. which is correct according to the ram's mhz freq.
so its reading the type of ram correctly it just can boot at such a low voltage.

[Lestat]

I have 6 sets of DDR2 here, and only 2 are from the same company (corsair) and 3 conroe boards.

no board or ram I have, will boot at any higher then the lowest available voltage...

as far as I know, ram does not control what voltage its suppose to run at...


i have super duper el cheapo Samsung DDR667 that is 1.9v by default. it boots fine at defualt.
it will also overclock to 800 @ 2.1v
i can cold boot hot boot and boot over and over at 2.1v vdimm and never have an issue.

this is a mixed bag of the the board and the ram.


and gskill is saying WHAT!?? your saying CL do you mean CAS Latency meaning CAS ? if thats so then gskill is lieing their a$$es off to keep themselves out of hot water.

there are tons of ddr II modules that boot at cas 3. wth....

[Richard Dower]

If that's the case then it HAS to be the CAS Latency...if it's setting it to CL3 by default or SPD it won't boot. It's not rated to run CL3 even at 1.9V and DDR2 400.

Thoughts?

[Lestat]

If that's the case then it HAS to be the CAS Latency...if it's setting it to CL3 by default or SPD it won't boot. It's not rated to run CL3 even at 1.9V and DDR2 400.

Thoughts?


i mis-misread my cpu-z reading.

its not booting at 400mhz ie DDRII 400 its booting at the spd which is DDRII 800. cpu-z 400 i just got mixed up as im runnig a million numbers thru my head right now.

it is auto defaulting to it desired speed. and at 1.9v yes it cant boot.

[Richard Dower]

So it's DDR2 800MHz by SPD, what is the voltage by SPD?

If it's 1.9V at SPD it won't boot...as you say it need to be 2.1-2.2V
What the SPD memory timings?..also, is it 1T or 2T, that could also be the issue...it may need 2T.

[Lestat]

and just so you all know

here is the ram set to 533 memory and auto SPD.

its not booting at CAS 3 its 100% booting at CAS 4

[bobdelt]

G.skill is putting the blame on gigabyte, but the problem seems to be only with g.skill ram. So I think its G.skill's fault for memory not being properly identified by the board, otherwise it would be a problem with all ddr2 800 ram.

[Donnie27]

i have super duper el cheapo Samsung DDR667 that is 1.9v by default. it boots fine at defualt.
it will also overclock to 800 @ 2.1v
i can cold boot hot boot and boot over and over at 2.1v vdimm and never have an issue.

this is a mixed bag of the the board and the ram.


and gskill is saying WHAT!?? your saying CL do you mean CAS Latency meaning CAS ? if thats so then gskill is lieing their a$$es off to keep themselves out of hot water.

there are tons of ddr II modules that boot at cas 3. wth....

I knew that price was too good to be true!

[Lestat]

i got gskills answer to "no DDRII will boot at cas 3"
right friggin here.

im gunna call them and see what kinda poo they try and talk.


my system booted right up at cas 3 so take that gskill!! *edit* this is with my elcheapo ram.

[Richard Dower]

Lestat..show the next screen, where it shows SPD values.
That window suggests manually set timings, it dosen't seem right. It should be 4-4-4-12, not 4-3-3-9.

[Lestat]

Lestat..show the next screen, where it shows SPD values.
That window suggests manually set timings, it dosen't seem right. It should be 4-4-4-12, not 4-3-3-9.


why should it be 4-4-4-12 ? there's nothing saying any ram should be 12.

and no its 100% auto. im not even using the ctrl F1 feature to change anything. just the vanilla bios settings.

[realsmasher]

That sucks...hope my Plat EL OCZ 800 stuff has better luck...

plz tell me if you know more.

and Lestat, are you sure it's only g.skill that makes such problems and not ANY 800mhz/cl4 ram ?

[Richard Dower]

If it's booting at CAS 4 then what is the problem???????
I'm confused.....if SPD boots at CAS4 then what is the issue, you said the memory would not boot at all.

[Lestat]

richard you need to read my original thread post.
please dont skim thru things.

[Lestat]

plz tell me if you know more.

and Lestat, are you sure it's only g.skill that makes such problems and not ANY 800mhz/cl4 ram ?


i have no idea im not making any claims other than this gskill just like the thread title says.
no where do i make any claims to the contrary.

the gskill does say right on it 2.0-2.1v DDR800 BUT BUT BUT
it wont even boot at 2.1v you must set 2.2v

[Richard Dower]

why should it be 4-4-4-12 ? there's nothing saying any ram should be 12.

and no its 100% auto. im not even using the ctrl F1 feature to change anything. just the vanilla bios settings.


G.SKILL have rated the memory to run 4-4-4-12 at 2.0-2.1V @ DDR2 800MHz.
You can manually set lower timgs to see what is the best values you can get, BUT...G.SKILL recomend the values i stated above.

But if you are booting the memory with default SPD values and everything works then what is the problem?

[Richard Dower]

Let's start again, you install the memory and power on the PC, it won't boot...yes?

So you take the memory out and use some generic brand to get the PC to boot, yes?...you then enter bios and manually set timings and voltage, correct?

You set voltage to what 2.1V?, and change timings to 4-3-3-9?

So at 266FSB = 533MHz memory she's up and running with 2.1V....but if you try set timings to 4-4-4-12 and 2.2V and increase the memory speed to 800MHz...it won't boot?
If yes then that makes things clearer.

[Lestat]

dude wtf. i mean seriously wtf.
are you not reading anything i have said.

omg....

read my ORIGINAL POST and that will tell you EVERYTHING.


the whole fvking point is kid, if you dont have any friggin extra ram laying around your fooked. you are up crap creek without a paddle.

I HAVE extra,, not everyone does.

so the ram is 100% worthless to anyone who doesnt have extra ram laying around to raise the vdimm.

so why dont you tell me what the problem is?


not to mention the fact that if you dont set +.04v in the bios it wont boot.

the ram wont even friggin boot at gskills set voltage, it has to be higher.

so whats the problem ? you tell me.


the problem is no matter if you are running higher than stock ram or lower than stock ram if you friggin fail on an overclock you MUST remove the ram, and redo the whole ram swapping b.s. to get the system to boot again.

the retarded ram wont even boot at lower volts and lower mhz than the stock DDR800
it wont even boot at DDR 667 @ 2.1v you must set 2.2v or your screwed.
so you tell me what the problem is.

im NOT sorry for the attitude. i clearly stated the problem and you didnt even listen. not to mention i backed up the claims over and over.

[Richard Dower]

I'm just trying to get to grips with the issue, as i have a DQ6 and the ZX kit myself. I understand the main issue...if you don't have any spare DDR2 memory you are screwed, as you can't boot and manually change the voltage.

I am surprised to hear the memory needs more the 2.1V to even boot at 800MHz, G.SKILL have said, and i emailed them the link to this thread, that the issue is with the CAS Latency being set by SPD to 3, but apparently in your case this is not the problem.

I'm not fighting with you and i do understand your postings..i'm just trying to gain as much insight so as when i build my PC i can anticipate what the problems might be and how to resolve the issue.

[Lestat]

good results on the high side of things..

this is with 2.3v

[realsmasher]

the biggest problem i see here is :

a bios update would not even help everyone, as the stock mainboard out of the box won't work for people that don't got old ddr2 laying around.(like me)

so what should they do now ? buy damn 667 ram ? buy cl5 ram ? hope it works ?

i really don't know.

i was happy, i found a cheap board, that clocks well and that's available now. now i have to start the search from new.

really annoyed about this :(

[Donnie27]

the biggest problem i see here is :

a bios update would not even help everyone, as the stock mainboard out of the box won't work for people that don't got old ddr2 laying around.(like me)

so what should they do now ? buy damn 667 ram ? buy cl5 ram ? hope it works ?

i really don't know.

i was happy, i found a cheap board, that clocks well and that's available now. now i have to start the search from new.

really annoyed about this :(

I got that same board and RAM. I'm waiting for a Conroe Processor. So now I have to go and find some Cheap DDR2 and do RAM switches every time I need to clear the BIOS, dang!

Even worse, he's saying the RAM needs 2.2 to stay stable, sheesh!

[idiotec]

That is the :banana::banana::banana::banana:s, those were the sticks I had my eye on :( Any body have experience with the PK or HZ sticks and whether they suffer from the same problems?

[Richard Dower]

And does the problem only effect G.SKILL memory?
What about OCZ or Corsair?..i see on the Gigabyte memory support list the Corsair 6400-C4 2GB kit is listed as compatiable.

Splash out more moeny and hope for the best???

[Richard Dower]

I like many bought the G.SKILL ZX for price/performance ratio...$180 at Newegg, best bang for the buck...but now.....

:-(

[realsmasher]

i just need to know if the cl4 is making the problem or gskill or even any 800mhz ram.

depending on this i'll get ocz platinum, gold or other board...

[Donnie27]

I like many bought the G.SKILL ZX for price/performance ratio...$180 at Newegg, best bang for the buck...but now.....

:-(

The worst part is I started building my rig a month ago. I'm past the RMA date:rolleyes:

[Donnie27]

i just need to know if the cl4 is making the problem or gskill or even any 800mhz ram.

depending on this i'll get ocz platinum, gold or other board...

Seems like a Voltage problem since it can't even get to the point of reading the eprom for SPD that would change the voltage. This is similar to the problem many posted at Newegg and called it "Intel Only".

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?DEPA=1&Type=&Item=N82E16820231073&SortField=0&SummaryType=ALL&Pagesize=&Page=2

Good

Pros: Fast and cool looking.

Cons: Some Am2 boards dont have a high enough memory voltage at default, so the computer frezzes while trying to boot, or you get a black screen. To fix this just raise the mem volts in bios to 2 to 2.1, problem solved.

Other Thoughts: I was about to rma this but then I did some reaserch and fixed the problem.

Got any info to back up what this guy is saying? Anyone? I saw one other post where someone got it to work on AM2 and had to do the same thing but I don't remember which forum!

[realsmasher]

gskill is not the only ram outside there. someone with other ram should test this, if he not allready did to clarify if it's a gskill issue or a board issue.

[Mako88]

Not sure why you guys didn't all go with the Team Xtreme 3-4-4-8 sticks at $187 from TankGuys...they were far better price/performnace bargains over these limited ZX units from G.Skill. Nearly equivalent to the HZ in fact in the testing I've done so far...Best of luck.

[dinos22]

Lestat why do you sensationalise everything

i got G.Skill HZ yesterday. It boots at 266MHz *2 like every other RAM

no issues

my gskill sticks only have one SPD value which is 400MHz DDR800 4-4-4 but it boots at 266 so that's not right

why don't you like everyone else here contact G.Skill Tech before hitting the "drama" button

[GSKILL TECH]

ok finally today i have enough of our lab and i personally got a DS3 with F3 bios.
not matter what i set in the bios ctrl+f1 CL4-4-4-12 with FSB 200 and DDR2 800, after i boot into windows it show me CL3. that is very weird. anyways, that is using F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK @ +.2v in bios

then i got a set of F2-6400PHU2-2GBZX and it will not boot up.
that is right, it is not boot up at 2.0v. then i using another ram set as 2.3v 1.8v+.5v and it boot into windows with CL3-4-4-12 again. even with my mannally set to CL4-4-4-12 in bios it still show CL3-4-4-12 in CPUz 1.35

currectly i have no idea which parts is causeing the problem. we are contacting gigabyte to solve it. I am going to test on Asus 965 again

Now i am sure that
F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK is boot up at CL3, even with mannally set to CL4 it changes back to CL3
F2-6400PHU2-2GBNR no problem
F2-6400PHU2-2GBZX and F2-6400PHU2-2GBNS are not working right.

[Richard Dower]

So NS and ZX don't work...what about HZ?
And the NR kit works ok?...this just seems weird to me, is it the SPD or the memory chips used?

The NS and NR kits appear identical, according to the specs at G.SKILL, so how do these two kits differe internally?

The NS and ZX kits are stated as being "for Intel platforms only"...

[GSKILL TECH]

DDR2 800 2GBHZ has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBZX has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBNR has no problem to boot up auto

DDR2 800 2GBNS has problem to boot up
DDR2 800 2GBZX has problem to boot up

[Haltech]

Poor Lestat.. Asus bones him, now he cant get his gigabyte to boot with some kickass ram. LOL. Im sure G.Skill will take care of it. Its not like you were going to throw down some sensational benches or anything...:ROTF: I like that Lestat is a beta tester on this platform! Hooray for Lestat!:slap:

[bobdelt]

The G.Skill NS ram would not boot with the ds3 or the asus p5b! More proof G.skill sucks

[K.I.T.T.]

Poor Lestat.. Asus bones him, now he cant get his gigabyte to boot with some kickass ram. LOL. Im sure G.Skill will take care of it. Its not like you were going to throw down some sensational benches or anything...:ROTF: I like that Lestat is a beta tester on this platform! Hooray for Lestat!:slap:
rofl...

:p: :banana: :D

[tvdang7]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231051

these work just to update it with every one.

[Richard Dower]

Have you tested them?..the LA kit?

[bugeyes]

Yes... welcome to the world of incompatibility, not every piece of hardware is going to play nice with each other, that’s how it’s been since the first PC was screwed together! Can't say I'm surprised either, you do have a spanking new mobo, so that’s just the price you pay for being an early adopter. Can't say I like the attitude you have shown to other members who have tried to help you, it speaks volumes about your character. Just be grateful you’re dealing with a reputable firm like G.skill, not many other companies would address these problems as promptly if at all.

P.S. There's some cheese and crackers in the cupboard ;)

[Richard Dower]

You refering to me or Lestat?

[Haltech]

The G.Skill NS ram would not boot with the ds3 or the asus p5b! More proof G.skill sucks

I think that comment was out of line :slap: G.Skill does NOT suck.

[Haltech]

You refering to me or Lestat?


I think that was directed to lessy since you have gone out of your way to help.

[Richard Dower]

To be fair, G.SKILL tech guys post here and respond quickly to postings and issues via email. Hopefully the problem will be found and resolved...either by Gigabyte in a bios update (rapdily) or reprogramming of the memory via G.SKILL.

[Richard Dower]

I think that was directed to lessy since you have gone out of your way to help.


Ooh ok, besides..i'm immune to flames :D

[GSKILL TECH]

no matter what
if gigabyte not going to fix it, we can also exchange to 2GBPK for 2GBZX and 2GBNR for 2GBNS. however, it is just weird to me that seting CL4 will auto change to CL3 :( that is weird

[Richard Dower]

So if i hand in my unopened 2GBZX you give me a 2GBPK kit?
Sweet...

[Richard Dower]

Is there anyway to test the DQ6 board using either F2 or the F3a beta?

[Gun_Strife]

richard y do u make 2 posts when u can just do one

so would this be a problem for any ram on this board that wont boot at cl3 because it sets that automatically, or does it only do that for some gskill ram

[Richard Dower]

Um, another question popped into my head after the first one, sorry.

[Chris583]

Does this Gskill work fine in the DS3? Im thinking of getting it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231051

I want to get the best working ram for under 200$ and these seem to be good, but I'm not sure whether they work in the DS3 flawlessly at boot.

[dinos22]

Poor Lestat.. Asus bones him, now he cant get his gigabyte to boot with some kickass ram. LOL. Im sure G.Skill will take care of it. Its not like you were going to throw down some sensational benches or anything...:ROTF: I like that Lestat is a beta tester on this platform! Hooray for Lestat!:slap:
heheheheh

[pcdoc1]

heheheheh:toast: :toast:

[pcdoc1]

The G.Skill NS ram would not boot with the ds3 or the asus p5b! More proof G.skill sucksNo, it's more proof that everyone is dealing with a new chipset... A little research before you purchased might have been a reasonable approach... :stick:

[xpsentity]

Edit: I see this is a more isolated issue with 965 / DS3. Sorry.

Just as an FYI to counter some of this..

My ZX kit is fine at 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3.

SPD sets it correctly, manually at 4,4,4,12 it's also fine.

Though, this is on 975 chipset, so, maybe it's a 965 issue. (P5W DH)

I have had some strangeness with it and Orthos/SP/Prime, but I seem to have sorted it last night and have had no problems since.

Of course, if the G.Skill guy is having problems, there is obviously something wacky.

[GSKILL TECH]

sup guys.... that is right, i am working about 12hr a day and no weekend life

ok i try F2-6400PHU2-2GBNS, F2-6400PHU2-2GBZX
those are show haveing problem with 965 chipset only.
there is no problem with 975 and 945 (i only have those mobos)

however, 965 due to the design of mobo, those two kits are not working properly.
i recommend buying F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK amd F2-6400PHU2-2GBNR.
those kit using 1.9v are good on 965 chipset, i am testing it right now and i will post my result tomorrow.
really sorry about the tourble.

[Chris583]

Thanks I would definitely buy Gskill if I didn't have to worry about which RAM would work in the DS3 etc.

I hope I can get a 2GB kit soon, perhaps from Gskill if there is a good working one for the DS3. hmm

[GSKILL TECH]

Thanks I would definitely buy Gskill if I didn't have to worry about which RAM would work in the DS3 etc.

I hope I can get a 2GB kit soon, perhaps from Gskill if there is a good working one for the DS3. hmm
right now i am testing F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK on Asus P5B-D tonight
and tomorrow i will test it on Gigiabyte DS3 mobo
However there is a problem, with 2:3 divider at DDR2 800
no matter i manually set at CL4 in bios, it just boot with CL3....
that is bad, bad and bad!!

[xpsentity]

G.Skill Guy: You rock. :clap:

We all appreciate the testing and honesty of the responses from you guys.

Seriously top notch, you don't see this kind of thing from most manufacturers / vendors.

[i found nemo]

[flame bait] intel, when are they gunna stop screwin' up [/ flame bait]

but seriously, g.skill is a very good company, it's just timing-voltage issue. every generation of cpu's have a draw-back. even new generation of mobo/chipset have limitation. tha's what happens, tha's why overclocking/tweaking is a skill, not a given.

[delas52]

I got the ds3 and the cheap gskill 2gbns ddr2 800. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231071) Do you think I'll be ok?

EDIT: I see gskill is testing this out. I will wait for there results and hope I'm not screwed.

[GSKILL TECH]

I got the ds3 and the cheap gskill 2gbns ddr2 800. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231071) Do you think I'll be ok?
no it is not ok.....

[delas52]

Yea I just saw there is an issue there. Is there anyway I will be able to get these two to work together?

[mearle73]

This wont work either Patriot PC7200 2x1GB DDS2 900

[kenofstephen]

ok well got my gskill 2gb kit of ZX today and just like people have reported it doesnt boot.

reason ?

1) the DS3 auto defualts the ram to 1.9v <-- dum since it limits you to cheap low voltage ram.
2) the gskill requires a minimum of 2.0v to boot properly. <-- the ram should be telling the board this and its not
3) after testing i am finding the DS3 auto boots the drma speed at 400mhz, even at 400mhz the ZX ram STILL requires 2.1v to boot.
and at 800mhz it requires 2.2v or higher.
4) for ME 800mhz 4-4-4-12 even at 2.2v will not boot. i have to set it to auto. but at auto its 4-4-4-12. this seems to be an issue with the motherboard.
5) If at anytime your system fails an overclock and does not auto reset its FSB to defaults... your s.o.l. you have reset the bios with the cmos jumper. This will force the vdimm back down to 1.9v and guess what that means ? you have to pull out the gskill and put in an old set that will boot. change the
vdimm to 2.2v. reboot power down change the ram back . then power on and hope it works.
6) this ram get warm and quickly too.
you NEED active cooling on this ram to make it run properly.


if you ahve the DS3 i would avoid this ram your system wont even boot unless you have some low voltage backup ram.

im pretty disappointed in all this. i expected more from gskill.

overclocking isnt that great either. not considering its the HZ's little brother.

oh too bad, it's stupid isn't it?

btw, you should blame G.Skill rather than Gigabyte.

who would expect 1.9v unbootable?

[delas52]

Yo GS TEch. This guy was having the same problem with the ds3 and some ocz ram. Look what he did to boot into the bios an raise the Ram voltage:


I was able to get into BIOS after disconnecting everything except the video card and processor (even the front USB ports, haha), resetting CMOS and using a PS2 keyboard. Sure enough +.2 volts and I'm stably formatting my hard drive wit both dimms installed running dual-channel 800 MHz (2x1 GB).

You think this can be done for us as well, because what he did really was independant of the ram he had, since it wasn't in the mobo when he gt into the BIOS?

[Richard Dower]

G.SKILL tech...so would it be possible to exchange a 2GB ZX kit for a 2GB NR kit?

I know the NR is cheaper, but i don't care about that...i just want a working PC!

[realsmasher]

You think this can be done for us as well, because what he did really was independant of the ram he had, since it wasn't in the mobo when he gt into the BIOS?

the ram he uses is ocz 800mhz gold, so rated at 2.0V and starting with cl5.

the gskill on the other hand is starting with cl3 instead of cl4 AND with too low voltage.

so thats a pretty big difference.

also, he had luck, as he wrote he had try for HOURS to get even in bios. I don't think many people would like to gamble with they ram and mobo combination, do they ?

[delas52]

I guess I'll trade my ns for nr then through gskill. How quick are they over there at gskill?

But still man, it isn't much of a gamble if you just do what he did and change the voltage then boot up again with everything attached to the mobo and the highered voltage.

[pcdoc1]

This still looks like a MB issue to me... Corsair 6400 C4 also starts @ C3 with the F3 and F4a bios..

[dinos22]

This still looks like a MB issue to me... Corsair 6400 C4 also starts @ C3 with the F3 and F4a bios..
any change in F4a

[Richard Dower]

And the 6400-C4 is listed on the Gigabyte QVL list:

http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/MemorySupport/motherbaord_memory_ga-965p-ds3.pdf

It has to be a bios issue.

[Donnie27]

And the 6400-C4 is listed on the Gigabyte QVL list:

http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/MemorySupport/motherbaord_memory_ga-965p-ds3.pdf

It has to be a bios issue.

Others and I did research the RAM and there are user reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16820231073

According to these folks, they didn't have problems with the F2-6400PHU2-2GBZX.

Cons: Didn't work on the gigabyte AM2 micro atx motherboard at first. After a while I went in the BIOS and downclocked the RAM to DDR2 533 and then it became stable. Here's to hoping that a bios update comes out soon with more compatibility.

Hell, at least it booted and he could change the setting.

On another note, it would be nice to come here for info and not have to read through BS.

[pcdoc1]

any change in F4aNot that I can see although I was able to take this sissy 805D from 3.85 to 4.10....

[Lestat]

Originally Posted by Haltech
Poor Lestat.. Asus bones him, now he cant get his gigabyte to boot with some kickass ram. LOL. Im sure G.Skill will take care of it. Its not like you were going to throw down some sensational benches or anything... I like that Lestat is a beta tester on this platform! Hooray for Lestat!




yeah i like being a tester more than buying hardware for my daily use and having it be crap.
i cant afford either though.
so when i buy stuff and its bunk i get pissed cuz i wasted not only my time but my hard earned money.
Im like most of us here i aint rich, i dont have access to ES chips and ES boards and ram like some people, everything is purchased with my own money.
not only that but i have to deal with the rath of the ol lady too. that is the worst part of all of it. lol.

the ram isnt bad, dont take me wrong. it just doesnt work with the gigabyte board at default.

gskill can reprogram the ram to work but i dont see why i should have to pay more money in shipping and have more downtime because of gskills improper programming of the ram.

granted this ram was out prior to the Gigabyte boards, but for gskill to NOT have the ram boot at 1.9v min. is silly.
i dont know of a board that uses a higher voltage for defaults.
they are all 1.9 that i am aware of.
so the ram should have been programmed to run, even with looser timings to boot up.

Its better to have a ram work, and then WE set the proper timings than it is to buy a kit of ram that wont even boot.
That wastes time, and money and gives gskill a bad reputation.


i was able to boot into windows at 4-4-4-15 @ 2.4v 1000mhz but it wasnt stable. i didnt get around to loosening the timings but im sure if i do it would run properly at 1000mhz.

it still doesnt fix anything though simply becuase if the overclock fails and the system wont boot, yous till have to swap stix.

I have some ocz Gold XTC PC5400 coming in today and i will test that out tonight and report back on that also.

im not b|tching persay about gskill's ram as it does work and for 175 bucks it works pretty good.
but here also is a good rule of thumb for conroe owners.

Conroes dont depend on tight ram timings nor high mhz ram to perform properly.

my tests show that my samsung stuff running 800mhz 5-5-5-15 vs the gskill running 800mhz 4-4-4-12,, you dont even gain about a 1/10th of a second.
32m i havent tried yet. but i will.

i've always enjoyed gskill ram, but this whole conroe thing is turning out to be a very different animal, not only for the insane performance they give at such low clocks, but also the hardware needed to run it. ie: 975/965 chipset.
the motherboards as of now are extremely flakey and have serious, FSB issues. they all do. and unless you void the warranty and mod any of these boards your going to have issues with the FSB limitations.

More time and more boards and revisions of current boards are needed to bring the conroe scene to full steam.

right now im half tempted to just put everything in a box until better motherboards are released. and they get the issues with complaint ram fixed.


as of now the gskill is getting returned as a non compatable kit.
there are no warnings that i am aware of other than our testing to show the gskill doesnt work. if i had known what the true problem was i would have never gotten it.
for now i see no reason to get anything else but the cheap ram i have.
it still does 800mhz 5-5-5 w/ only 2.1v and that doesnt hinder the performance of the conroes very much at all.

[delas52]

I sent an rma email to swap my 2gbns for the nr. The ns is cas 5 at default so I don't see why it isn't booting (or why you guys are saying so, my cpu hasn't arrived yet so I haven't been able to test it out). Is it setting this cas 5 all the way down to 3? I'd rather not rma it but if this truly is a problem i will rma asap.

[Nyx]

Geez i was about to consider changing to this pair of rams. By the way does the F4 bios help in anyway.

[Lestat]

Not that I can see although I was able to take this sissy 805D from 3.85 to 4.10....


F4a huh ? wheres that hiding at.

click the contact me link in my sig and email it to me would ya ?
unless its on their site.?

[Nyx]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=109442

:cheer: :lsfight: :p: :D :cheer:

[pcdoc1]

F4a huh ? wheres that hiding at.

click the contact me link in my sig and email it to me would ya ?
unless its on their site.?Can't do it.... You'll screw the flash and then your rants will move from GSKill, Gigabyte, and Asus to me...;)

[Lestat]

I sent an rma email to swap my 2gbns for the nr. The ns is cas 5 at default so I don't see why it isn't booting (or why you guys are saying so, my cpu hasn't arrived yet so I haven't been able to test it out). Is it setting this cas 5 all the way down to 3? I'd rather not rma it but if this truly is a problem i will rma asap.


cas 3 isnt the issue, its the voltages.

the motherboard is using 1.9v to boot and the gskill ram cant boot at 1.9v no matter what cas you use.
hell it wont even boot at DDR667 @ 1.9v

its also not booting at cas3 its booting at cas4.
the ram is hard coded for cas4 no matter what DRAM Freq. you set it to.
Even dropping the ram down to 200mhz it still uses CL 4. using Auto and hitting 100mhz it still uses CL4.

now on the flip side as i said earlier. my homo samsung ddr667 WILL and DOES boot 100% at cas3 at 200mhz.
so the cas3 theory is all smoke.

i have no quarrels with gskill or their product i like it.
i just wish there was a way to make it work. there isnt.
and reprogramming the ram, sure alright gskill send me a prepaid label.
i'll send it out.
me pay for shipping ? nah not interested, i dont need to pay more ontop of what i already paid.

[delas52]

But the 2gbns is cas5.

So if I kept this couldn't I just do what the OCZ guy did and disconnnect everything but the cpu, gfx card, and a ps2 keyboard to get into the bios then just bump the voltage to 2.0V?

Can you try this and see if it lets you in the bios with JUST cpu, gfx, and ps2 keyboard (no other pci cards or front usb or anything whatsoever).

[thunderstruck!]

I have 6 sets of DDR2 here, and only 2 are from the same company (corsair) and 3 conroe boards.

no board or ram I have, will boot at any higher then the lowest available voltage...

as far as I know, ram does not control what voltage its suppose to run at...
Do you happen to have some PC8000UL? Does it boot? That's all I've got right now, and I already have a DS3, waiting for E6600 to arrive.:confused:

[realsmasher]

just look at the voltage theat ram needs. if it's 2,0V and below, it can be done.

anything above depends on the ram, if it boots at 1,8(1,9?)V

[GSKILL TECH]

cas 3 isnt the issue, its the voltages.

the motherboard is using 1.9v to boot and the gskill ram cant boot at 1.9v no matter what cas you use.
hell it wont even boot at DDR667 @ 1.9v

its also not booting at cas3 its booting at cas4.
the ram is hard coded for cas4 no matter what DRAM Freq. you set it to.
Even dropping the ram down to 200mhz it still uses CL 4. using Auto and hitting 100mhz it still uses CL4.

now on the flip side as i said earlier. my homo samsung ddr667 WILL and DOES boot 100% at cas3 at 200mhz.
so the cas3 theory is all smoke.

i have no quarrels with gskill or their product i like it.
i just wish there was a way to make it work. there isnt.
and reprogramming the ram, sure alright gskill send me a prepaid label.
i'll send it out.
me pay for shipping ? nah not interested, i dont need to pay more ontop of what i already paid.
just let you know
at the DDR2 800
no matter you manually set at CL4 or auto, it will change back to CL3
also, i don't think i metion "no ram can boot with CL3"
i said our ram can't boot with DDR2 800 CL3 1.8v

for DDR2 800 2GBNS, DDR2 800 2GBZX, those are for sure incompatilbe. it is not just voltage problem. detail i can't say in here but it will happen to every memory companies and i am sure for it. just becasue we sell our ram for lowest price for DDR2 800, doesn't mean it is bad ram. those ram all pass ddr2 800 1.8v stress test before we ship out. also, we face the problem. actually i want to say thank you to lestat, if he didn't post such problem, i will not personally go get a board and test it.

if you guys have 965 and ZX or NS, we are welcome to do the exchange to PK and NR.

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3

[Richard Dower]

Any chance of testing a DQ6 motherboard with the beta F3c bios?

[mayakindaguy]

Yeah, this seems like it might be narrowing down to a DS3 issue. Not definitively, but that defaulting to cas3 thing is :slapass: . Although I'm thinking that's just a glitch reading in the BIOS no? Isn't the main issue the vdimm? because people have been able to POST with very cheap generic DELL RAM.

I think some complaints to Gigabyte are in order to look into this.

Not sure if it is the RAM or DS3 actually, but here's another case.

Problem
Here is my build:

Intel® Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe Processor 1.86GHz, 1066FSB, LGA775, 2MB Cache Retail
OCZ OCZ26672048ELDCGE-K 2GB Kit DDR2-667 PC2-5400 Gold Edition Enhanced Latency Dual Channel Memory Retail
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 P965 Express Core 2 Extreme/Core 2 Duo 1066FSB LGA775 DDR2 ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail
Sapphire X1900XT 512MB
Antec 550 Neo HE (brand new today)

Okay so here is what I did... I took EVERYTHING out of my case, and plugged in my motherboard, 1 stick of RAM (each independantly), and my video card. I plugged in the 12V rail and motherboard power, then used a screwdriver to turn the PC on. NOTHING!

I swapped video cards to an X300 PCI-E I had lying around -- NOTHING. Same thing for the 6800GT OC I have -- NOTHING!

A point to note... the PC turns on for about a second then turns RIGHT OFF. Then it turns on again and stays on. I had an episode on the PC where it rebooted every 3 seconds -- would not stay on. I heard of problems with Antec PSUs but I am not sure... can't seem to find supporting details.

I am really frustrated and wanted to put my PC together today.... and I've built a zillion before so I can't think what's wrong

Please help

Solution: bought some cheap generic RAM and booted. =P

[Richard Dower]

LOL...who would have thought some cheap ass $30 RAM would work better the premium $300??

:-)

[delas52]

just let you know
at the DDR2 800
no matter you manually set at CL4 or auto, it will change back to CL3
also, i don't think i metion "no ram can boot with CL3"
i said our ram can't boot with DDR2 800 CL3 1.8v

for DDR2 800 2GBNS, DDR2 800 2GBZX, those are for sure incompatilbe. it is not just voltage problem. detail i can't say in here but it will happen to every memory companies and i am sure for it. just becasue we sell our ram for lowest price for DDR2 800, doesn't mean it is bad ram. those ram all pass ddr2 800 1.8v stress test before we ship out. also, we face the problem. actually i want to say thank you to lestat, if he didn't post such problem, i will not personally go get a board and test it.

if you guys have 965 and ZX or NS, we are welcome to do the exchange to PK and NR.

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3

Ok so I will have to exchange my NS for NR then. I sent out an RMA email (this is how I should go about doing this exchange, right?) this morning at 10am, haven't gotten a reply yet but hopefully tomorrow I do.

[Lestat]

just let you know
at the DDR2 800
no matter you manually set at CL4 or auto, it will change back to CL3
also, i don't think i metion "no ram can boot with CL3"
i said our ram can't boot with DDR2 800 CL3 1.8v

for DDR2 800 2GBNS, DDR2 800 2GBZX, those are for sure incompatilbe. it is not just voltage problem. detail i can't say in here but it will happen to every memory companies and i am sure for it. just becasue we sell our ram for lowest price for DDR2 800, doesn't mean it is bad ram. those ram all pass ddr2 800 1.8v stress test before we ship out. also, we face the problem. actually i want to say thank you to lestat, if he didn't post such problem, i will not personally go get a board and test it.

if you guys have 965 and ZX or NS, we are welcome to do the exchange to PK and NR.

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3



i would love for you to show me, and not to doubt you, but i have a long enough history to prove that companies will say anything to get out of taking the blame.
anyways. i would love for you to show me something that shows this board boots this ram at CAS3

i have PROVEN that it does not. i repeat it does NOT.
it wont even boot 200mhz at CAS3 its CAS4 the ram is hardcoded for CAS4 ONLY leaving everything on auto 100mhz or 1000mhz the ram will ONLY do CL4.

id love to know where you think this stuff is booting cas 3.

not to mention the fact that i can show time and time again that the ram will NOT boot at under 2.2v which once again false out of the specs of the ram.

the ram is 100% of the issue. not the board misreading the ram or trying to boot at CL3.

if you wanna throw results back and forth i got all day. ok not really lol.

there is nothing that i have seen from my own testing to anything from gskill or anyone else that this ram is booting at CL3.
and i get tired of people saying that.
you havent proven it , and frankly ive shown beyond a doubt that with generic black label samsung ram the system does not switch to CL3 until UNDER 200mhz FSB. above that its CL4.
YET your ram REFUSES to come down from CL4 EVER. it will never come down from CL4.

contact me via my email link in my sig and ill send you my contact info and you can send me a prepaid shipping label via email. (fedex does this) and ill send it back to you and you can reprogram it correctly. but i refuse to spend any more time or money on this ram.
its sitting in the box waiting to go back to newegg.
and why would i exchange my ram for a cheaper lesser ram. am i supposed to just write off the loss ? your kidding right ?

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3

once again i can sit here and prove you 100% wrong. that is IF i am understanding what your saying.
how much proof do you boys want i have a kit right here. CL5 ram that i can set to CL4 and boot at 800mhz....

your statements are becoming more and more unfounded and unproven.
do you guys even own a DS3 to test with ? i mean honestly.... lets be honest with each other here.
i can boot at CL4 1000mhz and your telling me that i cant boot at 800 CL4
and yet i can show you i can.

this board is NOT, and everyone i want you to listen IS NOT booting DDR800 AT CL3 it is NOT doing that. the baord does not use CAS3 until 200mhz or less. OR depending on how your ram's SPD is setup.

THE PROBLEM WITH THIS RAM IS 100% THE VOLTAGE.
the ram is not programmed to boot at anything less than 2.0-2.1v but even mine wont boot at 2.1 it must be 2.2

now i also just realised something and i may understand where your saying the DS3 is booting at CAS3. if this is true i am now and forever washing my hands of all gskill products.

CPU-Z reports the motherboard using CAS3. this is an ERROR!!! of cpu-z! cpu-z reads the wrong CL/CAS timings.

all other programs WILL read CL4 or CL5 or whatever. but cpu-z is reading it wrong.
If you are basing your statements soley on cpu-z then my friends. omg.. i am truly speechless.
cpu-z only reports CL3 once you start overclocking.
at defaults. whether is 533 or 667 or 800 or 1000. it will report the TRUE CAS rating.

i wouldnt be such a bastard right now but i have PROVEN that everything i have said is true. read this thread look at the screenshots...

you guys in this thread and several other threads have proven nothing. not that i am aware of. i ask simply that you post here clearly for everyone to see some proof of your claims.


I stand by my original statement.

do NOT buy this ram to use with this board. it wont work at defualts.
the ram is not programmed to run at a lower setting if lower voltages are present during bootup.
it will NOT kick down to a lower speed.
it wont even boot at 667 @ 2.1v
so how do you explain that ?

[dinos22]

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3
i have no such issues

[badboy]

This guy over at futuremark seems to have no problem running the GSKILL memory in his DS3. He is using the G.Skill 2GB DDR2 HZ PC2-6400. That memory may work in this motherboard though for some people though.
http://www.futuremark.com/forum/showpost.php?p=171070&postcount=41

[GSKILL TECH]

i would love for you to show me, and not to doubt you, but i have a long enough history to prove that companies will say anything to get out of taking the blame.
anyways. i would love for you to show me something that shows this board boots this ram at CAS3


do you think i need a pic for someone already back me up?!

This still looks like a MB issue to me... Corsair 6400 C4 also starts @ C3 with the F3 and F4a bios..


and i already said, this ram is incompatilbe with DS3 or any 965!
don't you read?


i think you need to read more what i wrote, many users in here already turn in their RMA form and will receive free return label, i have no idea why you are so piss about it?!

CPU-Z reports the motherboard using CAS3. this is an ERROR!!! of cpu-z! cpu-z reads the wrong CL/CAS timings.

ok i don't know that but i do use CPUZ to check the CAS
if you can point me out which program i should use that is great

[mearle73]

Mine seems to be going ok

[Richard Dower]

What mobo mearle?...DS3, dunno anymore..i'm baffled by the whole RAM debacle. Once person reports a problem while the other is giggling at other peoples hair pulling.

(hair pulling comment not aimed at mearle)

[Richard Dower]

i think you need to read more what i wrote, many users in here already turn in their RMA form and will receive free return label

So we can send the RAM back to G.SKILL for free?!...how awesome is that!!

You guys rock! :banana:

[mearle73]

Yep ds3,use a stick of ddr2 to set cas4 in bios up the volts to plus3 or 4 save bios,remove ddr2 ram stick g.skill zx in and away it goes

[Richard Dower]

That might be our only option for now (until bios update), so..can anyone recomend to forum members some CHEAP 256MB DDR2 memory that will work with the DS3/DS4/DQ6.

So as folks can at least boot and change voltage manually.

[mearle73]

This ant to bad,as its not mega dear ram

[geof]

just let you know
at the DDR2 800
no matter you manually set at CL4 or auto, it will change back to CL3
also, i don't think i metion "no ram can boot with CL3"
i said our ram can't boot with DDR2 800 CL3 1.8v

for DDR2 800 2GBNS, DDR2 800 2GBZX, those are for sure incompatilbe. it is not just voltage problem. detail i can't say in here but it will happen to every memory companies and i am sure for it. just becasue we sell our ram for lowest price for DDR2 800, doesn't mean it is bad ram. those ram all pass ddr2 800 1.8v stress test before we ship out. also, we face the problem. actually i want to say thank you to lestat, if he didn't post such problem, i will not personally go get a board and test it.

if you guys have 965 and ZX or NS, we are welcome to do the exchange to PK and NR.

just one more thing, at DDR2 800 DS3, can't not boot up with CL4. no matter you set at CL4 or spd is CL4... it just change to CL3

i've got DS3 and 6400HZ and when i choose ram divider 4X ( so DDR-800 ) in bios and select CAS 4 , i boot and cpu-z shows CAS 4 ...
ok i have a Pentium-D 805 but i think this could be the same with C2D , no ?

[GSKILL TECH]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1622385&postcount=2

PK is ok
NR is ok too but i left my usb drive at home...pic is in there

[GSKILL TECH]

So we can send the RAM back to G.SKILL for free?!...how awesome is that!!

You guys rock! :banana:
if you are in usa it is good, outside of USA that might be some problem

[TravisaKaBiggie]

so will i be able to boot ddr2 gskill 667 with the ds3?

[Ozymandias]

if you are in usa it is good, outside of USA that might be some problem

So outside of the USA what do we do ?

[grapz]

Does any one know if u can boot and get to the bios screen with a Corsair PC6400 CAS 4?

And if you can, u can change the voltage to the right amount right?

[pcdoc1]

The Corsair is fine....

[grapz]

really so theres no problems whatsso ever with corsair?

[delas52]

I just sent my RAM away with UPS. Can't wait for the NR. Thanks so much for the great help G Skill you guys are great.

[Spot]

I personally find that what Les is going through is real frustration. Techicalitity aside. Imagine there's this joy in getting the latest OC hardware and apparently, there will be some expectation. If it doesn't clock that well, it's one thing. If it doesn't boot and it's not a DOA issue, it's really frustrating. But I am not saying I agree on all the forms that the frustration is express. But it did get some problems and most importantly, the solutions looked into and surfaced.

[kenofstephen]

if you are in usa it is good, outside of USA that might be some problem

what is the "some problem" exactly?:eek:

[Spot]

Yeah, what's "some problem"? I want to know too. There's also a big gap in the prices in and outside US?

[arrakys]

if you are in usa it is good, outside of USA that might be some problem

very nice.

what are customers from europe supposed to do ? I'am french, and like lestat i don't see why i should charge anymore. it's up to your responsability :fact:

EDIT : rma request sent to european headquarters \o/
EDIT 2 : phone call programmed this afternoon with german responsibles. I'll post here results for europen customers.

[arrakys]

After the phone call, gskill germany is aware of this problem (tbh it s the minimum) and asked direct cash-back from dealers to final customer. If this don't work, they'll do an exchange.

In wait for further informations. (anyway, i wonder if this is interesting someone ?)

[G.S EUTech]

G.Skill European RMA dept. is willing to replace incompatible kits for compatible kits on your mainboard. The only thing you have todo is send a RMA request.

Just like normal RMA, shipment fee is for you. Return replacement will be paid by G.Skill.

Always try your reseller/store first, if that doesn't work out RMA with G.Skill European RMA.

Thanks,

[davvy76]

DDR2 800 2GBHZ has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBZX has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBNR has no problem to boot up auto

DDR2 800 2GBNS has problem to boot up
DDR2 800 2GBZX has problem to boot up

Can you tell me what bios you used to boot the 2gbnr because mine wont boot at all even after the cmos is cleared? The pc just sits in a loop restarting with no display. Stick a gig of kingston 533 in and it boots first time, i'm on bios f4c.

e6300
ds3
DDR2 800 2GBNR

Edit: Got one stick recognized with +.3v, cant boot into windows and no chance of two sticks. This ds3 is the biggest pos i've ever laid eyes on.

[Skull Knight]

i would like to add that Ocz gold 6400 5-5-5-12 PN: OCZ8002048ELDCGE-K is having the same bug but cheapo ram trick work perfectly.

[Donnie27]

if you are in usa it is good, outside of USA that might be some problem

I'm in the USA and Yes I'm requesting a RMA. Filled out the form and etc.... I thought I had it licked but no luck. Hell, I used some cheap Ampro RAM to install the OS.

[geforce man]

i would like to add that Ocz gold 6400 5-5-5-12 PN: OCZ8002048ELDCGE-K is having the same bug but cheapo ram trick work perfectly.


i just booted that stuff up on bios f2 (just got board in, havn't flashed it yet) and my ocz gold 5-5-5 booted up @ 800Mhz just fine. (dont know what cas latency it was, forgot the "secret" menu key for giga, dont have time to install winblowz right now anyways tho, bud i did oc the pD to 3.22Ghz right away, i mean, i just COULDN"T leave it at stock, wouldn't be xtreme at all.

[Skull Knight]

my board was f1 bios version maybe that was the problem.

[Daveb2012]

this sucks, I was really close to buying this memory, this is the only reason im holding off on buying my MB and Memory. I have no clue what memory I should get for E6400 and DS3 or DS4. I have been hearing so much mixed stuff on all available ddr2800 mem out there.

[arrakys]

G.Skill European RMA dept. is willing to replace incompatible kits for compatible kits on your mainboard. The only thing you have todo is send a RMA request.

Just like normal RMA, shipment fee is for you. Return replacement will be paid by G.Skill.

Always try your reseller/store first, if that doesn't work out RMA with G.Skill European RMA.

Thanks,

:clap: nice.

[davvy76]

Thats great but just remember even if they do replace them with nr sticks it still wont work with a conroe in the ds3.

[arrakys]

Thats great but just remember even if they do replace them with nr sticks it still wont work with a conroe in the ds3.

the problem is about ZX and NR sticks. ZX should be replaced with PK and NS by NR. I am wrong ?

[davvy76]

the problem is about ZX and NR sticks. ZX should be replaced with PK and NS by NR. I am wrong ?

DDR2 800 2GBHZ has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBZX has no problem to boot up auto
DDR2 800 2GBNR has no problem to boot up auto

DDR2 800 2GBNS has problem to boot up
DDR2 800 2GBZX has problem to boot up

I thought the zx and the ns were the problematic sticks going by this post so I bought nr, which dont work afterall with my e6300, ds3. Though reading that i'm a little confused because in one sentence he has the zx working fine then at the bottom the zx doesnt work or I missed something.

[arrakys]

I thought the zx and the ns were the problematic sticks going by this post so I bought nr, which dont work afterall with my e6300, ds3. Though reading that i'm a little confused because in one sentence he has the zx working fine then at the bottom the zx doesnt work or I missed something.

It depends on sticks .
For exemple, ZX are design to operate at 2.0-2.1v. as the gigabyte boards will use a 1.9v as default, some "good" kit will post, some won't. But most of ZX kits won't boot using 1.9v.

[davvy76]

It depends on sticks .
For exemple, ZX are design to operate at 2.0-2.1v. as the gigabyte boards will use a 1.9v as default, some "good" kit will post, some won't. But most of ZX kits won't boot using 1.9v.

Ah I see, but it still doesnt explain why NR sticks arent working even when the volts are upped by +.3 in the bios to 2.2v and the timings manually changed to 5-5-5-15. (the only way I could get into the bios was to boot with a stick of generic).

[arrakys]

Ah I see, but it still doesnt explain why NR sticks arent working even when the volts are upped by +.3 in the bios to 2.2v and the timings manually changed to 5-5-5-15. (the only way I could get into the bios was to boot with a stick of generic).

did u test each modules separatly ?

[davvy76]

Yep, with a single stick windows starts to load and then hangs, dual channel wont even let the pc start.

Same setup with 2 gb's of patriot 667:
http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=9020881

Definitely a ram/mobo compatibility problem.

[Lestat]

i had the goldt GX XTC 5400 and it booted fine.
but the 5400 is real generic yucky ram. definately not an overclocking ram by anymeans. not overclocking as in dont expect to get over 800 fsb.
but it does go from 667 to 800 so.. take that as you wish.

the gskill ZX i couldnt get stable at 950 no matter what voltage or spd.
take that as you wish also but for ddr800 ram i really expected more from gskill since its 180 bucks. but still not bad ram.
too bad it doesnt boot in this baord.

we need a sticky of what ram boots and what ram doesnt.

[davvy76]

Well if someone does do a list of working ram they can add kingston 533mhz KVR533D2N4/1G to it, currently running 1gb at 400x7 1:1 5-5-5-15 1.9v, bios f4c.

[arrakys]

i had the goldt GX XTC 5400 and it booted fine.
but the 5400 is real generic yucky ram. definately not an overclocking ram by anymeans. not overclocking as in dont expect to get over 800 fsb.
but it does go from 667 to 800 so.. take that as you wish.

the gskill ZX i couldnt get stable at 950 no matter what voltage or spd.
take that as you wish also but for ddr800 ram i really expected more from gskill since its 180 bucks. but still not bad ram.
too bad it doesnt boot in this baord.

we need a sticky of what ram boots and what ram doesnt.

do you think a 1.9v capable ZX kit would POST on a DS3/DS4/DQ6 ?

[Donnie27]

do you think a 1.9v capable ZX kit would POST on a DS3/DS4/DQ6 ?

Maybe! I was impressed with the Cheapo RAM LOL! Maybe it is not just the voltage but something to do with the speed as well? I mean if the GS-Tech is right and this CAS4 RAM is trying to run at CAS3, then that would suck.

I too think the Mobo is just as much if not more at fault than the RAM.

[arrakys]

Maybe! I was impressed with the Cheapo RAM LOL! Maybe it is not just the voltage but something to do with the speed as well? I mean if the GS-Tech is right and this CAS4 RAM is trying to run at CAS3, then that would suck.

I too think the Mobo is just as much if not more at fault than the RAM.

tbh, i am a bit confused about giga board and gskill modules behaviour... board booting at 1.9v or 1.9v AND cas3 ?

[delas52]

I hope the NR works. I RMA'd my NS for the NR. Then I just saw davvy's problem and emailed them but they said not to worry, that the NR definetly works with the DS3, they have tested it.

[davvy76]

I hope the NR works. I RMA'd my NS for the NR. Then I just saw davvy's problem and emailed them but they said not to worry, that the NR definetly works with the DS3, they have tested it.

Thats what I thought but if you look at the testing thread they're not using a core 2 duo, which is the only difference regards ram/mobo/cpu I can see:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1622855&postcount=6

I really hope it works for you though because its a total pain in the arse when you spend good money on something only for it not to work as
expected.

another user (in the same thread):
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1623039&postcount=7

[gam3r]

Can someone confirm that G.Skill PC2-5400 DDR2 LA 2x1GB Works or doesn't?

Thanks

[garnin]

If it's rated at 1.8 V, it should work fine.

Does anyone know what exactly the difference is between the NS and NR sticks? The ZX and PK? Their specs look exactly the same, but one works and one doesn't. just curious..

[delas52]

Thats what I thought but if you look at the testing thread they're not using a core 2 duo, which is the only difference regards ram/mobo/cpu I can see:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1622855&postcount=6

I really hope it works for you though because its a total pain in the arse when you spend good money on something only for it not to work as
expected.

another user (in the same thread):
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=1623039&postcount=7

Well they get my NS ram today. I sent them another email with the links you gave me as well as a link to one of your posts. My E6400 gets here tomrrow and the RAM is already delaying me about a week. If the new RAM I get doesn't even work I would be pretty disturbed.

[gam3r]

If it's rated at 1.8 V, it should work fine.

Does anyone know what exactly the difference is between the NS and NR sticks? The ZX and PK? Their specs look exactly the same, but one works and one doesn't. just curious..


Thanks for the reply. Its rated at 1.8-2.0V but when i tried it i could only get it to work in slots 2 and 4 of my DS3 motherboard with the latest bios. When i put it into slots 1 and 3 the pc would just cycle on and off on and off so i am seeking clarification from someone who has used this ram in 1 and 3 or also has had this problem.

Thanks for your time and help.

[delas52]

Well here is their reply.

Hi
I also test F2-6400phu2-2gbnr on DS3 with E6400 and no problem too.

Thank you
GSKILL USA REP

I hope it does.

[garnin]

Do you know if they'll be posting their finds on the forums anywhere?

[Donnie27]

tbh, i am a bit confused about giga board and gskill modules behaviour... board booting at 1.9v or 1.9v AND cas3 ?

Just as the tech said it changed to cas3. I this is someone else Processor so I didn't have enough time to test as much as I'd like but it enough to know I didn't want the RAM. The board didn't send enough voltage to the RAM so it would just sit there partially started with no video.

If I could do it over again, I'd have gotten mid-ranged DDR2-667. Seeing the Celeron run on one 256MB stick9s0 of DDR2-533 was sweet! Both the AMpro and Generic ran well. So did the PQI DDR2-667, sorry I didn't get the specs of the RAM but I'm sure it was cheap CAS4 5-5-15.

[TimothyB]

Well I had made the mistake of getting the ZX with my DS3 and the computer didn't post, and I didn't have any spare 240pin ram around and the cheapest stick in town was $60.

I'm atleast glad that this makes it 99% sure why my new pc didn't work.

What happened to you guys with the DS3 and this ram when turning on the computer, would it just sit on with the fans running, or would it endlessly restart?

My system at first would power on for a second, lose power, then come back on and just sit there. I could hold the button for 5 seconds to shutdown and it would not do that 1 second shutdown thing from then on until turning off the psu and pulling the power cable and trying to turn it on again. But after messing with it by disconnecting things and reconnecting and so on before I learned of this ram problem it now just turns, then off, then on, then off, and so on without the cpu fan never getting a chance to spin up.

I'm nervously waiting for some Corsair ram that ZipZoomFly has been processing for 2 days even though I selected overnight, so it won't ship until tomorrow, arriving Firday morning.

I'm so scared of how the system has been running and with no indicating lights on the mobo or beeps I have no idea if something else is wrong.

If I had known ZZF would take so long I would have bought that extra stick of ram to start and test the system and done an exchange with Gskill overtime.

[TimothyB]

Ah, after checking the FAQ on the DS3 it seems to be normal for various reasons if the mobo seems to restart over and over. I just hope the new ram fixes that.

[MustardTheoRy]

i just received via UPS; some G.skill 1 Gb x 2, 065-2GBHZ and its sweet!!

[davvy76]

Well I had made the mistake of getting the ZX with my DS3 and the computer didn't post, and I didn't have any spare 240pin ram around and the cheapest stick in town was $60.

I'm atleast glad that this makes it 99% sure why my new pc didn't work.

What happened to you guys with the DS3 and this ram when turning on the computer, would it just sit on with the fans running, or would it endlessly restart?

My system at first would power on for a second, lose power, then come back on and just sit there. I could hold the button for 5 seconds to shutdown and it would not do that 1 second shutdown thing from then on until turning off the psu and pulling the power cable and trying to turn it on again. But after messing with it by disconnecting things and reconnecting and so on before I learned of this ram problem it now just turns, then off, then on, then off, and so on without the cpu fan never getting a chance to spin up.

I'm nervously waiting for some Corsair ram that ZipZoomFly has been processing for 2 days even though I selected overnight, so it won't ship until tomorrow, arriving Firday morning.

I'm so scared of how the system has been running and with no indicating lights on the mobo or beeps I have no idea if something else is wrong.

If I had known ZZF would take so long I would have bought that extra stick of ram to start and test the system and done an exchange with Gskill overtime.


Endless restarting with the nr until I booted with some kingston and set to 2.3v and 5-5-5-15. Saved, whipped the kingston out put a stick of g.skill in, booted to windows logo, froze. Inserted second stick of g.skill just for the sake of it, black screen, no self test. Inserted g.skill in different slots same result. Inserted g.skill in bag and posted back, bought another stick of kingston 533 and am now running happily at 400x7, 1:1, 1.9v, 5-5-5-15, bios f4c

[tuoho]

Will newest bios fix issue with gskill 2gbnr?

[Luck.exe]

Will newest bios fix issue with gskill 2gbnr?

That stuff worked straight out of the box with F1 bios for me. Didn't even have to adjust the voltage on the ram (but I have it set to +.2v).

[delas52]

davvy, you might be interested to know my 2GBNR has been working perfectley.

[davvy76]

davvy, you might be interested to know my 2GBNR has been working perfectley.

Well mines gone back now so either it was bad or didnt like the f4c bios, pleased its working for you though. If you visit the ocuk forums theres users there with the same issue I had :confused:

[Richard Dower]

The ZX kit will not POST with 1.8V, but it did POST with 1.95V using the DQ6 F3g beta bios.

My memory timings appear to be stable @ 4-4-4-12 (set manually) and do not appear to change any longer.

I've decided not to RMA my RAM as it appears to be ok, save for the hassle of taking the memory out when doing bios flashes etc.

[andlcs]

maybe WPCREDIT can read the actual cas latency. . .

[pavels555]

i have P5B... and it doest work either with 800Mhz ZX

so. iwant to exchange it with PK..

but i read in newegg the reviews.. and they r talking about problems with C2D too...

[Richard Dower]

Update on this...with F4d the memory NEEDS 2.2V to even boot. anything less it will not post. With F3 it would POST with 1.950V...now it won't.

Gigabyte bios is getting worse with each release.