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I've got a booster strapped into my K8N Neo2 atm. Been running at 3.1V since I set it up a few days ago. However, I took the case side off today and had a look at the booster, and it now reads 2.8 (BIOS Vdimm set to 2.6). Adjusting the pots makes no difference to the voltage readout. I've taken it out of the computer, and reseated it. Same result. :confused:
Any ideas? Is it a dud or does it need some recalibration or something?
Maybe a trend here?
I am having the issue with mine. I've only had the thing for 3 days and everything was working fine for a while and now it sits at 2.5 no matter the knob adjustment. I've tried it in 2 other boards as well and it's a dud.
Same thing happend with mine.
Turning the pot only changed 0.1 max.
The problems was in the pot.
Resoldered the "points" and it works fine again.
Seems like it lost contact inside the pot.
Use a dmm and measure the resistans btw the 2 legs that are connected with the pcb.
If no contact try bend very little on the pot and see if it get contact.
I might have to try that before i rma mine. Still can't believe it only lasted 3 days. My heatsink is WAY off to the side and not even centered to begin with.
Mine first started to make volt to go up and down like crazy before it died.
A bit dangerous if you have ram that might burn from high volts.
Hmmm... I'll give the pot thing ago!
As an aside, the heatsink on mine was aligned, but wasn't contacting the FETs correctly when I received it. Had to physically press the sink down to make sure it had contact.
*Edit: perhaps I should rephrase the first sentence... :banana4:
Moved power connectors and transistors to other side, tossed pot (POS), got new micro pot (4 turn- perfect) from digikey (as well as replacement mosfets on general principle) and works well so far. OCZ BGA AL heatsinks on each mosfet, memory fan blows on them too! :D
Fits XTREMELY well in msi, and even set @ 2.7 allowed BH5 2x512 to go up to 250 FSB error free at 2-2-3-6 (2-3 bought me 5 FSB), at least for short testing cycles. Seems the localized voltage helps so far :shrug:
Getting another for the DFI, which is on its way back from CA. Will do same mods so I can use 2 sticks of ram AND the booster finally I hope :D
Resoldered the connections on the pot, and undid / had a look / retightened the claws holding the pot backplate on, seems to have done the job. Back to 3.1v again! (For how long is a different matter!). If it fails again, I'll try bending the front faceplate in on the pot, as you suggest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ubermann
Nice advice, cheers! :toast:
Hope someone from OCZ read this.
I have seen 2 ppl in sweden with same problem.
I noticed that there is some kind of grease on the pot, isnt that very bad if it get on the contact surface inside the pot ??
Hi guys , just email support@ocztechnology.com and we will get these replaced
I fear that a shipment to europe may have been damaged , We had an issue with one of our freight carriers who some how managed to break almost everything inside , none of those made it out to the public , but the earlier shipment might have been knocked around without us knowing
If you have any issues like this just please get in contact with us and we will get you replaced right away
But the box wasnt damaged at all.
Ryanpgroovy, with mine the box was in 100% A1 condition when I received it. The booster worked fine for a few days. My initial thoughts would be that the heat from the FETs has caused a slightly cheap pot to expand, causing lack of contact within the pot, and failure.
your outside box would not have been damaged , were thinking one of the huge cases was dropped which could have damaged the solder points,
I'm not sure which pots the booster uses, but I know I've had several cheap pots that I've used in my industrial robotics lab for controlling small motor speeds go out after a several cycles of turning up and down. I think maybe just soldering on a high quality 4-6 turn pot might solve alot of these problems.
I have experienced the same problem where the pot no longer adjusts vdimm. It arises whenever I switch out the DIMMs for different modules. So far I've been able to correct the problem by entirely disconnecting the booster, booting without it, and then re-installing. Anybody know if this qualifies as grounds for a replacement?
Gogeta ,
We will replace it if you like , but let us check out the problem in depth
My guess is that the pot is the problem also.
Maybe not the solder points, cuz they look just fine.
Putting the pot on the other side would take it away from heat like one here on the thread did.
And also make more room for ram.
Thanks ryan. I'll sit tight with it for now unless it starts to get really weird on me.Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanpgroovy
Are all of you that are having problems on my side of the water? Thats Europe ;)
I have had problems with mine as well.
After adjusting / calibrating, I set it to 3V. But after re-starting the machine, it wouldnt boot into windows - a cursory glance at the display on the booster showed that somehow, the voltage had increased to 3.9V.
Bizarre.
I have uninstalled it until I can decide what to do with it...
TSEC what mobo do you use ?
The grease is probably contact grease and is supposed to be there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ubermann
Sounds like bad solder joints, should be easy enough to check for my moving the pot about.
If you do have this problem im sure OCZ will sort something out, they are normally pretty good with fixing mistakes/accidents these days.
IC7-G max 2 - Possibly may require Vtt mod? Dunno :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ubermann
I'm also having problems with an OCZ Booster that won't give more voltage then the bios.
I RMAed the first one and recieved a new one but the problem was still there.
Mobo: MSI K8N Neo2
Memory: 2x 512MB PC3200 Winbond BH-5
But this was some weeks ago and I bought some G.Skill PC4400 in the mean time :)
ps. I live in Europe btw.
Hey guys
Everyone that is having please email myself or support and please include your full system specs and the shop you bought the booster from. We will get these replaced for you all ASAP
Steve
Just a side note, when I was doing all the switching, even after replacing the mosfets, stuck at 2.2-2.3V. Replacing the pot w/ a new 4-turn fixed it. Figure the soldering iron sped up the process of 'pot deteriation' :D
I have the same problem with my booster, I noticed the the voltage to go up and down when I wiggled the pot and figured the pot took a *hit. I will check the soider joints tomorrow and post back here on the weekend after I get my FX back from RMA.
I had this problem on one of my own mods, I used a pot out of a box I bought for 2$ that was 1 cubic feet of pots, fixed resistors and capacitors. The pot was only puttting out 9K ohms no matter how I turned it.
I replaced it and everything was fine. It might be time for OCZ to switch pot manufacturers, or possibly just use a bit more solder on the connections. (Could you really save a signifigant amount of money by cutting back on fractions of an ounce of solder, even from the hundreds of thousands units you produce?) People are going to bang them, and if jostles are enough to unseat the pot, adding a bit of extra solder might save you money in the long run because you won't need to repair all of these broken units.
We arent trying to cut costs or anything guys , we have already narrowed down the problems to a specific shipment ..
I want a cubic foot of pot for 2$.
HAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!! :ROTF: :ROTF:Quote:
Originally Posted by Lithan
:ROTF:
Wow... a cubic foot of pot would have to be several pounds... :slobber: :banana4: ...umm yeah....
I have a booster that isn't working right on my AN7 but who knows - it could be the motherboard - since I don't have another MB to test on. OCZ has been great tho! :toast:
MUCHO are you still having probs with that booster...hmmm... that just doesn't seem right. I know it worked and I'm pretty sure it was packed like a tank. I hate to see it not working for you. What ram are you using it with?
I have had the same problem. I ran it at 3.0 and 3.1 then one day about two days later it is at 2.7 and will not change. This is with a neo2 platinum 393 board. I have not tried it in another Because I am affraid it may be going up when I turn the noob but not showing the correct voltage. Whatts up??
This can then be rma I guess ha??Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanpgroovy
how did this specific shipment lead to broken boosters in the US, and in Europe?Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanpgroovy
wouldnt one shipment affect one but not the other
The problem in Europe was obviously caused by rough shipping. Most people who buy these likely do so online and if the seller does not adequately pack them, or the parcel service treats it like a soccer ball, then problems could ensue.
people said their boxes werent beat up at all :stick:Quote:
Originally Posted by Kanati
Carton box drop does not mean unit box crush .
Do you have any idea how many times these are actually shipped before the reach your home? I'll bet its not in the final box in every step either, Think about it...Quote:
Originally Posted by blinky
Regardless, where does QA happen is important. If we have this kind of failure rate with any electronic component, just imagine what any consumer would have to put up with. When was last time you got brand new DVD player not working in few days or having marginal operation due to "cold solder joint"? Considering the number of reports vs how many members in XS we have here that has DDR booster (just guestimation at this point) or Powerstream, puts me to question where QA is happening. I myself had 2 out of 4 OCZ product that had initial problem brand new in last 2 years. Just about any electronic product we buy goes through shipping one way or another, question is, where is the finaly QA work done. How well is it done? If they even did sampling 1 out of every 100 item, chance of me getting 2 bad product out of 4 is extremely unlikely. If their tech support was any marginal, I would have gave up on their product by now. Tech support as saving grace is great but it would be nice for me to not wondering when I buy something new not to automatically add $6-10 RMA shipping in consideration before I put an order. (Powerstream they even sent me return packaging slip but won't do for this bad pair of 3200EL... oh well).
Our QA is done in California , and every single Booster is tested before shipping out during the pre shipping calibration process.
All the damaged units we found with the specific issue were talking about were in europe.
There maybe some other issues in the US , but they dont seem to be related
PLease keep in mind guys , we do care about our service , and we go the extra mile to serve our customers , If you have a failure from OCZ , or any product , you can personlay email me and I will make you happy
If you need an RMA on a booster , just contact us.
Now Ryan,
I might be intruding in this subject a little differently from OCZ ferverent crowd here due to my past experiences (one of them being RMA unit I am shipping out today, John promised to ship me replacement today and we shall see on that)
I would like to know,
What do you do on Quality check of your memory line to prevent such case as mine happening? (3200EL with one stick that just is not even worth mentiong as 3200 and the other one not being able to memtest on stock setting on both A64 and P4) I would like to know a little more detail of how QA for memory is done. Is it tested individually? Is it few out of batch? Do you just test for stock speed under rated voltage? Or something a little extra on this testing to give it some margin of error on different system? I think many people in XS would be interested in finding this information out before flopping down average $300 on top end memories you carry.
Sincerely, Jin
All the high end memory , ( everything excluding the value line, which is tested by autmated testers only )
1. Speed binned using an automated tester
2. Tested after assembley using an automated tester
3. Tested on several motherboards , by hand using OCZmemtest . Our testing is done at speed above the specification at the specificatiom voltage ( each part has its own test spec ) , pairs are tested in pairs then put into the package directly after testing
We take our testing extremly seriously ,and we take our quality extremely seriously .
In addition if people have trouble, and some people will no mater how carefull we are we go way out of our way to help them.
where did you buy them? did you ground yourself on the computer case before touching the memory? you might have been electrified and have damaged the sticks by touching them. static killed many memory sticks already... do you have a thick plastic carpet?Quote:
Originally Posted by jinu117
Most of the ram that people get that is "DOA" is either damaged through shipping or from static. As Ryan said every stick that leaves OCZ has been tested and is working when it leaves. Electronics aren't perfect either so we can test stuff 10 times at OCZ but on the next boot up in can fail. This is not common by any measure but it has happened.
We're here to help those people who are having problems and we will always be around to help :)
Steve
Static is probably the biggest killer of memory ,
I dont think most users ground themselves while working on there computer
所有人都愛OCZ
My story with OCZ products is also not that good.
First a Q,
what psu do you prefer to work with the booster,becaus i have a chieftech 360w and i am not able to go higher then 3.1v,i have try't 2 boosters,none of them will go over 3.1v,so what do you suggest to have as psu.
My first booster i have buy'd,when a came home and opend the box,i din't have to open it,it was open,when a try't to have 3.1v it didd't go,only on 3.0v a have it running ok,so i rma it,and it took a long time,2 months i have to waith.
Second booster then came(this one was closed) but i have the same problem,i can get any higher then 3.0v, on a good day 3.1v,but not higher,and thats why a buy it for to go higher, minimum to 3.4v(that what the ocz site say for 8rda3+),but it did'nt,thats the story of the boosters.
I have also buy't a OCZ 520w Powerstream that only lived for 3 days then it just stopt,it took also my mobo(dfi) and cpu(a64-3200+) in the procces,all dead,its volts where 1.7v for cpu and 3.3v for mem,yes just ll'bitt adjusted with the pots and with good cooling on board and mem.
Now that is not so high,so i was wondering why it blew up,i dont know it,do you guys have an idee what whent wrong,it was'nd normal thats for sure,but i sit with the broken stuff and i was not that happy about it.
And the psu was dead i have try it on an other board and diddent work,it did nothing no beep nada,the other stuff also.
Now i dont say that OCZ is bad,i still believe in it and will buy other stuff from OCZ,but so far i was'nt that lucky.
Yes I have thick plastic Carpet :)Quote:
Originally Posted by saaya
However, I also have nice assortment of those static zapping wrist bands when I work on my computer :)
Let's just put it this way..
If I am not cautious on installing my units, I probably would have burnt at least quite a few sticks of memory as this is what I've been doing past 5-6 years.
1) About 1 new motherboard a month.
2) About 1 new CPU every other month.
3) About 1 new cooling method every 6 months.
4) About 1 new memory set every 3 months.
5) About 1 new GPU every 4 months (due to myself killing video with vmod makes the phase faster than I would like to... but... can't... resist)
etc, etc.
This is first time I've had this kind of issues on brand new products... (well now counting 1 GeiL 3700 Platinum set, 1 OCZ Powerstream 520W, 1 OCZ 3200EL Plat Rev2)
I've been builing my own computer from parts ever since I was 13 or so and I am 31 now... 18 years of experience has taught me a lot as well as myself being IT personal (which more than majority of site people here are).
Well your RMA has been taken care of correct? If you still have any concerns let me know what I can do.
Steve
Rocker ,
I have never seen a RMA take 2 months from OCZ . please contact us directly for RMA , also I need you to report to us the store that took so long for your RMA , as we need to address the issue with them.
We have many direct dealers in belgium and a sales rep there who could have had you a replacement the same day.
The reason your booster only goes to a certain voltage and then stops is your probably drawing to much power from the PSU and it limits the amount of current you can send . You probably need at least a 420 watt .
I saw someone else earlier posting this same issue in this thread , which means the booster can draw anymore power , not that the booster is broken :-)
As for booster drawing much power I can attest to it as my current rig is running without it since it seems to be less stable with booster on it on maximum overclock. Also, if you noticed how hot the mosfet gets, you wouldn't be surprised.
I am on my 2nd time RMA on OCZ product so far and I do like responsiveness of OCZ staff on this matter and do appreciate it when your staffs are trained on impatients like me :toast:
Maybe when the 600W version's issues are ironed out and has been approved by some of forum members I've dealt with before, I might give it a shot. (I believe I am treading dangerously close on PSU limit soon)
In the mean time, thank you for re assuring me on your QA staff. I guess since QA staff doesn't do packaging, it must have been one of the packaging workers that need to be trained or reminded on not wearing sweater, etc :P
Just got Gskill rams from fedex and this one is chiming nicely @ 215-2-2-2-5 so far, lets see if my RMA will match up to it or beat it ;)
As i've said before i had my booster for 3 days and it's went south and i bet it's the pot but who knows. OCZ was quick to help me out and i sent off my package today to them and the tech on the phone said they would go ahead and mail me out a replacement as soon as i gave them the tracking number. I called back and gave the tracking number to them and he said it would ship today but no email so i dunno. I do have an OCZ 520w that's been working really great and it's a nice product i definately like it over my 350w heh. Hopefully i'll get me a set of that new tccd volt loving mem as i only have 2 sets of 256 bh-5 that does 270'ish on 3.5v.
Well i take it to the shop 03-09-2004 and i got word from the shop that it was back at 01-11-2004,so thats 2 months isn'it,this was for the booster.Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanpgroovy
So when i buy a OCZ psu of 420w(or better a 470w one??) then it wont be a problem to go at 3.4v,3.5v on the booster,or will i have to regulate it on the 3.3v railpot to the volt that i will.
The OCZ 520w Powerstream is now at shop since 02-11-2004,and i did'nt get any word yet,the cant give me a new one on same day becaus the did'nt have OCZ psu's in the shop,altought i had say'd to them a week in advanche that the psu was dead,but when i was buying it the first time i did'nt have to waith that long,the had it in the shop 2 day's afther a orderd it.
So i am wondring why it's taking so long now that i have my new psu,the have my email and adress,weird isn'it.
I can PM you the url off the shop if you wont it,i don't wont to do it here on the forum,becaus on the otherhand it is a good shop,only a bit to expensive(180€ for 520w),but i did find an other shop that is cheaper(148€ for 520w)so thats better.
Rocker
if your having issues with the store, go get your good back from them and RMA direct with OCZ...i can handle this for you.
I can also forward your details to our Belgian rep who could look after you also if needed.
let me know how you want to proceed.
Tony
Thanks for the reply,but a will see how it turns out now,the psu is now there already for more then a week,so i think its already send to the Belgium OCZ HQ,so there is no point for to ask it back.Quote:
Originally Posted by bigtoe
It's not that i have issues with the store,but the are slow thats a fact.
If i have in the future an RMA of OCZ products(hope not:) ) then a will go direct to OCZ for it and ask overhere on the forum first what to do.
But for now i will see how it go's.
BTW can i order direct from OCZ,if so watts the adress to send the order to,here in Belgium.
You have PM.
i beilieve this is not the problem of the BOOSTER, NEO2 doesn't like BH5, BH5 cannot go over 200mhz on this board. swift to OCZ 4200EL :DQuote:
Originally Posted by semetrix
I'm @ 240 (2-2-2-6) on my Neo2 using 512x2 KHX3200 BH5, I haven't really even tested the memory to its fullest capacity either, so thats not neccesarily trueQuote:
Originally Posted by EraserFlying
The BH-5 runs just fine @ 210MHz 2-2-2-5 with 2,85v (bios) but not with the booster @ 2,8v ~ 3,4v.Quote:
Originally Posted by EraserFlying
But i'm very happy now with G.Skill @ 278MHz (Limit of cpu) 2,5-3-3-7.
1T or 2T?Quote:
Originally Posted by semetrix
I can do 260fsb at 2-2-2-5 with my 2x256 sticks of kingston 3200 @ 3.5v. The new bios is supposed to help out with higher htt and i have yet to try that since my booster has blown up heh. Did the 3.3v rail on the board but have yet to test the waters yet due to work.Quote:
Originally Posted by EraserFlying
Just to clear things up for people, the pot is the main mechanical thing on the PCB
bit of a no frills one and would certainly be prone to problems from repeated vibrations.
While its in a box and packaged in foam it does not stop vibrations being passed to items that stickout or are semi-rigid in construction.
So any large knocks are going to have direct impact on that pot being a type of item most prone on that PCB.
That aside... my experience of those types of mechanical pots has been one that I regard the time to failure being rather short and OCZ would be better choosing something a bit more robust and more of an all in one construction, also you may find
over time users reporting intermittant operation of the pot as the tracking/brushes ware.
My booster is still boosting. (Removed the POT and solderd it back on with some wires so that i could fit it in slot 4 on my K8NS Ultra939) But i have a problem. When i apply load the vdimm drops ~0.1-0.13v)
My 5v rail only drops from 5.26 to 5.25v, so I dont think its a PSU problem. Is this drop in vdimm normal?
Right now om running a pair of 256MB Twinmos BH5 sticks.
Sorry about the minor off topic.
Where is the calibrater dial on the booster?
I have a booster with the same problem - I'm in the UK. I've ordered another one so I can try a different one, but I think I'm going to replace the pot as well and move it to the other side of the board away from the heat.