Memory compatabilty on Blackops

[Johnny D]

Hi All,
Hopefuuly i've posted this in the right forum this time.
I've built a system for a friend and to be honest, it was abit above my knowledge level and i need help please
The set up is
Foxconn Blackops motherboard
Q8200 quad core cpu
asus 9600GSO Magic graphics card
4 x 1g OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel Extreme Edition ( only 2g installed at present - see below)
1 tb hitachi HDD
2 x samsung DVDRW
450w PSU
Windows Vista Ultimate 64

I managed to get the system booted up after replacing the bios chip to a newer version as when first purchased it wouldn't boot with the q8200 installed.
After updating the bios and installing windows i had a problem running the pc with 4g ram (4 x 1g). It ran for an hour and froze. Upon restarting it wouldn't boot at all (intermittent beeps). I then found after testing each one individually that one of the ram sticks was faulty/corrupt. I dont no if it got damaged while in the pc during that hour or it was faulty on purchase. The pc now runs ok with 2 x 1g but my mate wants 4g installed. At the moment it is running at 48% usage at the on 2g. I'm worried that the same might happen again if i buy the same ram and if these are compatable with the blackops or if any settings need to be changed. Bearing in mind i'm pretty new to this high end stuff, can you advise me if i need to change any settings in the bios for the memory etc and to run stabily using 4g (4 x 1G) ram.
Thanks in advance,
Johnny D

[zanzabar]

up teh NB voltage to atleast 1.4V, and try the ram with 1333mhz and some loose timings then tighten in from there. i dont think that the board likes 4 sticks

[saaya]

its very common nowadays, especially with newegg, to get faulty ram... they dont test memory that is sent back to them, they just send it to the next guy...
make sure the nb is cooled well with a fan blowing air over it, its specced for up to 90C but you dont want it to run that hot
increase nb voltage to at least 1.4v... to really max out the mem go for 1.6-1.8v!

tony from ocz posted a custom spd for some of their mem here a while ago, tuned for blackops... give that a try and see if it helps...
make sure vdimm is set to the right value as well, not too high and not too low, both can make it unstable with 4 sticks.

ideally contact ocz and ask them for help, they know how to tweak their mem and set it up better than foxconn for sure... and they had a BO board a while back so maybe they can give it a try or you can at least have a look at the detailled settings they used for some mem on the BO a while back, i think they post this sort of infos on their forum

[XmikeX]

Hi All,
Hopefuuly i've posted this in the right forum this time.
I've built a system for a friend and to be honest, it was abit above my knowledge level and i need help please
The set up is
Foxconn Blackops motherboard
Q8200 quad core cpu
asus 9600GSO Magic graphics card
4 x 1g OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel Extreme Edition ( only 2g installed at present - see below)
1 tb hitachi HDD
2 x samsung DVDRW
450w PSU
Windows Vista Ultimate 64

I managed to get the system booted up after replacing the bios chip to a newer version as when first purchased it wouldn't boot with the q8200 installed.
After updating the bios and installing windows i had a problem running the pc with 4g ram (4 x 1g). It ran for an hour and froze. Upon restarting it wouldn't boot at all (intermittent beeps). I then found after testing each one individually that one of the ram sticks was faulty/corrupt.

Ummmmm.............. 450w PSU ? probably rated 16-18 amps on 12v, at best.

Why do I get the feeling that this could have been due to a weak PSU.......... =)

You've got a "modern" system with 3 drives onboard, all this might just put a nice strain on the rails (especially 12v) when active... and then this load can get interesting enough to cause volts to drop or other nonsense (e.g., temporary or permanent hardware damage, etc).

XmX

PS: Perhaps I'm being a bit hasty with this, but I had a similar problem when moving an -older- 480w psu to a more modern box.. after years of being beat up, this psu wasn't quite up to original spec...and even if it had been, i think it would have been strained anyways, if say i had done some disc burning ..etc

[saaya]

yeah trying another psu is always a good idear with qf boards, they draw quite some current at startup afaik and even some beefy psus dont handle that very well...

[Johnny D]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the info so far.
Mike and Saaya - I did wonder about the PSU - telling my mate it would be wise to upgrade to a decent 550/600w branded PSU as tha one thrown in with the case will basically be a load of tosh. I know the importance of the PSU, but am still a newbie at this level. Does the PSU make much of a differnce when using 4g instead of 2g then?

Hi Zanzabar

up teh NB voltage to atleast 1.4V, and try the ram with 1333mhz and some loose timings then tighten in from there. i dont think that the board likes 4 sticks

I know i'm abit out of my depth here. My memory sticks are 1600MHz DDR3 CL 7-7-7-24 (CAS-TRCD-TRP), XMP Profile 1: 1600MHz 7-7-7-28* (* Intel qualified specification for boards featuring the X38 or X48 chipset), XMP Profile 2: 1777MHz 9-9-9-31 and 1.9v.
Can you tell me what these different timings/settings are please? I presume all these setting are to be tweaked in the bios in overclocking mode. Is it possible to set the memory manually to run at 1333mhz
Where do i change the NB to 1.4v ( if its not already set at that) and where do i change the voltage for the memory?

Thanks in advance guys.
Johnny D

[saaya]

no, psu only makes a diference if your board is a bit demanding like qf boards are, and if you use one or even 3 beefy vgas plus a quad
mem barely pulls any power...

[XmikeX]

As far as PSUs go.. Let's borrow a line from a certain faith that is becoming increasingly relevant to human life on this planet..

There is no PSU but HX1000w, and Corsair is His Prophet.

XmX

[zanzabar]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the info so far.
Mike and Saaya - I did wonder about the PSU - telling my mate it would be wise to upgrade to a decent 550/600w branded PSU as tha one thrown in with the case will basically be a load of tosh. I know the importance of the PSU, but am still a newbie at this level. Does the PSU make much of a differnce when using 4g instead of 2g then?

Hi Zanzabar


I know i'm abit out of my depth here. My memory sticks are 1600MHz DDR3 CL 7-7-7-24 (CAS-TRCD-TRP), XMP Profile 1: 1600MHz 7-7-7-28* (* Intel qualified specification for boards featuring the X38 or X48 chipset), XMP Profile 2: 1777MHz 9-9-9-31 and 1.9v.
Can you tell me what these different timings/settings are please? I presume all these setting are to be tweaked in the bios in overclocking mode. Is it possible to set the memory manually to run at 1333mhz
Where do i change the NB to 1.4v ( if its not already set at that) and where do i change the voltage for the memory?

Thanks in advance guys.
Johnny D

this is one of the reasons that i hate how the blackops is selling for so cheap. its nothing against u personally its just something that most people arnt ready to deal with, hence the low ratings on newegg for it being DOA or not working/overclocking

the ram is ratted at 1600 cas7 but thats with only 2 sticks and that is not with default voltages. what u have to do is 1) set the ram up with 1-2 sticks if it wont post (use the outside slots) then set the memory frequency to 1333 or lower then the ddr voltage and the NB voltage. turn it off and stick the other ram in, then set the correct frequency with 9-9-9-24, test. then lower to 8-8-8-24 then 7-7-7-24 then 7-7-7-18 (or whatever its ratted). u may need something like 1.55V on the NB and u also have to keep it sub 55c. its a huge pain and most people dont have the means to get ddr3 and the x38/48 working properly at moderate frequency and timings since it takes alot of testing and normally liquid on the NB. and if u do liquid cool do not use the stock top for the water block i recommend replacing the pot with an mcw30. the top that i got with mine other than being aluminum had chips in the anodizing near the joint so it would have migrated in nothing flat even with proper additives to prevent it (but an mcw30 is cheaper than the additives and compared to distilled water the additive added to it or a premix will run a degree or 2 hotter.


and the psu makes a huge difference, its the heart of the system and if u have unstable rails or not enough for the peak consumption the computer will just fail. and im not sure on the design of the blackops but i think that it is taxing on the 3.3 and 5V rails and unless u get a high end CWT or seasonic anything lower watt will get owned IMO

[Johnny D]

Hi Zanzabar,
Thanks for that imformative reply.
Yes you are right in what you say - I am out of my depth and only bought the Blackops mobo cuz it seemed a snip at £80 even though it was far too advanced for my mates needs.
At the moment i am not in possession of the said pc and am waiting for a new pair of memory sticks from OCZ, but the pc is running ok at optimized default settings with 2g ram installed.
When i get the new sticks i shall try what you have suggested and see how i get on.
I'm also looking at upgrading the PSU (thanks XmikeX for your feedback earlier) to something with abit more umph.
Thanks so far guys. I know i'll be back!
Johnny D

[Pekalion]

Hi people! Hope you are doing fine... I came across a question. The Corsair DOMINATOR GT 2x2GB 1600Mhz are going to work fine in the BlackOps? Because I want to remove my failed Crucial from it and put some really decent mems. Have someone already buy one of those and tryed out? How are working?

Well, thanks if someone answer

[Pekalion]

Too much knowlegde but very little help What a pitty

[zanzabar]

im not sure how low voltage kits work with the blackops i would just get crucial jdec and oc/volt it or an old cheap kit of 1.8-1.9V and get some hcf0 or jnm

[Pekalion]

Hm, actually I tryed a Crucial Tracer but, it seems that they just forget how to do kickass mems They wont go up 1500Mhz even with 2.0v

[zanzabar]

Hm, actually I tryed a Crucial Tracer but, it seems that they just forget how to do kickass mems They wont go up 1500Mhz even with 2.0v

what NB voltage were u using

[Johnny D]

Hi Guys.
I've finally got the new memory from OCZ and have the pc in my hands. I am also changing the psu to an ocz gamexstream 850w
I want to run 4 x 1g of OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel Extreme Edition on the pc if posssible and if it's not too difficult. As you know from previous posts, i am a little out of my depth, but am trying to learn new bits and bobs all the time. Can you advise me on anything I may need to do as regards the bios settings please. I can set it as optimised but i don't no if i need to set the timings and voltage myself. I would like to have a go but i don't want to blow the thing up!
Are you familar with the blackops bios and if so can you put me on the right track please.
Do i need to install one or two stick at a time and adjust the timings, voltage etc, and how is this done? I've read somewhere on the OCZ support website that the FSB needs to be set at 1600 in order to run these sticks but am concerned of damage to the cpu (quad core 8200) as its fsb is 1333. I no i have to turn SPD to manual to do the timings. Is this correct. Or shall i bite the bullet and buy some new 1066 or 1333 memory
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Johnny D

[saaya]

you wont blow the cpu when ocing the fsb, dont worry...
search this forum section for threads with blackops in the thread title and there you go, a lot of people posted their settings
they arent copy paste-able but should give you a good idea where to head, and if you dont want to push things to the max, it shouldnt take long for you to figure out the settings

make sure the nb is cooled well and then bump nb volts to at least 1.4v, ideally to 1.6v.
more nb volts means you will need less vdimm for the same max stable memory clocks.
use the 1:2 333 memory divider or the 1:2 400 memory divider and then bump up the cpus fsb to 1600.
i think you wont even need more vcore for that, just more vtt/fsb voltage to get the 1600fsb stable.
increase nb volts... and possibly set mem timings manually if its not stable... that should be all really...

[Johnny D]

Hi Saaya,
Thanks for all that info. This is new territory for me so i'm reading, asking questions and researching as much as poss before i attempt anything.
The nb is only cooled using the stock cooler supplied with the cpu so will i have to be abit cautious when bumping up the volts
According to OCZ the recommended timings for the memory are 7-7-7-24. And are rated at 1.9v.
Here's the link http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...xtreme_edition
I appreciate your advice so far and i shall search the forum for a little more.
Thanks mate,
Johnny D