What voltage for RAM?

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by jmpnop, Feb 27, 2015.

  1. jmpnop

    jmpnop Maha Guru

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    Hi,

    I have an old system, specs-

    CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2GHz
    Motherboard - Asus M4N78 Pro
    RAM - Corsair XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800MHz (Link - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184&cm_re=corsair_ddr2_4_gb-_-20-145-184-_-Product)
    GPU - XFX GTX 260 Core 216
    HDD - Seagate 500GB 7200RPM
    PSU - Seasonic X-650 Gold

    I bought another 4GB of RAM from G.Skill, Link - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209&cm_re=g_skill_pi_black_ddr2_4_gb-_-20-231-209-_-Product

    Now, here's the problem. I didn't realize mixing RAM would cause so much hassle. Corsair has a rated voltage of 1.8V and the G.Skill is rated for 1.9V.

    G. Skill doesn't work under 1.9V, therefore I have kept them both at 1.9V.

    I would like to know-

    1. If overvolting is fine for the RAM, although not much I just want to confirm.

    2. I have tried the pairs in all mixed slot configurations and compatibility issues still exist - like for instance sometimes it won't even post. When it does, it works fine, even under gaming.

    Currently, I have manually set the timings and voltage in BIOS. I would like know if there's anything more I need to know while mixing RAM.

    Cheers!
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2015
  2. Fender178

    Fender178 Ancient Guru

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    As far as voltage goes you are fine with overvolting the Corsair Ram to 1.9V because it is only applying a tad more voltage. I have seen DDR3 kits with a rating of 1.65V and the stock rating for DDR3 memory is 1.5V and they worked fine with no issues. As far a timings go what are your settings? If you found timings that worked then you should be good to go. If I were mixing RAM companies if the timings are pretty close to each other like the RAM chips you purchased I would try to set the timings of one set of RAM chips to the other starting with the lower setting first and if that does not work then the timings of the higher set of chips.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2015
  3. boerenlater

    boerenlater Guest

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    For DDR2 1.9 is fine. I had corsair xms and ocz mixed on a Phenom2 and 1.9-2.0v worked fine.
     
  4. jmpnop

    jmpnop Maha Guru

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    Corsiar Timings - 5-5-5-18

    G.Skill Timings - 4-4-4-12

    I have matched G.Skill to Corsair timings - 5-5-5-18.


    Do you recommend me to match the sticks for lower timings? I just want them working stable, not very interested in overclocking. Would like to keep them close to stock.


    Thanks for the reply guys:)
     

  5. Fender178

    Fender178 Ancient Guru

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    Since you matched the timings and it is working with no problems. Then no.
     
  6. jmpnop

    jmpnop Maha Guru

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    There are weird issues - computer doesn't boot most of the time. After many restarts, it works randomly sometimes.

    Specs - Corsair - 5-5-5-18 1.8V
    G.Skill - 4-4-4-12 1.8-1.9V

    Slot 1 - Corsair 2GB
    Slot 2 - Corsair 2GB
    Slot 3 - G.Skill 2GB
    Slot 4 - G.Skill 2GB

    This is completely strange and I don't know how to force them to match timings, probably I am missing some settings in BIOS.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
  7. Fender178

    Fender178 Ancient Guru

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    I would try the Setting the Corsair RAM to the GSkill timings and see if that works. If not then I would try different matching combinations between the two RAM sets such as 4-4-5-12 or 4-4-5-18 or 5-4-4-12 or 5-4-4-18.
     
  8. rflair

    rflair Don Coleus Staff Member

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    The manual that came with the MoBo shows the RAM layout as A1,B1,A2,B2.

    You have the RAM seated wrong, matching pairs should be A1,A2 and B1,B2.

    The most compatible way to set the two pairs of RAM would be highest timings to highest voltage. So 5,5,5,18 1.9v.
     
    Last edited: Feb 28, 2015
  9. jmpnop

    jmpnop Maha Guru

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    I tried that but the results are same. In the BIOS, there a setting called DRAM timing mode with I've set to Both. It then gives me DCT0 and DCT1 which have identical timing entries, both of which have been set the same timings.

    There's also a DCT information which still shows timings to be different for DCT0 and DCT1 despite what I have set.

    The main issue as of now is that RAM is causing POST issues. I need to restart multiple times for it to boot, when it does it works fine.
     

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