A7N8X Deluxe Memory problem with PC3200 RAM

  • Thread starter Thread starter Adrian
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Adrian

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Hi All,

wondering if anyone can tell me whether there are any known problems
with the A7N8X Deluxe and PC3200 RAM?

The board is a rev 1.4 with the latest BIOS update. It's been running
an Athlon 3200+ chip quite happily for a while with the CPU at 400MHz
FSB but with 2x256MB PC2700 RAM (Crucial 2.5T) running at 333Mhz.
I've just replaced this with 2 x 512MB PC3200 Corsair Value Select RAM
(2.5T) to get the CPU and memory in sync.

However, the PC refuses to boot with the new RAM unless I slow it down
to 333MHz. I've tried using the SPD setting as well as manually
setting the frequency, but both result in it either locking up during
the BIOS check phase or just after Win XP starts to load, with a
message that one of the Windows files is corrupt. Slowing the RAM
down again or replacing it with my old RAM fixes it. I've also tried
clearing the CMOS but to no avail.

Are there any compatibility issues I should be aware of, or does it
sound like dodgy RAM? Unfortunately, I've got no way of testing the
RAM in another PC, nor do I have access to any other PC3200 RAM to try
instead.

Any suggestions gratefully recieved!

Many thanks,
Adrian
 
Adrian said:
X-No-archive: yes
Hi All,

wondering if anyone can tell me whether there are any known problems
with the A7N8X Deluxe and PC3200 RAM?

The board is a rev 1.4 with the latest BIOS update. It's been running
an Athlon 3200+ chip quite happily for a while with the CPU at 400MHz
FSB but with 2x256MB PC2700 RAM (Crucial 2.5T) running at 333Mhz.
I've just replaced this with 2 x 512MB PC3200 Corsair Value Select RAM
(2.5T) to get the CPU and memory in sync.

However, the PC refuses to boot with the new RAM unless I slow it down
to 333MHz. I've tried using the SPD setting as well as manually
setting the frequency, but both result in it either locking up during
the BIOS check phase or just after Win XP starts to load, with a
message that one of the Windows files is corrupt. Slowing the RAM
down again or replacing it with my old RAM fixes it. I've also tried
clearing the CMOS but to no avail.

Are there any compatibility issues I should be aware of, or does it
sound like dodgy RAM? Unfortunately, I've got no way of testing the
RAM in another PC, nor do I have access to any other PC3200 RAM to try
instead.

Any suggestions gratefully recieved!

Many thanks,
Adrian
Click to expand...
http://uk.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?langs=11&m=A7N8X Deluxe
 
PC3200 used on this board must be on the ASUS "Qualified Vendor List" in
order to run at 400fsb. See ASUS Website for more details. I had the same
problem with the same board; solved it by using Corsair XMS PC3200 (see ASUS
site for part number). It seems this board and chipset will only run with
memory chips from certain manufacturers-any old PC3200 may not work. Let us
know how you make out.

Good Luck!
Paul
 
X-No-archive: yes
Hi All,

wondering if anyone can tell me whether there are any known problems
with the A7N8X Deluxe and PC3200 RAM?

The board is a rev 1.4 with the latest BIOS update. It's been running
an Athlon 3200+ chip quite happily for a while with the CPU at 400MHz
FSB but with 2x256MB PC2700 RAM (Crucial 2.5T) running at 333Mhz.
I've just replaced this with 2 x 512MB PC3200 Corsair Value Select RAM
(2.5T) to get the CPU and memory in sync.

However, the PC refuses to boot with the new RAM unless I slow it down
to 333MHz. I've tried using the SPD setting as well as manually
setting the frequency, but both result in it either locking up during
the BIOS check phase or just after Win XP starts to load, with a
message that one of the Windows files is corrupt. Slowing the RAM
down again or replacing it with my old RAM fixes it. I've also tried
clearing the CMOS but to no avail.

Are there any compatibility issues I should be aware of, or does it
sound like dodgy RAM? Unfortunately, I've got no way of testing the
RAM in another PC, nor do I have access to any other PC3200 RAM to try
instead.

Any suggestions gratefully recieved!

Many thanks,
Adrian
Click to expand...

Have you tried bumping up the "DDR Reference Voltage" ?

You should be using memtest86 from memtest.org, to verify the
memory is error free, before you boot Windows.

Paul
 
Have you tried bumping up the "DDR Reference Voltage" ?

You should be using memtest86 from memtest.org, to verify the
memory is error free, before you boot Windows.

Paul
Click to expand...

Thanks guys.

No luck yet - I've tried bumping up the voltage slightly and setting
the memory timings to 11-3-3-2.5 but it still locks up just after the
memory count.

Have scanned with memtest and no errors found so suspect it's the fact
that the memory is not on the Asus list (wish I'd noticed first - I
assumed that it would take all PC3200 memory from a reputable
manufacturer).

I've had an email back from Corsair (actually "Memory Guy", which I
presume is their support address) but may see if I can return it to
the online store (www.dabs.com)

Cheers and will let you know if I resolve it.
Ade
 
Thanks guys.

No luck yet - I've tried bumping up the voltage slightly and setting
the memory timings to 11-3-3-2.5 but it still locks up just after the
memory count.

Have scanned with memtest and no errors found so suspect it's the fact
that the memory is not on the Asus list (wish I'd noticed first - I
assumed that it would take all PC3200 memory from a reputable
manufacturer).

I've had an email back from Corsair (actually "Memory Guy", which I
presume is their support address) but may see if I can return it to
the online store (www.dabs.com)

Cheers and will let you know if I resolve it.
Ade
Click to expand...

Hi All,

I've just had the following response from Corsair/Ram Guy:

"I believe you have the first revision of ASUS A7N8X motherboard, and
if you do then by using two sticks of DDR400 will pretty much not
function on your system, since it's the chipset limitation. You can
only run DDR333 on the DDR400, please contact ASUS for more info or to
double check if this pertains to your situation."

Does anyone know if this is true? I've not seen it mentioned anywhere
and the implication on Corsairs website is that their TwinX DDR400 ram
should work with the A7N8X (though it doesn't stste which revision).
Is it worth me replacing the Value Select RAM with TwinX stuff or
should I just stick with it running out of sync with the CPU?

To be honest - how much of a difference would it make getting the two
in sync? If it's only a few % I'm not too worried, but if its
noticable then I would be!

Cheers,
Ade
 
(e-mail address removed) (Adrian) wrote in message

Hi All,

I've just had the following response from Corsair/Ram Guy:

"I believe you have the first revision of ASUS A7N8X motherboard, and
if you do then by using two sticks of DDR400 will pretty much not
function on your system, since it's the chipset limitation. You can
only run DDR333 on the DDR400, please contact ASUS for more info or to
double check if this pertains to your situation."

Does anyone know if this is true? I've not seen it mentioned anywhere
and the implication on Corsairs website is that their TwinX DDR400 ram
should work with the A7N8X (though it doesn't stste which revision).
Is it worth me replacing the Value Select RAM with TwinX stuff or
should I just stick with it running out of sync with the CPU?

To be honest - how much of a difference would it make getting the two
in sync? If it's only a few % I'm not too worried, but if its
noticable then I would be!

Cheers,
Ade
Click to expand...

What slot combinations have you tried. I would try slot 2 and
slot 3 (the two slots furthest from the processor), as those
slots should be next to the termination resistors at the end
of each channel. You can also try slot 1 and slot 3.

When I look on the Crucial site, there are no warnings for A7N8X Deluxe.
On the Kingston site, they indicate that using their 1GB modules requires
slowing down the rate, whereas you can do 3 x 512MB at DDR400.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=13239&distributor=0&submit1=Search

The thing that is puzzling about this, is the original Anandtech article
had 3 modules at DDR400 as their "stress test" and Nforce2 passed. I just
don't understand how things went downhill from the original release.

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=1759
http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=1759&p=10 (A7N8X results)

Here are some ram experiences:
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49832 (Nforce2 picky about RAM)
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51062
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46207
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19882 (compatible ram, 150 posts)

Found using:
http://nforcershq.com/forum/search.php
Value select (two terms) and click "Search for all terms"

It is possible that BIOS past a certain release have done this.
And I did want to buy one of these boards, to play with :-(

HTH,
Paul
 
What slot combinations have you tried. I would try slot 2 and
slot 3 (the two slots furthest from the processor), as those
slots should be next to the termination resistors at the end
of each channel. You can also try slot 1 and slot 3.

When I look on the Crucial site, there are no warnings for A7N8X Deluxe.
On the Kingston site, they indicate that using their 1GB modules requires
slowing down the rate, whereas you can do 3 x 512MB at DDR400.

http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/modelsinfo.asp?SysID=13239&distributor=0&submit1=Search

The thing that is puzzling about this, is the original Anandtech article
had 3 modules at DDR400 as their "stress test" and Nforce2 passed. I just
don't understand how things went downhill from the original release.

http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=1759
http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=1759&p=10 (A7N8X results)

Here are some ram experiences:
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=49832 (Nforce2 picky about RAM)
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51062
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=46207
http://nforcershq.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19882 (compatible ram, 150 posts)

Found using:
http://nforcershq.com/forum/search.php
Value select (two terms) and click "Search for all terms"

It is possible that BIOS past a certain release have done this.
And I did want to buy one of these boards, to play with :-(

HTH,
Paul
Click to expand...

Paul,,

Odd isn't it?!! I've read so many conflicting articles!

In the end I decided to return the RAM for a refund. Hopefully I'll
be able to test a mate's Corsair low latency TwinX stuff in about a
month - if that works I may buy some of that.

Cheers for the advice
Ade
 
In the end I decided to return the RAM for a refund. Hopefully I'll
be able to test a mate's Corsair low latency TwinX stuff in about a
month - if that works I may buy some of that.
Click to expand...

I went to www.crucial.com for my PC3200 memory. Bought their standard
type and have not had any problems, They guarantee compatibility.

--

Cheers,

Guy

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