Ram not in dual channel mode?

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Schism

I just installed my new OCZ PC3200 ram and Memtest86 is telling me that
the ram is running in single channel mode, I'm not sure how to get it
to run in dual channel, I have an eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Motherboard and the
BIOS manual is posted below, I'm just not sure what setting to change.

http://s87749883.onlinehome.us/BIOS.pdf
 
I just installed my new OCZ PC3200 ram and Memtest86 is telling me that
the ram is running in single channel mode, I'm not sure how to get it
to run in dual channel, I have an eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Motherboard and the
BIOS manual is posted below, I'm just not sure what setting to change.

http://s87749883.onlinehome.us/BIOS.pdf
Click to expand...

Shouldn't have to mess with bios afaik. You do have 2 sticks of ram don't
you?
 
Schism said:
I just installed my new OCZ PC3200 ram and Memtest86 is telling me that
the ram is running in single channel mode, I'm not sure how to get it
to run in dual channel, I have an eVGA 133-K8-NF41 Motherboard and the
BIOS manual is posted below, I'm just not sure what setting to change.
Click to expand...

You don't need to enable anything in the BIOS, it's automatically
controlled by the memory controller in the AMD processor.

What you do need is two matching sticks of memory and put them in the
proper slots on the board. Many boards require that you put them in
alternating slots with matching colour coding, like slot 1 and 3, while
some go in side by side.

Check the manual to confirm the setup for dual-channel.
 
What you do need is two matching sticks of memory and put them in the
proper slots on the board. Many boards require that you put them in
alternating slots with matching colour coding, like slot 1 and 3, while
some go in side by side.
Click to expand...

The computer will only boot when the two sticks are in DIMM 3 & 4, this
is the way the manual says to do it and this is how I have them setup,
but memtest 86 still says single channel. The memory sticks are exactly
alike.
 
What you do need is two matching sticks of memory and put them in the
proper slots on the board. Many boards require that you put them in
alternating slots with matching colour coding, like slot 1 and 3, while
some go in side by side.
Click to expand...

The computer will only boot when the two sticks are in DIMM 3 & 4, this
is the way the manual says to do it and this is how I have them setup,
but memtest 86 still says single channel. The memory sticks are exactly
alike.
 
Schism said:
The computer will only boot when the two sticks are in DIMM 3 & 4, this
is the way the manual says to do it and this is how I have them setup,
but memtest 86 still says single channel. The memory sticks are exactly
alike.
Click to expand...

Something is seriously wrong. I would double-check to make sure you have
the memory in the proper slots.

I just downloaded the PDF manual for the 133-K8-NF41 board and it states
the following:

For Dual Channel Memory
Dual channel only operates when 2 DIMM Modules are plugged into either
DIMM1 & DIMM3 or DIMM2 & DIMM4, or four DIMM Modules are
plugged into DIMM1~DIMM4.

DIMM1 & DIMM3, or DIMM2 & DIMM4 must be the same type, same size, and
same frequency for dual channel to function.

Note: Computer will not boot if RAM is in 3 and 4 only.
 
The latest downloadable version of the manual is:

http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/manual-rev.pdf

On page 13, note:

For Dual Channel Memory
Dual channel only operates when 2 DIMM Modules are plugged into either
DIMM1 & DIMM3 or DIMM2 & DIMM4, or four DIMM Modules are
plugged into DIMM1~DIMM4.
DIMM1 & DIMM3, or DIMM2 & DIMM4 must be the same type, same size, and
same frequency for dual channel to function.
Note: Computer will not boot if RAM is in 3 and 4 only.

I don't have an eVGA mainboard, but this is similar to other dual channel
boards I have used.

DIMM1 is defined as the slot farthest from the CPU. Which slots do you have
the RAM in?


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/manual-rev.pdf

wow, it says like the compete opposite of what the manual that came on
the driver CD says:
http://s87749883.onlinehome.us/Motherboard_Manual.pdf
DIMM1 is defined as the slot farthest from the CPU. Which slots do you have
the RAM in?
Click to expand...

If that is the case, then my ram is in slot 1 and 2, my manual names
them in normal order from 1 2 3 4, and not 4 3 2 1. The ram is in the
two slots furthest away from the CPU. They are different color. If I
try them in any other order I get a post code and the computer fails to
boot.
 
Idea:
try Sisoft's free Sandra and run that memory bandwidth tool and tell us (a)
the bandwidth # you get; and (b) if it says single or dual channel.

I'm getting a sufficiently high number that I *know* my RAM is running in
Dual Channel mode. Also because NUMA is working. BUT, and this may just be a
"way it names things", but for each memory bank (I have two banks of four in
this motherboard) it says "1" for channels and "2 x 200mhz" and "6400 MB/s
(estimated)" so I think that "1" for channels either is not referring to
"dual channel mode" or it is just wrong.

--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
6 gig DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig SATA2 Hitachi
160 gig SATA1 Seagate
Dual 24" Dell LCDs
550W power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
-
 
This is what SiSoftware Sandra told me, looks to me like it's only in
single channel mode...

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 2653 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 2661 MB/s
Results Interpretation : Higher index values are better.

Int Buff'd iSSE2 (Integer STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 2595MB/s
Scaling : 2601MB/s
Addition : 2715MB/s
Triad : 2703MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 83% (estimated)

Float Buff'd iSSE2 (Float STREAM) Results Breakdown
Assignment : 2607MB/s
Scaling : 2616MB/s
Addition : 2715MB/s
Triad : 2707MB/s
Data Item Size : 16 byte(s)
Buffering Used : Yes
Offset Displacement Used : Yes
Bandwidth Efficiency : 83% (estimated)

Performance Test Status
Run ID : MAIN on Monday, February 27, 2006 at 12:46:26 PM
Memory Used by Test : 512MB
NUMA Support : No
SMP Test : No
Total Test Threads : 1
Multi-Core Test : Yes
SMT Test : No
Dynamic MP/MT Load Balance : No
Processor Affinity : P0C0T0
Page Size : 4kB
Use Large Memory Pages : No

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport
Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1000MHz (2000MHz data rate)
In/Out Width : 16-bit / 16-bit
Maximum Bus Bandwidth : 8000MB/s (estimated)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 2 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 3 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 4-way
Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz data rate)
Width : 64-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 3200MB/s (estimated)

Features
(W)MMX Technology : Yes
SSE Technology : Yes
SSE2 Technology : Yes
SSE3 Technology : Yes
EMMX - Extended MMX Technology : Yes
HTT - Hyper-Threading Technology : No
 
Schism said:
Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 2 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 3 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Channels : 1
Bank Interleave : 4-way
Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz data rate)
Width : 64-bit
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 3200MB/s (estimated)
Click to expand...

I tired it as well, saying my rig is only 1 channel. However, I should be
running dual. ???
 
Schism said:
This is what SiSoftware Sandra told me, looks to me like it's only in
single channel mode...

Benchmark Results
RAM Bandwidth Int Buff'd iSSE2 : 2653 MB/s
RAM Bandwidth Float Buff'd iSSE2 : 2661 MB/s
Click to expand...

That level is about half of typical speeds and indicates single channel.
Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 1 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 2 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Bank 3 : 512MB DDR-SDRAM 2.0-3-2-5 2CMD
Click to expand...

You said you have two modules, and this indicates that two of them are
installed side by side, not in alternating banks.

Your board has a total of 8 banks, and in order to run in dual-channel
mode I believe you must use 0/1 and 4/5 which would be slot 1 and 3.
Channels : 1
Click to expand...

Says one channel.
Bank Interleave : 4-way
Speed : 2x 200MHz (400MHz data rate)
Width : 64-bit
Click to expand...

Width should be 128-bit.
Maximum Memory Bus Bandwidth : 3200MB/s (estimated)
Click to expand...

Again half the bandwidth, so it looks like single-channel to me.

Try another free utility, CPUID, and see what it says:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

No installation needed, just unzip and run. Check the Memory tab and
look at the "channels" section.

But I think you have the memory in the wrong slots.
 
But I think you have the memory in the wrong slots.

CPU-Z reports that I have the memory in Slot #1 and #3, though they are
obviously in the last two slots right next to each other.

It says they are in single channel mode as well.
 
I think the way it is reporting banks not matching to visual is because of
either BIOS setting of "bank interleave" or "?swizzle nodes?"

BTW: Sisoft Sandra shows me as having only "Channels: 1" when I KNOW I'm
running dual channel because of (a) mem bandwidth I'm getting; and now (b)
CPU-Z tells me I'm running dual channel.

Wow, thanks, Bill, for turning us on to CPU-Z! I love how it shows the exact
timings of each RAM module and even the brand name!
--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
6 gig DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig SATA2 Hitachi
160 gig SATA1 Seagate
Dual 24" Dell LCDs
550W power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
-
 
but oh yeah Bill is right when he mentions that spot showing you 64bit
instead of 128bit is another indication you are only running in single
channel mode. I just wanted to point out the inaccuracy of SiSoft Sandra's
"Channels: 1" reading.

--
Scotter
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual Opteron 252s (2.6ghz)
6 gig DDR400 RAM
XFX 7800 GTX 256 w/VGAsilencerV3
500 gig SATA2 Hitachi
160 gig SATA1 Seagate
Dual 24" Dell LCDs
550W power supply
X-Fi Platinum Soundblaster
-
 
Sounds odd.

Usually, you need to put a pair in slots of the matching color to get dual
channel. (I think that some boards may make them adjacent slots, but in the
eVGA board they alternate, as they do on the three Asus dual channel boards
I've used.)

I though that the DIMM slot numbering scheme in the (downloaded) manual was
unusual, but it seemed unambiguous. (That doesn't mean that it's right.)
It's not really important, for dual-channel operation. You can use either
the 1-3 or 2-4 pair.

I wonder if you have a hardware problem? OCZ has a good reputation, but I
doubt that they ship 100.000% good parts.

Have you tried a memory test utility yet? Here's a popular one:

http://www.memtest.org/

(Incidentally, I'm using this RAM on an A8N-SLI:
http://www.corsair.com/corsair/products/specs/TWINX2048-4000PT.pdf . I
haven't run it for extended periods at PC4000 specs, but it appears to have
no trouble with them.)

I hope you get things sorted soon. It ought to be a fast system.
 
Schism said:
CPU-Z reports that I have the memory in Slot #1 and #3, though they are
obviously in the last two slots right next to each other.
Click to expand...

Those are the wrong slots according to the manual I downloaded.

Slots 3 and 1 are located second and fourth from the CPU socket. In
other words, they are numbered 4,3,2,1 as you move to the right away
from the CPU socket.

Sounds to me like you have them in slots 2 and 1, which is not
alternating like most boards.

It is possible the PDF manual I downloaded is wrong, but it says it's
the revised version which would indicate it has corrections in it. Your
printed manual may be wrong.
It says they are in single channel mode as well.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think something is just configured wrong. I don't know
exactly what though.
:-)

I can tell you that I have OCZ memory and it runs in dual-channel mode
just fine on my Asus board, and every other similar system I've seen.
 
Personally, I think something is just configured wrong. I don't know
exactly what though.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, I've asked on the evga message boards and have done
everything they suggested, nothing worked, I'm going to RMA the board
soon most likely.
 
Schism said:
I'm not sure, I've asked on the evga message boards and have done
everything they suggested, nothing worked, I'm going to RMA the board
soon most likely.
Click to expand...

Before you do, see if you can confirm that the memory is good.
 
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