UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

[rodoleveq]

Good evening,

I already posted my problem on a French forum but the community here is much smaller and I didn't get any clue yet, therefore I'm trying on here, hoping I could share and get some interesting info :)

My problem is that I suspect my MB to be defective, but I'd need more advice before bringing it back to my retailer or ask for RMA from Gigabyte...

I bought my MB together with a core i7 920 and 3 x 1GB Corsair DDR3 1600 modules.

- When I boot, BIOS says I have only 2BG out of 3 installed.
- Memtest 86+ as well, when test is launched, runs it on 2048MB only :-(
- Vista says I have 3GB in Computer->Properties page
- But task manager says I have 2048MB physical RAM available

Let's now go to the weird part !!!

- CPU-Z detects all of my modules... Both in memory and SPD tabs it sees my 3GB modules and displays correct SPD info...
- Everest tells me I have 3 SPD installed, displays correct info as well in DMI tab
- Still in Everest, when going to "Chipset" page, it says I have only 2 DIMMs running in Dual-channel mode...

Summary : 3 modules are properly "detected" (Memtest DMI info shows them all, Everest as well, CPUZ as well) but they don't seem to be activated (one is missing obviously and the RAM amount actually used by my PC is 2GB max...)

Here are some screenshots :








Now even "funnier" : I went yesterday to my shop to get my 3 Corsair tested. Too bad : no support on Saturday (yeah, we're in France ! ;-) lol)

Anyway, I bought a new power-supply since I suspected mine to be a bit weak vs my new hardware (and maybe the reason for my problems...)

And since they couldn't test my 3 modules, I bought 3 more (thinking : either they work and I know the previous one were buggy, or the problem are still there and within a few days I'll have 6GB anyway !)

And back home : still same issue... :-(
So I finally mounted my 6 modules and here are the results :

- 4GB in BIOS
- same in Memtest86+ when tested. Altough DMI data says I have six modules installed...
- Vista says 6GB in Computer->Properties
- Task manager says 4GB
- CPUZ sees my 6GB
- Everest & Sandra see my 6 modules as well, but still same results when looking at "chipset" data : 4GB detected and working double channel

My conclusion would be : one of my DDR slot is dead OR my CPU memory controller doesn't work...

What would you think of all this weird stuff ? Any advice about what should I do ? :-(

Thanks a lot !!! (and anyway, i7 and X58 rock !!!)

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

Sorry for the late reply, I think I missed your post!!! Sorry man!

Does each stick work one by one? Have you tried the other three slots?

What BIOS are you using? What OS, and is it x86 or x64?

[GHz]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

check the pins in the cpu socket, make sure they are all perfectly aligned

[rodoleveq]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

Sorry for the late reply, I think I missed your post!!! Sorry man!

Does each stick work one by one? Have you tried the other three slots?

What BIOS are you using? What OS, and is it x86 or x64?

Hi Lsdmeasap and thanks for your reply, no problem for the delay, I'm happy to get some clues and reactions !

So :
- I tested every combination of sticks and they all work properly
- Nevertheless : one stick all alone NEVER works. I need at least two in order to get access to 1GB of RAM, three to get 2GB etc etc etc...

- I also tested the other three slots (blue ones) with three sticks : no boot
- And finally (I think this wasn't very visible in my initial post in first instance) : I installed all 6 modules, thus populating all white+blue slots and I have then only 4GB detected... (and sometimes only 2...or 3...depends on cold / hard boot...anyway)

I have tested every available BIOS as well : from F3 to official F4 through beta F4j, F5a, c and d...etc

Vista is x64 version, but I don't think it is the problem, since at BIOS screen I already have the "4GB seen out of 6GB installed" issue :-(

Finally, now that I'm running with 6 sticks installed and while waiting for further advice before bringing back my hardware to my retailer for support tomorrow : with standard settings, Bios says 4GB, Vista sees 4, Everest/CPUZ/Sandra say 4GB/Double-channel mode/but 6 sticks seens in SPD DMI data...

When activating XMP profile or manually entering proper values (Freq 1600, CAS etc 9-9-9-24-2 and 1.65V), Bios still sees 4GB, Vista then says 6, CPUZ says 6/Triple channel...but Everest, Sandra, and Task Manager memory tab all say 4GB actually available...

I suspect one of my slots-couple/channel to be dead :-|

[rodoleveq]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

check the pins in the cpu socket, make sure they are all perfectly aligned

Hmm not a bad idea !

On i7 architecture, the memory controller is now embedded within the CPU right ? You thus mean a bad connection to some pins could be the reason for a bad sticks/channels detection ?

Stupid questions maybe but :
- do you know how I can check that my LGA1366 pins are "correctly aligned" ?
- and more important, if ever I see something : how shall I try to fix it without making the situation getting worse ? (using a sewing needle ?)

Thx for ur advice !

[gFiz]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

this actuallly seems to be a growing issue. I had the same issue, and ultimately it was the mobo (and not the pins). Another person on the corsair forums had the exact same issue. I replaced mine with another Ud5 and it worked fine.

[GHz]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

Hmm not a bad idea !

On i7 architecture, the memory controller is now embedded within the CPU right ? You thus mean a bad connection to some pins could be the reason for a bad sticks/channels detection ?

Stupid questions maybe but :
- do you know how I can check that my LGA1366 pins are "correctly aligned" ?
- and more important, if ever I see something : how shall I try to fix it without making the situation getting worse ? (using a sewing needle ?)

Thx for ur advice !

sorry for not making a longer reply earlier, but i was on my way to bed

i had the same problem with my board and 6gb of mem (only 4gb seen in the bios and 6gb read by cpu-z)
i was taking my sys apart to return the board when i had a thought...
the mem controller is in the cpu, check the pads and pins

after taking the cpu out of the socket and looking closely at the pins, it was clear to me that 1 of the pins did not look exactly like the others. it was not straight and slightly misaligned
after giving it a couple of little nudges with a small needle, it looked like it was straightened out.
i replaced the cpu and other parts, booted the pc and saw 6gb listed in the bios - success

i honestly have no idea how this happened as i am absolutely sure that i was extremely careful when placing the cpu into the socket.
i can only assume that my board either shipped like that from the factory or it had been used/tested previously

[C3D76]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

Hi Rodo (Salut)

Check this thread, it could be something similar:

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/gigabyte-ex58-ud5-sees-only-4gb-instead-6bg-29304/

P.S. : Post # 9 and # 12

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

I would also have to wonder, are you using a ATX 4Pin 12V plug or a EPS ATX 12V 8pin?

And as said above, please do look at your socket pins as I have seen a few like mentioned above where this was the issue

[rodoleveq]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

Hi again and thx to all for ur replies.

I was busy yesterday and couldn't bring news, since I was dismounting my PC :)

I knew it couldn't be a power issue, since that was one of my initial thoughts that made me buy a new supply last weekend : indeed my previous one only had a ATXx4 connector. The new one (Corsair 620HX) has all necessary cables, but still same problem.

Anyway, doesn't matter ! I'm now writing from my PC showing 6Gigs EVERYWHERE ! (Sandra, Everest, Bios, Vista, Memtest...)

What I did ?

- Checked the CPU pins, as simple and stupid as that...as suggested by some of you.

Incredible really: took me 15 minutes of extremelly careful checking.
And hopefully I knew what I was looking for, otherwise I'd never have found anything (and my retailer either I'm sure)

One of the pins was, maybe, 0.00001 millimeter aside the other ones... Hard to find out. But once put straight again, no problem anymore.

LGA1366 seems to be very sensitive and fragile, because I'm sure that during my first mount I was as careful as I was yesterday when putting the CPU back in it's socket...

MANY THANKS for your suggestions and follow up ! I'm a happy i7 owner now :)

(though I now have some other issues to solve lol : I activated XMP profile for my DDR, no pb to boot, but some instability now. My PC rebooted during the night (I'm running some BOINC projects), and this morning I have random error messages (Vista Aero hangs, xxxx.exe yyy.exe etc etc)
Moreover there's an annoying "bzzzzzzzzzzzz" kind of sound coming out from my motherboard or something inside, that wasn't the case before.)

I'll try to fine tune that this evening

[GHz]

Re: UX58-UD5 : big issue with DDR

awesome!
glad u got it sorted :)