GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

[Krohling]

My system:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200
Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L (Rev 1.0 BIOS F9)
2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-1066 @ DDR2-800 5-5-5-18 2T
Samsung 250GB SATA Hard Drive
Samsung DVD-RW drive
Enermax 470W PSU

[Nickel020]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Well you can try setting the voltage manually but the "overvoltign" is absolutely no problem as the RAM is designed to run at that voltage or higher anyway in roder to achieve 1066MHz.
You may save a Watt or two, but unless you really care about that just leave it as it is. i don't think this is the RAM overheating.

What does the BSOD say? Ther usually is an error code that points to the cause of the issue. ALso describe the circumstances when it is happening, they may seem random to you but maybe we can make sense of it.

[Krohling]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

About the voltage I know the RAM can run at 1.80V, 1.95V, the RAM is warranted up to 2.2V. Of course I'd like to run at the lowest voltage possible. Less voltage will also possibly give a little less heat.

But is it normal behaviour for this board to overvolt the RAM by default? Or could this be a faulty board?

The BSOD I didn't take note of the error code on the bottom of the screen. But everytime a BSOD happens it usually shows an error message on the second line, but it said the computer was shutdown to protect the system (something like that). I really don't remember which was the "STOP" 0x???????? code.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Yes, it is normal. What does it give you if you set Auto?

What is the Model # on these Crucial, the number starting with BL?

What speed are you running the ram at anyway?

Your errors may be due to low ram voltage actually, if you are running it at 1066 then you may need 2.0 or more volts, depending on the timings and other settings.

Do you have Performance Enhance on Standard?

[Krohling]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

AUTO gives me "Normal" DDR2 Voltage under M.I.T. And reports 1.936-1.950V @ "PC Health"

Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 2T 2.1-2.2V
It's a matched 2x1GB pair. Kit part# BL2KIT12864AL1065
Each memory module has one sticker showing part# BL12864AL1065.16FD3

Running @ DDR2-800
AUTO = 5-5-5-18 2T
They are able to do this with 1.80V, but BIOS is currently giving ~1.95V

Performance is "Standard"

These sticks are also capable of DDR2-1000 5-5-5-15 2T with only 1.95V but I'm running @ DDR2-800. I'm not forcing any overclocking until get this 100% stable at stock settings.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Auto and Normal are two Different Settings in the MIT Section. Are you sure you are setting Auto and not normal? Just checking to be sure you are aware of that

Those sticks are rated at 2.2V anyway, so if I was you I would be manually setting 2.0-2.1 anyway for stability

Try setting ram voltage to 1.9, 1.95, 2.0, 2.05, and 2.1 and see what each is after a reboot in the PC Health section. I would not be worried at all, some voltage range settings will vary more then others, but you should want 1.95-2.05 or so running thru them anyway

[Krohling]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

AUTO gives 1.936-1.950V, and shows "Normal" 'greyed' under M.I.T.

With "Manual" if I set DDR2 voltage to "Normal" it also gives me 1.936-1.950V.

What is CPU GTLRef? Its set by default at 0.67

Since I started this thread I'm not running into instabilities. Everything looks OK so far. I repeated all tests, memtest doesn't give any errors too. I also reinstalled the OS and all software completely.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Well then sounds like you need to just set something and not use Auto, Auto is not advised anyway so you shouldn't worry about what it's Value gives you. Some BIOS may be more at Auto, some less.

I would set 1.95 and 2.0 and see what it gives in PC health after a reboot, and then do the same for 2.05 and 2.1.

GTLRef is very complicated to explain, something you may not need to worry about at all yet. Here is some in depth reading about it though since you asked >>>

Understanding GTL Reference Voltage

CPU And Northbridge GTL Default Settings

Great to hear you are now stable though!!

[Krohling]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

GGTS told me that when running DDR2 @ 800 the board gives 1.90V~1.95V for stability, such behaviour is normal.

I know the memory can run @DDR2-1000 with only 1.90V, so 1.95V for DDR2-800 is more than enough. At least it was for DDR2-667/800 on another board. But I also know that hardware is not exactly an exact science sometimes.

Not running into instabilities at the moment. I think it was OS/driver/software related. It should give me crashes while running heavy tasks like Prime95, OCCT, or show errors on memtest if the memory had low voltage, but nothing happens. So I think this is not BIOS or hardware related.

Let's see if it remains like that :)

Thanks

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Yes, it could be normal for that board, but I bet that was just canned reply likely.

So did you try setting 1.85 or 1.9? Normally when you physically set a voltage, it will be less once you are in windows anyway. Not how Auto or Normal acts for sure

[Krohling]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

BIOS doesn't give me options to set 0.05V increments, only 0.1V increments up to +0.4V
It allows me to set "Normal", +0.1, +0.2V, +0.3V

Results:
AUTO = 1.95V
Normal = 1.95V
+0.1V = 2.05V
+0.2V = 2.15V
+0.3V = 2.25V
+0.4V = 2.35V

As it shows in the manual:
DDR2 OverVoltage Control
Allows you to to set memory voltage.
Normal Supplies the memory voltage as required. (Default)
+0.1V ~ +0.4V Increases memory voltage by 0.1V to 0.4V at 0.1V increment.
Note: Increasing memory voltage may result in damage to the memory."

GGTS claims the memory @ DDR2-800 runs with 1.95V for stability improvement but I didn't try to run the memory @DDR2-667 to see if the default voltage drops to 1.80V~1.85V.

Already used that memory on another Gigabyte board (GA-P35-DQ6) and default voltage ("Normal") @DDR2-667 or @DDR2-800 was 1.80V (1.85V real). So I guess that with the G31M the board does increase the voltage a little bit.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-G31M-S2L overvolting RAM by default

Ahh yeah, sorry some BIOS/Boards do not allow finer adjustments to voltages.

Sounds like that board just does overvolt based off your above findings. Looks like if you want to use a lower voltage on that board your only choice is normal or Auto. Sorry for all the posts about this but I just wanted to be sure it was indeed like that, as it is not the normal thing for boards to do