BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

[mattbatt]

GA-X58A-UD5 Rev 2.0, Fe5
Intel 980x
Corsair 1600mhz 24GB RAM, 1.5v 9-9-9-24 CAS

I've had issues with RAM b4 so I replaced OCZ with Corsair after talking with Intel regarding what occurs when the 980x is loaded to the max with memory, enabling triple channel mode. I was told by an Intel engineer on the phone that nothing past 1.5v DRAM is acceptable for this processor. My new ram is 1.5 volts and 1.5 volts is selected in memory DRAM voltage settings in BIOS.

Whenever I change any other setting regarding performance, say setting the multiplier of my CPU up slightly (which requires NO VOLTAGE CHANGE at all, so instead of 3.33ghz to 3.46ghz) everything is fine and stable until I shut down and let the computer sit a few minutes. On boot, it then reboots itself before starting and I see it puts CPU back to normal in my OS. If I go into BIOS, it tells me boot errors occurred from voltage errors and I see my CPU settings are back at normal.

HOWEVER- I also observe my DRAM voltage is now 1.648 V even though I always specify 1.5v! This is the voltage error, not the CPU error that I believe is occurring. From here, with the BIOS back to normal CPU settings, if I save by F10 and do a cold boot, the problem now remains FOREVER even though their is NO OVERCLOCK. In other words, now even the settings the BIOS set are not reading!

I have to then enable "optimized defaults" then start from scratch, then things work though sometimes my 1600mhz ram will show up as 1333 in OS, not always. I've actually lived with this for 2 years but now IM MAD! I even have created a normal profile and OC'd profile in BIOS.

NOTE: I do not change BCLK settings, I even have set my RAM to 1333 or less. I have XMP1 profile.

What I think is that CMOS is messed up and keeps resorting to a setting after cold boot for some reason. My RAM should not be run at 1.65 volts but 1.5 volts. Thank you for your help.

[wazza300]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

its due to the amount of ram 24gb

it simply needs more dram voltage to run,1.65v is fine and wont hurt things even if its 1.5v rated,with 6gb or 12gb it would manage 1600mhz @1.5v dram maybe but with more ram it needs more voltage and might not manage a stable 1600mhz

[parsec]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

Any chance that the XMP profile has a 1.65V setting?

Given your description, I think that wazza is right. The BIOS is "fixing" the memory voltage error by increasing it. The voltage "error" is to little voltage at 1.5V, not the 1.648V which allows the PC to boot at that voltage.

Actually, the memory voltage increase with all your memory is similar to what CPU load line calibration (LLC) does to prevent CPU voltage droop (Vdroop). The power requirements of all the memory with the DRAM voltage set to 1.5V is greater than what can be supplied at that voltage. The memory voltage may be decreasing (drooping) from 1.5V given the load on the RAM voltage rail. The DRAM voltage shown in the BIOS is a setting, not a measurement of the actual voltage.

The memory voltage at the setting of 1.648V with all your memory load is likely less than that if you could measure it directly. At the 1.5V setting with that load, the actual memory voltage may have drooped to ~1.4v. It's possible that whatever the voltage source/rail for the memory is, it is not strong enough or has deteriorated slightly over time, a capacitor getting weaker for example.

Also, the i7-900/Nehalem processors were the first from Intel using an integrated memory controller (IMC), and are known for having a few odd memory issues, such as not recognizing all the memory installed.

The Intel engineer is going by the book/specs for the max memory voltage. I'm sure Intel support personnel are instructed to only go by the specs. Many people use more than 1.5V for their memory, without problems.

You could try setting the DRAM voltage manually to 1.6V or less, and see if the PC boots. The automatic voltage adjustment may have added more than is necessary.

[mattbatt]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

Thank you so far, here is what I have tested / discovered with NO OVERCLOCKS but fail safe defaults enabled:
The XMP 1 and 2 profile set my RAM to 1600mhz as default auto but in voltage setting neither allow 1.65. It goes 1.5, 1.6, 1.64, 1.66. The 1.66 is pink in color. When I selected that voltage while leaving my RAM at 1600mhz default, the computer would not even start into bios but while on a black screen, a bios text came up & said voltage settings were incorrect and it thus rebooted.

In bios I then noticed RAM at 1333mhz and voltage 1.648v (again, I cannot select that voltage, either 1.64 or 1.66). So I disabled XMP and set everything to auto in my voltage BIOS settings. When XMP is disabled, RAM setting is auto 1333mhz. I also set ram to auto timings (which is 9-9-9) and STANDARD instead of Turbo or Extreme.

It now re-boots fine and fast but then I did my cold boot test. Boots slower (waits a while before loading BIOS) but then boots. I then go into BIOS to see if a red dialog box pops up that usually says incorrect voltage and it did not.

So again, 1600mhz ram lowered to 1333 and voltage set to auto so far works. Geekbench scores are obviously now lower but in real life cases, I probably would not be able to tell app performance from 1333mhz and 1600mhz correct?

Now onto to overclocking:
Remember, I am leaving EVERYTHING to AUTO in voltage settings and just upping my CPU clock ratio (BCLK is left as "disabled"). Well 28x allows me for a cold boot, nothing more. And the cold boot takes a bit and before BIOS starts a black screen appears and says RAM 1333mhz and CPU 28x =ok, then BIOS starts.

28x = 3.73Ghz x6cores and I'm ok with that, but my air cool was keeping CPU lower than 58 C for 4.0Ghz and I'm upset I cannot use that setting which would be 30x. But I suppose I'd have to really modify the voltage settings which I have no clue on. All I know is, my RAM is extremely touchy.

[mattbatt]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

NOPE, a few more restarts and BIOS now lowered CPU to default 3.33ghz

Here is the funny things guys, I tried to put RAM to x10 instead of auto (x10=1333) and changed some other things like PCI = 100mhz instead of auto (bc how good is leaving everything at auto?)

Well, anyway, nothing worked, then I went back to my settings before and nothing worked

SO, my solution was to go back to fail safe defaults, boot, reboot and cold boot with those. Then go back to my settings where I had x28 multiplyer. Now it works... for now. This brings up my other issue: when a boot error occurs, I have to boot up a few times with defaults before I can make any LASTING changes.

Is it always this hard???

[GiggaByte]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

have you tried other bios versions? if you try older bios versions make sure you dont go to one before support for your 980x came or you may have a blackscreen. the intel engineer is wrong, up to 1.575v is within intel spec its on their data sheet & is the same for nehalem, sandy bridge, & ivy bridge, haswell i havent looked at yet. have you tried removing some ram modules and/or switching them up for what slots theyre in? try 1 or 2 at a time? what is the QPI voltage for all this testing? have you tried pci-e 101, 102, 103? for me when i had my 920 for 4 years on a ex58-ud4p pci-e 101 gave tremendous stability even at modest overclocks, but that was a x58 chipset not x58A(i think the "A"s had some pci-e changes relating to that 222mhz bclk wall that was later bypassed). also what is your uncore settings throughout all this?

its due to the amount of ram 24gb

it simply needs more dram voltage to run,1.65v is fine and wont hurt things even if its 1.5v rated,with 6gb or 12gb it would manage 1600mhz @1.5v dram maybe but with more ram it needs more voltage and might not manage a stable 1600mhz

no, maybe if he was using auto, but he stated he manually selected 1.5v, what a voltage is manually set its forced there & to stay there, it will either work stable or not. more ram does not = more ram voltage, like having a 3x2gb setup at 1.65v at 1800mhz will not require more ram volts if you added another kit of 3x2gb(same kit same modules) for 12gb ram, more IMC/QPI voltage yes or no depends on your chip, but not more *RAM* voltage(unless your ram is starting to fail).

[wazza300]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

that's right,what I meant to say was he'll need mre than 1.5v dram to run more ram,upto 1.65v

memory controller voltage will definitely need more depending on more ram and the tighter timings/higher speed

[mattbatt]

Re: BIOS changes DRAM voltage after cold boot to 1.65v but my ram is 1.5v

Hi guys, its been FOUR YEARS and I had a new RAM problem pop up. I was googling my specific problem and of course my old thread pops up!

All of a sudden, I started having my OS freeze and computer restart. I figured it was a RAM issue, I go into bios and see the DRAM voltage at a blinking red 2.65v!! (This is for 1.5v rated RAM)

I now have to put in 1.66v (which is pink) for my 24GB RAM running at 1333mhz to work and CPU to boot. EVERYTHING WORKS FINE until a cold boot, in which BIOS resets the DRAM to a red blinking 2.65v. This causes the OS to be very funky. USB stops working, some hard drives don't load and if I do video editing or rendering the mouse will freeze and computer reboot.

I have changed my CMOS motherboard battery - same problem.

I built this computer in 2010. So, do you think it's a PSU, motherboard or RAM hardware issue?

Finally, I have taken out all ram except 1x 4GB DIMM and the same problem persisted (even changing the various dimms.)

Thanks for any help!