Tweet
GA-Z87X-UD5 + 4 Sticks of DDR3 ram = Post Code 15
I have had an issue with a GA-Z87X-UD5 and using 4 sticks of ram resulting in a Post Code of 15 (lack of POST really).
I solved my issue and while I was in the troubleshooting process I realized there is a lack of good working solutions to this problem. So I'll contribute my findings.
Hardware:
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5 (bios 9, then 10c)
(2 sets) G. SKILL F3-2400C10D-8GZH = 4 sticks of 4gb ea.
Intel i7-4770K
If you want the solution that worked for me, skip to the bottom of my post.
I received a replacement board from Gigabyte because my old one kept having a bios corruption issue.
I reinstalled all the components into the machine and powered it up which resulted in a Post Code 15 looping every 7-8 seconds which would prevent me from getting into BIOS!
I removed 2 sticks of ram and restarted and experienced the same results.
Last chance, i pulled 1 more stick so there was now only a single stick in DDR3_1 slot. Boom, boot.
Ok, no big deal. I've dealt with this before on other builds. I enter BIOS, check off XMP1 and reboot. Everything will be fine! NOPE. Same result with XMP2 profile.
XMP only stabilized me for 2 sticks of ram but no matter which sticks and which channels of ram I used, only 2 would result in a boot.
Here are the things I tried that other people suggested. They did not work for me but you're welcome to try:
#1 answer was: Bent CPU socket pins. - It's feasible but unlikely. I take great care in handling the cpu and components. And of course, not bent after checking.
#2 Flash BIOS to something newer. Board came with 9 so I tried the beta 10c. Nothing changed.
#3 Turn off C states - didn't really make sense to me because I wasn't in the OS yet but hey, I'm close to tearing this thing out of the Grandia 7 HTPC case so I'll try anything.
#4 Add Dram voltage - I brought mine up to 1.75v - no change.
#5 Add System agent voltage - I added .2v to SA, analog, digital + 1.75 dram + .4 vcore +.2 VRIN just to rule out voltage. No change!
#6 reduce memory frequency. I tried every frequency from 1066 to 2400mhz. No change. (also tried it with the voltage bumps as well from #4!)
I was ready to RMA this board but I tried on last thing:
My solution #7:
Turn off XMP profiles, set 1.65v manually per kit. Worked! Booted all 4 sticks and even at 2400mhz!
Something in the XMP profile was allowing them to play nice together.
I manually set all the timings the best I could per the stick specs and I'm up and running. Passed 8 hours of memtest overnight with no issue. Cold booted the next day no issue.
I hope this helps someone before they tear off the HSF and look at the cpu pins or before they RMA the ram or mobo.
I solved my issue and while I was in the troubleshooting process I realized there is a lack of good working solutions to this problem. So I'll contribute my findings.
Hardware:
Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD5 (bios 9, then 10c)
(2 sets) G. SKILL F3-2400C10D-8GZH = 4 sticks of 4gb ea.
Intel i7-4770K
If you want the solution that worked for me, skip to the bottom of my post.
I received a replacement board from Gigabyte because my old one kept having a bios corruption issue.
I reinstalled all the components into the machine and powered it up which resulted in a Post Code 15 looping every 7-8 seconds which would prevent me from getting into BIOS!
I removed 2 sticks of ram and restarted and experienced the same results.
Last chance, i pulled 1 more stick so there was now only a single stick in DDR3_1 slot. Boom, boot.
Ok, no big deal. I've dealt with this before on other builds. I enter BIOS, check off XMP1 and reboot. Everything will be fine! NOPE. Same result with XMP2 profile.
XMP only stabilized me for 2 sticks of ram but no matter which sticks and which channels of ram I used, only 2 would result in a boot.
Here are the things I tried that other people suggested. They did not work for me but you're welcome to try:
#1 answer was: Bent CPU socket pins. - It's feasible but unlikely. I take great care in handling the cpu and components. And of course, not bent after checking.
#2 Flash BIOS to something newer. Board came with 9 so I tried the beta 10c. Nothing changed.
#3 Turn off C states - didn't really make sense to me because I wasn't in the OS yet but hey, I'm close to tearing this thing out of the Grandia 7 HTPC case so I'll try anything.
#4 Add Dram voltage - I brought mine up to 1.75v - no change.
#5 Add System agent voltage - I added .2v to SA, analog, digital + 1.75 dram + .4 vcore +.2 VRIN just to rule out voltage. No change!
#6 reduce memory frequency. I tried every frequency from 1066 to 2400mhz. No change. (also tried it with the voltage bumps as well from #4!)
I was ready to RMA this board but I tried on last thing:
My solution #7:
Turn off XMP profiles, set 1.65v manually per kit. Worked! Booted all 4 sticks and even at 2400mhz!
Something in the XMP profile was allowing them to play nice together.
I manually set all the timings the best I could per the stick specs and I'm up and running. Passed 8 hours of memtest overnight with no issue. Cold booted the next day no issue.
I hope this helps someone before they tear off the HSF and look at the cpu pins or before they RMA the ram or mobo.
Comment