No 2 GB (4x512) in ASUS A8N?

D

duxdude418

Geek Trainee
So I'm not a noob...I promise.
But the weirdest thing happened. My original system config had 1 GB (2x512 MB) of RAM. In hopes to get a few more frames out of Oblivion I decided it might be beneficial to upgrade to 2GB of RAM. So, remembering I had bought Corsair XMS series RAM; 2 sticks of 512, I bought another 2 sticks of 512 of what I'm fairly sure is the same RAM. In the remaining two open DIMMS, I placed the memory sticks into completely fill up my memory bank. Upon repowering on at POST, I get a "system did not complete memory test" audio message along with one continuous beep and no text on screen at all. After switiching out the RAM,there was no more problem.

The motherboard documentation says it supports 4 GB of RAM... And I also made a conscious effort to place the memory in the proper slots (IE: 2 old DIMMS in the black slots, 2 new DIMMS in the blue slots). The only difference I noticed when comparing the different memory was that one sticker designated the version of the ram as "V5.2" and the ones I bought a year ago as "V 4.3". RAM has versions? Lastly,I don't believe it's a latency mismatch issue as the RAM is the same series (Corsair XMS) and I belive is the same latency. Why does my machine not get past POST?

My rig right now for reference:
Mobo: ASUS A89-SLI Deluxe
Proc: Athlon 64 3500+
GPU: Chaintech GeForce 6800 Ultra (PCI-X)
HDD: WD "Raptor" 10k
OS: WinXP Pro SP2
RAM: 2x512MB Corsair XMS (PC 3200, 400 Mhz DDR)

Thanks in advance.
 
try swaping the new RAM with your old RAM (put new RAM where old RAM was & old RAM in the previously vacant DIMMS)
 
It may have something to do with the Command Rate actually. Running past 4 banks (1 bank = 1 side on a stick of RAM with memory modules) of RAM is something older Athlon64's can't do as well as the newer E revisions. You'll have to change this setting in BIOS, and it'll most likely be under your DRAM configuration menu. It may be labled something besides Command Rate, like CPC (Clocks Per Cycle) and have two options: 1T, 2T. If it's set to 1T, you'll have to change it to 2T.

Obviously, you'll have to take out a couple sticks of RAM to be able to do this, but that's something I'd highly encourage you try.
 
Big B said:
It may have something to do with the Command Rate actually. Running past 4 banks (1 bank = 1 side on a stick of RAM with memory modules) of RAM is something older Athlon64's can't do as well as the newer E revisions. You'll have to change this setting in BIOS, and it'll most likely be under your DRAM configuration menu. It may be labled something besides Command Rate, like CPC (Clocks Per Cycle) and have two options: 1T, 2T. If it's set to 1T, you'll have to change it to 2T.

Obviously, you'll have to take out a couple sticks of RAM to be able to do this, but that's something I'd highly encourage you try.
Click to expand...

You,sir, are my hero. I did as you said (the setting was on "auto") and the RAM decided to work afterward :D . I'm curious, what exactly does this setting do? Is there any performance degradation when using this option? It didn't seem like windows booted up appreciably faster after doubling the RAM,but it may just be that you don't see much after getting above a gig of RAM. COuld the added DIMMs actually be adding latency to my RAM?
Thanks again.
 
It's the time between one Command/Address cycle and the next. 1T is faster than 2T, but there may be issues with running lots of double-sided DIMMs due to the shorter time span and more RAM chips to address.
 
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