[PanicProne]

OK, so on a whim (I admit I didn't need it) I got another 4gb kit to fill up my 4 RAM slots on my P5Q Pro. Now I rock a grand (useless) total of 8gb.

I already had a 2x2 Kingston HyperX 1066 @ 5-5-5-15, and now I bought a 2x2 G.skill 1066 5-5-5-15. Both kits are rated at 2.1v.

So, both kits operate on the same voltages and timings. Perfect. No problem there.

But this thing is being such a hard task to stabilize! My mobo is having trouble keeping this thing stable. I can run IBT on maximum stress for about 30 minutes, and then BSOD.

I'm currently running the RAM @ 2.16v and the NB @ 1.34v.

IMPORTANT QUESTION:

Is it safe to bump the NB to 1.4v and the RAM to 2.2v? Or am I pushing it?

PS: I have decent airflow: 3 side-panel fans blowing on the mobo. 2 exhaust fans on the back.

 

[Radeon915]

You should try bumping the NB a little, as it has to work harder for 4 sticks 'o ram. 1.4v as you suggested would probably do the trick

As for the ram, I'm sure they could handle 2.2v but I don't think that would be of much, if any help.

 

[MADMAX22]

I never liked the one I had. Thing wouldnt oc ram worth a darn and then started eating it. It over volts the ram. I checked with my multimeter and was getting about .1v more at idle and up to .3v more at load. Be careful giving your ram more voltage with this board.

 

[pioneerisloud]

You might just be stuck having to use a lower speed. Try your RAM at say DDR2-800 or so, and see if that works. It might just be too hard on your NB to run 4 sticks at 1066.

 

[Pir]

Mix 'n match ram modules is not the best idea imo. Also using 4 sticks of ram puts alot of stress on the memory controller. Eighter balance it out with more voltage on the nb or remove 2 ram sticks.

 

[PanicProne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pir Mix 'n match ram modules is not the best idea imo. Also using 4 sticks of ram puts alot of stress on the memory controller. Eighter balance it out with more voltage on the nb or remove 2 ram sticks.

Hey, both my kits run at the same speeds and voltages. Plus, even the memory chips themselves are the same Samsung ones. Only thing that changes is the sticker on the box lol.

 

[Pir]

Geh, get the point, but the load on the mem controller still remains a problem though.

 

[PanicProne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADMAX22 I never liked the one I had. Thing wouldnt oc ram worth a darn and then started eating it. It over volts the ram. I checked with my multimeter and was getting about .1v more at idle and up to .3v more at load. Be careful giving your ram more voltage with this board.

Is this true?

I lowered the RAM voltage to 2.14v and bumped the NB to 1.38v. Running IBT as we speak.

Even if the P5Q Pro overvolts the RAM, 2.14v would mean real voltage of 2.17v. Is that too high?

Also, is 1.38/1.4v safe for the NB?

 

[Acoma_Andy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanicProne Is it safe to bump the NB to 1.4v and the RAM to 2.2v? Or am I pushing it?

1.4v on the NB is a bit more then what you would need, I'd say 1.34v is more then enough. If you had a quad core then yes, you might have needed more. 2.2v on the memory is quite pointless as anything above 2.1 - 2.15v will not help. If you want to run 8GB you have to clock the memory down a bit. The P5Q Pro is a problematic board when it comes to memory.

Edit: did you also check in memtest?

 

[MADMAX22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanicProne Is this true? I lowered the RAM voltage to 2.14v and bumped the NB to 1.38v. Running IBT as we speak. Even if the P5Q Pro overvolts the RAM, 2.14v would mean real voltage of 2.17v. Is that too high? Also, is 1.38/1.4v safe for the NB?

My board was overvolting by .3v not .03v thats why I mentioned it. .03v is no big deal.

Yours may be different but it was a common thing for all these boards to overvolt by a certain amount.

I think the NB is rated at 1.35v so give or take a bit is safe.

 

[PanicProne]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADMAX22 My board was overvolting by .3v not .03v thats why I mentioned it. .03v is no big deal. Yours may be different but it was a common thing for all these boards to overvolt by a certain amount. I think the NB is rated at 1.35v so give or take a bit is safe.

Holy crap! You're right, I thtought you meant .03! If my mobo is overvolting the RAM anywhere near your old P5Q, my current BIOS voltage of 2.14 would mean a real voltage of 2.44v?

Won't that kill the ram?

I'm a bit worried now. I don't have a multimeter, nor do I know how to operate one.

Maybe I should just set the RAM voltage to 1.9 in the BIOS? That would be safer?

 

[MADMAX22]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PanicProne Holy crap! You're right, I thtought you meant .03! If my mobo is overvolting the RAM anywhere near your old P5Q, my current BIOS voltage of 2.14 would mean a real voltage of 2.44v? Won't that kill the ram? I'm a bit worried now. I don't have a multimeter, nor do I know how to operate one. Maybe I should just set the RAM voltage to 1.9 in the BIOS? That would be safer?

Dont get too worried. As I said different boards reported different readings. Im just saying be careful and do some testing. Use the lowest ram voltage you can and go from there. At the time I was doing this it came to light most intel boards over volted a little bit. However some did more then others. The nvidia ones at the time were killing ram with overvolting so intel wasnt doing that bad lol.

 

[covert ash]

Just curious, what Command Rate are you running at? For me to get 8GB to POST on my P35 based board, I had to set it to 2T. I didn't see it mentioned anywhere in this thread so maybe it might be worth trying if you haven't done so already. Good luck!

 

[c00lkatz]

You have to understand that even though the RAM itself can handle being run at 1066MHz 5-5-5-15, that does not mean when you start putting a lot of stress on the memory controller (on the board) that it can handle the higher RAM speeds. You may have to underclock your RAM a bit to get it all stable if upping the NB/RAM voltage doesn't work.

There are simply some boards that you can not run high-frequency RAM in all 4 slots and stay stable. A lot of them you have to stick to DDR2-800 speeds. Which makes sense, as DDR2-800 is the actual standard. Anything above that is simply factory overclocked RAM.

If you can not get it stable with speeds that are to your liking, and since you say it was an unnecessary upgrade to begin with, I suggest you return that RAM and put the money towards something a bit more useful.