Random power cut with different ram

codral · 04-05-2007, 04:27 AM

Hey people, i posted a while ago trying to get help choosing the right ram, no one knew what i should get so i bought 2 gig of pc3200 DDR 400mhz ram. I bought high density ram, and the people i bought it off later told me my mobo only supports low density and so i swapped it + cash there way for 2 gig of low density pc3200 ddr 400mhz ram.

Now i've had this problem for ages really, and currently the 512mb ram stick i have in it works pretty well (in 1 slot, it doesnt boot/pc crashes in the others)
Whenever i try any other ram or combination of ram, in any combination of slots, it either doesn't boot or it boots then crashes. Sometimes i can get it running with the 2gb for an hour or something but when i open a game it dies. Also i don't think the ram is working properly when i do get it running (ghost recon advanced war fighter runs just the same on my 2 gig sticks as on the 512mb) regardless of the fact it only runs for 1-60 mins.

OK so i need help stopping it randomly resetting, here is my pc

- 550W power supply (10 months old)
- AMD athlon 3700+ san diego (2.2ghz)
- 512 mb pc3200 ddr (i think it's high density so idk why it works?!)
- 2X 1 gig sticks of pc 3200 ddr this is the other ram that wont work (only try them by themselves)
- K8n Diamond SLI motherboard (it has like 2 fans on mobo 1 on cpu, im running no side on the case and just in case i had a fan blowing in on it to see if that would change anything)
- dvd/cdr drive
- 300 gig matrox (or seagate) HDD
- Geforce 7600 GT graffics card.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks!

elitehacker · 04-05-2007, 06:51 AM

Have you been running ALL three ram sticks at the same time? Are the Ram sticks the same speed? Why don't you try running just one 1GB stick, and then the other to make sure that no stick is at fault. Then try running the two together. I experience what you have described when i put in two kinds a ram. One faster and the other slower and if the faster one is closer to the CPU, then i start getting problems. Like crashing and freezing, so if you ARE running two different kinds of ram as in one is faster than the other, then put the slower RAM stick closest to the CPU and your faster one after that. I think what happens is that when you put the faster ram first, it will get initialised first and so the computer will try to run the second slower ram at the speed of the faster one, and of course it will not be able to take it, so it will cause crashes and freezes. That is my theory anyway.

codral · 04-05-2007, 07:10 AM

Thanks but nope i've only ever tried 1 of them or both (never 3) of them and never mixed ram up like that because i know of the possible imcompatibilities. I tried 1 by itself and 2 together in all slots and combinations both with the high and low density, and also tried a mates pc3200 stick. The sticks are all the same speed. My problem isn't freezing either, it just flicks off and i hear something click (a safety or something possibly?) just like power was cut

Thanks

codral · 04-10-2007, 06:37 AM

bump

StrangleHold · 04-10-2007, 03:26 PM

It says you have a 550w P/S but what brand and model is it!

codral · 04-11-2007, 04:08 AM

Good question i'll try find out tonight, but i don't think from memory it has it written anywhere (although it does have a big chart on the side of it with watt/voltage rates and stuff

codral · 05-06-2007, 02:53 PM

Hi ok so here is my PC case (it doesn't say wat power supply it has inside the case or on this site)

http://www.quickfixcomputers.com.au/miditower.html

It's the 2nd one down

550 Watt ATX Medium Tower Case
SHAW Super Soprano 550

* 2 x USB mounted to the front right hand side
* Extra rear exhaust colling fan ready
* Side Panel Air Duct Ready
* 4 x 5.25 Bays
* 2 x 3.5 Bays
* Colour Black with Silver Gray trim
* Dimensions LxWxH: 42x17x40.8

Any suggestions?

codral · 05-07-2007, 04:32 AM

Can anyone help me out with this?

I'm going to buy a new PSU today unless advised otherwise and have already spent $250 on trying different ram

thx

codral · 05-07-2007, 07:42 AM

Bought a 430W Thermaltake supply (low watt rating but hopefully enough power) i'll see how it goes..

**oscaryu1** · 05-07-2007, 01:19 PM

if the memory required a certain voltage, did you change the voltage in the mobo?

04-05-2007, 04:27 AM	#1 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Random power cut with different ram Hey people, i posted a while ago trying to get help choosing the right ram, no one knew what i should get so i bought 2 gig of pc3200 DDR 400mhz ram. I bought high density ram, and the people i bought it off later told me my mobo only supports low density and so i swapped it + cash there way for 2 gig of low density pc3200 ddr 400mhz ram. Now i've had this problem for ages really, and currently the 512mb ram stick i have in it works pretty well (in 1 slot, it doesnt boot/pc crashes in the others) Whenever i try any other ram or combination of ram, in any combination of slots, it either doesn't boot or it boots then crashes. Sometimes i can get it running with the 2gb for an hour or something but when i open a game it dies. Also i don't think the ram is working properly when i do get it running (ghost recon advanced war fighter runs just the same on my 2 gig sticks as on the 512mb) regardless of the fact it only runs for 1-60 mins. OK so i need help stopping it randomly resetting, here is my pc - 550W power supply (10 months old) - AMD athlon 3700+ san diego (2.2ghz) - 512 mb pc3200 ddr (i think it's high density so idk why it works?!) - 2X 1 gig sticks of pc 3200 ddr this is the other ram that wont work (only try them by themselves) - K8n Diamond SLI motherboard (it has like 2 fans on mobo 1 on cpu, im running no side on the case and just in case i had a fan blowing in on it to see if that would change anything) - dvd/cdr drive - 300 gig matrox (or seagate) HDD - Geforce 7600 GT graffics card. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, thanks!

04-10-2007, 03:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
StrangleHold VIP Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 11,199	It says you have a 550w P/S but what brand and model is it! __________________ NZXT Apollo S75QB 750W ZEROtherm FZ120 Phenom II 720BE (X4) 3.5GHZ. Gigabyte GA MA790X UD4P G Skill DDR2 1066 4GB. MSI GTS 250 Seagate 7200.12 500GB. Welcome to the show

05-07-2007, 01:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
oscaryu1 Moderator Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 14 Posts: 10,640	if the memory required a certain voltage, did you change the voltage in the mobo? __________________ Q6600 P45-DS3R 2x 2GB AMPx DDR2-1066 CL5 Western Digital Caviar 8MB 160GB SATAII HIS Radeon HD4870 512MB PCI-E 2.0 w/ Zalman ZF1000 DVD Burner SATAII hec 600W Dual Rail PSU Gigabyte ATX Case

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04-05-2007, 06:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
elitehacker Diamond Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 2,413	Have you been running ALL three ram sticks at the same time? Are the Ram sticks the same speed? Why don't you try running just one 1GB stick, and then the other to make sure that no stick is at fault. Then try running the two together. I experience what you have described when i put in two kinds a ram. One faster and the other slower and if the faster one is closer to the CPU, then i start getting problems. Like crashing and freezing, so if you ARE running two different kinds of ram as in one is faster than the other, then put the slower RAM stick closest to the CPU and your faster one after that. I think what happens is that when you put the faster ram first, it will get initialised first and so the computer will try to run the second slower ram at the speed of the faster one, and of course it will not be able to take it, so it will cause crashes and freezes. That is my theory anyway.

04-05-2007, 07:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Thanks but nope i've only ever tried 1 of them or both (never 3) of them and never mixed ram up like that because i know of the possible imcompatibilities. I tried 1 by itself and 2 together in all slots and combinations both with the high and low density, and also tried a mates pc3200 stick. The sticks are all the same speed. My problem isn't freezing either, it just flicks off and i hear something click (a safety or something possibly?) just like power was cut Thanks

04-10-2007, 06:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	bump

04-11-2007, 04:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Good question i'll try find out tonight, but i don't think from memory it has it written anywhere (although it does have a big chart on the side of it with watt/voltage rates and stuff

05-06-2007, 02:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Hi ok so here is my PC case (it doesn't say wat power supply it has inside the case or on this site) http://www.quickfixcomputers.com.au/miditower.html It's the 2nd one down 550 Watt ATX Medium Tower Case SHAW Super Soprano 550 * 2 x USB mounted to the front right hand side * Extra rear exhaust colling fan ready * Side Panel Air Duct Ready * 4 x 5.25 Bays * 2 x 3.5 Bays * Colour Black with Silver Gray trim * Dimensions LxWxH: 42x17x40.8 Any suggestions?

05-07-2007, 04:32 AM	#8 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Can anyone help me out with this? I'm going to buy a new PSU today unless advised otherwise and have already spent $250 on trying different ram thx

05-07-2007, 07:42 AM	#9 (permalink)
codral Bronze Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 69	Bought a 430W Thermaltake supply (low watt rating but hopefully enough power) i'll see how it goes..