How to use 2.2V RAM in a 1.8V board

M

Moocher

New Member
Due to this being my first build and me being inexperienced I noticed (4 months after building my rig that the reason I can't use both my RAM sticks at the same time is NOT that they are a bad pair, but rather because I bought 2.2v RAM for 1.8V slot in my board :(

All is not lost...apparently I can loosen the timings so I can run it at 1.8V... my only problem is that I have no Idea where to start. Is there a method to slowly lower the timings until I find one that works?

My original timings are 4-4-4-12, so I tried 5-5-5-13 but it failed Memtest after 30+ minutes.... lol I don't even have an idea what those timings mean or which ones to tweak... i need help please :)

Also should I try to change the voltage for the RAM opposed to loosen the timings? and how do I do that the option I see in my mobo is (+1, +2, +3, +4) ... is that just straight addition to the 1.8v of which +4 would give me 2.2v? but +3 and +4 are highlighted red.

[EDIT] My board is the GA EP35-DS3L, and RAM Patriot extreme 2x2gig sticks DDR2 800 (4-4-4-12) @ 2.2V

Sry for jumping around, but I have a lot I need answers for. Thanks in advance
 
If your default RAM voltage for the board is 1.8v, then +1 will be 1.9v, +2 will be 2.0v, +3 will be 2.1v and +4 will be 2.2v.

The 'Red' settings are just the manufacturer letting you know that they're getting high. If you RAM should be running at 2.2v, then you should have no problems running it at 2.2v.
 
Like said, just go in to the bios and manually set the Timing and Voltage to what ever the memory is suppost to be. 4/4/4/12 at 2.2V
 
Moocher said:
My original timings are 4-4-4-12, so I tried 5-5-5-13 but it failed Memtest after 30+ minutes....
Click to expand...

In your case, the fourth number has the be the sum or more than the first three numbers. So if you are going to increase 4 to 5, it should be at least 5-5-5-15. I think I read the most common reason the timings will fail is because the fourth number is set too low. And sometimes, you will buy ram that is supposed to be 4-4-4-12, and if that fails, you would go up ot 4-4-4-13. "The extra one on the fourth number should result in unnoticeable performance difference, but it will create a big difference in stability."

I bought 1066mhz ram (2.2V), and so far, I have only been able to run it stable at 800mhz with the default settings. The only numbers you should have to change are voltage (2.2V) and memory frequency (1066mhz). The rest should adjust themself. If changing these two settings does not result in a stable system, there is a compatibility issue with your motherboard.

For example, with my ASUS P5QL, I can have one stick of ram running successfully at 1066mhz, but once I add another, it becomes unstable. It's a limitation of the motherboard, and I'm still inquiring into the solution.

If you have an ASUS motherboard, they have a support forum, and you can also create a ticket with their customer support. Also, the manufacturer of your RAM may have a support forum.
 
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k Ill get on and put the timings at 4-4-4-13, raise the voltage by .4 (for 2.2) and set it to 800 mghz... hope this works lol
 
BTW what should I set my CPU Host frequency to? 266 causes my system not to start, but 200 gives me 2.5 ghz (which is the stock speed)

And also what do I set my SPD to? 4.0+ or 4.0~? both give 800mhz which is stock for my RAM
 
"CPU host frequency"... Don't touch anything that says CPU unless you're overclocking your CPU.

"Memory frequency" is the one you're looking to set to 800mhz.
"Memory voltage" set to 2.20.
 
yeah, I believe so. So you mean the only thing I need to change is the Voltage, and leave everything else alone? /facepalm
 
Yes, your motherboard should be able to detect all the other settings. In the case that changing the voltage DOES NOT produce stable results, there is also going to be a setting called "SLI Memory ??something/Overclocking??" that you have to turn on, or set to Advanced.

This informs your motherboard that you are overclocking the ram. Because really, memory at 800mhz with 2.20V, is actually just 667mhz memory that was overclocked, and one of the requirements is to change 1.80V to 2.20V.
 
ok Ill keep you posted, I'm running Memtest atm...should be able to tell (in 15 minutes) if what I did changed anything
 
The setting is called "SLI-Memory Ready" to Expert. This changes the memory settings from JEDEC (1.80V) to EPP (2.20V).
 
About how long should I run Memtest for?? Bc I dont want to be apprehensive but it looks like my problem has been fixed!!!!! WOOT!!! Its been running for 31 mins and no errors (thats better than before where I had atleast 30 minutes in)



[EDIT] So much for aprehensive eh? I got an error 32 minutes in (Ironic), during test 7 (the random number sequences) ... btw is it odd that Memtest is showing my CPU as a pentium III ? bc I'm running a dual core E5200
 
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Moocher said:
About how long should I run Memtest for?? Bc I dont want to be apprehensive but it looks like my problem has been fixed!!!!! WOOT!!! Its been running for 31 mins and no errors (thats better than before where I had atleast 30 minutes in)

[EDIT] So much for aprehensive eh? I got an error 32 minutes in (Ironic), during test 7 (the random number sequences) ... btw is it odd that Memtest is showing my CPU as a pentium III ? bc I'm running a dual core E5200
Click to expand...

I would assume an incorrect CPU might give the incorrect results. I have no clue, never used memtest. Maybe someone with experience should start posting here? :D

Download CPUID and take a look at what it sees in the memory settings. If it shows it's running at the 2.20V, and the frequency is correct, that's all that matters.

And then boot up a game and play. If your computer doesn't freeze, meh, I would say it's working great.
 
works for me :) Btw I could not find that setting that you talked about. "SLI-Memory Read" ... and maybe I should Update my bios (just installed this OS) ... or does Windows do that when I run the Windows update?
 
This is the screenshot of one of my RAM sticks in CPUID... i'm not sure if its good or not. and I don't understand why the first three spots show 1.8v but the last one shows 2.2v




My RAM is also running at 400Mghz, when it should be 800mghz ...
 
It's actually 400mhz x2, something about DDR2 being dual channel, so it ends up 800mhz. Yeah, I have no idea how it works, but it's like that. :P

As for the voltage, see how for the first three settings it says JEDEC, so those are all 1.80V. Then the last column is 2.20V, and it says EPP?

Your motherboard will default to the highest JEDEC, this is the natural state of the ram. EPP is an overclock setting, so you have to turn it on yourself. Setting "SLI-Memory Ready" to Expert should automatically change the memory from the JEDEC to EEP setting. Or if that is not available, there should be another setting called "Memory Expert" or something along those lines.

According to CPUID, your ram should be set to 2.10V, not to 2.20V. All those numbers that CPUID pulled are straight from the memory stick. You shouldn't have to set them yourself because the motherboard can access those numbers itself. You just have to tell the motherboard to load the EEP settings of the memory instead of the JEDEC ones.
 
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