Ram causing computer issues?

[brgrabs]

This morning I got my second stick of 1gb of ram. The ram is:

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2205992&CatId=2033

I already had one stick of 1gb of ram in my motherboard prior to installing this ram. It is:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10085213&catid=10486

The two sticks are installed on my DIMM 0 and 1 slots on my motherboard, as the manual says to do. After booting my computer up when I finished installing the second stick, everything seemed to work fine. I loaded up a game.. and then about 30 seconds into it the screen went black.. I tried moving my mouse and my motherboard made a beeping sound, and the screen flickered briefly to where I could see the game again. I alt-f4'd the game and I was back at my desktop. I immediately loaded up my Nvidia control panel (my graphics card is a 8800 GTX 768 mb) and went to the performance monitor. The Nvidia logo that spins around in 3-D was blurry and flickering, as if my video card was overheating because the fan had stopped working.

I turned off my computer, took out the sides of my case, and turned it on again. As soon as I pressed the power button my computer made a sound that I can only describe as a scream. It was just a very loud, shrill beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. I turned it off immediately and have left it there since..

Could it be the ram I just installed is causing this problem? I still don't know exactly *what* the problem is but I am afraid if I turn on my computer again I might ruin it, and it is brand new. I was on my computer directly before I installed the ram playing the same game and it was working fine for the 3 hours I was on this morning.

Any help would be great!

[minsonngo]

The shrill beep noise you are hearing could be some kind of temperature warning alarm. Check and make sure the processor heatsink and fan is still installed right and the fan is working.

If that is not the issue... try leaving in just one stick of memory in at a time and see if your problem goes away.

It may be the board is just picky about mixing and matching memory. The OCZ is PC6400 memory with timings of 5-5-5-12 AND the Azenram is PC5300 with different timings most likely (the site you linked to does not give the timings).


What are your system specs?

[brgrabs]

I am using:

680i SLI motherboard
Pentium 4 D 3.4Ghz 4mb cache
Thermaltake Toughpower 700-watt PSU
8800 GTX 768mb video card
WD 7200 RPM 120gb HD
plus the ram I mentioned

I was monitoring the fans actually right after I installed the second stick of ram, and my temps were:

CPU - 56 degrees
MB - 36 degrees
MCP (whatever that is) - 40 degrees

[minsonngo]

Have you tried each stick... one at a time?

[brgrabs]

Right now I am back on my computer, I am using the new ram I got today and it seems to be working fine. I loaded up the performance monitor for the Nvidia graphics card and it was working perfectly.

I would have to guess that the problem is, like you said, my ram has different memory latency. In my BIOS I have the Memory Timing Setting set to optimal.. I am not sure if there is a way to set each individual stick of ram to different memory settings.

Min, thanks for all the help, you are always awesome on these forums! And if anyone knows whether or not it is possible to run two sticks of ram with different memory latency on the 680i SLI (or any other motherboard for that matter) I would appreciate it! I have read the manual over 4 times now and it doesn't mention it anywhere..

[brgrabs]

Still looking for a site to tell me whether or not different sticks of DDR2 ram will work together in the same motherboard if they have different latency / specs but are both 240-pin.

Anybody know the definitive answer?

[Panama Red]

Don't think there is a definitive answer. Mixing memory is always a trial and error exercise. Some compatibility issues may be from the two brands not playing nice while other times it may be due to mobo/ram compatibility issues. If you have problems, it's best to test with Memtest86+ first doing the sticks separately to find out if they work with your mobo. If they test fine separately but not together, you can assume compatibility issues between brands.

Another reason to use matching sticks is to assure that Dual Channel will be enabled by your motherboard. Adds a little enhancement to ram performance.

[minsonngo]

I would just keep the OCZ stick installed if it is working good.

If you need more memory... I would buy another exact stick of the OCZ you have now to add to the machine.