OCZ ram question

[redvette]

H Gang

I once read that OCZ ram does not like Intel MOBO's, has any one found this to be true. I have found this to be true, with a Intel and Asus MOBO's.

I had this Intel board and had read this article, and thought to my self ya right. Well I installed a couple of sticks of this DDR2 OCZ ram on this Intel board and it would not boot up, took out the ram installed a couple of sticks of another brand and it booted right up. It was installed correctly, and since I had 6 sticks of this OCZ ram I tried several sticks same result would not boot up.

I tried some in my wife's computer with a Asus board and it was real flaky, took it out and put back the original ram that was working correctly and it was real stable then.

So is there any truth to OCZ ram not working with some diff boards.? I usually try to get good ram like Crucial, Kingston, etc. I have never had any problem with either of those brands.

Thanx...Gunny

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by redvette H Gang I once read that OCZ ram does not like Intel MOBO's, has any one found this to be true. I have found this to be true, with a Intel and Asus MOBO's. I had this Intel board and had read this article, and thought to my self ya right. Well I installed a couple of sticks of this DDR2 OCZ ram on this Intel board and it would not boot up, took out the ram installed a couple of sticks of another brand and it booted right up. It was installed correctly, and since I had 6 sticks of this OCZ ram I tried several sticks same result would not boot up. I tried some in my wife's computer with a Asus board and it was real flaky, took it out and put back the original ram that was working correctly and it was real stable then. So is there any truth to OCZ ram not working with some diff boards.? I usually try to get good ram like Crucial, Kingston, etc. I have never had any problem with either of those brands. Thanx...Gunny

I think that it's true that OCZ ram doesn't work too well with Intel boards, have only tried OCZ ram on a few intel (Asus) boards and both times the computer wouldn't boot up with the ram in there, switched to mushkin and no problems. I used the same OCZ sticks in some AMD builds and they are working fine, have some that are a few years old and still working great, passes memtest without any problems.

[pally01]

I have 2 builds that use OCZ ram: an Asus build (4x1gb) and an EVGA (2x2gb). Both have run flawlessly from creation thru now.

[Iamjosh]

I find that some tweaking is always required and that "plug and play" model may work with a simpler form of (lower clock speed) memory but when you start getting into DDR3 it's a requirement to fine tune the memory and mobo.

[David M]

I would go and check the QVL for RAM for that particular board first and only use the RAM that is on that list. Doing this is much more likely to give you a compatible match than ruling out an entire brand.

[glc]

I haven't used anything but Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston for years.

[redvette]

Hi all

Well it looks like normal some have good luck with it and some don't. I guess I will have to go the direction that my own experience with it tells me.

I guess I will go the way GLC is saying, just simply stay away from and OCZ mem. Stick with what works. OCZ is not the only mem out there, there are plenty of other brands that are good and they work and they have good reputations and are all lifetime Warr.

David M..... The abrivation you used went over my head, I will have to Google that QVL. I always follow what the maker of the MOBO reccomends, as far as the mem and the CPU. They made the board so they should know what works best with it.

Thanx...Gunny

[glc]

QVL = Qualified Vendor List. That's Asus's tested compatible memory list. Other motherboard manufacturers call it something similar. Intel calls theirs the Tested Memory List.

[redvette]

Hi GLC

Ok great thanx. So I guess you just go to their site and find this and see what works best for what ever board you are using. Great tip thanx.

Thanx....Gunny

[glc]

You can also order ram direct from Crucial using their configurator - if you do it that way, it's guaranteed compatible.

[Khalil]

Originally Posted by glc I haven't used anything but Corsair, Crucial, and Kingston for years.

Same here!

[andper10]

I bought 2 sticks of 2x2GB OCZ DDR2 800 ram a few years ago and the Intel PC it was installed in wouldn't boot with it installed. I later found out that the ram was unable to run at the default 1.8V JEDEC standard that my motherboard (Asus) automatically supplied to the newly installed ram. I have been using Corsair ram ever since without any problems.

[redvette]

Hi All

Here is one for you along these lines talking about diff ram
I have this computer that I just redid, new power supply and MOBO. I have 2 sticks of DDR2 ram, each 2G. So I did what I do normally and put it in the 2 slots, not next to each other, but a slot apart. My slots are yellow and black so I had the ram in the 2 yellow slots.I turned it on and nothing happens, don't even start the video, monitor light blinking off and on. I take one of the sticks out of the 2nd yelloow slot and it boots up just fine, so I get it all set up and ready to fly, and for 1 2G stick it is moving pretty good.

So this moring I trade sticks to make sure the other stick I removed was good and sure enough it booted up jusy fine. So I thought what is up with this. So I put the second stick in right next to my original one like one in a yellow and one in a black slot and it would not boot up. This is only 4G total and the board is good for 16G. So what gives.?

The board is a Asus P5Q SE, and the ram is Patriot PSD24G533K PC2 4200 CL4 and the power supply is a 680 watt

Thanx....Gunny

[glc]

Is that ram on the QVL? Did you try it in the 2 black slots?

[redvette]

Hi GLC

No I did not try that. I figured if it did not work in the slots I tried it would not work any other way. Do you have an idea of why to try the back slots.? I will give it a go and see what happens. I have 3 sticks of Corsair 1G in there now and it is working ok so far, I have another stick of this and was going to try the remaining stick, thinking it might have some thing to do with the total 4+G's that caused the problems.

I started out 1 stick of this Corsair at a time just to see what would happen. Like I said good so far.

Thanx....Gunny

[David M]

Go by the instructions that came with the motherboard as to which slots to place 2 sticks of RAM. If you don't have the instructions then look them up the PDF in the motherboard manufacturers website.

After doing that if two sticks of RAM do not work in the correct slots then take one stick out, go into your BIOS and raise your RAM voltage slightly. Then try booting with two sticks. Keep your RAM's frequency at the boards default low setting and don't mess with the timings.

If that does not work then check to see if there is a BIOS update that addresses the problem you have. You want to avoid doing a BIOS update because of the chance of it killing your board if it goes wrong.

If that does not work then buy RAM from the boards QVL list or order some RAM from Cruicial that is on their list of acceptable RAM for that board.

Or just live with one stick of RAM.

[redvette]

Hi David M

Thanx for the tips. This messing with the voltage is all new to me. I guess you can call me old fashioned, thinking you put it in and if the main #'s are good you are good to go. Glad I am finding out such changes can be made. And it sounds like if you use care here they can be made with out blowing the whole machine apart. I am good at following instructions providing I clearly understand them. Minor detail. This is where you brains at PCmech come into play a lot of the times.

I have read that doing these BIOS updates are sort of dangerous to do, and a lot of people have ruined a good computer by doing this. There is always a certain percentage you can say did not do it right, and caused their own mishap.

I have 4 1G sticks in there now and am pleased with the results, but I am always wondering how diff setting affect the computer, so I will take your advice and do a little looking in the bios. Chances there are settings there that I never even thought of messing with. Either out of fear or ignorance.

Thanx....Gunny