GA-X58A-UD7 (rev. 1.0): Unrecognised RAM (only 4GB instead of 6GB)

[zephyr111]

I am hoping to get some technical support regarding an issue with the motherboard and RAM in my new pc:

RAM: OCZ 6G(3x2G) DDR3 Reaper 2000Mhz (PN - OCZ3RPR2000LV4GK)
CPU: Intel Core i7 960 Processor LGA1366 3.2GHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 LGA1366 X58 6DDR3
BIOS: Version: F7
GPU: Asus EAH5970 2GB GDDR5
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit


The following has been an ongoing issue for all the BIOS versions I have tried (F6, F7w and F7).

Ever since the first installation I have been unable to get the BIOS to recognise all 6 GB of RAM being used in triple channel slots. This is reflected in the BIOS start-up screen and Windows 7 (6GB recognised, only 4GB useable). I have verified in another machine that all the RAM sticks are functioning correctly. Indeed all 6 GB gets recognised if I slot the RAM sticks into a non triple channel slot combination.

After reading some forums I tried specifically setting the RAM BIOS settings for each channel to CL 9-9-9-30 (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS) (as per the OCZ website) with a voltage of 1.64V (the BIOS does not have the option to select 1.65V as recommended by the OCZ website).

I also changed the RAM multiplier to “x12” to get the RAM to run at 1600Mhz instead of 1066Mhz (BIOS auto setting), again none of the BIOS multiplier options allow me to select the setting to run the RAM at 2000Mhz.
Other multiplier settings:
x8 = 1066Mhz
x10 = 1333Mhz
x12 = 1600Mhz
x14 = 1867Mhz
x16 = 2133Mhz
x18 = 2400Mhz

At the moment (for BIOS version F7) the PC also undergoes a reboot loop with the message “Recovering Lost DRAM Size...”, rebooting 3-7 times, then eventually loading Windows 7 successfully, but still only recognising 4GB out of the 6GB RAM.

My question:
Are there any other specific BIOS settings I should be using to:
1. Get the BIOS to recognise all 6 GB of RAM in triple channel mode and;
2. To run the RAM at 2000Mhz

I have looked everyone and cant find any example of setting with this particular RAM brand / model. Any help / suggestions you can provide is appreciated.

[wazza300]

to run ram at 2000mhz you have to overclock or raise the bclk a little,also set dram voltage to 1.66v in the bios for 1.648v in windows,test each stick of ram one by one in the first white slot from the cpu socket,if it boots into windows from each stick do the same test for the other two white ram slots,if it doesnt boot up from one of the sticks then either the module is faulty or the ram slot or you could have a slightly bent cpu socket pin

[zephyr111]

Thanks for the advice.
After trying the bios settings given to me from one of the tech support guys at OCZ I still had no luck.
So after much hesitation I ended up removing the CPU to see if there are any bent pins. and yes there were two pins I had to bend to align them with the others.

A after replacing the CPU and heatsink it started up with no problems!!!

The BIOS and OS now detect the whole 6GB of RAM and no more reboot loop!
Phew..good to see it working...thanks again.

[wazza300]

im glad you managed to fix it,you did well in straightening those pins

take a look at my oc templates for 3.8ghz and 1800mhz ram speed but play around with the ram multipliers to raise speed ect,dont clock higher than 3.2ghz if your using stock intel cooler,you can go higher if you have good quality aftermarket cooler