EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

[BongWizard]

First of all let me say that this seems like a really helpful forum and Im glad to be a part of it. Now for the problem...

I just built a new rig with a Core 2 Quad Q9300, GB EP45 DS3P mobo, 620W Corsair PSU, HIS Radeon HD 4850, 3x Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDDs and 2x 2GB sticks of Kingston HyperX DDR2 RAM(I know, its not the GB blessed RAM, but it should work), and it was all running perfectly for about a month or so until last night.

As soon as I got the thing built and running, I overclocked the CPU to 3.3GHz (440 x 7.5, damn the locked multiplier!!!) and it ran just fine for about a month. Then last night I decided I might kick the FSB up another 5 or 10MHz, but then when I got to the POST screen and pressed DEL to enter the BIOS (then F3) setup, my rig restarted. Then again, POST screen, DEL, dead. This continues another 2 or 3 times. Then I decided OK, this is good enough and I let it boot. Got to the POST screen, restarted, booted again and then... there we go back into Windows good as new, except the things boot a standard settings.

So for the next 2 hours or so I fiddled with the FSB and the RAM settings trying to see if i could get the machine to boot into Windows with any sort of OC at all. I tried and tried, but to no avail. So eventually i gave up and loaded the fail safe settings, but i still cant boot on the first try, it has to restart and boot from the second BIOS.

So i figured it might have been a corrupt BIOS or something like that, so I went to the Gigabyte website and got the latest BIOS (F7). Flashed it using Q-Flash, loaded optimised deafaults, then restarted. That worked fine, so i went back into the BIOS setup and tried to go for another OC. I put the FSB up to just 420 MHz, just as a test. And so it booted fine, and I was into Windows with a clock of 3.15GHz. I decided I didnt want to push it anymore and went to bed.

So this morning I got up and figured i could squeeze a few more MHz out of this board, even if its just 5 or 10. But when I went to enter the BIOS setup, lo and behold exactly the same thing as before happened... POST, DEL and restart... POST, DEL, and restart... Eventually it did boot, but only at standard clock settings.

So here I am, wondering what the hell went wrong... I'm 100% sure it has nothing to do with heat (I've got an OCZ Vendetta 2 CPU cooler which kept the temps down around 40-45C at idle when OCd to 3.3GHz). Im pretty sure its not the CPU itself (if it was it wouldnt run at standard clocks). The HDDs are all less than 1 month old, so I highly doubt its any of them. So the only things i think it could be is either the RAM (it passed a memtest, but that doesnt mean its 100% compatible) or the BIOS itself (i havent tried F6 yet, but im just about to do that).

If anyone has any ideas what might be the problem, any help would be appreciated so much.

Thanks in advance!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

I can likely get you goiing again. I see you said you flashed F7, but had not tried F6, what was you using previously? Sometimes the newest isnt the best and sometimes it is. Sometimes a version or tow old is better then them all, ya just have to find one you like and keep it. Then only get a new one if it directly addresses a issue you are having

Kingston works ok on Gigabyte boards, so you should be ok there. I see you memtested the ram. That is Memtest86+ right? Just checking

So you can get in the BIOS now right, but just cannot get any overclocks in right?

If so, please post me back your settings you are using now (Or better yet, if you remember which you want to use that fail post those) and I can make some suggestions for you to get going better.

Hope you remember your Vcore you was using, you know how that can vary from board to board and hip to chip so my suggestion to you on that if you are not sure will be high, and you can lower later once you get going if need be/possible

2x2GB needs some adjustments, which it sounds like you know. SO.... Onto the settings

This is Just a template I use to ask people their settings, pay no attention to the numbers in it, replace with yours

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 7
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.5
CPU Frequency ...........................:


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< Leave
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< Leave
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<< Leave
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< Leave


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............:
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............:
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................
tRCD .........................................
tRP'...........................................
tRAS..........................................

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: <<
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............:
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Advanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled]

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

I was using F3 before, but when it started acting up (for no obvious reason) i just updated to the latest one... i just flashed F6 on about 20 minutes ago, and im getting the same results, that is the screen just goes black after the POST screen (but my rig doesnt fully power down like a CMOS clear/save or anything) and then it boots up a second time without any problem (except standard settings, if that can be called a problem).

lol... of course we're talking memtest86+... i didnt know people used anything else! lol

Well before the problems i was using (as close a i can remember)
Multi-7.5
FSB-440MHz
CPU Clock-3.33GHz
Frequency Latch-400MHz
Memory Frequency-2.66D = 1066MHz
Memory Timings 4-5-5-15
Memory Clock Skew-5 clock cycles
Vcore-1.325V
other voltages- auto

Now i wanna get the clock back up to about 3.22GHz (430x7.5) or at least 3.18, So:

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 7
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.5
CPU Frequency ...........................:


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100

DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: 400MHz
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2D <<Slowed from before
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............:
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5 <<Maybe wanna
tRCD .........................................5 <<slow all of these
tRP'...........................................5 <<for slightly more
tRAS..........................................15<< reliability

I havent really been tweaking the advanced memory controls with the F6 BIOS, because as i understand they provide less on the reliability end and more for the end performance

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto ps

Motherboard Voltage Control
Voltage Type.………... Manual
CPU
CPU Vcore….………..............: 1.3375V<<Slightly up from before to supply more current
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< Leave

MCH/ICH
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: << Put this up to about 1.2V
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............:Just left on auto
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

Ive heard that 2GB stick need a bit of tweaking to work well with Giga borads, but im not really sure of the exact tuning needed... voltage and frequency i know, but im not sure what to do with them... could you explain that a bit more?

Just judging by the way it boots up atm (yeah ive kinda been studying it... ive got nothing else to do), it seems like the primary BIOS either keeps getting corrupted somehow (just a guess) or the actual chip that the 1st BIOS is stored on is damaged in some way. these are just guesses, but being as the board always starts up, attempts to boot once (and fails, never letting me into this BIOS setup), then boots again about 3-4seconds later with fail safe settings... even if i go into the BIOS setup and choose fail safes to begin with... i find this is espcially strange because i cant figure out why it just started happeing now

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

Well a double boot is normal when making BIOS changes, not if you are not making changes. A triple boot is not normal, and will set you back to all stock settings.

Ya, there is Memtest.... Just plain memtest by HCI designs and it runs in windows. Pretty cheaply and some often think this is what is meant when asked, so I always try to be sur to ask by specific name.

Ya, 2x2 will need a few adjustments for sure on any board. That would be trfc of 52-62 and MCH voltage to be added. And of course the Ram/DDR2 voltage should be manually set to the spec on the side sticker of the ram, normally 1.9 or 2.1 for Kingston. You didn't list your model so you will need to look.

AUTO is not suggested for most setting, except a few and to start your board to get in the BIOS and make changes that are needed. It is set in AUTO when you get it for those who do not know what to do or can't ask. And so that most all hardware will at least function long enough for the user to get into the BIOS to make changes. With so many possible combinations of hardware they have to make a general setting range which is AUTO. Often times this is too much or not enough of something, or a bad combo of both with certain hardware


Is that CAS 4 ram? I mean if that is not rated for the 4-5-5-15 timing you have it likely will not work at that speed. I dont know any Kingston 1066 ram that will run CAS4 at 1066 so that is likely your issues of now. IS it this? If so then see it should be CAS5 >>>
Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Try this for 3.225 >>>


MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: Auto or Fast
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 7
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.5
CPU Frequency ...........................: 3.20GHz


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 430Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< 800mv
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< 900mv
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<< Leave
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< Leave


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [333] Try 400 last, or first if you used to use it (I see you have some issues above with this 2.66 X 440 or even 430 FSB is WAY Above 1066 ram so Either you was not before using 2.66 or you are just remembering things wrong? Just thinking out loud as to why you may have issue now

System Memory Multiplier ..............: 2.40 (2.40 X 430FSB = 1032)
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............:1032MHz
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................5
tRCD .........................................5
tRP'...........................................5
tRAS..........................................15

These are ranges, set to highest for now and then later you can lower them one ata time testing between each move. And yes, we will get your ram running at 1066 and your CPU higher, just trying to get you in there for now

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................3-4
tWTR..........................................4-6 / 9-11
tWR............................................3-5/6
tRFC...........................................48-50 /52-62

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

yep thats the RAM ive got... sorry for not specifying... and i know its not really supposed to run at CAS4, but i got a bit carried away with tweaking those kinda things a while back, and it seemed to work ok so i left... probably shouldnt have...

thanks for the help on the settings, im gonna give them a try now just to see if they work, then im off to bed... im be back in the morning if i need any more help... thanks!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

Well it may, often ram will run lower CAS then it is listed but not always and generally not at that high of speeds

Best to set higher for now until you get things going smoother again.

Good luck, and I will see you tonight

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

thanks for the help, but even with the settings you've listed here, i still cant get it overclocking right... in fact, i still cant get it to even boot on the first try at all... ive got no idea whats wrong with it, but im just gonna keep fiddling around with the memory settings at standard clock speeds to see if i can just get Windows to boot on the first try before i continue overclocking the processor

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

Hmm that is very odd.

Please try MCH latch on Auto then, and Memory Mutli on or close to 800 and see how that works for now.

The above settings should boot fine unless you need more CPU Voltage, which very well could be the case

[BongWizard]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

I finally got it working again!!!! I went back to the BIOS that came on the CD (it was actually a D6Q F2 BIOS) and it started up no problem at stock settings, then i did a small overclock and it crashed so i went back up to the proper F7 version and it booted perfectly, so i lowered the MCH Strap to 200MHz (i read that somewhere else on this board), bumped the MCH voltage up to 1.4 and pushed the RAM voltage up to 2.32V, then i put the FSB up to 440MHz and let the RAM sit around stock clock and timings, so now im running at the settings in my sig!!! W00T!!

Thanks so much for your help LSD... i actually learned something over the past few days, and that doesnt happen that often lol!!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45 DS3P boot problem with Kingston HyperX RAM

Anytime! Glad you got somewhere with it.

Next thing to attempt/work on is 333 MCH latch, that is where you should be running the NB

And you likely can bring down that Ram voltage, unless that is what it is spec'd for