Additional 8 GB RAM

[jacubb]

Hello,

recently I purchased another 8 GB RAM for my desktop PC but I have a problem, hope someone can help me with it.

I have GIGABYTE H77M-D3H motherboard and Kingston HyperX Black 8 GB - KHX16C9B1BK2/8X. Now I purchased another RAM - Kingston HyperX Beast 8 GB - KHX16C9T3K2/8X. Based on part numbers they have the same attributes - 1600 MHz, CL9, 1,65V.

The problem is, that when I put all 4 cards into motherboard and I turn on PC, it automatically turns off within 2 seconds. After a while it will turns on and then again after 2 seconds turns off. And this is repeating all the time until I turn off power supply. Anyone knows what can be the problem? I don't have any experiences with RAMs and this stuff, that's why I don't know what is going on.

Btw, I downloaded some software what is showing you your current hardware - when I plugin new RAMs, it's showing me 1600 MHz, CL11 and 1,50V. I tried to change in BIOS channel A and B in RAM to CL9-9-9-27 but it's still the same - 1600 MHz, CL11 and 1,50V. Really no idea what to do now...



After a couple hours of playing with BIOS it's finally working :

 

[Pagefault404]

Purchasing different models of RAM, even if the displayed specs seem the same, is a crap shoot. The timings on the new ram could have been better, or worse, than your old RAM. Your motherboard has to compensate for this. When purchasing additional memory, always make sure you're getting the exact make and model of RAM. Match part numbers. Even though you compared the modules and everything seemed the same, chances are, something was off.

I purchased 2x8GB 1866 mHZ DDR3 modules and thought I purchased an additional two at a later time. System was unstable. Reason being, I matched manufacturer and model, and the first six digits of the part number were the same. However the last three were off, and the ram I ordered was 2133 mHZ, which caused the motherboard to downclock and caused stability issues when attempting to run games. I didn't realize my mistake until I opened CPUz to troubleshoot and saw the mismatched CAS latency and part numbers.

My advice would be to pick the better of the two, spec wise, and replace the mismatched RAM. You may have bypassed the issue now, however it could occur again down the road and cause even more issues. I had one of my private server drives die due to sudden power loss. Drive was old, I had backups, but still.

 

[jacubb]

I wanted to buy the same model, but it's not possible to purchase it. But I purchased model with the same specs. Now both modules are working on 1600 MHz, CL9-9-9-27, 1,65V.

I wanted to make bigger upgrade - motherboard (with DDR4 and socket 1151 support), CPU (Intel Core i7-6700K), GPU (EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti Classified ACX 2.0+) and RAM (some 16 GB DDR4 kit), but then I decided, that I will purchase only new GPU and additional 8 GB DDR3 RAM. For that first upgrade I would spent ~1500 euro, now I spent only 400 euro and it's enough for now. I didn't see any reason why should I purchase new 16 GB kit while I already had 8 GB and I have 2 free slots on motherboard, so I saved another ~40 euro for it. Maybe you think that what is 40 euro, someone can earn it in 30 minutes, but for me as a student it's a really big amount : So later when I will have job and I will have stable income I will purchase new new memory kit.

 

[Pagefault404]

I understand where you're coming from. Upgrading is tough, as you have to consider performance gains per currency mark to determine if the price is worth the performance. I have done the same in your position. It's all about the biggest gain for the lowest cost (Hence why all of my stuff is AMD )

 

[jacubb]

I am not a big fan of AMD, I prefer Intel + nVidia : Just because of higher performance and lower consumption : I also like additional software for nVidia cards - GeForce Experience and drivers. But on the lastest nVidia drivers I have some problems on BF4, before on EVGA GTX 660 Superclocked+ 3 GB GDDR5 I was playing it on ultra @ 1080p on 60 fps, now with GTX 970 on ultra @ 1080p I have higher fps, but sometimes I have lags, fps goes down to ~20-30. But new NFS is running on 60-70 fps on ultra :

 

[Pagefault404]

The 970 is a very controversial card because of the way Nvidia engineered the VRAM. While the 970 has 4GB of DDR5 VRAM in total, what it actually has is a 3.5GB/.5GB split. The way the card is designed, that last .5GB VRAM has it's own pipe, and doesn't kick in until you hit the 3.5GB VRAM ceiling. That might be some of your issue with that card.

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[jacubb]

Yes I know, but I am wondering why it's happening, since before was 3 GB enough on the same details.

 

[Pagefault404]

Even though it's the same game, the 970 allows for higher resolution textures to be used, which will use more VRAM.

 

[jacubb]

Even though it's the same game, the 970 allows for higher resolution textures to be used, which will use more VRAM.

I am using same details (ultra) as before and also same resolution :

 

[Pagefault404]

Battlefield 4 is one of those games that most mid range GPUs are able to squeeze out a great deal from it. I don't want to go so far as to say it's optimized, however it handles itself pretty well in terms of VRAM use. However because your card, the 970, SUPPOSEDLY passes the 3GB VRAM cap, it allows itself more room for better quality images. However that's likely where it hits that 3.5 ceiling. This is only a possible theory, as BF4 is reported to use around 3.5GB of VRAM in cards with greater then 3GB VRAM. It's possible those dips you see are the game just barely going over 3.5GB VRAM, causing that .5GB channel to kick in and sandbag your card momentarily.

Have you used RSS to monitor your VRAM use in BF4?

 

[jacubb]

I have that software for Strix, but I didn't check, if VRAM goes over 3.5 GB or not. But from my personal experience I can say, that my previous GTX 660 was better for playing BF4 than my current GTX 970. However, GTX 970 is better on GTA V and new NFS. Well, whatever, maybe I could stay with my old card and don't waste 369 euro for this :



So I checked VRAM usage while playing BF4, it was between 1800 - 2300 MB.

 

[Pagefault404]

I have no clue man. It's got to be something else causing the performance hit then.

[Edit: Scratch the Mantle question]