ASUS P5Q - Bother with PC8500 RAM or stick with PC6400

[Cuzin B]

Hello!

As part of a new upgrade cycle for my recording studio I settled on the new ASUS P5Q (not deluxe, not-E, not Pro) - just the plain ole P5Q.

This rig will be running Vista 64 with a Q9450 Quad core and will probably get 8GB of RAM sooner than later but I purchased Corsair TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF (4GB in a 2x2GB set) to get started.

Got the board, the RAM, the Q9450 processor and got to it. The build went very fast. However - at first start up - nothing. Board powers up, lights flash, IDE lights give a little flash...fans are up...looks normal inside - no so good on screen. After ruling out some sort of "suspend" mode or anything else out of the ordinary...I flashed the BIOS to version 703 - which apparently enables the P5Q to work with "additional memory types" - thought I might get lucky. No go. No nothing.

Long story short - I pulled the (2GBx2) TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF in favor of a (4x1GB) set of TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX instead. The box came up no problem and I was able to install Vista and some apps.

Spend all of Monday researching the "no POST" problems and finally solved the issue by changing the 4 pin ATX connector to the 8 pin ATX connector and it fired up no problem. Was able to hit the BIOS and basically set everything to Auto. But...when Vista goes to load - instant Blue Screen. With various error messages. From Bad_POOL_HEADER to everything in between. I did read up on the limitless posts both here and other forums regarding the "old" circa Nov 2007 issue of Vista issuing a Blue Screen with 4GB of RAM installed - but that was fixed with Service Pack 1 (which is baked into my DVD media). Plus - when I use 4GB of TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - there is no problem at all.

Here on Tuesday - I am getting of mixed info on what to try when I get home to try and get this board working soundly with the PC8500 - but then I started thinking about this a bit more.

I am planning on 8GB for this rig anyway - and I have no interest in overclocking anything (Just stability - since this workstation basically is responsible for the core operations of my business) - would it be a more prudent step to just forgo the ongoing blue screens and hassles of trying to get the 1066 8500C5D working and settle into a nice comfy set of of 4x2GB TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX instead?

I have also read horror stories about installing memory in all four slots and then having to downstep the memory frequency back to 800mhz if I do decide to try and install 8GB of the PC8500 RAM.

If I have to step back from 1066 to 800 - I may as well just get 8GB of TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - that I have already confirmed works fine with all 4 slots populated at 800mhz?

Is there a real tangible difference between PC8500 and PC6400. I have read that memory branded as PC8500 is simply overclocked PC6400

Appreciate any comments!

Cheers!

VP

[traveler]

Originally Posted by Cuzin B

[snip]
Was able to hit the BIOS and basically set everything to Auto.
[snip]

"Auto" does not mean "auto". It means "try it and if it doesn't work switch to manual somewhere".

Did you set the switch in the BIOS to run the motherboard in 1066 mode?

[FearFactory]

Those TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF need 2.1v to work at 1066mhz, you must set the DRAM voltage to 2.1.

[Pentium4]

I'm using the Corsair 8500C5DF (2x2Gb) for my P5Q-D also, and the system booted first go, as an added bonus it defaulted to the correct 1066MHz speed/timings with all bios settings at 'auto', this board is lovely and stable (This memory is in the Asus QVL), so it should have worked perfectly on your board as well

[Cuzin B]

Originally Posted by Pentium4

I'm using the Corsair 8500C5DF (2x2Gb) for my P5Q-D also, and the system booted first go, as an added bonus it defaulted to the correct 1066MHz speed/timings with all bios settings at 'auto', this board is lovely and stable (This memory is in the Asus QVL), so it should have worked perfectly on your board as well

Exactly! Apologies to FearFactor and traveler - but - if a specific part appears on the QVL list for a specific motherboard - I should not have to alter anything in the BIOS. I should be able to plug it in and fire it up and it should run perfectly in AUTO.

Given the 800 billion adjustments in the BIOS on my P5Q - just how is the average guy supposed to know where to start? While I am aware of the specific parameters (voltage etc etc ) if the part is specific branded as a "qualified" part - there should be no question on anything. Auto should definitely mean Auto.

As a final addition to this - further testing showed that one of my sticks is completely dead - so there's the problem right there.

I am in the process of changing these out and I am still weighing whether or not to try another pair or just continue with 2 sets of the TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX and be done with it.

Thanks for the comments!

Cheers!

VP

[traveler]

Originally Posted by Cuzin B

[snip]

As a final addition to this - further testing showed that one of my sticks is completely dead - so there's the problem right there.

[snip]

That could cause a computer builder some problems.

Good to hear you got to the cause.

[Pentium4]

Originally Posted by Cuzin B

Given the 800 billion adjustments in the BIOS on my P5Q - just how is the average guy supposed to know where to start?

After trying new bios 1003 (which has since been pulled) there are now 801 billion Asus added a new 'CPU Margin Enhancement' entry for you to
ponder over Glad you found the problem though Cuzin B, hopefully once you get the memory exchanged, your board will be as stable as mine
On a side note...while testing in 'auto' mode, my memory was even able to handle the next higher setting of DDR2-1111MHz

[Cuzin B]

Originally Posted by Pentium4

Glad you found the problem though Cuzin B, hopefully once you get the memory exchanged, your board will be as stable as mine On a side note...while testing in 'auto' mode, my memory was even able to handle the next higher setting of DDR2-1111MHz

Awesome! I took my crappy memory back this morning and slapped in 2 sets (4x2GB) of TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX - and my rig is purring like a kitten. Just as I suspected - the board is functioning perfectly - the memory was completely f-ed up.

Anyhoo - I am done with memory - now time to build this box up and get some work done.

Thanks all!

VP