help! installed new motherboard now i'm missing RAM

[frazer]

Hi all im new to this forum and looking for a little help . around 6 months ago my pc motherboard/processor died. i acquired a new one from flee baye, motherboard and processor package and set about repairing pc . i noticed then that my pc wasn't showing all the ram (i had 8GB) installed and now was showing 5 :sarc: .does any of you wizzkids have any idea what i have done wrong or what i need to do , iv lived with it until now but some games are just not working with low ram ,

so far iv done :

checked ram are seated correctly and in right order (i have 2x2GB and 1x4GB)
looked around in bios and cant see anything
reset cmos
done a windows memory diagnostics or what ever its called and all cam back clear

this is what it says pleeeeeeese help

Version 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Manufacturer Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
System Model GA-78LMT-USB3
System Type x64-based PC
Processor AMD FX(tm)-8350 Eight-Core Processor, 4000 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 8 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. FA, 23/04/2013
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 5.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 3.48 GB
Available Physical Memory 1.11 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.96 GB
Available Virtual Memory 4.89 GB
Page File Space 3.48 GB

 

[Mellon Head]

What happens if you take the 2x2 sticks out. Do you get 4 GB then?

I'm wondering if the mobo is incompatible with that mixture of RAM...

 

[Layback Bear]

First off a mismatch of ram can always cause problems.
I would suggest suggest downloading the motherboard manual and installing the ram suggested and in the position the manual indicates.

Here is a little starter look. The manual will give more information.

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3+ - GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 4.1)

1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory (Note 1)
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules

(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)

You could also have a eBay reject product.

 

[frazer]

What happens if you take the 2x2 sticks out. Do you get 4 GB then?

I'm wondering if the mobo is incompatible with that mixture of RAM...

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 1.72 GB
Available Physical Memory 440 MB
Total Virtual Memory 3.43 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.00 GB


thats with the 1x4GB installed only

 

[frazer]

First off a mismatch of ram can always cause problems.
I would suggest suggest downloading the motherboard manual and installing the ram suggested and in the position the manual indicates.

Here is a little starter look. The manual will give more information.

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3+ - GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 4.1)

1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory (Note 1)
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules

(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)

You could also have a eBay reject product.

ill look into that mate when i buy some new ram thanks for the reply

 

[Mellon Head]

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 1.72 GB
Available Physical Memory 440 MB
Total Virtual Memory 3.43 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.00 GB


thats with the 1x4GB installed only

Looks like you either have a bad stick, or the motherboard isn't recognizing the stick properly. Can you run Memtest86+ with that stick on the board and see how much RAM it sees? It will also test the stick thoroughly.

Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

 

[frazer]

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 4.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 3.48 GB
Available Physical Memory 2.37 GB
Total Virtual Memory 6.96 GB
Available Virtual Memory 5.77 GB
Page File Space 3.48 GB

this is with 1x2 and 1x4

 

[frazer]

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 3.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 1.72 GB
Available Physical Memory 710 MB
Total Virtual Memory 3.43 GB
Available Virtual Memory 2.32 GB
Page File Space 1.72 GB

this is with the other 1x2 and the 1x4

 

[Mellon Head]

Judging by your last two posts, either all of your RAM is messed up, or it's your motherboard. I'm starting to suspect the mobo.

The thing is with the FX-8350, the memory controller is on the CPU die, not on the motherboard. Only the control interfaces are on the motherboard. It's possible that they have taken some damage from static electricity or over-voltage. It's also possible that the RAM slots are dirty. Before we get too crazy, it might be a good idea to get a can of compressed air and blow out the RAM slots to make sure there is no dust in them.

Do you have a friend that has a PC that you can test the RAM sticks in his/her computer? If you do, I'll bet that they show up as the right capacity.

 

[frazer]

thanks guys ill try that , iv run that software and noticed that the gskill one is showing 2GB and not 4GB could this be down to voltage or clock speed ? i know nothing about either but read about them somewhere

 

[Mellon Head]

Well, if the voltage is wrong, it won't behave right. Can you give is the exact model of each stick of RAM, please?

 

[frazer]

Well, if the voltage is wrong, it won't behave right. Can you give is the exact model of each stick of RAM, please?

the geil one it one of 2 the same

 

[Mellon Head]

Ok. you have mismatched RAM. The voltage on the Geil is 1.5 Volts, and the voltage on the G.Skill is 1.6 Volts. They cannot exist together on the motherboard, meaning that you can't use them at the same time.

To get the G.Skill to work properly, you will have to raise the memory voltage to 1.6 Volts, which would fry your Geil RAM. They are also different speeds. The best you could hope for is to run them at 1333. You also can't overclock that Geil RAM to 1600 like the G.Skill, or raise the voltage to 1.6 V. It has no heat spreaders to dissipate the heat. They'll burn up and malfunction in no time.

I would scrap the whole idea and just buy yourself an 8 GB set of matched RAM. They come in kits of 2 for about $70 to $80 for the good stuff. Or even go 16 GB if you like, for a little more money. It's not worth wasting your time, or damaging your components trying to get this mismatched RAM working.

 

[Layback Bear]

frazer please go back and read my post #3.

 

[frazer]

Ok. you have mismatched RAM. The voltage on the Geil is 1.5 Volts, and the voltage on the G.Skill is 1.6 Volts. They cannot exist together on the motherboard, meaning that you can't use them at the same time.

To get the G.Skill to work properly, you will have to raise the memory voltage to 1.6 Volts, which would fry your Geil RAM. They are also different speeds. The best you could hope for is to run them at 1333. You also can't overclock that Geil RAM to 1600 like the G.Skill, or raise the voltage to 1.6 V. It has no heat spreaders to dissipate the heat. They'll burn up and malfunction in no time.

I would scrap the whole idea and just buy yourself an 8 GB set of matched RAM. They come in kits of 2 for about $70 to $80 for the good stuff. Or even go 16 GB if you like, for a little more money. It's not worth wasting your time, or damaging your components trying to get this mismatched RAM working.

thanks for that mate.. its not that i dont want to spend any money on ram its more the confusion as to why they worked together before i had a new mobo and cpu ill just get some orded what do you think to this Corsair CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10R Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL10 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Red: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

[frazer]

First off a mismatch of ram can always cause problems.
I would suggest suggest downloading the motherboard manual and installing the ram suggested and in the position the manual indicates.

Here is a little starter look. The manual will give more information.

GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket AM3+ - GA-78LMT-USB3 (rev. 4.1)

1. 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 32 GB of system memory (Note 1)
2. Dual channel memory architecture
3. Support for 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066 MHz memory modules

(Please refer "Memory Support List" for more information.)

You could also have a eBay reject product.

i did all of this mate but as i said above i cant understand how or why they worked together before , thanks for you help

 

[Mellon Head]

what do you think to this Corsair CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10R Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 Mhz CL10 XMP Performance Desktop Memory Kit Red: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Those are pretty good ones. I don't think you could go wrong with those. Your machine will definitely perform better. Let us know how you make out.