OCZ Platinum on x58 problem

[silentbogo]

Let's start with specs:
Core i7-920@nominal
ASUS Rampage II GENE
MSI GTX 750Ti Gaming
Kingston 240GB SSD
WD Caviar Blue 500GB
PSU 450W Zalman

So, before spending my precious piastres on a new CPU I've decided to add some RAM to my rig.
Initially I had a 3x2GB set of OCZ Platinum I bought a while ago, and even though it never reached the claimed spec, I was still able to run it at 1333MHz 8-8-8-21 @ 1.60V, or 1600MHz with much higher timings.

Few days ago I got very "lucky" and bought exactly the same set of approximately the same age(~5-6 y.o.).

An attempt to install 12GB failed and caused HW freezes and periodic reboots. Separately both sets perform equally well, but when all 6 RAM slots are occupied I was only able to achieve stable operations at 1066MHz 7-7-7-16.

I had some success starting these sticks at 1333MHz and higher and they've passed memtest86+ and Prime95, but immediately crashed my PC after starting any kind of video game.

I can imagine there are many people who still has or used to have an x58 platform and had to deal with this particular brand of memory (OCZ had the cheapest crap on the market at the time ).

I've already disabled all virtualization and power management features in order to have 12 gigs working. Current memory voltage is set to 1.65V and I don't think I want to push it any further due to heat (unless you can prove me that it's worth it).

So, here comes my question: how do I make these suckers run at least 1333MHz without crashing my PC.

 

[Norton]

iirc the memory controller is on the cpu on that socket- getting all 6 sticks running triple channel and overclocked may be too much stress for it. I'm not sure if you have the option in your BIOS but I would see if you can run them in single channel mode at that higher speed.

*note- Phenom II's had similar issues trying to overclock using 4 sticks due to the memory controller also...

 

[silentbogo]

Thx, Norton.
Unfortunately I don't have this option in BIOS, but I managed to drop the voltage and timings to match SPD spec(1066 7-7-7-16 @ 1.5V), which made my system stable (been playing New Vegas all day). Performance hit appears to be small for all the things I do, so I guess I'll survive.


I did some research on this topic and I guess I am one of the lucky ones - some people couldn't even run 3 sticks at 1600MHz, or even 1333MHz.
The main problem is over-advertising. While memory modules themselves are not bad, if running at nominal parameters, they cannot do what manufacturer claims (like running at higher speeds on low voltages).

I guess this stage of my upgrade can be considered successful and I can order some more HW upgrades, like Xeon x5660 and ... a new mousepad...

 

[Mussels]

yeah what Norton said, you're hitting the limits of your CPU's IMC (integrated memory controller) - not the ram. You'll need to *carefully* adjust voltages and re-OC with 6 sticks.

x58 was only ever rated for 1066Mhz DDR3, speeds above that are overclocking only.

 

[newtekie1]

like Xeon x5660

This might be more of an upgrade than you know, since the Xeons were actually rated for 1333 RAM speeds. The i7 were only rated to 1066.

Also remember that DDR3-1066 in Triple Channel gives exactly the same bandwidth as DDR3-1600 in Dual-Channel. So the lower clock speeds aren't likely to affect performance all that much.

 

[silentbogo]

Thx, guys! Gonna be waiting for that Xeon even more anxiously now.

It seems that with all slots occupied the memory controller is only able to handle RAM at SPD specs, and anything above that has to be done with bumping BLCK.

Got my CPU running at a steady 3GHz with RAM at 1200, same timings @1.5V. No crashes so far, passes all benchmarks, no overheating.

I still can't believe that after 6 years of using that i7-920 I did not pay attention to its specs in regards to memory...

Thank you all, once again!

 

[95Viper]

I am running 24GB (6x4096MB) on my x58 gigabyte board (in my specs).
Triple channel with XMP profiles (9-9-9 24 2T) @ 1.5V and the IMC ain't had any problems for the few years I have had it.
I did bump the voltage and tried to OC it once for the heck of it; but, the MB did not like it and kick me down to the default profile.
So, I stayed with the XMP ones and have had no trouble.

Goodluck to you.