8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (>_<)

[MadMax2911]

Hi Guys, I need some BIOS help on a GA-8I945P-G MOBO from gigabyte.
Yes this is an older board with a I945 chipset and a Intel pentium 4 CPU at 3 Ghz. I had this board for quite a while as a multipurpose rig with a few problems but for the most part it is a solid performer.
Recently I purchased RAM at PC workshop (which is the old PC club in SB CA. (Shameless plug??) The ram part number is T800UA1GC5 its DDR2 - 800 PC6400 CL5 it has the blue heatspreader on it and looks cool.

Here is my problem The memory is rated at a faster speed than my board supports here is a link for memory http://www.supertalent.com/products/...p?reg=N&mtid=2
and memory finder http://www.supertalent.com/tools/memoryFinder.php
If I plug in the GA-8i945P-G mobo in to configurator it advises slower memory in the range of 667Mhz. Question is will it work without any major issues if I have proper settings or should I ask for slower memory for this board 667Mhz
Also I have never really got help on setting up this BIOS from a pro, I have always used basic stock settings or slight OC with 2 x 512 sticks of 533 memory (yeah I know 1 gig is the pits huh)
I am considering using this as a secondary PC when my main rig is down or in the shop.
Here are specs..............................
CPU..................Pentium 4 630 CODE NAME PRESCOTT L2 cache 2 MB 3.0Ghz or slight OC
Mobo ...............GA-8I945P-G This board does not support SATA RAID :(
Ram..................T800UA1GC5 DDR2 800 PC6400 CL5 (2 x 1Gig)
but only one stick is installed for testing purposes. :)
Graphics.............Nvidia Geforce 6600GT 128MB (sticking finger down his throat)
Audio...................onboard
Hard drive WD 250 Gig RE IDE on the ITE 8212 IDE RAID controller in IDE mode
PS .....................Athena Power EPS 12V-550W
Case ...................Aopen
This memory may work better in my GA-EP45-DS3R board which has the 2 Gig stick of 800 Mhz memory FYI. But I was going to get a faster memory for that board for testing purposes of course.
Here are some BIOS settings
Robust graphics booster ..auto
CIA2.............................disabled
CPU host clock control .....enabled
CPU host frequencyMhz ....auto
PCI express frequency.......auto is 100 a good value like EP45?
system memory multiplier....auto
memory freq 333Mhz
DIMM overvolt................normal
PCIe overvolt.................normal
FSB overvolt..................normal
CPU vcore.....................normal
CPU vcore 1.3875
cas.....auto
Dram....auto
Dram Pre..auto
active....auto

MIB auto note this setting was being used with the 512 micron setting enabled before i installed this 1 gig stick o memory so i had to set it to auto as the other setting not make sense.
The PC started with these settings but only ran for ten minutes then blue screened. :(

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

I do not find that memory on the link you provided, at least not the model # you stated? Can you link the PDF

Either way, yes you can/should be able to run the ram at rated speeds or just underclock it to 667.

Motherboards spec's are just that, official rated specs. They do not mean that is all the board will do or support, just that is all they officially support. Now the 945 chipset itself is a ram limiter, but I think that only applies to ram amounts not speeds. It is also limited to the available Memory multipliers, so without a overclock to the FSB you may or may not be able to even try at 800Mhz.

I can say for sure on P35/45 boards you can run above or below the specs, so I assume the same would apply here as well

PCI Express should be set to 100 for any model board, so yes for p45 and this board

Without being sure of which model of ram you tried to link I cannot really advise, but I do see you did not set the ram voltage. I would for sure do that, normal 800Mhz ram voltage is 2.0-2.1V, but yours could be lower so be sure to check the sticker or give me the PDF Link so I can be sure

Robust Graphics Booster [Auto or Fast]
C.I.A.2 [Disabled]
CPU Host Clock Control [Disabled]
x CPU Host Frequency(Mhz) << Need to know what exact CPU P4 you have?
x PCI Express Frequency(Mhz) 100
System Memory Multiplier [2.66] << See above CPU note
Memory Frequency(Mhz) ?
DIMM OverVoltage Control [Normal] << This would need to be set per your ram, 1.8V would be the default and +0.3 is 2.1V (So you have a idea of how to set it)
PCI-E OverVoltage Control [Normal]
FSB Voltage Control [Normal]
CPU Voltage Control [Normal]
Normal CPU Vcore

CAS Latency Time [Auto] << Set to 5 for now until I know what ram you have
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay [Auto] << Set to 5 for now " "
DRAM RAS# Precharge [Auto] << Set to 5 for now " "
Active to Precharge Delay [Auto] << Set to 15/18 for now " "
Refresh Mode Select [Auto] << Try 15.6

M.I.B.2 [Auto] << Auto or Enabled
x Vendor/Brand Kingston/Elpida << Not sure until I can get a link to your ram, but Micron may not be a choice? and I believe that may be what your ram uses. So you may be best either trying Infineon or Samsung, or just leave all of this on Auto
x Component E5108AB-5C-E << See above
x Size 512M << Set 1GB or 2GB per the installed amount

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

I do not find that memory on the link you provided, at least not the model # you stated? Can you link the PDF

Either way, yes you can/should be able to run the ram at rated speeds or just underclock it to 667.

Motherboards spec's are just that, official rated specs. They do not mean that is all the board will do or support, just that is all they officially support. Now the 945 chipset itself is a ram limiter, but I think that only applies to ram amounts not speeds. It is also limited to the available Memory multipliers, so without a overclock to the FSB you may or may not be able to even try at 800Mhz.

I can say for sure on P35/45 boards you can run above or below the specs, so I assume the same would apply here as well

PCI Express should be set to 100 for any model board, so yes for p45 and this board

Without being sure of which model of ram you tried to link I cannot really advise, but I do see you did not set the ram voltage. I would for sure do that, normal 800Mhz ram voltage is 2.0-2.1V, but yours could be lower so be sure to check the sticker or give me the PDF Link so I can be sure

Ya Now I see that the memory is not listed but there is one thats close. That entry has one specification that does not match, however. I will send an email to support when I get home today and ask for help or the PDF you want.
Updating on my progress so far. I kept resetting the BIOS and trying safe settings in order to get the machine to stay on and I believe I have good settings to at least avoid B.S.O.D
EDIT IN: FYI everybody if you have easytune5 installed it asks you if you want to save defaults after editing the BIOS clock settings. This may alter the setting for starting up all the time till they are changed again. I think this may have caused some problems with not starting but I can not be sure. I should be keeping more detailed notes when hammering on my PC dont you think??
Thanks for the information on the PCI express bus I will change.
I will also look up my CPU information too tonight.
Thanks and bye

EDIT IN
CPU Pentium 4 630 Code Name Prescott L2 cache 2MB System Bus 800MHz I found this information using the Intel Processor ID utility. There is more information giver by this program so just ask if you need it.
I recieved the PDF from the Ram manufr. and included it as attachment as well as a copy of the E-mail that was written.
On the subject of Overclocking I am not sure that this board supports too much overclocking as mentioned in this post on the PCSTATS review here ->
Gigabyte GA-8I945P Pro PCSTATS Review - Overclocking the Gigabyte GA-8I945P Pro
The max FSB they got was 230 MHz where the PC started "spontaneously rebooting on startup" this was cured by adjusting voltages upwards I think. The SuperaTalent Rep also stated that this is not overclocking memory which does not make sense because it has the same blue heat spreaders like the OC memory. I will ask the Rep to clarify this for me
Also to be honest I did not ask for overclocking memory to begin with I simply brought a sample in for him to match up and He gave me the ST memory.
PCI E setting at 100 now.
You said I did not set the Ram voltage and I found out you were correct, however Easytune was reporting 2.1 v for the ram but CPU-Z stated otherwise 1.8v. So I am adding .1 volts at a time till I get to .3 overvolts (= 2.1v).
One more Issue to add in to mix is that I am having problems with the SATA controller. This controller may have been damaged when my BFG 8800GTS was running and dumpng tons of heat in the case. Also of note the southbridge has no heatsink to cool it but I dont know if that contributed to the problem. That is the reason I am using the ITE controller. I really do not like the ITE controller cuz it seems slow to respond maybe I will switch to the IDE controller and use a add-on card IDE controller for the CD/DVD drive. Specs on the add in controller will be posted soon.

Why not take memory back to swap for 667 memory that prolly would be cheaper (they carry kingston memory too)? What do you think about kingston memory??
Should I just try this memory in my EP45-DS3R board even though ST rep claims it is not OC memory? I think I should just ask them to order some OC kingston for my EP45 board and give them this Ram back.
What do you think of my SATA controller issue(one port nonoperational and controller may contribute to system instability when its enabled?). If you reccomend a new mobo then where can I find a new i945 or i955 board for cheap money? The PCI controller is The Sil 0680A UDMA/133 IDE RAID controller PCI card [could get one that supports SATA hard drives but then thats extra money spent on a ailing board (30.00) that could go towards a new mobo for about 70.00 to 90.00 right?]

Here is the Email
Hi Matthew:



I read your article.

Based on your MB specification: GIGABYTE - Product - Motherboard - Specification - GA-8I945P-G


It only supports up 667MHz. RAM 800 Mhz won’t be able to perform 800 Mhz in 667Mobo. I attached the PDF file you requested, but it may not be able to work for you. This is regular memory not the over clocking memory. Set the bios to 5-5-5-15 and try.



Best Regards



Jocelyn



Product Marketing | SuperTalent
-----------------------------------------------
Summing up: what started out as a Ram question has turned into a mobo evaluation question. So I guess to be honest one more question would be at what point in the fixing process does it become apparent that replacement of the mobo is the best option?

Regards Matt (><)

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

Bump

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

Hope I am not disturbing your weekend, Lsdmeasap, so I will just swap the memory for some slower sticks or see if they have Hyper X for my EP45-DS3R board. I will do some home work this time

[bnborg]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

I don't know about I945, but on my old NV4 motherboard, Abit NI8-SLI, I plugged in 8 GB of OCZ DDR2-800 SLI memory. It came up, the BIOS read the SPD and configured it at 400 MHz.

The the board and the PD805 on it seem to be handling it with no problems.

The manufacturers info says the board only supports DDDR2 667.

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

I don't know about I945, but on my old NV4 motherboard, Abit NI8-SLI, I plugged in 8 GB of OCZ DDR2-800 SLI memory. It came up, the BIOS read the SPD and configured it at 400 MHz.

The the board and the PD804 on it seem to be handling it with no problems.

The manufacturers info says the board only supports DDDR2 667.

What bothers me is the memory looked like overclocking memory due to the Blue heat spreaders, but was told by ST REP that it is "not" overclocking memory? I experienced issues when I installed it on the board like no starts and then BSOD when it did start. Part of this was easytunes fault for offering to change the defaults at startup with a simple question (at startup do you want to reset the default settings Y/N?). Now after investigating the issue, I found a reference to "value" on the package, which usually means "low end", I realize this is non overclocking memory.
It is funtioning now, by the way, but I realize it can't be overclocked in my EP45 PC.
Thanks for your time in repling. I may just ask for true value memory that has listings that I can refer to when needed. This memory maxes out at 667 and goes no further (according to easytune).
By the way my other mobo needs OC memory somthing along the line of the Dominator series (TWIN2X2048-8500C5D) looks Awesome for 70.00 after discount. What a deal from Amazon.com it comes with the Fan too!!!

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

I may be exchanging the memory this weekend for some other 667 memory w/PDF or high end dominator memory. I may also just exchange memory for another product or refund. I still need an opinion on the controller issue on this board. The contrioller has one burned out port so I need some advice about that. Can I just used the board Safely with the controller disabled and use another PCI-E controller or is it a fire hazard?
The explaination of problems is a few replies(?) up or back. Keep in mind when I put this memory in the PC it got hot and would not start due to bad setting I guess. Thanks for any advice, Guys.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

Provided you have a good quality power supply, there will be no risk of fire. That is the only thing that can catch fire. :p

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

Heatsink looks do not always mean something. The manufacturer said it was cheap (NON Overclock) memory so I would assume it is just that

Kingston is good solid ram, but also not so overclockable. At least not their DDR2 anyway

But it works fine. Maybe you should just buy a new P35 board for this hardware, that CPU and ram would be fine in it and you should be able to find a P35 for $75-80 used, maybe 80 or so new

Easytune just shows you the SPD programmed settings of the memory, not what it will do. With looser timings and more voltages most any ram will do more then it is designed to do, not that you should do that with this memory or anything, just letting you know what you see in ET is just the JEDEC Programmed specs is all.

It may just not be very compatible with your board, which are you trying to use it in now anyway I am confused do to you mentioning P45

[MadMax2911]

Re: 8i945P-G New memory lots O trouble EEK!!! (&gt;_&lt;)

[QUOTE=Lsdmeasap;296997]Heatsink looks do not always mean something. The manufacturer said it was cheap (NON Overclock) memory so I would assume it is just that

Kingston is good solid ram, but also not so overclockable. At least not their DDR2 anyway

Well I am limited to what they have on hand when I go there. I saw the Hyper X Ram in there last time so I thought maybe I will swap this for that, in order to avoid the restocking charge. But now that you mention this about kingston I will think twice or three times about puchase this Ram.
As far as the blue heat spreaders on the ram maybe they are assembly line rejects or maybe assembly line put heat spreaders on regular memory by mistake? Imagine the arguement that took place with managment.

As far as looking for a new board what site would I look on any reccomendations. Maybe start a new thread and ask for help in buying a P35 board(with the search engines in all cuz all I know is google and that is tedious at best). I mentioned the P45 cuz I did test it in there with auto settings for memory and it worked. It did not show any great speed improvement however.

By the way is the last poster correct that the Power supply the only thing that could catch fire?

Ya I know why is he bent on keeping this board? Well for one thing finances is big problem for me and I need a board to do SW testing and learning about Acronis true image backups. Plus it may become a file server, But only till I can locate a suitable replacement (finances willing). Also I will have to transfer Windows XP home license to new board and find a board that supports the old P4 630 chip, of which the specs are listed somewhere in here.

Jeez why dont i just add them at the beginning? While I am at it I will attempt to add Spec to my sig for my newest build.


MadMax out