Solve : 4 RAM slots - 2 sticks - 100mm CPU Fan - skip a slot??

1.	Solve : 4 RAM slots - 2 sticks - 100mm CPU Fan - skip a slot??
Answer» Hi there, I have done some extensive google searching for an answer but the only slightly relevant posts are to do with ancient ddr and ddr2 machines! Relevant components: asRock 870 extreme3 - HTTP://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=870%20Extreme3&cat=Specifications 2x 4gb Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz DDR3 - http://www.corsair.com/memory/vengeance/vengeance-4gb-single-module-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz4gx3m1a1600c9.html Scythe Shuriken Rev.B Quiet Low Profile - http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products/cpu-cooler/shuriken-rev-b.html So anyway, i ordered the new RAM and CPU heatsink/fan pretty much at the same time without thinking too carefully - but now i realise the CPU socket is positioned very close to the first RAM slot and the Scythe fan is several cm larger than the stock AMD fan. So when they both arrive, if the fan turns out to be on the big side and pokes out infront of the first RAM slot (DDR3_A1), (keeping in mind that the corsair vengeance has quite a high raised heatsink) - will i be able to simply leave the first ddr3 RAM slot empty and plug in the TWO sticks of RAM either in slot 2 & 3 (DDR3_B1 & DDR3_A2) or 3 & 4 (DDR3_A2 & DDR3_B2). I suppose if not i may have to return the Scythe shuriken and purchase a heatsink with a smaller fan - but either way, some help and ideas on the matter would really go a long way! thanks mzjangoPlug the 2 RAM cards into the 2 White slots, leave the Blue slots empty.Quote from: Computer_Commando on March 07, 2011, 05:46:13 PM Plug the 2 RAM cards into the 2 White slots, leave the Blue slots empty. I thought that might be the RIGHT thing to do seeing as they were colour coded - thank you Different colors indicate dual-channel RAM support. Dual Channel DDR3 memory technology - 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots - Supports DDR3 1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory - Max. capacity of system memory: 16GB*I see, thanks for the insight man! Would that mean that its best to use dual channel RAM in pairs? so for instance its better to use 2 or 4 sticks (complete pairs) than say a 1 or 3 ? or does this not matter - because i'm sure a lot of people go for 12gb or even 4gb of RAM. Quote from: mzjango on March 07, 2011, 06:02:23 PM ...Would that mean that its best to use dual channel RAM in pairs? so for instance its better to use 2 or 4 sticks (complete pairs) than say a 1 or 3 ? or does this not matter - because i'm sure a lot of people go for 12gb or even 4gb of RAM. Technically, yes, dual-channel is supposed to be faster, but even laboratory measurements don't always bear this out. You can run your own tests, PUT 1 in the Blue & 1 in the White & see if you can tell the difference. It's all or none when it comes to dual-channel memory, if it's an odd number or the modules don't match or are plugged into mixed slots, none of it will run in dual-channel mode. It's matched pairs in matching colors. I assume you will be using a 64-bit OS or all the RAM over 3GB will not be seen or recognized by the OS.Yeah i'm running Win 7 ult 64BIT so hopefully shouldnt have a problem registering all 8gb The RAM just arrived about half an hour ago actually, i have fitted it into the the first slots and have measured out 50mm from the the centre point of the stock AMD fan, if i've got it right i think the new fan should fit in with about 2mm to spare - this actually leads to another question though - is the cpu heatsink being 2mm away from the RAM dangerous, i.e could the heat from the cpu (or ram) effect/overheat one another? on another note, regarding registering of RAM on different OS, I did in fact have a lot of trouble with my previous MB, was an asrock G31M-GS http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=G31M-GS Techincally it was supposed to be able to support up to 8gb of RAM - i was running the same copy of Win 7 64bit and had 4gb DDR2 running but only 3.25 (i think) was registering, and of that about 1gb was being reserved for "hardware maintenance" or something rediculous like that? Anyway it turned out a lot of people were having similar trouble with that MB, some were able to resolve it with a bios update, but somehow i was never able to flash my bios as an error would come up on the install - very frustrating! Maybe it would work if it was done on a fresh HD format as my previous system had got very jammed up towards the end? I do want to sell the old MB with its very decent Q9550, heatsink, esata card, and 4gb of RAM, but i dont like the idea selling it on with this problem that i know it has! Ever heard of such trouble and know any solutions?

Answer»

Hi there,

I have done some extensive google searching for an answer but the only slightly relevant posts are to do with ancient ddr and ddr2 machines!

Relevant components:

asRock 870 extreme3 - HTTP://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=870%20Extreme3&cat=Specifications

2x 4gb Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz DDR3 - http://www.corsair.com/memory/vengeance/vengeance-4gb-single-module-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz4gx3m1a1600c9.html

Scythe Shuriken Rev.B Quiet Low Profile - http://www.scythe-eu.com/en/products/cpu-cooler/shuriken-rev-b.html

So anyway, i ordered the new RAM and CPU heatsink/fan pretty much at the same time without thinking too carefully - but now i realise the CPU socket is positioned very close to the first RAM slot and the Scythe fan is several cm larger than the stock AMD fan.

So when they both arrive, if the fan turns out to be on the big side and pokes out infront of the first RAM slot (DDR3_A1), (keeping in mind that the corsair vengeance has quite a high raised heatsink) - will i be able to simply leave the first ddr3 RAM slot empty and plug in the TWO sticks of RAM either in slot 2 & 3 (DDR3_B1 & DDR3_A2) or 3 & 4 (DDR3_A2 & DDR3_B2).

I suppose if not i may have to return the Scythe shuriken and purchase a heatsink with a smaller fan - but either way, some help and ideas on the matter would really go a long way!

thanks

mzjangoPlug the 2 RAM cards into the 2 White slots, leave the Blue slots empty.Quote from: Computer_Commando on March 07, 2011, 05:46:13 PM

Plug the 2 RAM cards into the 2 White slots, leave the Blue slots empty.

I thought that might be the RIGHT thing to do seeing as they were colour coded - thank you Different colors indicate dual-channel RAM support.

Dual Channel DDR3 memory technology
- 4 x DDR3 DIMM slots
- Supports DDR3 1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory
- Max. capacity of system memory: 16GB*I see, thanks for the insight man!

Would that mean that its best to use dual channel RAM in pairs? so for instance its better to use 2 or 4 sticks (complete pairs) than say a 1 or 3 ? or does this not matter - because i'm sure a lot of people go for 12gb or even 4gb of RAM. Quote from: mzjango on March 07, 2011, 06:02:23 PM

...Would that mean that its best to use dual channel RAM in pairs? so for instance its better to use 2 or 4 sticks (complete pairs) than say a 1 or 3 ? or does this not matter - because i'm sure a lot of people go for 12gb or even 4gb of RAM.

Technically, yes, dual-channel is supposed to be faster, but even laboratory measurements don't always bear this out. You can run your own tests, PUT 1 in the Blue & 1 in the White & see if you can tell the difference. It's all or none when it comes to dual-channel memory, if it's an odd number or the modules don't match or are plugged into mixed slots, none of it will run in dual-channel mode. It's matched pairs in matching colors.

I assume you will be using a 64-bit OS or all the RAM over 3GB will not be seen or recognized by the OS.Yeah i'm running Win 7 ult 64BIT so hopefully shouldnt have a problem registering all 8gb

The RAM just arrived about half an hour ago actually, i have fitted it into the the first slots and have measured out 50mm from the the centre point of the stock AMD fan, if i've got it right i think the new fan should fit in with about 2mm to spare -

this actually leads to another question though - is the cpu heatsink being 2mm away from the RAM dangerous, i.e could the heat from the cpu (or ram) effect/overheat one another?

on another note, regarding registering of RAM on different OS, I did in fact have a lot of trouble with my previous MB, was an asrock G31M-GS http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=G31M-GS
Techincally it was supposed to be able to support up to 8gb of RAM - i was running the same copy of Win 7 64bit and had 4gb DDR2 running but only 3.25 (i think) was registering, and of that about 1gb was being reserved for "hardware maintenance" or something rediculous like that? Anyway it turned out a lot of people were having similar trouble with that MB, some were able to resolve it with a bios update, but somehow i was never able to flash my bios as an error would come up on the install - very frustrating! Maybe it would work if it was done on a fresh HD format as my previous system had got very jammed up towards the end?

I do want to sell the old MB with its very decent Q9550, heatsink, esata card, and 4gb of RAM, but i dont like the idea selling it on with this problem that i know it has! Ever heard of such trouble and know any solutions?

Solve : 4 RAM slots - 2 sticks - 100mm CPU Fan - skip a slot??

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