Gigabyte Z690 Ram Issue

[StangV2_0]

I am at my wits end with this one. And at first I thought it was the Ram, now, I dont think so. I need some advice here.

Will try be as thorough as possible.

Specs:
Gigabyte Z690 Aurous Pro DDr4
Cpu 12900K
Ram: Adata DDr4 3600Mhz CL18 - 4 x 16Gb - XMP enabled, no further tweaking done in any way.
SSd 1 x Gen4 2Tb primary 1 x older 512gb secondary (both m2)
6900xt Gpu
Win11
Corsair RM 1000W Psu

So it all started with a new build when upgraded to the 12900k. Have a look here:

https://carbonite.co.za/index.php?threads/advice-on-bent-motherboard-pin-asus-z690.469617/

Once I got the RMA and back at home, I could not get PC to boot with all the ram sticks in. There was one stick that would take a fraction longer to light up than the rest, which I was told happens sometimes, its ok. I didnt mind. But this same stick had the same issue when I moved it from one slot to the next. The PC would also not boot up with this one stick. Whenever this one stick was removed it would boot up just fine. So it was only natural to expect that this stick was faulty.

So I contacted supplier and sent back. The stick was tested repeatedly and I was advised the stick is not at fault. However it was agreed to send me a new stick regardless as a courtesy or exception. I also did ask for this since if it is not faulty it can be sold again, and no harm done. The tick was brand new when I bought it and was returned within 7 days. Well I actioned the return request on the 7th day. Moving on.

There was no stock on the stick. So I had to wait. Stock arrived last week and was sent to me. Arrived yesterday.

I put stick in my PC and I now have the exact same bloody problem!! And if I switch sticks around, same problem, If I remove the stick, PC boots just perfectly, no problems. I currently have three sticks in PC. If I wish to add 4th, no boot,. Stick also does the same thing where it takes a fraction to light up vs the other 3 sticks. I now cannot believe that I have two sticks in row that are faulty.

This was 3 weeks ago just before I returned the stick. And last night was the exact same problem. Carbon copy!!

So what now?

Is it possible that the board is an issue? I have seen a few posts online (reddit, Linus etc) where it was stated that some Gigabyte Z690 boards have issues when running ram in multiple channels.

Would a Bios update resolve this?

Would disabling XMP remove this and then looking at manually setting up the ram overclock?

Is it possible that there is a bad batch of ram made and I am just getting a poor batch?

Should I take board to local supplier who did the RMA and ask them to test it?

Any advice appreciated!

 

[dainluke]

Which BIOS are you on? The issue is probably pretty simple. I have a rough idea what it might be.

 

[StangV2_0]

Which BIOS are you on? The issue is probably pretty simple. I have a rough idea what it might be.

Not sure, can update tonight when I view. Tx for response. Will let you know.

 

[StangV2_0]

Which BIOS are you on? The issue is probably pretty simple. I have a rough idea what it might be.

Does this help?

https://imgur.com/za71iAz

 

[StangV2_0]

Which BIOS are you on? The issue is probably pretty simple. I have a rough idea what it might be.

Sorry. Next pic.

https://imgur.com/gf1wy5Y

 

[dainluke]

Does this help?

https://imgur.com/za71iAz

It does. That BIOS is mega early. I would say flash the latest one (be careful because there’s a DDR4 and a DDR4 AX). See if that sorts it out first time. If it doesn’t then let me know on here. I have a plan B but I’d like to try the simplest fix first.

GIGABYTE have made massive strides. To put it into perspective, your board now has D4 support up to 5600MT/s vs 5333 earlier. That tends to happen when hi cookie or one of their other team members finished a validation at a given speed. Odds are flashing the latest will fix it.

One more thing I forgot to mention, you’d probably want to disable memory fast boot in the advanced memory settings menu by default as it’ll be quite hard for MRC to complete in a 4x16. I’m not sure if you have 8Gbit or 16Gbit ICs. You can check that in Thaiphoon Burner.

But basically, you’re either dealing with dual or quad rank, but 64GB across four slots is very hard for the VDDQ transmitter (TX VDDQ/CPU VDDQ) to manage, so if the default voltage isn’t high enough, that could also be why you aren’t training. It’s to do with signal integrity and signal equalisation stuff that occurs on 12th/13th Gen IMCs but I’m not gonna get too technical.

 

[StangV2_0]

It does. That BIOS is mega early. I would say flash the latest one (be careful because there’s a DDR4 and a DDR4 AX). See if that sorts it out first time. If it doesn’t then let me know on here. I have a plan B but I’d like to try the simplest fix first.

GIGABYTE have made massive strides. To put it into perspective, your board now has D4 support up to 5600MT/s vs 5333 earlier. That tends to happen when hi cookie or one of their other team members finished a validation at a given speed. Odds are flashing the latest will fix it.

One more thing I forgot to mention, you’d probably want to disable memory fast boot in the advanced memory settings menu by default as it’ll be quite hard for MRC to complete in a 4x16. I’m not sure if you have 8Gbit or 16Gbit ICs. You can check that in Thaiphoon Burner.

But basically, you’re either dealing with dual or quad rank, but 64GB across four slots is very hard for the VDDQ transmitter (TX VDDQ/CPU VDDQ) to manage, so if the default voltage isn’t high enough, that could also be why you aren’t training. It’s to do with signal integrity and signal equalisation stuff that occurs on 12th/13th Gen IMCs but I’m not gonna get too technical.

Ok thanks! Before I do anything else also noticed this. There are two XMP profiles. I am on Profile 1 and havent tried profile 2.

https://imgur.com/aqhJlyC

If you dint mind, please pop me your number via pm for so further advice via WhatsApp. We can share here if we resolve.

 

[StangV2_0]

One more thing I forgot to mention, you’d probably want to disable memory fast boot in the advanced memory settings menu by default as it’ll be quite hard for MRC to complete in a 4x16. I’m not sure if you have 8Gbit or 16Gbit ICs. You can check that in Thaiphoon Burner.

It is set to auto.

 

[ThatGuyJD]

The bios update should fix your issue, set the fast boot to off for the first go until everything has trained together the first time after which you can turn it back to auto for the boot to be quick again.

The different XMP profiles will load either different timing (Dimm SPD vs Motherboard)

 

[Wolfeh]

Silly question but did you note the serial number of the bad stick and check that the replacement is in fact a different one?

Bios update is the most likely to resolve the problem if it is a new stick.

You can/should also try adding some extra juice in the xmp, perhaps 1.4v to start.

Some motherboards don't like some brands of ram. Have you tried a different brand with 4 slots (I know this isn't always something one has on hand). On this note i checked the ram compatibility list and 4 sticks of the adata is not on the list of compatible memory. Might want to consider switching to 2x32gb sticks or some other compatible brand for 4x16gb? Team and Gskill seems to be the only supported brands for 4x16gb.

https://www.gigabyte-data.com/products/page/mb/Z690-AORUS-PRO-DDR4-rev-10/support#support-memory

 

[dainluke]

It is set to auto.

You should disable fast boot. Auto might be enabled.

 

[dainluke]

The bios update should fix your issue, set the fast boot to off for the first go until everything has trained together the first time after which you can turn it back to auto for the boot to be quick again.

The different XMP profiles will load either different timing (Dimm SPD vs Motherboard)

Tbh for 12th/13th Gen I’d highly suggest no one ever using fast boot under any circumstance. A lot of dudes abuse fast boot to try and curb retrain instability, but it’s a totally dysfunctional solution to a deeper issue with their memory training that they need to fix with a different combo of settings tbh. These IMCs need full pass.

 

[StangV2_0]

Silly question but did you note the serial number of the bad stick and check that the replacement is in fact a different one?

I actually did. I took a pic of the one I sent before posting it. Numbers dont match. No evidence of any peeling or being removed. One I sent is first pic. One I got back is 2nd.

https://imgur.com/PRB7k61

https://imgur.com/M0vCXpg

Gotta make supper. Will continue just now.

 

[Wolfeh]

Then the answer is likely that you are unlucky. Often one can get away with memory not being on the list of compatible types. Mine for example isn't but it works regardless. You might have picked a bad mix. Just send them back and get a different brand if the bios update doesn't help? 2x32gb would be (very) slightly faster and supported in essentially any brand.

Edit: The other possible issue could be that your gpu is too stronk. You can send me that one and I will send you my 6800.

 

[Oj0]

I actually did. I took a pic of the one I sent before posting it. Numbers dont match. No evidence of any peeling or being removed. One I sent is first pic. One I got back is 2nd.

https://imgur.com/PRB7k61

https://imgur.com/M0vCXpg

Gotta make supper. Will continue just now.

To add to that, the one you returned was sold by the disti the same day it was credited (and hasn’t been returned to them again), the replacement arrived in the country nearly two weeks later and was still factory sealed (I checked when I GRV’d it)

 

[scr1m3]

Don't know Intel that well, but definitely update the BIOS to the latest. Maybe your memory controller is not handling 4 sticks at that speed. Try set the speed and timings manually and maybe up the voltage. Or try at a lower speed and see and see if it boots.

 

[Stingrat]

Can say my ddr4 4000 wont boot at anything more than 3600. Try that, see where its able to boot. And yes get the latest bios

 

[StangV2_0]

Ok so bios update did the trick. Just done it now. Was lazy last night. Once it was done I shut down, put 4th stick in and it booted up straight away.
Went back to bios and saw Xmp was disabled. Set it to profile 1 and it booted up straight away. No issues.

Thanks so much guys! Big thanks to @HomelanderZA for calling it straight away and sorry to @Oj0 for the run around. But your support was amazing throughout. And that's why I will keep coming back to you. Case closed.

https://imgur.com/bvvhQSL

https://imgur.com/0srp67Q

 

[StangV2_0]

Love this forum!!

 

[dainluke]

Ok so bios update did the trick. Just done it now. Was lazy last night. Once it was done I shut down, put 4th stick in and it booted up straight away.
Went back to bios and saw Xmp was disabled. Set it to profile 1 and it booted up straight away. No issues.

Thanks so much guys! Big thanks to @HomelanderZA for calling it straight away and sorry to @Oj0 for the run around. But your support was amazing throughout. And that's why I will keep coming back to you. Case closed.

https://imgur.com/bvvhQSL

https://imgur.com/0srp67Q

Happy to help 🫡😄

 

[StangV2_0]

Ok, I am not out the woods with this. Still been having issues and right from a day or so after I did bios update. I haven't been too focused on it but its starting to annoy me now.

With all 4 sticks of ram in, while gaming, the PC will turn off by itself. When I wish to start again it does not start at all. Mobo just keeps cycling through checks and does not boot. If I remove this one stick of ram it then boots. If I shut down the pc AFTER it has booted with the stick of ram removed, and then return the ram, it will then boot fine. Albeit it feels to take a bit longer.

It will then work fine until I get a sudden shut down in a game again. And it will then only boot once this ram is removed. Then will boot fine if I return the ram after it has successfully booted once.

I am stumped. And annoyed, because I spent money on 4 sticks of ram which I cant seem to use all the time.

One thing I notice and I dont know if this is relevant. There is always one stick of ram that takes longer for its LED to light up than the others. As in about a full second longer. And if this ram is in a different slot it does the same thing, always the same one stick, and it was the stick that was replaced. I had this same issue with the stick I sent in for the RMA. I don't know if this matters but thought I would mention it.

Another thing that comes to mind, is these sticks are pretty thick. So when All 4 in there is very little space between them. When PC shuts down by itself and I remove one of the sticks it is pretty warm. Not hot, but rather warm. Hopefully they not getting too hot because there is not enough space between them?

@HomelanderZA you mentioned you had a plan B, but wanted to try simplest things first. Any ideas?

 

[dainluke]

Ok, I am not out the woods with this. Still been having issues and right from a day or so after I did bios update. I haven't been too focused on it but its starting to annoy me now.

With all 4 sticks of ram in, while gaming, the PC will turn off by itself. When I wish to start again it does not start at all. Mobo just keeps cycling through checks and does not boot. If I remove this one stick of ram it then boots. If I shut down the pc AFTER it has booted with the stick of ram removed, and then return the ram, it will then boot fine. Albeit it feels to take a bit longer.

It will then work fine until I get a sudden shut down in a game again. And it will then only boot once this ram is removed. Then will boot fine if I return the ram after it has successfully booted once.

I am stumped. And annoyed, because I spent money on 4 sticks of ram which I cant seem to use all the time.

One thing I notice and I dont know if this is relevant. There is always one stick of ram that takes longer for its LED to light up than the others. As in about a full second longer. And if this ram is in a different slot it does the same thing, always the same one stick, and it was the stick that was replaced. I had this same issue with the stick I sent in for the RMA. I don't know if this matters but thought I would mention it.

Another thing that comes to mind, is these sticks are pretty thick. So when All 4 in there is very little space between them. When PC shuts down by itself and I remove one of the sticks it is pretty warm. Not hot, but rather warm. Hopefully they not getting too hot because there is not enough space between them?

@HomelanderZA you mentioned you had a plan B, but wanted to try simplest things first. Any ideas?

A good scientist never adjusts without pre-measurements. Grab HWINFO and let me know these values: VCCSA and TX VDDQ.

 

[StangV2_0]

A good scientist never adjusts without pre-measurements. Grab HWINFO and let me know these values: VCCSA and TX VDDQ.

will do, shot!

 

[StangV2_0]

A good scientist never adjusts without pre-measurements. Grab HWINFO and let me know these values: VCCSA and TX VDDQ.

Want to see it with all 4 sticks in or would 2 be fine?

 

[dainluke]

Want to see it with all 4 sticks in or would 2 be fine?

Four

 

[Switch]

Are all your sticks using the same underlying brand of memory, for example all of them are hynix instead of a mix of hynix and micron.

 

[StangV2_0]

Four

ok will share once done.

Are all your sticks using the same underlying brand of memory, for example all of them are hynix instead of a mix of hynix and micron.

I wouldn't know. I did say in my OP that I an wondering if there could be a bad batch. Did not think of this and its a good point I reckon. @Oj0 any chance you can query if they changed the memory type on the Adata sticks?

Edit. But surely if they gonna change brand they wont do it with same product line and will rather do it with different line as to avoid this?

 

[Switch]

I wouldn't know. I did say in my OP that I an wondering if there could be a bad batch. Did not think of this and its a good point I reckon. @Oj0 any chance you can query if they changed the memory type on the Adata sticks?

Run thaiphoon burner (demo/free version), it will show you what memory brand each stick is using (amongst other manufacturing information).

Edit. But surely if they gonna change brand they wont do it with same product line and will rather do it with different line as to avoid this?

No, corsair is notorious for doing this with their vengeance series ram. You can have four sticks of venagance lpx of the exact same model and find that each individual stick uses memory from a different company, one naya, one hynix, one micron, one samsung (the vengeance ram have "version" numbers on their packaging and labelling, but the general internet consensus is that this means nothing). That's why you should buy paired/kit ram to ensure you get ram that uses the same underlying memory. But in your case your posts seems to indicate you got a single replacement instead of a full kit replacement, so there is a chance your replacement uses a different memory brand.

With all 4 sticks of ram in, while gaming, the PC will turn off by itself. When I wish to start again it does not start at all. Mobo just keeps cycling through checks and does not boot. If I remove this one stick of ram it then boots. If I shut down the pc AFTER it has booted with the stick of ram removed, and then return the ram, it will then boot fine. Albeit it feels to take a bit longer.

It will then work fine until I get a sudden shut down in a game again. And it will then only boot once this ram is removed. Then will boot fine if I return the ram after it has successfully booted once.

Have you tried using the pc without xmp on? Use the jedec stock speeds and see if the issue persists.

 

[StangV2_0]

A good scientist never adjusts without pre-measurements. Grab HWINFO and let me know these values: VCCSA and TX VDDQ.

Where on earth do I find these??

Are all your sticks using the same underlying brand of memory, for example all of them are hynix instead of a mix of hynix and micron.

Well well. Look what I found.

Two are Micron. One is Samsung. And the other is Hynix.
The stick that takes slightly longer to light up and the one that I got back from RMA is the Samsung memory.
So I have 4 diff memory modules with memory from 3 diff manufacturers.

Is this a potential issue?

Will post pics now Just wanted to remove the one stick and run HWIfno again to check I had the memory right for that stick.

 

[StangV2_0]

Where on earth do I find these??



Well well. Look what I found.

Two are Micron. One is Samsung. And the other is Hynix.
The stick that takes slightly longer to light up and the one that I got back from RMA is the Samsung memory.
So I have 4 diff memory modules with memory from 3 diff manufacturers.

Is this a potential issue?

Will post pics now Just wanted to remove the one stick and run HWIfno again to check I had the memory right for that stick.

Pics...

https://imgur.com/a/LVUjKZE