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Solved Half System Reserved Memory + Half Memory Speed

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TheDiagGuy

PCHF Member
Jul 28, 2019
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Hello, my rig's memory is running at actual half speed (I know about Double Data Rate it is actually running at half speed) and the system reserved memory is half no matter what configuration of RAM I use. This rig is new to me, so I don't have any history. Just installed Windows and did a benchmark on userbenchmark and saw that it was disgusted with my RAM.
Specs:
Mobo: Gigabyte 970a-ud3p
CPU: FX-8350
RAM: PNY 4x4
HDD: WD Blue 640 GB
GPU: RX-480
BIOS is up to date (That's what fixed this issue last time on another build.)

Cut to the chase here...
Speccy Link:
 
For sure. I’ve discussed this before on this website. In this case the RAM is actually running at half speed and at half capacity. I use “userbenchmark” on every single computer I work with and they always show the clock speed as the doubled rate. In this case “userbenchmark” shows half of the doubled rate. In a previous thread I had with a similar issue I did the same tests with “userbenchmark” and it came up as half, but after I updated the BIOS it showed it as the doubled rate. Updating the BIOS did not correct this issue. I also tried that “unchecking the box” method in msconfig that didn’t correct it either.
 
Here ya go. Sorry it took so long, I had to take the graphics card out and put it in another rig. It now has a MSI R7 250. Looks like it's half... I tried it on another rig and it reported the doubled speed.
Ram Issues.png
 
If I may chime in with a suggestion folks :)

TheDiagGuy

Try testing the RAM two sticks at a time and by first of all placing them is memory slots DDR3_2 and DDR3_1 which are the second and fourth slots from the CPU.

In case you are not aware 1600MHz is the wrong speed of RAM for the FX-8350, you should have a minimum of 1866MHz capable RAM, see AMD specs here
 
Here's the RAM. Also tried with just two sticks in it in slots 1 and 2 , then did above mentioned RAM check method in elevated CMD. Still showing 800. I was completely unaware that the processor needed a minimum of 1866 RAM. I'm asking a friend if he has some that he'll swap me for. What about... overclocking the RAM? Silly question I'm sure and frowned upon, but I'm just curious.
Ram Issues 2.png
 
Try testing the RAM two sticks at a time and by first of all placing them is memory slots DDR3_2 and DDR3_1 which are the second and fourth slots from the CPU.
Can you post a new Speccy url while you have the RAM in the correct slots, better still if you could also try two sticks in slots 4 and 3, the first and third slots from the CPU.
 
It looks like the memory controller may have issues but as an outside chance that it may help have you tried restoring the MBs default factory settings in the BIOS.
 
Yeah. I actually tried overclocking the RAM to 1866 (which I was successful and also yielded half speed and half system reserved results still) and when I was done I restored factory defaults.
 
This rig is new to me, so I don't have any history
Has the RAM in this build ever worked in dual channel since you got it, a bad OC could do for the memory controller and that is what this issue is looking like, there is no way of testing a memory controller as it is integrated into the CPU and the only way of confirming that it is or is not the memory controller is by swapping in a replacement CPU.
 
Honestly, I don’t know how to check to see if it’s working in dual channel. I seem to remember userbenchmark saying that it was running in dual channel, but I’ll have to check when I get home. Is that something you can check in the BIOS?
Yeah, I keep that sempron cpu as a tester for am3 builds.
 
Speccy is telling us that the RAM is only working in single channel and the high memory usage backs it up.

We can confirm this by you running CPU_Z and uploading a screenshot of the RAM info for us, download the free version from here
 
Here's speccy with an Athlon processor that I thought may have been causing a no post in another rig. Guess the Athlon isn't the problem in that rig. Still half speed (which is even lower because this Athlon is a tortoise with ram) and capacity and single channel.


Here's a speccy with similar Patriot Ram 1600 8 Gigs 2x4 in slots 1 and 2 (Which has worked in dual channel in another rig)


It feels like a motherboard...
Ram issues 3.png
 
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