Use the known "working RAM sticks" and move them to the other two slots. If they are currently present in 2 and 4, move them to 1 and 3. See if they work there. If they do, take the RAM sticks you just received and insert them into slots 2 and 4. If the system boots, then move them to slots 1 and 3.
Let's see if you have a bad RAM slot on the motherboard. I'm leaning on a potential voltage incompatibility. Alienware RAM typically runs stock at 1.2v whereas 3rd party RAM runs @1.35v and that could be the problem that the motherboard doesn't agree with now that there are 4 of them. We'll have a better picture working with just 2 sticks of RAM and trying them each in slots 2 and 4 and then in 1 and 3. Just make sure you know which sticks are the ones you just received.
Are the sticks 100% identical? That means the speed and timings need to be identical as the original Corsair sticks. If they aren't they will default to 2133 Mhz. If the memory sticks are not 100% identical i.e. mix and match from another brand then you probably won't be able to OC them as you wish. The motherboard and BIOS will flag the error and will not allow you to boot.
Alienware rigs are very finicky about the RAM you use. There's a thread on validated RAM which means it's been certified by Dell to work on specific Alienware PC's. Supposedly the new R13/R14's have a little more leeway but anything prior to that means you can run into problems with 3rd party memory.
100 % identical same speeds times brand just purchased a few months apart. Last night I wanted to see if the new RAM was the issue. So i took out all 4 sticks and put the 2 new ones in and it powered up just fine. went into bios enabled xmp and it worked. when I add a 3rd stick or a 4th that is when the boot cycle thing happens and it disables xmp. with xmp disabled pc boots and runs just fine.
This is not uncommon for these systems. Compatibility with aftermarket memory is limited and issues like this are not uncommon.
You could try a CMOS battery reset procedure and see if that makes a difference.
It's also possible the memory modules are not 100% identical. Usually to ensure compatibility kits are purchased in either dual or quad packages, to ensure they are identical.
Due to global parts shortages manufacturers are sometimes forced to switch to different providers for their parts.
Not all oem memory runs at 1.2v. The oem DDR4 3466MHz oem memory sticks in my R10 Ryzen Edition run at 1.35v too with the default XMP setting (OC2). After a long peroid of testing i came to the conclusion that there is faster aftermarket and less expensiv RAM but that the only 100% safe memory upgrades in these systems are oem-sticks. They are expensiv and do not meet the typical aftermarket specs. but they are guaranteed to work like Vanadiel has posted in many threads.
RodsterB
2 Intern
•
406 Posts
1
April 7th, 2022 15:00
Use the known "working RAM sticks" and move them to the other two slots. If they are currently present in 2 and 4, move them to 1 and 3. See if they work there. If they do, take the RAM sticks you just received and insert them into slots 2 and 4. If the system boots, then move them to slots 1 and 3.
Let's see if you have a bad RAM slot on the motherboard. I'm leaning on a potential voltage incompatibility. Alienware RAM typically runs stock at 1.2v whereas 3rd party RAM runs @1.35v and that could be the problem that the motherboard doesn't agree with now that there are 4 of them. We'll have a better picture working with just 2 sticks of RAM and trying them each in slots 2 and 4 and then in 1 and 3. Just make sure you know which sticks are the ones you just received.
RodsterB
2 Intern
•
406 Posts
1
April 7th, 2022 02:00
Are the sticks 100% identical? That means the speed and timings need to be identical as the original Corsair sticks. If they aren't they will default to 2133 Mhz. If the memory sticks are not 100% identical i.e. mix and match from another brand then you probably won't be able to OC them as you wish. The motherboard and BIOS will flag the error and will not allow you to boot.
Alienware rigs are very finicky about the RAM you use. There's a thread on validated RAM which means it's been certified by Dell to work on specific Alienware PC's. Supposedly the new R13/R14's have a little more leeway but anything prior to that means you can run into problems with 3rd party memory.
Bellyoflead
5 Posts
0
April 7th, 2022 08:00
100 % identical same speeds times brand just purchased a few months apart. Last night I wanted to see if the new RAM was the issue. So i took out all 4 sticks and put the 2 new ones in and it powered up just fine. went into bios enabled xmp and it worked. when I add a 3rd stick or a 4th that is when the boot cycle thing happens and it disables xmp. with xmp disabled pc boots and runs just fine.
Bellyoflead
5 Posts
0
April 7th, 2022 08:00
CMOS reset how do I go about that? That involves unplugging something on the motherboard plugging it in somewhere else and then putting it back right?
Vanadiel
6 Professor
•
7.1K Posts
0
April 7th, 2022 08:00
Coin Cell battery R12
This will reset all your BIOS settings to default, so I would suggest to write down any settings you have set different from the default.
Vanadiel
6 Professor
•
7.1K Posts
0
April 7th, 2022 08:00
This is not uncommon for these systems. Compatibility with aftermarket memory is limited and issues like this are not uncommon.
You could try a CMOS battery reset procedure and see if that makes a difference.
It's also possible the memory modules are not 100% identical. Usually to ensure compatibility kits are purchased in either dual or quad packages, to ensure they are identical.
Due to global parts shortages manufacturers are sometimes forced to switch to different providers for their parts.
Bellyoflead
5 Posts
0
April 7th, 2022 15:00
resetting CMOS didnt help. Still unable to boot with XMP on. I downloaded CPUZ and from what i can tell all the ram sticks are reporting as identical
JohnnyRamone
1 Rookie
•
118 Posts
1
April 8th, 2022 01:00
Not all oem memory runs at 1.2v. The oem DDR4 3466MHz oem memory sticks in my R10 Ryzen Edition run at 1.35v too with the default XMP setting (OC2). After a long peroid of testing i came to the conclusion that there is faster aftermarket and less expensiv RAM but that the only 100% safe memory upgrades in these systems are oem-sticks. They are expensiv and do not meet the typical aftermarket specs. but they are guaranteed to work like Vanadiel has posted in many threads.
Monkwilson
1 Message
0
June 12th, 2022 12:00
Did you find the answr ? Same thing for me