This post is more than 5 years old
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
14124
Aurora-R7, HyperX Fury 2933 problem
I just upgraded the RAM in my new Aurora R7 from 16 Gb of non-heat sinked Micron to 32 Gb of HyperX Fury 2933MHz. After putting all 4 RAM modules in place and making sure they were correctly installed I booted up the machine; however, it would not POST and all I had was a flashing greenish yellow Alien head. Removed and reinstalled the RAM again, but no joy still wouldn't POST. I took the 4 pieces of RAM and divided them into 2 pairs of 2 (16 Gb) then installed the first pair in to banks 1 and 3. The Aurora quickly POSTed and booted into Windows; CPU-Z and Alienware Command Center both reported the RAM to be running at 2933MHz and XMP 1. Powered the system down and moved the RAM into banks 2 and 4; once again everything worked as advertised.
I then replaced the RAM in banks 2 and 4 with the second pair and once again everything worked absolutely fine. Finally, I moved that pair into banks 1 and 3; as expected system POSTed and booted into Windows just fine. Okay, so all four sticks have now been confirmed to be working correctly across all four banks. I added the second pair back to the system, but lo and behold, the system will no longer POST. Removed a pair and once again the system booted normally.
Okay, time to contact Alienware Tech Support. After going through and explaining everything that I had done, and the problems I had been encountering the Tech wanted to check my BIOS version, which I had already upgraded to the 1.0.8 version. I was then informed that I probably needed a new motherboard. He asked for the part number from my RAM and placed me on hold. After returning, he informed me that "they" had all discussed it and that "the Aurora R7 will not run on HyperX 2933 RAM." He got a bit miffed when I said that "they" were incorrect, and if they would look at the Aurora system configuration page they would see that the factory installed high speed RAM option for the Aurora was in fact the HyperX 2933MHz. After that, it was decided to transfer the issue to the engineers.
So, anyone have any ideas about why my Aurora will run with 16Gb of HyperX Fury 2933, but will not POST if I install the full 32 Gb?
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 10:00
@hrgreen Actually, Kingston HyperX technical support is the one that provided me with that information. It sounds like they are taking a lot of flak from R6 and R7 owners over this issue. Dell/Alienware licensed the HyperX name from them and they provide the RAM, but it is not the same HyperX RAM 2933 available to purchase directly from them. There are minor timing differences in the RAM, but they could not disclose those. They validated both my testing methodology and my results. So we know the generic 2/16 does work properly but the 4/32 does not. Their only suggestion is to keep trying RAM until I find some that works. Their ONLY validated Kingston RAM for the Aurora is P/N KCP426ND8/16.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 12:00
I was wondering about that.
It's a common situation, that as you approach the total-max memory a machine will hold/use ... it often has to run slower.
However, in this case:
- These 8gb DIMMs are not the max the slots will handle
- 32gb is (well, supposedly) only half of what it really holds.
It would be interesting if Dell's Aurora-R7 64gb (16gb DIMMs x4) actually boots and works.
64GB Dual Channel HyperX™ DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz
... it only costs $800 to find-out. :Smile:
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 12:00
Hmm, I wonder why? 2666 is really fast (especially when properly configured for dual-channel operation) and that is what the motherboard (chipset, etc.) was designed to use at stock clocks.
Pex
24 Posts
1
April 2nd, 2018 13:00
> it would logically follow that a 4/32 configuration should in fact work.
You would think that, but if you download the R7 service manual and scroll to the bottom of page 76, you'll see a table that says 4x8GB is not supported. When I read that, I though it must be a mistake – why would any PC manufacturer do that? But now...
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 14:00
Oh! Great catch Pex! And a very good question! Why would any PC manufacturer do that? I'd like to think that was a mistake, but somehow I doubt it.
Pex
24 Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 14:00
> I'd like to think that was a mistake, but somehow I doubt it.
If this table is true and you buy an R7 with 16GB of RAM, you will get a PC with two 8GB DIMMs. If you wanted to upgrade to 32GB, the only possible option would be to replace the two 8GB DIMMs with two 16GB DIMMs.
I was hoping the service manual was incorrect. It would be nice if someone from Dell could clarify this.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 15:00
As a user that actually read the Aurora-R6 manual (and took the time to submit detailed technical corrections to Dell) ...
You are assuming that the Aurora-R7 manual is exactly correct, and that the factory workers (that are actually building the Aurora-R7s) read it or are following it to the letter.
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 16:00
With what I have discovered working with the HyperX 2933 4/32 kit, and now with a Crucial Ballistix Sport 32Gb DDR4-2666 4/32 kit, I am going to have to assume that the manual is in fact correct. With both kits, any two modules function correctly when installed in the proper slots/banks. However, when all four modules are installed, the Aurora R7 immediately goes to a hard RAM failure error at Power On. That, and the fact you cannot purchase a 4/32 configuration, pretty clearly indicates that the manual is very likely correct and the system is incapable of booting with 4 - 8Gb modules installed. This would not be the first time Dell has accidently disabled RAM or disabled specific GPUs in BIOS. The XPS 8700 and disabled GTX 900 series GPUs, as well as the Inspiron 5720 with max RAM set to 8 Gb readily come to mind, I owned both of them, and both were ultimately fixed with a BIOS update. We'll just have wait and see as according to the Aurora R7 manual, 80% of Crucial's Aurora R7 Certified Compatible RAM will not work. I'm not exactly sure how well a primary business partner like Micron/Crucial will take to that, if that is indeed the case.
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 2nd, 2018 17:00
Not sure, other than the fact that XMP enabled 2666 RAM seems to have better timing. The non-XMP 2666 Micron that came installed in my Aurora is rated DDR4-2666 CL 19-19-19@1.2V. Both the HyperX 2933 in XMP 2 (2666) and the Crucial Ballistix Sport 2666 were reporting DDR4-2666 CL 16-18-18@1.2V, so I can only guess that’s the difference between the XMP and non-XMP modules.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
April 3rd, 2018 08:00
So, do you think pics like this are PhotoShopped ? :Smile:
https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2017/11/30/dell-reveals-the-alienware-aurora-r7-gaming-desktop-featuring-8th-gen-intel/
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 3rd, 2018 10:00
Well yeah!!! Where's the background behind the case! ;) The 4 sticks of RAM in that case look the 16Gb versions of the Micron 2666 mine shipped with.
LokoHuyton
4 Posts
0
April 4th, 2018 02:00
As to prove the point regarding the manual, I installed 2x16GB HyperX Fury 2933mhz modules and they work a treat. I guess there's something the motherboard doesn't like about 4x8GB modules. I hope this helps and good luck.
AlaskaWolf
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
83 Posts
0
April 11th, 2018 17:00
Actually, it's not a good option as running one stick of RAM causes it to drop to Single-Channel Mode as opposed to Dual Channel Mode. Dell/Alienware got called on this as far back as the Aurora R6. Currently, the Alienware engineering team wants support wants to replace my motherboard, to see if that makes a difference. But since I now know of three other R7s with the same problem, I suspect that a new mobo is not the answer. =)
https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General/Aurora-R6-Memory-Question-Why-a-single-DIMM/td-p/5591756
Pex
24 Posts
0
April 11th, 2018 17:00
I’m not sure if this is new, but on the R7 configuration sales page there’s now a 1x16 GB option for DIMMs running at 2933 MHz. It’s not clear if this same option is available for a 1x16 GB DIMM running at 2666 MHz.
In any case, 1x16 GB is not listed as an option in the R7 service manual. If this is not an error, it could be because the service manual hasn’t been updated since October 2017.
So if you’re buying an R7 with 16 GB and plan to upgrade in the future, choosing the 1x16 GB DIMM running at 2933 MHz might be the best currently available option.
Pex
24 Posts
0
April 11th, 2018 18:00
Right, but if you buy 2x8 GB DIMMs and 4x8 GB is not supported (which appears to be the current situation), then your only upgrade option to 32 GB is to remove the 2x8 GB DIMMs and buy 2x16 DIMMs.
Are there any benchmark numbers comparing an R7 with 2x8 GB (at any speed) vs. a 1x16 GB at 2933 MHz?