Aurora R9, ram issue!

Question

When I first purchased my Alienware Aurora R9 (purchased 1 year warranty expired on December 20, 2020), I was not satisfied with the previous from 8GB so I upgraded to 16GB of ram where I came into my first issue. The pc wouldn't boot unless I had XMP turned off, meaning I could only run the 16GB of ram at slower speeds which I was fine as it was still more performance.

I then recently purchased to 3600 MHz Corsair Vengeance ram to put into the system to replace the old Hyperx 8GB I bought and the 8GB stick that came with the system. I purchased the new ram thinking XMP will be able to run as they will definitely be the identical sticks where previously with the old sticks there may have been a slight difference in the one I bought and the one that came with the system.

I then booted up the system with the new ram and not to my surprise it didn't boot. So I booted both sticks of ram separately to see if they worked by themselves which they did, so the ram is fine. I wanted to use my pc so I put back in my old sticks to get 16GB. But then I couldn't even manage to get them back into running 16GB with the old sticks as it wouldn't boot together as whenever I restarted the PC XMP would automatically turn on. Meaning I now couldn't in any way make my system run 16GB causing frustration and now I cant use the system for the tasks I wanted to use it for.

I have been very disappointed with my Alienware system overall. I think it was very overpriced and all these ram issues aren't making it any better. So I was wondering if anyone has a solution to my issue? ty.

Doghouse Reilly · Accepted Answer

I installed the Crucial RAM last November, so almost 1 year of trouble free service.

Four sticks of 16 GB...total 64 GB running at 3200 MHz. Crucial Ballistix 16GB DDR4-3200 Desktop Gaming Memory (Black) BL16G32C16U4B

A trouble free upgrade for me, a nice change.

Bumped the voltage to 1.35 all by itself.

JackTMAW · Answer

1-The RAM sticks I am trying to use are the exact same

2- The RAM are definitely correctly in the slots (I have worked with pcs before) and I have attempted to run them in dual channel and in single channel and neither work

Vanadiel · Answer

To my knowledge there is currently no Aurora system available that supports XPM 3600.

I think the highest supported is XMP 3400, on certain models of the Aurora. You would have to specify the model of Aurora to double check.

As for putting the old RAM back in, as long as they are inserted correctly they should work, but you might have to perform a CMOS reset to reset any retained settings from the previous ram configuration.

I would first try to load the bios defaults, and if the problem still exists perform a CMOS reset.

Generic CMOS reset instructions and bios default loading: CMOS reset

Again, would be easier if you know the exact model of the Aurora.

jdubyas · Answer

Hopefully, you are installing the memory in the correct slots. There's 2 white and 2 black sets and the pairs have to be installed in the correct slots (see pics below). I had some problems initially as I wasn't seating the memory fully in the slots. Also, if you mix/match memory from different brands, you might have issues. I always purchase the exact same dimms or if I swap out, I'll make sure it's all the same sticks going in (I have 4xCorsair Ballistix 3200).

JackTMAW · Answer

The system does work with the original 8GB stick of RAM but that isn't sufficient for my tasks and I need the original config with my second stick of 8GB while not running XMP so is their anyway to stop the system from turning on XMP and keep it always off as it used to be blanked out which allowed me to run the two sticks.

Vanadiel · Answer

You should be able to put the original RAM the system was purchased with back in, and there's no reason why it would not work. But it would have to be the RAM that was factory installed.

You might have to load the BIOS factory defaults, or if that does not work perform a CMOS reset.

JackTMAW · Answer

So your telling me there is no way of getting my original config without paying for the overpriced dell ram when I had it working before?

Vanadiel · Answer

They are not the same sticks. The originals are OEM, and the HyperX are retail. Mixing is not recommended, as in many cases it either does not work or cause other issues.   R9 validated Memory (OEM)

Rabbitdude · Answer

There is no Aurora system that supports 3600mhz ram. I have 3600mhz vengeance on my r12 but that was a big MAYBE that it would work

Vanadiel · Answer

The Aurora R9 supports 2666 MHz up to 3200 MHz (XMP memory)

Memory per slot

8 GB and 16 GB

Configurations supported:

8 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz
16 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz
32 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz
64 GB DDR4 at 2666 MHz
16 GB XMP at 2933 MHz
32 GB XMP at 2933 MHz
64 GB XMP at 2933 MHz
16 GB XMP at 3200 MHz
32 GB XMP at 3200 MHz
64 GB XMP at 3200 MHz

You cannot mix and match different profiles, or different memory modules.

Supported memory configurations: Supported memory configurations

Picture of memory slot labels: Memory slot labels

2 times 8 would go in XMM1 and XMM2, items 26 and 27 on that picture.

JackTMAW · Answer

I understand that my ram is too fast and isn't supported but I would love a solution to get my old config of ram back so I can get back to 16GB of ram

JackTMAW · Answer

Okey with that in mind then why doesn't my old 2 sticks a 8GB 2600 Mhz stick that came with the system and the Hyperx fury stick I purchased at 2600 Mhz as well not run with XMP on?

JackTMAW · Answer

I cant use my old ram configuration because that only worked with XMP off and now due to new BIOS updates whenever I put in new ram it resets the settings enabling XMP meaning i cant put them in together

And I have an aurora R9

Vanadiel · Answer

I am trying to understand the exact configuration.

If I understand it correctly:

- It was shipped from the factory with a single 8 GB stick.

- You purchased a second 8 GB stick (HyperX Retail).

- System does not boot with both sticks installed, but boots with the original single stick installed.

If that is the case, it's due to the system not supporting the HyperX you purchased. In that case you would be best to purchase a "correct" memory module from Dell directly.

Vanadiel · Answer

You could try to enter the bios with the F2 key at post, go to the advanced settings - performance options and set both to disabled. (overclocking feature, XMP memory).

Save and reboot, and it should boot up in the default JDEC profile as opposed to XMP profile. As long as both JDEC profiles are the same you have a high chance of it working.

Otherwise you will be out of luck for that configuration.

Alienware Desktops

Aurora R9, ram issue!

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