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Aurora R3, RAM upgrade issue
Hey there. I have an old Aurora R3 that's still cranking along. I've replaced the original 560ti with a 1060, but everything else had been original up until now. My PC had come with 8GB of RAM originally (4x 2GB DDR3 1333MHZ 10600).
It's been giving me some issues with some of the newer games recently, so I decided to upgrade. I checked online and saw the max this motherboard can accept was 16GB, so I bought a single stick of DDR3 1333MHz 10600 RAM. Essentially the same as what was already inside, only 16GB on a single stick. When I put it in, I got the double beep indicating a RAM issue and it failed to go into POST.
I checked the BIOS and it was set for 1333MHz. All the other settings were AUTO. Not sure if I need to change anything, or what to even change.
This is my first time running into an issue like this. It's my first pre-built machine. I've built all my previous ones, and upgrading RAM had never been an issue.
Anyone have any experience with this, and what they did to fix it?
Thanks!
The Aurora-R3 has always been finicky about RAM.
Best to run an exactly matched pair of DIMMs in Primary Memory Bank. Not only is that what machine likes (pairs) ... it will run in Dual-Channel.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.Are you sure you have an Aurora-R3 there?
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.So I just tried a whole bunch of different DIMM configurations with the sticks. Nothing works. Modified the voltages, etc.. Nothing.
This is honestly the first time I've ever seen an issue like this after working on PC's for the better part of the past 23 years.
Any other ideas, or am I SOL with this 16GB stick?
I'm worried about returning it for 2x 8GB sticks and have this MoBo not recognize those either... Anything is possible at this point I guess...
@JRG599wrote:
Absolutely it's an R3. My processor is an i7-2600 however.
Ok, good.
Yes, you are right. Cougar-Point chipset with i7-2xxx uses DDR3-1333mhz (and should be the most compatible speed, especially if filling the MB to max capacity).
Manual says 4gb x 4 should work, however ... that is max.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.To be clear ... the firmware update doesn't have anything to do with the allowable DIMM sizes. The 4gb DIMM-size limit is by-design.
Thanks for reminding me, I added a disclaimer to that post.
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.
Tesla1856
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Posted April 28th, 2018 10:00
Manual says only 1gb, 2gb, and 4gb DIMMs are supported. 8gb and 16gb DIMMs are NOT Supported.
Do you have the final BIOS?
There is a "MB bricking" risk (especially if motherboard is unstable). If you need to catch-it-up, I suggest doing them all ( in order) from FreeDOS, like this:
https://www.dell.com/community/Vostro/Vostro-460-XPS-8300-Upgrade-Adventures/td-p/6054983/page/2
Dell Rockstar
Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired)
- Like many of you, I can appreciate a good game-engine.
- I answer questions here, but I'm not a Dell employee.
- Consider giving posts you like a "thumbs-up"
- Posting models-numbers and software versions speeds trouble-shooting.
- Click "Mark as Accepted Answer" on any post that answers your question best.