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Okay so I bought 16GB of RAM (2 x 8GB) to add to my computer. Pop them into DIMM 1 and 3; 0 and 1 have my original 4GB still in them.

Computer gives a long beeeeeeep. Nothing on the monitor, a pause, long beep again. Long beep again. Over and over. So I turn it all off, unplug. Try to boot with only the new RAM; computer gives its short, usual start up beep, screen briefly flickers with the boot screen, then, black, then, repeat over and over. Beep, flicker, black, beep, flicker, black.

So then I'm like, "Okay well whatever, I'll just put the original RAM in and use my computer as it's been for now..."

And suddenly the CPU fan stopped spinning. And I'm thinking... "That's... bad, right?"

Am I just having terrible luck that both problems happened in tandem or did my new RAM magically foul up my CPU fan?

Terrible luck. Spin the fan by hand while powered off, does it spin smoothly and freely? If not replace it. If so, check you fan connector, you might have just knocked it loose.

Make sure your motherboard supports 8GB sticks. Recent ones do, but older ones only support up to 4GB sticks (and up to 16GB total, but each one has to be equal to or less than 4).

stienman said:

Terrible luck. Spin the fan by hand while powered off, does it spin smoothly and freely? If not replace it. If so, check you fan connector, you might have just knocked it loose.

Make sure your motherboard supports 8GB sticks. Recent ones do, but older ones only support up to 4GB sticks (and up to 16GB total, but each one has to be equal to or less than 4).

Click to expand...

Fan moves fine, but I'll check the connector. I didn't even think of that, but it was late so that's my excuse.

The motherboard supports the RAM, I checked that before buying.

Find the latest BIOS for your board. I had the same problem last week. It worked for me. Your mother board might not be stepping down the speed of the new memory to match the memory that you already have.

Figured out my fan issues. Will try to see about a BIOS update when I'm home later. I've never done that before. Exciting!

It's also possible that you might have to do whatever steps are needed to clear your CMOS after you install the new RAM. If the motherboard was set to run the memory at anything other than spec, it might be trying to run the new memory at non-spec also, and that can cause problems. I had a similar issue when I upgraded my CPU and found that rather than my memory speed being set to "Auto" it was set to "BCLK* + 33" since I had been running 133MHz memory with a 100MHz* processor, and when I installed a 133MHz* processor that meant the system dumbly tried to run the memory at 166MHz (which didn't work and was difficult to troubleshoot).

--Patrick
*Base Clock/System Bus Speed

So, apparently the company that makes my BIOS, Phoenix Technologies, charges for updates. Since I'm not sure that's the problem, I am not going to do that just yet; also that just seems stupid and I am vexed.

I can't get into my BIOS after the new RAM is in, so I reset the CMOS with just the original RAM, then installed the new RAM... No change.

Erg. This is vexing me

Usually most BIOSes are made by Phoenix or Award. They make the "base" BIOS. Then the board manufacturer takes this base BIOS and tweaks it to their specifications. Basically, unless you have a specific reason not to, you should be getting your BIOS update(s) from the company that manufactured your motherboard, usually from a link on the specs page of your motherboard.
Also, knowing the make of your motherboard might help determine whether that amount of memory would actually be supported, which specific slots should have the memory installed, etc.

--Patrick

I couldn't find a BIOS update but maybe I'm looking at the wrong place. I've a nvidia 790i ultra
http://www.nvidia.ca/object/product_nforce_790i_ultra_sli_us.html

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=133466&mpage=1

read closely, I am not 100% sure this is what you need.

Is your RAM on this list?

http://www.nvidia.com/content/nforce700i/nForce_Intel_Memory_List.pdf

Chad Sexington said:

I couldn't find a BIOS update but maybe I'm looking at the wrong place. I've a nvidia 790i ultra
http://www.nvidia.ca/object/product_nforce_790i_ultra_sli_us.html

Click to expand...

Yeah, you're looking in the wrong place. nVidia is the company that makes some of the chips on your motherboard, not the motherboard itself.

figmentPez said:

Yeah, you're looking in the wrong place. nVidia is the company that makes some of the chips on your motherboard, not the motherboard itself.

Click to expand...

Nvidia makes motherboards.[DOUBLEPOST=1368315645][/DOUBLEPOST]Everything I'm reading online is saying that that motherboard only supports up to 8GB of RAM.

Bowielee said:

Nvidia makes motherboards.

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Really? Well don't I feel stupid. For some reason I had it in my head that only Intel made reference boards that were commonly sold to the public, but now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure AMD does too.

If this board does support more than 8 GB of RAM, you can also try the following:

If it's a board that doesn't require parallel chips, try plugging one in into a known working slot, see if it turns on, then pull it out, then put in the other in.

I had a mobo that I picked up used that had a faulty RAM slot - couldn't figure it out - until I tried putting a known working RAM stick in it (by itself). I've also had faulty RAM sticks. Alternatively, the mobo may not like two different speeds of RAM.

If it does only support 8 GB of RAM max, then that's your problem.

You can always put in your known working RAM and go to an online scanner (Crucial.com has one - I'm sure there are others) - that'll tell you definitively what type and how much you can put in.

In the spec sheet I listed above, the supported ram listed is all 2GB and lower.

Bowielee said:

In the spec sheet I listed above, the supported ram listed is all 2GB and lower.

Click to expand...

Many lists of 'qualified memory' may stop at a point lower than what the board can actually support, but this is no guarantee of a particular memory limit. Some MLB makers just didn't bother to test RAM chips with prices that (at the time) were higher than mere mortals could afford.

However, I am also not finding anyone confirming support for more than 8GB total RAM.

NVIDIA and AMD both have made 'reference' motherboards in the past, the same as Intel (though even Intel has said they are going to stop doing this very soon).

--Patrick

Bowielee said:

Everything I'm reading online is saying that that motherboard only supports up to 8GB of RAM.

Click to expand...

PatrThom said:

However, I am also not finding anyone confirming support for more than 8GB total RAM.

Click to expand...

ffff

I bought this rig years ago, though for some reason I was sure I consulted to make sure it could support more than 8GB.

Oh well. Maybe it's time to build a new computer anyway... Hmmmmm that could be a fun summer goal.

Unfortunately there's always the possibility you "zapped" the motherboard with static electricity when you were upgrading it, or when you were even taking out the new RAM to put in the old, or at any possible step in-between. It's always a risk.

Eriol said:

Unfortunately there's always the possibility you "zapped" the motherboard with static electricity when you were upgrading it, or when you were even taking out the new RAM to put in the old, or at any possible step in-between. It's always a risk.

Click to expand...

But then wouldn't my computer be not-working now? Everything is fine when I have just the old RAM back in.

Chad Sexington said:

But then wouldn't my computer be not-working now? Everything is fine when I have just the old RAM back in.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm 98% certain that it's that your motherboard doesn't support that much memory.

Bowielee said:

Yeah, I'm 98% certain that it's that your motherboard doesn't support that much memory.

Click to expand...

You seem to be correct. Unfortunately. But oh well. Chatting with my sister's boyfriend tonight, I decided it would be fun to build a new system, so I've gone from "Let's upgrade the RAM" to "Let's get a brand new ALL OF THE THINGS."

Should be fun. Also, expect numerous threads in this forum

We've got more than enough tech support on the boards. I'm sure that PatrThom will advise you to hold off till the new bridge architecture comes out, though.

I'm confused why there's been no mention of the make or model of the motherboard in the first place. A simple Google search for that board's specs would have told you in seconds.

DarkAudit said:

I'm confused why there's been no mention of the make or model of the motherboard in the first place. A simple Google search for that board's specs would have told you in seconds.

Click to expand...

nvidia 790i ultra. Chad already said. Hence why I'm saying the mobo doesn't support over 8GB of RAM.

Bowielee said:

nvidia 790i ultra. Chad already said. Hence why I'm saying the mobo doesn't support over 8GB of RAM.

Click to expand...

Ah. Must've missed that. My bad.

I'm late to the party, but I had a computer with this exact motherboard and I can tell you that it definitely does not support over 8GB of RAM.

Hence my brand new rebuild last year.

Bowielee said:

We've got more than enough tech support on the boards. I'm sure that PatrThom will advise you to hold off till the new bridge architecture comes out, though.

Click to expand...

You are correct. Haswell is being officially released in less than a month, so there's really no reason NOT to wait at this point.

--Patrick

Bowielee said:

I'm sure that PatrThom will advise you to hold off till the new bridge architecture comes out, though.

Click to expand...

PatrThom said:

You are correct. Haswell is being officially released in less than a month, so there's really no reason NOT to wait at this point.

--Patrick

Click to expand...

I... don't know what this means.

Chad Sexington said:

I... don't know what this means.

Click to expand...

The best CPUs for sale right now are the ones in Intel's Ivy Bridge lineup (model 3xxx). They are the fastest, most power-efficient x86 CPUs on the market right now. Well, in about a month, Intel will be releasing their next generation of CPUs, code-named Haswell (model 4xxx). Haswell will be between 2-20% faster than Ivy Bridge (and its graphics are up to 100% faster than Ivy Bridge) , but Haswell can do this in a rated power envelope of 84W while the best Ivy Bridge goes as high as 95W. That's almost a 15% power savings.

stienman said:

The bridge they are talking about is the spinal cord of the computer, it allows the CPU to talk to the memory, PCI busses, video card, sound, USB, etc, etc, etc.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure he meant bridge as in Ivy/Sandy Bridge, and not Northbridge. It confused me a moment, too.

Also, the first generation of Haswell's Northbridge has already had its first bug revealed, which causes USB 3.0 devices to not perform correctly after the computer has been woken from sleep.

--Patrick

Oh man, there is so much to know. Those articles are largely impenetrable to me. I wish I knew where to start to understand hardware/computers more in-depth than I do.

Chad Sexington said:

Oh man, there is so much to know. Those articles are largely impenetrable to me. I wish I knew where to start to understand hardware/computers more in-depth than I do.

Click to expand...

Do what I do.

1) Wait for it to come out.

2) Ask on here which one I should buy.

But I just mean, as a general knowledge thing. I love learning new stuff, and I'm pretty good and educating myself. But when it comes to computers, it's all mysterious to me, and I don't know where to hunt for the information. The numbers and acronyms and jargon all have meaning but I don't know what it is or how to decipher it. I feel lost even when I Google things, because say, learning that USB means "universal serial bus" doesn't tell me anything: what is a bus? Why is it serial? I assume I can suss out the meaning behind universal in this context, but maybe I'm wrong. Then, googling 'bus' gets me to more jargon about 'architecture' and so on; I mean, I suppose this is why I'm not a computer engineer, but I'm not a historian either, yet I know how I could educate myself on any given historical topic.

I would like to know more, I guess, about ... well, everything.

There ought to be a "a brief history of time" book for computers and computer technology, leading up to today.

In a computer everything is run by software. The hardware exists to either execute the software, or allow different software to communicate with other software. Your mouse/trackpad/keyboard are running software on tiny processors inside them. They talk to the main CPU through a variety of communications channels and a number of sub-processors.

USB is one of these channels. It started out as a fairly low speed communications method meant mostly for human input such as mice and keyboards, and storage media such as Zip drives. It is one o father latest in a long line of slower communication channels.

Early computers had serial and parallel ports. Serial ports required between three and 25 wires to talk at speeds up to hundreds of thousands of bits per second. Parallel ports required between 10 and 36 wires, and over time were able to communicate up to tens of millions of bits per second. Faster, but they required a lot of wires, and so weren't suitable of objects, such as mice, that had to be cheap and moved frequently. Parallel ports were most frequently used for printers. Serial ports for mice and modems.

Apple introduced the apple desktop bus for their keyboards and mice, and IBM introduced the ps/2 port (personal computer 2) for their keyboards and mice. Parallel ports were still used for printers, scanners and since they were faster than serial for Zip disks and external drives. Serial ports were still used for modems since modems inherently talk in a serial manner and initially it was easier to develop cheaper modems that used that port, and modems never needed high speed.

USB was designed to replace all these uses. It needed to be fast enough for simple media storage, use few wires for thin cheap cables, and be cheap enough overall so you could still make $5 mice.

So that's what they made. It's essentially a smart serial protocol that runs on four wires, and initially ran at up to 12 million bits per second. It was upgraded to 480 million bits per second with USB 2.0, and recently USB 3.0 allows speeds up to 5 billion bits per second, although USB 3.0 requires more wires, or fiber optics cables, so it's a little more expensive.

When USB was released Apple released FireWire to compete. FireWire had a lot of advantages, it was faster for the first release, it could talk to more intelligent devices, and could even link computers without additional software. Unfortunately it also cost more, as it required more wires in cables, and more electronics on each end of the link. Apple also placed a few restrictions on it such that it was annoying to implement. It simply wasn't suitable for mice and keyboards, but was great for hard drives and networks. They both upgraded their speeds keeping pace with each other, but, you could say that FireWire lost.

Apple joined intel for the next generation of serial bus, and it's named thunderbolt. It's much faster, much more intelligent, and doesn't intend to replace USB, but to supply more speed and capability to those peripherals that need it.

Few peripherals need to right now, though. It's being used to display video in apple devices, and in some limited cases its being used for fast disk access. The latest version of USB is fast enough for most needs, though, and its cheaper so thunderbolt just doesn't have much traction in the market.

stienman you're a hero. Don't forget it.

stienman said:

There ought to be a "a brief history of time" book for computers and computer technology, leading up to today.

Click to expand...

I would definitely read this.

Chad Sexington said:

But I just mean, as a general knowledge thing. I love learning new stuff, and I'm pretty good and educating myself. But when it comes to computers, it's all mysterious to me, and I don't know where to hunt for the information.

Click to expand...

It may sound strange coming from me, Chad, but I feel ya. It wasn't very long ago that I found many of these articles just as impenetrable. I think the main reason I've managed to come so far so fast is that when I read an article, and 25% of it just goes straight over my head, I will still drink in the parts I get, or the parts that attach to other things I already know, and trust that the remaining 25% will fill in later as I learn more. I make connections very easily, so usually that's exactly what happens. Once I hit up enough articles, the context starts explaining things to me that I didn't already know, and over time the rest just gets filled in. The trick is to read a diverse enough pool of articles for the context trick to work.

--Patrick