Rampage III Extreme 12GB and 24GB Help Please?

[Retired]

Hi,

I'm a long time ASUS Motherboard user from back in the 90's. Rampage III Extreme, Rampage II Extreme and Maximus Extreme (Very Cool Name) were the most recent three I've used. I've never had problems finding good, stable memory for these boards. ..until now.

I thought I could stack six OCZ3G1600LV6GK together to make 12GB. REII had a 10GB limit and true enough, 5 of them worked in DDR2 mode. ..worked great. I figured since the new board sported 24GB max, that it would accept all 6 sticks to make 12GB ...FAIL!!! Showed up at 4088MB lol! So, you know, my bad.

Before I go off randomly looking for compatible RAM, I would like to know if there is a list (or a few reccomendations) for combinations that achieve 12GB and 24GB. The motherboard book has 2 reccomendations for 12GB (Kingston KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX(XMP) and KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX(XMP) ..yes, I realize those are the exact same model numbers, but in the book they have different timings, one has a '9' and the other a '-' dash. (shrug)). Also, R3F_QVL.pdf the recent compatible memroy list has no 12GB or 24GB configurations at all.

ASUS site says..

6 x DIMM, Max. 24 GB, DDR3 2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory
Triple channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
*Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
*Refer to www.asus.com or this user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lidts).


So. Is "XMP" what's required? And would any XMP Non-ECC, unbuffered work? Or is there a trick to this I'm missing? lol. Just goes to show anyone, of any age, with any number of years experience can still be a noob. 😉

Thoughs or links would be appreciated. Many thanks in advance.


Best Wishes,
Wizard

[martin_metal_88]

First of all, why the hell did you need 12/24GB?
Second, it's not the memory that is XMP, this is a profile in bios. You have it on your actual board, just gove a shot and try to see ifyou can find and play with it.
Also, if your motherboard only display 4GB I would troubleshoot first, doing memtest trying each stick in all slot and trying 3 stick. This board can run 12GB without problem. I've seen run it with kingston, Patriot, G.skill, Mushkin, corsair and A-data.
Personally, I wouldn't be surprised that OCZ memory is the issue.

[Retired]

LOL Goooooood Question and thanks for your response.

In a nutshell, I'm a C#/C++/SQL/Multithreading/Multiproc/Enterprise Web applications/yadda yadda Senior Software Engineer. Also, having spent nearly a decade as a Network Engineer prior to this, I've learned a few things about computers and performance. When it comes to resources, particularly RAM, the rule of thumb is that when memory usage exceeds 50% of available RAM, double it. Now, that's not necessarily true for home users who can afford to wait, but it is very true in the Enterprise. Point being that a system must continue to perform even under heavy load. So, as the usage profiles evolve, it's important to keep resources well above the average requirements. ..in general that is.

Specifically, I regularly have SQL 2008 R2, 3 or 4 separate C# web applications on the metal and additional VM Instance or two with an their own SQL Servers and a (great big fat ass) Enterprise Accounting Application. I also do stock trading analysis and thump some WoW while watching SGU. Hahahah. It's nothing to pop up to 9GB of ram in use. Ergo, I need 24GB. Actually, I could get by on 12 if the damn sticks would work..

You maybe exactly right about the OCZ. I've had good luck with them in the past, but this does smell like bad ram. lol at the time, after being up for 18 or 20 hours and pulling my hair out, clearly I wasn't thinking clearly. I'll give that a shot and report back. Many many thanks for stating the obvious! 😃 Kind Regards, -Wz

[martin_metal_88]

Keep us up to date if you can get the thing work 😉

[Retired]

:$ ..erhm.. gonna chalk this one up to lack of sleep. Bad stick of ram. To add insult to injury, OCZ guy asked me if I was sure I'd checked the ram properly. lol I deserved that. While the RMA is taking place, 24GB of Hexa-Channel G.Skill Ripjaw is on the way. Thanks for the head's up! >;) -Wz

[martin_metal_88]

Was a pleasure! Now hope the replacement will work -_-' If you ever have more question 😉

[Retired]

check out corsair CMP24GX3M6A1600C9 and kingston KHX1600C9D3K6/24GX these kits are made specifically for 24gig setups that allow you to oc up to 1600mhz

[Retired]

I heat to see someone struggle with their system; like you , I have been an IT die-hard since '78 - unless you fried a DRAM, I am almost sure the memory is not the problem.
I know that one must check the BIOS settings to ensure it can detect DRAM count on the memory bus; said that, the Rampage III Extreme has an option to protect Memory that must be Enabled to show all memory installed (see video) "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AOylHaCyUA&feature=channel" - Give it a try.

[Retired]

nice find abeiis
here is the video you can watch here