Can a board that's only supposed to take DDR3L RAM have something happen to it to where only DDR3 will work?

[tankingwrong]

Okay, I've searched and asked around on this issue but can't seem to come up with an answer.

I have an Intel NUC NUC5CPYH that was given to me because the organization that had it said they could never get it to boot.

I tested a few different configurations, was able to get it going... but with a 2GB Kingston DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500).

Everything I'm reading says that you're only supposed to use DDR3L chips in this device, so I got my hands on some. Kingston brand, Micron brand, don't have them all in front of me but I saw they corresponded with this document:

https://i.imgur.com/gckS6cj.png

And any time I try booting with one of these Intel Validated RAM chips, I get nothing but a black screen. What am I doing wrong? Has the unit been ruined by using a DDR3 chip in it?

If only I could get more RAM running in this unit it would make a fine backup machine for me.

Thanks for any input.

[Gegger]

well ddr3l is lower power ram, and by using ddr3 you might have just fried the mem controller

[iamdarkyoshi]

7 minutes ago, Gegger said:

well ddr3l is lower power ram, and by using ddr3 you might have just fried the mem controller

I suppose its possible, but I've never seen it happen, and I've been doing laptop repair for years now. Most DDR3L only systems will actually still work with DDR3, though some don't

 

I've got the same NUC here and mine had a corrupt BIOS chip...

[Gegger]

Just now, iamdarkyoshi said:

I suppose its possible, but I've never seen it happen, and I've been doing laptop repair for years now. Most DDR3L only systems will actually still work with DDR3, though some don't

 

I've got the same NUC here and mine had a corrupt BIOS chip...

ddr3l systems either make ddr3 run at a lower voltage or just don't work/get fried

 

screams at intel

[tankingwrong]

On 9/12/2019 at 11:55 PM, iamdarkyoshi said:

I suppose its possible, but I've never seen it happen, and I've been doing laptop repair for years now. Most DDR3L only systems will actually still work with DDR3, though some don't

 

I've got the same NUC here and mine had a corrupt BIOS chip...

Were you able to update the BIOS or was the chip being bad make it a wash, had to abandon it?

On 9/12/2019 at 11:56 PM, Gegger said:

ddr3l systems either make ddr3 run at a lower voltage or just don't work/get fried

 

screams at intel

Thankfully, I've checked the memory in other systems and they work just fine after being in this one, so something is just preventing it from using whatever DDR3L has and identifies over DDR3.

 

Let me add a little more detail. The power light comes on and I hear the fan but the unit doesn't boot with these chips:

Micron 4GB 1RX8 MT8KTF51264HZ-1G6E1 PC3L-12800S-11-11-B2

Micron 8GB 2RX8 MT16KTF1G64HZ-1G6E1 PC3L-12800S-11-11-FP

Kingston 4GB 1Rx8 HP687515-H66-MCN PC3L-12800S-11-13-B3

 

This is the only chip that works so far. Even similar DDR3 chips do not:

Kingston 2GB KTL-TP1066/2G BSME16A0991 1.5V

 

Maybe someone can see a pattern among the ones that don't work that I'm not. They work in a test laptop I have off to the side. I've not stuck the DDR3 in the laptop because, naturally, it doesn't belong in there and the laptop isn't mine to destroy.

[iamdarkyoshi]

11 hours ago, tankingwrong said:

Were you able to update the BIOS or was the chip being bad make it a wash, had to abandon it?

In theory, I'd need a BIOS dump from the same series machine, and it'd work again. Never really bothered with it