PC won't post with 4 ram sticks

[PirateLemon]

Hello! I have a few question if possible.

I have an old system which has the following components: cpu: i7 6700k, mobo: asus h110m2 d3, and a gtx 1060 3gb

I wanted to upgrade the ram to 32 (since it already had 16 gb). I had two old HyperX sticks and I thought of buying another set alltogether, so I got 4 2-power 8gb sticks at 1600mhz 1.35V (since they were really cheap, I think they sell in bulk or something).

The problem is that for some reason my PC won't post with all 4 sticks. I tried all the slots and sticks individually to see if anything is broken, it worked, then I tried 2x configurations in all 4 dimm slots and it worked. But when I put all 4, the pc won't post.

Now, these 4 which I bought in bulk they say that they are single channel modules. Reading the asus page it says this:

• 2 DIMM: Supports one pair of modules inserted into eithor the blue slots or the black slots as one pair of Dual-channel memory configuration
• 4 DIMM: Supports 4 modules inserted into both the blue and black slots as two pairs of Dual-channel memory configuration

Does the issue come from the ram sticks not being dual channel? But if that would be the problem, why does it work with 2 pairs and not 4?

Should I return them and get two dual channel sets?

Thanks!

[Blasty Blosty]

Have you reset the BIOS?

[PirateLemon]

1 minute ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Have you reset the BIOS?

No I haven't, the only thing I did was remove the CMOS battery after adding all 4 sticks. I cannot post into bios with all 4 sticks, so should I reset it with 2 sticks instead, then add the other 2?

[Blasty Blosty]

1 minute ago, PirateLemon said:

No I haven't, the only thing I did was remove the CMOS battery after adding all 4 sticks. I cannot post into bios with all 4 sticks, so should I reset it with 2 sticks instead, then add the other 2?

How long did you leave the CMOS out for?

[PirateLemon]

Just now, Blasty Blosty said:

How long did you leave the CMOS out for?

I think for a minute or so.

[Blasty Blosty]

1 minute ago, PirateLemon said:

I think for a minute or so.

Should have had time to reset, does the pc POST with just 2 in?

[OhYou_]

does it boot with three in
theres no such thing as single channel ddr3 ram

[PirateLemon]

13 minutes ago, Blasty Blosty said:

Should have had time to reset, does the pc POST with just 2 in?

Yes, I tested all the slots and it boots with 1 and 2.

[PirateLemon]

9 minutes ago, OhYou_ said:

does it boot with three in
theres no such thing as single channel ddr3 ram

No it doesn't, either 1 or 2. 

[OhYou_]

if it isnt a big deal, maybe remove the cpu and inspect the contact area of the cpu for any debris or dust or something.

you can visually check the motherboard too but cleaning that would be a much more advanced process.

when it comes to ram compat issues with computers made in the last decade, there is only two thing sit can be, cpu, or ram. there is nothing on the motherboard itself, just wires and the slots themselves

[Alex Atkin UK]

28 minutes ago, PirateLemon said:

Now, these 4 which I bought in bulk they say that they are single channel modules.

Are they identical model numbers?   Have you tried every single stick in different pairs to see if its a specific combination?

 

I have to wonder given the age of the motherboard, could it be the RAM voltage regulation is failing so more than two sticks is causing voltage instability?

 

1 minute ago, OhYou_ said:

when it comes to ram compat issues with computers made in the last decade, there is only two thing sit can be, cpu, or ram. there is nothing on the motherboard itself, just wires and the slots themselves

It could also be an ageing/failing motherboard.

[PirateLemon]

1 minute ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Are they identical model numbers?   Have you tried every single stick in different pairs to see if its a specific combination?

 

I have to wonder given the age of the motherboard, could it be the RAM voltage regulation is failing so more than two sticks is causing voltage instability?

Yes, I tried all the slots individually and it posted, then I tried with two sticks (A1 B1, A2 B2) and it worked.

 

The board is pretty old. I asked in a different forum about this problem, they wondered if the timings could be different on the sticks and the board might not be able to regulate, so I opened cpu-z and took a few screenshots.

 

First two sticks - Imgur: The magic of the Internet 

Second two sticks - Imgur: The magic of the Internet

[Fasauceome]

24 minutes ago, PirateLemon said:

The board is pretty old. I asked in a different forum about this problem, they wondered if the timings could be different on the sticks and the board might not be able to regulate, so I opened cpu-z and took a few screenshots.

The board is not just old but fairly cheap. Which means not so good trace thickness. Also the memory controller is not so great on the 6700K, keep in mind this was Intel's first generation with DDR4 compatibility so there were compromises. 4 dimms at 1600, despite not being a terribly fast speed, might be out of range for this particular system. 

[PirateLemon]

Thank you for the replies guys! I've found out the user manual says this "Due to Intel® chipset limitation, this motherboard can only support single-side memories when four modules are installed and they will run at the maximum transfer rate of DDR3 1066 MHz". Seems that the ram which I bought is double sided.

[Blasty Blosty]

14 hours ago, PirateLemon said:

Thank you for the replies guys! I've found out the user manual says this "Due to Intel® chipset limitation, this motherboard can only support single-side memories when four modules are installed and they will run at the maximum transfer rate of DDR3 1066 MHz". Seems that the ram which I bought is double sided.

Yeah, guess its a hardware limitation then