G.Skill DDR3-2666

[K3yra7]

So long story short, I got new 2666mhz memory, that I cannot for the life of me get to even post at 2400mhz let alone 2666mhz.... I have an i7-3770K on an ASUS P8Z77 WS. I've taken the CPU up to 4.8ghz so I know its decent on that front, but as soon as I hit that 24x memory multiplier at any CPU speed, it will not post and gives me error code 23, and sometimes it gives me error code 30. I have adjusted VDIMM, VCCSA, VSSIO... timings, everything I can, and no luck.... Does anyone have any ideas?

I also tested the RAM on a second PC, but only with a 2600K on a P8Z68 V-Pro and @ 2400mhz.... still would not even post. I'm trying to find a third PC, preferably with an IB to test again on....

 

[jazon1]

have you tried to load the XMP profile?

 

[Woomack]

@K3yra7
Code 23 = IMC ( memory controller ) can't make so high clock on current settings. It can be or too low voltage or too high CPU/IMC temperature.
Set VCCSA to 1.25V and VCCIO to 1.15V and try again @2400.
Set your cpu speed to lower clock. It doesn't have to be on auto but something low like 3.5GHz so it will be easier to find problem.

There is really low chance that you make 2600K to work with memory at anything above 2133. Most of SB are ending at about 2200 ( 2133 ratio going up with bclk ).
IB should work @2400+ without any problems but Intel wont guarantee that all IMC can make much above 2133.

Timings for these kits are 11-13-13-35 2T 1.65V ( try a bit higher like 1.67V ).
Ignore XMP and set clock, main timings and VDIMM, VCCIO, VCCSA manually. All other timings on auto.

 

[K3yra7]

Thanks, I was actually following your guide the entire time. When I was manually setting everything, I had my CPU @ 3.9ghz @ 1.01 volts(this is 8+hr prime stable) set manually, with VCCSA and VCCIO as high as 1.3 and VDIMM as high as 1.7 as per....

- VCCSA ( IMC / System Agent ) – memory controller voltage , can be helpful above 2400+ or while setting really low timings, I haven’t seen any difference above 1.35V for 3000+ memory clock.
- VCCIO ( VTT / QPI ) - main voltage to play with while overclocking memory, Intel’s safe is also max MVG value – 1.4V for sub zero cooling, hard to say how much you will need for max clocks but it shouldn’t be more than ~1.35V for DDR3-2800.

I also tried 11-13-13-35 2N and 11-14-14-37 2N multiple times and the only time I did make it to windows was @ 2400mhz, but it blue screened before I finished typing in my password. 2666mhz never made it to the post screen once. The most consistent error it gave me was 23, but it was giving me error 30 for a while.....

 

[Brolloks]

I have had trouble running RAM above 2000 on a Asus P8Z77 V-Pro, what I found if you disable PLL overvoltage it throws you the Mem OK red LED and you cant boot, so iunlike P67 boards you have to enable PLL overvoltage, at least on this board...also you need a bit of VCCA, I set mine at 1.1v and was good to go

 

[Woomack]

PLL overvoltage is working better as enabled for high clocks on Maximus V Gene. I'm not sure if it's the same on other boards. All other options description is in my memory guide ( that you already saw ) but some settings are more for 2 sticks or for benching ( depends which part of guide ).
I checked on my board TridentX 2400/Samsung IC 2x4GB and Geil/Hynix IC 2x4GB and both need about 1.20-1.25V VCCSA to run @2600+ ... but that depends from CPU. I think that you missed some option in BIOS or something isn't right with BIOS version as it's really rare that memory controller can't make 2400.

One question , what kit do you exactly own ? http://www.gskill.com/products.php?c1=1&c2=3&c3=74
I mean mainly if you got 2 stick or 4 stick kit. If you got 2 sticks then try to switch slots. If you got 4 then it can be harder.
I have one more idea that is working for MVG or M5E with Samsung memory. Run board with only 1 stick , change options in BIOS ( XMP or manual , no matter just try ~1.25V VCCIO for higher clock ) then restart, check if it's working and if it does then turn off pc and add other stick(s) ... and check if its working.

 

[K3yra7]

I have the 2x4gb kit.... so only running 2 slots at any one time. I will play around more to see what I can do. No PC shop here in town even has an IB system to test on for me, and I only know people with sandy bridge chips..

 

[K3yra7]

So I was able to get as far as 2600mhz by raising the voltage to 1.75, I tried for 2666mhz but I couldn't get it going even with the voltage @ 1.85 and the VCCSA and VCCIO @ 1.3 each....

 

[Woomack]

2666 give 23 or 30 error ?
1.3V VCCIO/VCCSA is too much for this clock.
If its always 23/30 error then it's IMC problem or just board needs BIOS update. If you get 55 error or other 5x then it's memory issue. Also these sticks shouldn't need more than 1.65V +/- 0.05V for 2600+.
Did you try the same in slots 2/4 ? Also, do you have option with additional swizzle in BIOS ? ( I don't know what options are there ). If yes then try with enabled or just check if disabled let you boot without problems.

I would ask both G.Skill and ASUS support if they were checking TridentX 2666 on this board ( or any other 2600+ kit ). Or maybe ASUS have some beta BIOS.

 

[K3yra7]

I wasn't even able to run 2400 without giving it 1.75 volts, I can leave vccsa and vccio on auto and vdimm 1.75 and run 2600 now, with swizzle off. If I try 2666 I get codes 23/30. Oddly enough it's code 30 almost every single time.

 

[Woomack]

If you have to set 1.75V to make 2400 ( and standard timings ) then it's memory problem but if you get 23/30 codes then it's or IMC or something with board ( mainly BIOS version ) or cooling.
You can also try 2600 ratio and higher bclk. Maybe 2666 ratio isn't working on this board.
If you haven't seen 55 codes then memory seems fine but it should work on lower voltage.

As I said before best will be to contact both G.Skill and ASUS about it as you have not really popular board so it's hard to give any other advice.