# RAM help



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

Hi. I built my first rig several months ago. I have a intel q9550 cpu, a gigabyte ep-45-ud3p motherboard, and 4 gb of 1066 gskil RAM. I am having a hard time getting my cpu past 3 ghz. I increased the voltage and I got it to boot at 3ghz and I ran Prime 95. It stopped instantly and said I had a hardware problem. I ran Prime 95 again, but this time I just tested the cpu and not the RAM this time it was completely stable.

These results led me to the conlusion that my RAM is holding me back. Any advice on what I should do? I 

I have good cooling and a 850 watt psu so these aren't issues.


----------



## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

just because you have an 850w psu doesn't mean anything, if it is a bad brand then it could mean everything. What brand is it?

When you overclock the FSB your ram frequency will go up or down depending on your setting you need to keep the ram frequency within its range i.e I have 4GB 1066 ram but have overclocked to 3.91 and my ram is at 886 because my FSB is at 443.


----------



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

Sorry. My psu is an 850 watt corsair. 
I think my problem was my RAM getting overclocke because I left the modifier on auto. What should I change it to? I have read that you want to achieve a 1:1 ratio. How is that calculated? 
Please help.


----------



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

Now I have another problem. I reloaded my optimized defaults and now I can't get into windows. It loads up and POSTs fine but when the desktop should load up the screen remains black but I can see my mouse cursor in the screen. How do I fix this?

I am using Windows 7 rc for my OS.


----------



## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Clear the CMOS.


----------



## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

a 1:1 refers to the ram speed being double the FSB speed.

I have two 2GB ram in my system which is rated at 1066MHz however I have my FSB set to 443MHz x 9 which gives me a cpu speed of 3.91GHz so my ram is set to 886 which is 1:1

to achieve this you must be running in dual chanel mode.


----------



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

OK thanks for explaining the RAM ratio. Now I cant get into windows. It goes to the windows 7 loading screen but it only dislplays a black screen when the desktop should appear. I can still see the mouse cursor but nothing else. I have all my BIOS settings on default. I dont know what to do now.


----------



## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

As Tyree said clear the CMOS.


----------



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

If I clear the CMOS will I lose all my installed programs and data? I am running the default BIOS settings now.


----------



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

No, all of that is stored on the hard drive, which isn't affected by the motherboard. Clearing the CMOS is kind of like a hard reset for the motherboard, and makes it re-evaluate all of its default settings.


----------



## Schotzy (Jan 4, 2009)

All of my BIOS settings are at default now. Do I still need to clear CMOS?


----------



## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

If you can't get into Windows at default settings, then you need to clear CMOS.

If you *can* get into Windows now, then you don't have to.


----------

