# Asrock G41M Motherboard with DDR3 RAM



## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

Hi all, 
I have a new Motherboard - Asrock G41M-VS3 R2.0. But, after install all the hardware, the computer does not start. Only CPU fan is spinning, but no beep / POST, and PC screen is blank.

*I'm thinking, is the problem caused by unsupported / mismatch CPU FSB and memory frequency?*
The CPU and RAM that i use
- CPU: Intel Celeron 430 FSB 800 MHz (Also tested with Intel E5400 FSB 800)
- RAM: New Kingston DDR3 1333


As stated in the motherboard Manual, the CPU FSB frequency and its
corresponding memory support frequency are(You may refer to attached pic as well): 

CPU FSB 1333 - Support DDR3 800, DDR3 1066, DDR3 1333
CPU FSB 1066 - Support DDR3 800, DDR3 1066
CPU FSB 800 - Support DDR3 800
CPU FSB 533 - Support DDR3 800


*So, the problem is, i'm using CPU with FSB 800 together with DDR3 1333 RAM. Is that possible with this motherboard? *I though the motherboard will downclock the RAM frequency to match the CPU FSB.

I also tried to turn on the PC without RAM, and i can hear the beep sound(indicate no RAM). In addition, i'm sure the Power supply is OK.

So, i would like to know, what is the possible problems?
1) unsupported CPU FSB with the RAM?
2) Bad motherboard?
3) Bad DDR3 RAM? (It is a new RAM. And I do not have other DDR3 RAM to test also)

Detail about the Motherboard ASRock > G41M-VS3 R2.0

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Are you using only one stick of Ram?
You are correct in thinking the Rams speed will be down clocked to that of the FSB, unless overclocked.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Remove all unnecessary hardware and connect the Monitor to the onboard VGA, then try to boot.


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

Hi Panther063, thanks for the reply.

Yes, I'm using one stick of RAM only. And i have already tried to remove all unnecessary hardware, and the problem still the same.

So, you are sure that the Rams speed will be down clocked to support the CPU FSB? Do all motherboards support that feature? Because, I'm afraid this motherboard does not allow that!!!

Thanks.


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## T_Rex (Oct 21, 2012)

If your motherboards bios doesn't support multiple speeds (but I believe it does) then my advice would be to get different stick of DDR3 1066. You can also try the other memory slot on your motherboard.


Does this look like your motherboard?

ASRock G41M-S3 LGA 775 Intel G41 + ICH7 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

If so that was the only model of that motherboard that supports DDR3 the others were DDR2. It does state* DDR3 1333* (*OC*) so .... try a different slot. Tap the delete key anyway as the system boots see what happens. If you do happen to get into the bios immediately go into the memory section and see if you can change the speed to 1066 speed. My next recommendation would be to get some 1066 of good quality ram like Corsair or Crucial. Kingston Value memory also worked well with that specific generation and type of board you might try that also.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

Also, what is the size of the DDR3 1333 Ram you have installed, it may not be supported by that board.
The capacity is 8Gb total over the two Ram slots.
Here's the link to the QVL for Ram:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/G41M-VS3 R2.0.pdf

Although it states it has a capacity of 8Gb, it only lists a maximum size of 2Gb per slot, unless you use this: 4GB
Samsung
M378B5273BH1-CF8


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## T_Rex (Oct 21, 2012)

Good point by the Panther :smile:


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

ChronoGeek, i think cannot press Delete key as the system does not boot at all. Screen is blank but CPU fan is spinning.

Panther063, the RAM size is 2GB(Kingston KVR13N9S6/2).



Panther063 said:


> You are correct in thinking the Rams speed will be down clocked to that of the FSB, unless overclocked.


Could you explain a bit about the overclocked part? As stated in the Motherboard manual, the DDR3 1333 memory module will operate in overclocking mode. But, since i'm using CPU with FSB800, i think it will not work in overclocking mode!


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

I'm not the one to talk to about overclocking because I always use stock settings.
The Celeron Processor I believe will be incapable of overclocking anyway, but I will need confirmation on that.


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

Panther063, not a problem. i'm just wondering whether the Motherboard will really down clock the RAM FSB in order to support the CPU FSB or not. If the board will really down clock the RAM speed to support the CPU FSB, then i think might be something is wrong with the Motherboard!!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The Celeron 430 is on the Mobo's CPU Support List and the 1333 RAM "should" work but will default to 1066.
Remove all RAM, boot, listen for beep codes from the Mobo speaker. No RAM and no beeps indicates a Mobo problem.
NOTE: A Mobo speaker is required.
Kingston RAM "might" be a compatibility issue.



peterjcs said:


> ChronoGeek, i think cannot press Delete key as the system does not boot at all. Screen is blank but CPU fan is spinning.


If the CPU fan is running, it's attempting to boot so try tapping the Delete key and see if it will boot to the Bios.


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

Tyree,
I have tried to remove the RAM before, and i tried again just now, there are beep codes that indicate no RAM. If i install back the RAM and turn on the PC again, then only the CPU fan is spinning, and no beep, and screen is blank.

I also tried to tap the delete key, unfortunately, nothing happen.

As for the Kingston RAM(2GB - Kingston KVR13N9S6/2) compatibility issue. As point out by panther063, the RAM is listed in the Motherboard QVL. 
http://www.asrock.com/mb/memory/G41M-VS3 R2.0.pdf

*By the way, if their is a problem with the Motherboard, will it still beep if no RAM is installed?*

Thanks.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

peterjcs said:


> ]By the way, if their is a problem with the Motherboard, will it still beep if no RAM is installed?
> .


The above is confusing to me. You said you tried booting with no RAM and got the no RAM beep code. That indicates the Mobo is OK.
Have you tried the RAM is all slots?
Do you have, or can you borrow a different RAM stick to try?


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

I have tried all the slots and still the same. Unfortunately, i have no other DDR3 RAM. Also no other to borrow, as they only have DDR2 RAM! 

So, if the Mobo will beep when no RAM is installed, does it means the Mobo is surely 100% OK? or there is still change that the Mobo is bad?

Thanks a lot for the help.


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## Panther063 (Jul 13, 2009)

The Motherboard may be faulty, even if it beeps with the Ram out.
When you power the system on, can you hear the hard drives spin up?
It is also possible the power supply is bad.


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## peterjcs (Jan 23, 2007)

Panther063 said:


> When you power the system on, can you hear the hard drives spin up?
> It is also possible the power supply is bad.


I think the hard drive does spin up when turn on the PC, but i cannot 100% sure.

As for the power supply, it should be OK, i tried the PSU at other PC, and the PC can on. I also did try with another new power supply and still the same.

Wondering it is compatibility issue? or bad Mobo or bad RAM??


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## pharazon (Aug 27, 2014)

I have tested Asrock G41M-VS3 and G41C-GS boards now with 5 different brands of DDR3 memory. Currently I have only 1/5 chips (Samsung) that work on both boards, and a second (G.Skill) that works on G41C-GS but not on G41C-GS. Some memory chips (Corsair) work at lower speeds but not at 1333MHz. None of the Kingston chips worked at all. G41C-GS supports also DDR2, but it seems that Asrock automatic speed detection doesn't work very well, since I got a lot of memory errors before I manually set the CAS to match the specs on the chip (5-5-5-18 instead of 5-5-5-15).

I wrote further details on my web site:
https://phz.fi/2014/08/27/asrock-ddr3-memory-problems/


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## stefan14 (Sep 27, 2014)

Hi, I've also an ASRock G41M-VS3 motherboard and I tried different DDR3 memory chips. In my case the motherboard only accept DDR3 2GB memory chips (no 4 GB chips) and only the model KINGSTON KVR1333D3N9/2G. My computer is now working fine with 2 chips 2GB DDR3 1333 MHz, so 4 GB.
I tried different other DDR3 1333 models, also 4 GB and these are not working (no beep at boot of the MB). So I think KVR13N9S6/2G is not compatible with this ASRock G41M-VS3 MB.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

According to the Mobo manufacturer, the ASRock G41M-VS3 supports up to 2x4GB of DDR3 1333(OC)/1066/800 non-ECC, un-buffered memory.
RAM should always be installed in matched pairs to avoid problems.


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## Rich-M (May 2, 2007)

I have read this thread twice and it would seem you have tried different components everywhere but where I think the issue is and that would be the ram. I don't share everyone's distaste for Kingston ram around here though Hyper-X I have seen real trouble with if that is what you are using, but I would try 800 speed first from a better brand say Crucial or GSkill and I bet it would work. While I used to use a lot of Kingston ram in recent years I have found it very problematic recently. If you are worried about spending more money use Crucial site (Crucial.com - DRAM, solid state drive (SSD) memory upgrades for Dell, Mac, Apple, HP, Compaq, Lenovo, Acer, ASUS) as they will give you a money back guaranty. Reading reviews of this board at Amazon and Newegg, while most seem to like it, there are a surprising number of dead boards shipped out that needed replacing.


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## pharazon (Aug 27, 2014)

I finally managed to found after trying 10 different brands a 4GB DDR3 chip that works with Asrock G41M-VS3:
Transcend 4GB 2Rx8 DDR3 1333 ECC TS512MLK72V3N 675723-0270 

I bought the working chip from here (from Finland, you can probably get it cheaper from elsewhere)
Transcend 4 GB 1333 MHz CL 9-9-9 DDR3 ECC -muistimoduli | 4 GB | DDR3 | Verkkokauppa.com

For note, this chip does not work on Asrock G41C-GS. The list of other non-working chips that I tried (that give black screen) is here: https://phz.fi/2014/08/27/asrock-ddr3-memory-problems/


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Glad you found what you want and thanks for posting back.


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