Maximus IX Hero won't boot with more than 2 sticks of RAM

[Valethar]

Greetings,

Just put together a new build, and I'm having a bit of trouble getting it squared away.

For some reason I can't quite figure out, my system won't boot with more than 2 sticks of RAM. As soon as I place anything into the black slots, the system hangs at POST, cycling endlessly through numerous codes, with 01 & 03 being the most prominent.

All four sticks work fine when installed individually or in pairs, using the gray slots, just not when I attempt to install the 3rd and 4th sticks.

Does anyone have any insight on what I might look at in order to correct this?

System build is in profile, but this is the quick and dirty version.

Mobo - Maximus IX Hero
CPU - i7 6700K
Memory - F4-3200C16D-16GTZR (G.Skill Tridentz RGB, total 32G)
GPU - EVGA GTX 950 SSC
Cooler - Enermax ETS-T40F-BK
PSU - Thermaltake TOUGHPOWER 850W
OS - Win 10 Pro

If you need any other info, please let me know, and I'll get back to you ASAP.

[Chino]

Memory - F4-3200C16D-16GTZR (G.Skill Tridentz RGB, total 32G)

That might be the problem there. It's not recommended to combine or mix memory kits even if they appear to be the same model.

Raja has written a very detail explanation in his Don’t combine memory kits! The meat and potatoes overview

If you want to save yourself the trouble, return the kits and get a single 32GB kit.

[Valethar]

Bah wasn't a 32 gig option when I bought these. :/ I'll look into it.

Edit: Expensive lesson. Going to cost me $50 in 'restocking fees' to send them back. Would have been nice to have something from G.Skill on the Newegg product page with that information.

[JustinThyme]

Sorry you had to learn the hard way. *An earlier visit to this corner of cyberspace would have let you know right away as this is common knowledge among those who do a lot of builds or are constantly upgrading. *The faster the memory gets the more finicky it becomes. The manufacturer bins the kits that work together, all of them do. Every now and then you might get lucky running them slow with loose timings but for the most part mix and match isn't a good idea even with the exact same part number. *I pretty much avoid New Egg like the plague these days unless it's something that you can only source from them just over their return policies. Last kit I bought from them wouldn't work at all, didn't find out until it was already shipped and then they give me the same run around amd restocking fee and insist I use their shipping method which is FedEx ground. They won't pick up from a residence and there is nowhere to drop. FedEx overnight is a completely different business and does not accept ground packages. I sent it to them priority mail on my dime and they sent it back slow boat without so much as an email. In the end by the time it got back to me the 30 days was up and I have a 32GB kit 4x8GB of 3200MHz corsair vengeance with red leds that I have no use for still sealed.*

[Valethar]

Well, the new 32 gig kit arrived today.

Imagine my surprise when they behaved no differently than the two 16 gig kits. Two sticks at a time work just fine. 3 or more and it won't pass the post process.

Any idea where I should look for troubleshooting info to see if there's something I can do to get this sorted out? Should I put all four back in, then hit the 'Mem OK' button on the board and see if the board can sort it out? Should I lower the settings on the first pair in the BIOS, then add the second pair, then see if they play nice together?

This is the first time I've run across RAM that's this sensitive, so I'm not entirely sure where to start. Any advice would be most welcome.

[nikos xatz]

try the new one kit 32gb with a Clear CMOS and left evrything on Auto to see if it post....

[bfollowell]

The trouble you're describing could also be indicative of a damaged CPU socket or a bad CPU. With the notches in the CPU casing and the little ribs in the CPU socket, it's really pretty hard to misalign or otherwise improperly install a CPU these days so I won't even insult your intelligence by asking about that but, you may want to pull the processor and check for bent, broken, or missing pins in your CPU socket. Surprisingly, you can have several damaged or missing pins and your system could still boot and exhibit no strange behavior at all, until you try to populate certain DIMM slots.

As I said, a bad or damaged CPU could also cause this, but I would think mobo/CPU socket damage would be the more likely culprit of the two.

I know I hate it when I'm asked questions like this but, do you have another board you can try the CPU and memory in, or another CPU you could test in your board with your memory? I know, I know, if you're like me, you don't have four redundant systems just sitting around the house and any other CPUs, mobos, DIMMs you have lying around are probably older technology from a system you replaced. Still, if you have any of those options available to you, it could really help you in narrowing down your problem.

[Chino]

Well, the new 32 gig kit arrived today.

Imagine my surprise when they behaved no differently than the two 16 gig kits. Two sticks at a time work just fine. 3 or more and it won't pass the post process.

Any idea where I should look for troubleshooting info to see if there's something I can do to get this sorted out? Should I put all four back in, then hit the 'Mem OK' button on the board and see if the board can sort it out? Should I lower the settings on the first pair in the BIOS, then add the second pair, then see if they play nice together?

This is the first time I've run across RAM that's this sensitive, so I'm not entirely sure where to start. Any advice would be most welcome.

Does the system pick up all 4 memory modules at stock speed (2133MHz)?

[robtherobot]

What bfollowell said could be the issue. The CPUs are very sensitive to conductivity issues. Sometimes the CPU will need to be reseated or you will need to clean the CPU contacts off with isopropy alcohol to get a good connection. I tried a bunch of different 7700K CPUs in my current build, both lidded and delidded/relidded and the issue you described happened to me a couple times where the system wouldn't boot with all 4 sticks but only 1 or 2. If I couldn't reset the BIOS settings to fix it and get it working that way, taking out the CPU, cleaning it, and reinserting/reinstalling it did fix it. I noticed some CPUs were better than others and one of them had issues cold booting 4 sticks a small percent of the time even at stock settings. It would be good to follow bfollowell's advice and inspect the socket for any damage first and also make sure it is free of any dust debris too.

[MrAgapiGC]

just asking.... What bios are you running?
*