HELP! Upgrading from i7 920 to 980x causes ram sockets to die.

idata · ‎08-24-2010

few months ago i upgraded my factory installed 9GB of RAM to 24GB (6x 4BG sticks). i had no issues with the ram upgrade.

couple weeks ago i upgraded my bios to ensure comatibility with the i7 980x and then i upgraded my factory installed i7 920 cpu to the 980x. with the 980x installed only 2 or 4 of my ram sticks function. i've tried moving the ram around. it's all the same ram, same manufacturer. i get the same results. others suggested my factory installed 460watt power source was too small. i upgraded my psu to a 600watt OCZ unit and that made no difference. i returned the 980x for a replacement and have since installed the new 980x and i'm still getting dead ram sockets. all my ram sockets work fine when i put the 920 back in. i've swapped between the 920 and the 980x a few times and it's always the same.

i read about similar issues encountered by a recent pc builder using the same 980x in a different system. he tried several ram tests, also upgraded his psu to a monster 850watt unit, replaced his motherboard and still had ram not bing recognized with the 980x. he actually got his ram issue solved by stumbling across a save option in his BIOS called 'load optimal/custom defaults'....unfortunately i don't have these same BIOS options in my system. i have a stripped down, no overclocking capable oem BIOS as this is an off-the-shelf HP desktop pc.

i sifted thru the 1st 12 pages of discussion here and found 2 similar situations where i believe an actual intel rep offered useless hit and miss offerings.

can anyone do better?....i'm now ordering different ram and then a different motherboard even though HP sells a similar model (similar to mine) that comes equipped with the same motherboard and a 980x....this 980x upgrade is driving me bonkers!....i haven't seen any increase in performance. just a decrease in ram function.

idata · ‎08-25-2010

If i were yuo i would contact HP.... I say this because if it doesn't a normal BIOS there is not much i can say, i don't know if anyone else around here will know your specific BIOS.... what speed is you RAM? i am going to guess at least 13333mhz? can you manually change teh RAM speed?