RAM uncertainty

Scannerman · Apr 16, 2023

sjc312 said:
I did look this up GNA thing (Gaussian and Neural Accelerator), and it seems in some cases it can interfere with driver installation. Exactly where is it in the BIOS, please? And should I turn it on or off? I have the driver downloaded already in case I have to install it.

As a precaution, I checked the qvl list for my board, but was specifically looking for Corsair RAM as all my other builds have this brand. I had assumed that a CL18 stick with 3600hz timing would be just fractionally slower than a CL16.

According to my Device Manager Firmware Tree

Device Firmware – Driver provider and digital signer – Microsoft, driver version 10.0.22621.1

Device Firmware – Same as above

System Firmware – Same as above

There is no indication of any ASUS file properties in the Firmware Tree whatsoever, even though as I mentioned, I did install the chipset driver. To add to my confusion, when extracted there are usually two .exe files in the ASUS driver folder, one of which is ASUS Setup, which I always select. It’s quite possible that I may have double-clicked the wrong .exe file whilst installing a driver, leading to chaos.

With Windows 7 and 10, I installed the OS offline, then the mobo drivers also offline, to stop Windows from automatically downloading and installing whatever it saw fit, and as a result, in my experience at least, my builds were very stable (ASUS P5G41M-LX dual core and ASUS B85M-G core i5).

Now it seems an internet connection is a prerequisite, with no way of getting onto the Windows desktop, and even if I could bypass this, the mobo driver files are now the very barebones, requiring an internet connection to fully download other relevant files particular to the driver before completing the installation.

Then we have the infamous Intel Driver and Support Assistant….

According to the BIOS, both my Corsair RAM sticks in this build were manufactured by Samsung, but that's as far as the information goes.

My motherboard supports DDR4 only.

That GNA thing sounds like something to do with your monitor or graphics. Can't help you there. Srry. BIOS seems like a rather odd place for it.
My personal experience with RAM is that if you're going to use memory that you want to XMP or manually overclock then compromises are not really an option. Ideally, you don't want a CAS latency of anything higher than CL16 with DDR4 RAM. Now if you can step down that RAM to something as low (or even lower) as 16 without compromising your frequency too much then you're okay if your system runs stable with those settings; BUT that implies that you'll be manually clocking your RAM. That's where B-die RAM can come in real handy. Some B-die is better than other B-die. Just because Samsung makes the silicon doesn't mean it's good RAM either. Micron also makes reliable B-die. I can only share from my personal experience here. But all of this pertains to overclocking RAM and if you're just content to XMP the RAM and leave it at that then you're likely fine with what you have.

Your firmware issue presents a bit of a conundrum. If it were me, I'd probably reinstall the OS just to eliminate any probability of duplication of firmware and just go with the ASUS firmware. (I believe even Intel warns users about this.) So just go with the drivers and firmware that came with your system board and then re-upgrade from there. I don't know any easier way to repair that potential problem but the good thing is that when you reinstall the chip set you should be offered a "repair" option. Try that first.

Intel's Driver and Support Assistant isn't very helpful IMO but if you just want to use it to see if you have everything you need I suppose it could be worth your trouble. JUST DON'T try to fix anything it says you need from their web site until you have made absolutely sure that you have all your updates completed from the ASUS "drivers & support" site first. (Be sure to make restore points along the way.) Intel guarantees nothing. I think you should be fine with what you get from ASUS but you will need those Microsoft updates as well. I hope this helps

sjc312 · Apr 17, 2023

Scannerman said:
I hope this helps

It has and I’m very grateful to all who have contributed to the discussion; you’ve been superb.

Scannerman said:
our firmware issue presents a bit of a conundrum. If it were me, I'd probably reinstall the OS just to eliminate any probability of duplication of firmware and just go with the ASUS firmware. (I believe even Intel warns users about this.) So just go with the drivers and firmware that came with your system board and then re-upgrade from there. I don't know any easier way to repair that potential problem but the good thing is that when you reinstall the chip set you should be offered a "repair" option. Try that first.

Okay, I’ll attempt a repair installation, and if it doesn’t produce the desired outcome, I’ll do a completely fresh install, this time being very careful to double-click on the right ASUS Setup .exe driver files.

Scannerman said:
Intel's Driver and Support Assistant isn't very helpful IMO but if you just want to use it to see if you have everything you need I suppose it could be worth your trouble. JUST DON'T try to fix anything it says you need from their web site until you have made absolutely sure that you have all your updates completed from the ASUS "drivers & support" site first. (Be sure to make restore points along the way.) Intel guarantees nothing. I think you should be fine with what you get from ASUS but you will need those Microsoft updates as well.

Okay, I'll follow that procedure.

Scannerman said:
My personal experience with RAM is that if you're going to use memory that you want to XMP or manually overclock then compromises are not really an option. Ideally, you don't want a CAS latency of anything higher than CL16 with DDR4 RAM. Now if you can step down that RAM to something as low (or even lower) as 16 without compromising your frequency too much then you're okay if your system runs stable with those settings; BUT that implies that you'll be manually clocking your RAM. That's where B-die RAM can come in real handy. Some B-die is better than other B-die. Just because Samsung makes the silicon doesn't mean it's good RAM either. Micron also makes reliable B-die. I can only share from my personal experience here. But all of this pertains to overclocking RAM and if you're just content to XMP the RAM and leave it at that then you're likely fine with what you have.

With reference to the RAM, it’s clear I made the wrong choice, and so I plan to change the sticks sometime in the future, and I’ll also most likely replace the cpu with a k processor so that all the hardware sync. In the meantime, I’ll just use XMP as I’m not confident about setting individual values in the BIOS for the RAM.

I’ve learned a lot and knowledge is priceless.

Thanks guys.

sjc312 · Apr 17, 2023

Finally!

I initially tried the repair, but as soon as I got an error I decided to wipe the SSD and start afresh, using what I have learned from this thread.

I installed the LAN driver first offline, then once connected to the internet, the following, clicking the ASUS Setup .exe file in each case, sometimes having to be patient if nothing seemed to be happening, until I got a splashscreen. I then rebooted after each driver installed; overkill maybe, but no more exclamation marks in Device Manager.

ASUS LAN driver
ASUS Intel Serial IO driver
ASUS Intel Chipset driver
ASUS Intel Management Engine Interface
ASUS Intel Rapid Storage Technology
ASUS Intel Audio driver
ASUS Intel Graphics driver
NVIDIA Game Ready driver

I’ve also completed the Windows Updates and made a restore point. Windows paint is still not working properly, but hopefully I’ll find a fix for it soon.

@Scannerman, you are a star. Thanks for the advice and thanks to everyone.

Scannerman · Apr 17, 2023

Wooo-hoo!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I love it when a plan comes together. You did it right. If it's any consolation I reboot in nearly every initial driver installation on a brand new build too. Sometimes it isn't needed, but by doing so you eliminate the possibility of any potential driver conflicts. Eliminating those annoying bugaboos in device manager is a sure sign of establishing a healthy unit. I wouldn't be too eager to give up on that RAM just yet. Familiarize yourself with it and watch some videos on training RAM first. You can experiment with it. Besides, you're only looking at 1-2% increase in efficiency anyway. You're better off spending the clams on a K chip first IMO. (IF overclocking is your interest.)

sjc312 · Apr 18, 2023

Scannerman said:
I wouldn't be too eager to give up on that RAM just yet. Familiarize yourself with it and watch some videos on training RAM first. You can experiment with it. Besides, you're only looking at 1-2% increase in efficiency anyway.

Okay, I'll do that. Thank you, bro.