Bad RAM or voltage issues???

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banacek

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Jul 11, 2014
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Hi. I'm new to the forum. This is my first time posting so I hope I don't
Ok It's a two part question, with lots of smaller parts so please bear with me,

New build:
MSI 990FXA-GD65 Motherboard
AMD FX 8350 4.0GHz CPU
Radeon R9 270X 2GB DDR5 Graphics Card
2 x 8GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1866 CL10
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 64MB 6Gb/s SATA
LG GH24NSB0 0.5MB 24 x DVD Burner w/M-Disc support
Windows 8.1

Windows was buggy after initial install (everything crashing / not opening - 3rd party, Windows apps and the OS itself) so I tried the refresh option to no avail (it didn't do what it theoretically does, not sure if it did anything). Then I tried the reset option a few times because Windows hung more than once on the initial install and I thought maybe that caused issues. It's still buggy but maybe not as bad it doesn't seem to shut down as much and I have better luck with the browsers so far

The thing is it never seems to be the same thing twice - at least not EXACTLY. Different error messages - or no error messages just crashes - sometimes boot problems but not always... messed up display of content within apps which seem to sort of work otherwise. Browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome) totally inconsistent from non-functional to usable with occasional crashes

I've read a lot of posts online saying Win 7 was good, but 8 & 8.1 are crap, microsoft always does this etc etc... suck it up and wait for a fix or the next OS blah blah blah
BUT I've read just as many posts with people running 8.1 without issues. I figured my chances must be good being a new build/clean install.

After about 10 days I started to zero in on the RAM based on my problems and the things I've been reading.

First Issue: In my BIOS the DRAM voltage is set to "auto". My ram specs say 1.5v but when I look at the actual voltage in the BIOS (set on auto) it is 1.48x - the x being a number that constantly fluctuates up and down.

Is this bad because its low? should I manually set it? If I do it manually there is a list of choices not an entry field - and there is no 1.500 choice. The nearest without being under is 1.502

Second Issue: I ran memtest86+ 5.01 with both 8GB sticks in and it came back with like 15000 errors... I stopped it pulled one stick and ran it again with NO ERRORS.

Is it problem solved? Should I run it a third time with the one "bad" stick just to be sure? Does the voltage thing even matter? and memtest is showing 1778GHz in the info panel during both the good and bad tests, but the sticks spec at 1866GHz... does that mean anything?

Lastly: It seems like reinstalling windows with only good RAM would be a good idea... Should I go for the simple reset (the drive is partitioned and there are just a few Gs of data on the other partitions - nothing I couldn't easily repalace) or do a hardcore wipe with something like DBan and start from scratch?
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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If memtest shows errors, you need to rma the ram.
You will need to replace BOTH sticks since ram kits need to match minor differences in sticks.
With luck, you may be able to keep running with one stick until you get the replacement kit.

I would do a clean reinstall using only good ram. It is unknown what kinds of problems some bad ram might have caused during the initial install.

 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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With AMD it could very well be voltage/timing problems as opposed to bad sticks, and if they are off they can cause errors in Memtest, especially when trying to run it with multiple sticks, while problems like this are most prevalent with AMD rigs due to the weaker MC (memory controller)s used in AMD CPUs, it can also happen in Intel rigs. With your particular set up, I'd install the sticks in the proper slots, set the DRAM voltage to + 0.06 above the rated voltage - you don't list the actual model of the sticks but mention 1.5 so it would be 1.55, many of Kingstons sticks are 1.6 or 1.65 so if that is the acase add the additional + 0.06 to spec 1.66 or 1.71 then find the CPU/NB voltage and set it to 1.2 then give things a try and let us know
 
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banacek

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Thanks for your help and input guys. Here's an update. First the part number:
According to my retailer:
HX318C10FB/8
Acording to BIOS:
KHX1866C10D3/8G
and yes, the spec is 1.5v

I ran the machine all afternoon and evening using the one good stick with the factory settings on both voltages you mentioned with no problems. Browsers worked flawlessly, all preloaded and 3rd party apps were fine. several reboots - all quick with no issues. All in all, a completely different experience than I've had for the past week. Definite relief for now.

Also for good measure I installed the possible "bad" stick solo and made the voltage changes. Heres the thing... I can't enter voltage values in a field in my BIOS I have to choose from a list. I used the closest voltages to what you specified possible. 1.509 for the DRAM and 1.201900 for the CPU/NB.
On restart the machine wouldn't fully boot. On one of the tries the eror message BAD_POOL_HEADER came up.
I ran Memtest on the solo bad guy and got 1000s of errors, same as with both sticks installed.

I put the good stick back in, set the voltages back to factory, and have been running with no issues. What do you think? RMA problem solved?

The lousy part in all of this is that the bad stick came as part of a combo from Newegg, and I added the good stick to the order to double the DRAM. I think they have rules about RMAs on parts of combos.

One question about something in your answer: "problems like this are most prevalent with AMD rigs due to the weaker MC (memory controller)s used in AMD CPUs"
Weaker meaning they are often defective? poorly made? easily broken? cheap materials? or what? should I be worried?
When I was shopping builds I was leaning toward something with an i-7 ivy chip but the price was starting to crawl out of my budget range, and it seemed like the built in graphics performance in the intel chips didn't chart as high as the Radeon Card I ended up with for less cash. I'm not a gamer but I work with video and would at some point like to add monitor(s). And I kept telling myself that anything was going to be a huge improvement over the Frankenstein machine I'd been stitching together for the last 10 years. Now I'm second guessing a little...

DOHHHHH. I just realized I messed up my voltage decimal math. There was definitely a choice closer to 1.56 than 1.509. Should I retest???

BTW Tradesman I noticed you have 2 machines, what are some reasons why that might not be obvious to a build noob like me?
 
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Tradesman1

Tradesman1

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Comparitively speaking, AMD simply has weak MCs (memory controllers) compared to intel CPUs, they haven't really done anything with them going back to the 8150, they (the FX line at the top is still rated for up to 1866 DRAM at 1 stick per channel, (and the testing for that was done with 4GB sticks) some have been seen to run 2133), where going back to the SB Intel CPUs those could handle 2133 and 32GB (4 sticks), IB was better, and Haswell moreso, Devils Canyon CPUs even higher.

And yes try the higher voltage

I have a number of rigs, the two in sig, a 2500K (4.8), 32GB of 2133, and am currently playing with a Z97 Hero that currently is also running a 4770K and 2666 DRAM at 2800 for the minute, haven't had a lot of time to spend on it, trying to decide on GPU ( or GPUs) for it and either 46 or 4790K... I have a sytems business so I them around for use by me and empployees as well as clients so they can get an idea of what different rigs can do in various setups
 
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banacek

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Nice way to stay busy! That sounds like good times. *cough* excuse me... umm err I meant work, yes... work... that's it...

So, I raised the voltages to 1.6v for DRAM and 1.209100v for CPU/NB and gave it a try with the bad stick. The machine wouldn't boot, it hung at different points on different tries.

Interestingly though when I ran Memtest the bad stick came up with fewer errors at the higher voltage. It was still in the thousands, but they didn't occur as fast and there weren't as many overall.

So, in summary, at factory voltages with two sticks (presumably one good one bad) the machine was very buggy but somewhat usable. With one bad stick it wouldn't boot at all giving me various problems at various points. with one good stick it booted with no issues and it is running without incident... knock wood.

At the higher voltages with two sticks the machine was buggy but usable with no noticeable difference over the factory voltages it might've been slightly better but I'd have to keep a log to be sure. With one bad stick still no boot and no sign of any change. With one good stick the machine ran fine with no noticeable difference in performance over factory voltage.

When I ran Memest on the bad stick by itself at the higher voltages there was some improvement. At factory voltages it hit like 15,000 errors by the time it was starting test #3 and it was a steady continuous stream. At the higher voltages it didn't break 10,000 errors until test #7 or 8 and it was in short spurts.

Not sure what that indicates.

So, I'm going to RMA the bad stick and hope for the best from Newegg, as it is part of a combo. in the meantime, I'm going to reinstall Windows using only the good RAM.

Any thoughts as to whether or not I should wipe the drive with something like the Dban and start from scratch? or do you think just a simple reformat of the Windows partition using the internal Windows tools to do the erase and reinstall is sufficient? Windows 8.1 has two options, a quicker erase for when you're going to keep the drive and use it again yourself and a more thorough erase that assumes you're getting rid of the drive and you want to protect yourself from traces of data.
 
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