Games freezing then crashing with two sticks of 4Gb of DDR4 RAM but run fine with 4Gb

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
M

Marcus99389

Commendable
Jul 6, 2017
11
0
1,520
I just did a total upgrade of my PC, new CPU, motherboard, graphics card and memory and I've been having issues when playing games. It seems most common with games that require more than 4gb of RAM because whenever my RAM usage goes above that, I get problems. The most prominent problem being a temporary crash of the graphics driver, sometimes causes the screen to flash black once and when watching videos, causes them to reload. But when playing games they just freeze, having the audio continue all before crashing but sometimes it just doesn't crash.

I tried taking out the second stick and playing games like Overwatch that don't need more than 4Gb and only then I got no hiccups. My motherboard is definitely capable of dual channel and MSI claims that it's compatible with the Corsair Vengeance but I can't get both sticks to be stable.
I might just have to change something in the BIOS but I already tried the XMP settings.

I'm fairly certain the problem is with the RAM but if anyone else thinks it's something else I'd be glad to hear it.

If anyone needs them then my specs are as follows:
MSI B350 TOMAHAWK
Gigabyte GTX 1050 2GB
Corsair Vengeance (2x4GB)
Ryzen 3 1200 OC @ 3.6Ghz

 
Sort by date Sort by votes
alceryes

alceryes

Splendid
Jun 11, 2004
4,343
925
27,090
It's possible the issue is RAM but I wouldn't bet on it yet. When you add the extra RAM and play the games that need more than 4, you are also 'probably' playing games that are more stressful on your GPU, CPU, and RAM.
It would be better to use stress tests than games since the load on the components are more predictable. It may very well be that your are hitting an overclocking ceiling with your components.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

Marcus99389

Commendable
Jul 6, 2017
11
0
1,520


Unfortunately it's not that simple, I can play games with very low requirements using the single 4GB stick but the same games will freeze and crash with both sticks installed. It usually takes longer to crash but I believe it might be because when the PC requires RAM from the second stick, it just locks up and causes my drivers to restart.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
alceryes

alceryes

Splendid
Jun 11, 2004
4,343
925
27,090
Actually, if that's the case, it's even easier to test.
Run something like Prime95 or IntelBurnTest where you can tell the stress test to use A LOT of RAM. If it fails almost instantly, consistently, you then have something to test against. First try moving the sticks around to different slots (instruction book be damned), just to see what ones work, if any. Then try single sticks in each slot to see what ones work. Then go and 'borrow' (buy it and return it after testing) some new RAM from your local store and perform the same tests.

After asking Dr G. about your board there seems to be a good amount of issues with people only seeing half the installed RAM. Might not be a coincidence. You could have a defective board.

(Oh, you did update the board to the latest BIOS version, right?)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

Marcus99389

Commendable
Jul 6, 2017
11
0
1,520


I'll definitely try those tests tomorrow and I will mess around with which slots work, I was planning on "borrowing" a RAM card as you said so I'll do that as well. As for the BIOS update, I tried that before but the entire motherboard locked up and wouldn't boot and I'm positive that I didn't interrupt it because I saw it reach 100% before it turned off and never turned back on, I had to wait two weeks to get a replacement so I'm sceptical about the BIOS update.

If nothing else works then I'll have to try that.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

Marcus99389

Commendable
Jul 6, 2017
11
0
1,520
I tried putting the RAM cards in each DIMM slot and the system failed to boot unless I had the sticks in DIMM 2 and 4 like the manual recommends. I did a test using Prime 95 and it came up clean so I also tested for memory leak which a friend said could be the problem but the test came up clean too. I then finally tried the BIOS update and instead of going for the newest update I went with the update after the one that was already installed and the result was the same, the update finished and so did the motherboard, it would no longer load at all and the lights on the board that turn on when the RAM is working and the CPU is working didn't turn on.

So I'm going to send the motherboard back again, get a refund and just try a different motherboard. If I still get the same problems then it's most likely the RAM that is the problem. If I finally get it sorted then I'll leave my solution up here.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom