Ok, so I'll summarize here. Built a system somewhere around then end of 2007/start of 2008. Has stability problems, sometimes it can go for quite a while (in terms of days/weeks) without a crash, other times (like yesterday) it can BSOD four times within a few hours.
Have RMAed RAM once, which helped for a very short while. Have already sent a new mail to the place I ordered the parts from, and awaiting their answers. In the meanwhile, I'm troubleshooting even further.
Old ram would give ugly memtest86+ issues, I haven't had time to sit through a proper memtest of the new RAM, although it still BSODs. Suspecting motherboard is messed up, but I'd prefer to prove myself wrong.
Do note that this is a "stock" system, in that it is NOT overclocked, it runs standard coolers, etc. The aim here is NOT to overclock, just make it run stable at "intended" values.
Ok, so I finally went to the BIOS to check some settings, and found that the latency settings for the RAM weren't up to par. The clock speed was correct, but it was running 5-7-7-24. Now, my RAM should be good for 5-5-5-15. If I've understood correctly, running the 5-7-7-24 timing should in theory have made my system more stable, right? Would setting it to 5-5-5-15 somehow help solve my problem (heh, increase performance AND increase stability? sounds too good to be true)?
I also have several other RAM settings that I have no idea what values to give.
Do keep in mind that I've more or less never r tinkered with voltage, latency settings and values in that proximity. Could someone help me out with what values I should be running here?
Current settings:
---
5-7-7-24
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD): 4
Rank Write to READ Delay: 4
Write to Precharge Delay: 8
Refresh to ACT Delay: 68
Read to Precharge Delay: 4
Static tRead Value: 6
Static tRead Phase Adjust: 0
---
RAM should be able to run at 5-5-5-15, what should all those other settings be set to?
Quick specs on the rig
---
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3
CPU: Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2GB Kit (2x1GB) (BL2KIT12864AA1065) (Specs at bottom of this page: http://shop.crucial.com/1/2/crucial-ballistix-2gb )
GFX: XFX GeForce 8800 GTX 500M
---
Also worth noting... is it just me, or are these temperature readings strange? (Pretty much just running Firefox on Vista here):
SYSTEM: 54C
CPU: 33C
CPU CORE0: 24C
CPU CORE 1: 27C
-------------
EDIT: Oh, forgot to ask, is there somewhere to set the DDR2 RAM voltage properly in the BIOS of this board? The nearest thing I can find is the PC Health Status showing an uneditable voltage value that it is running, and the MBIT menu allowing me to overvoltage... however, I can't find anywhere to undervoltage (not that I have any immediate plans to do so, but I'd like to know).
Have RMAed RAM once, which helped for a very short while. Have already sent a new mail to the place I ordered the parts from, and awaiting their answers. In the meanwhile, I'm troubleshooting even further.
Old ram would give ugly memtest86+ issues, I haven't had time to sit through a proper memtest of the new RAM, although it still BSODs. Suspecting motherboard is messed up, but I'd prefer to prove myself wrong.
Do note that this is a "stock" system, in that it is NOT overclocked, it runs standard coolers, etc. The aim here is NOT to overclock, just make it run stable at "intended" values.
Ok, so I finally went to the BIOS to check some settings, and found that the latency settings for the RAM weren't up to par. The clock speed was correct, but it was running 5-7-7-24. Now, my RAM should be good for 5-5-5-15. If I've understood correctly, running the 5-7-7-24 timing should in theory have made my system more stable, right? Would setting it to 5-5-5-15 somehow help solve my problem (heh, increase performance AND increase stability? sounds too good to be true)?
I also have several other RAM settings that I have no idea what values to give.
Do keep in mind that I've more or less never r tinkered with voltage, latency settings and values in that proximity. Could someone help me out with what values I should be running here?
Current settings:
---
5-7-7-24
ACT to ACT Delay (tRRD): 4
Rank Write to READ Delay: 4
Write to Precharge Delay: 8
Refresh to ACT Delay: 68
Read to Precharge Delay: 4
Static tRead Value: 6
Static tRead Phase Adjust: 0
---
RAM should be able to run at 5-5-5-15, what should all those other settings be set to?
Quick specs on the rig
---
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3
CPU: Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2GB Kit (2x1GB) (BL2KIT12864AA1065) (Specs at bottom of this page: http://shop.crucial.com/1/2/crucial-ballistix-2gb )
GFX: XFX GeForce 8800 GTX 500M
---
Also worth noting... is it just me, or are these temperature readings strange? (Pretty much just running Firefox on Vista here):
SYSTEM: 54C
CPU: 33C
CPU CORE0: 24C
CPU CORE 1: 27C
-------------
EDIT: Oh, forgot to ask, is there somewhere to set the DDR2 RAM voltage properly in the BIOS of this board? The nearest thing I can find is the PC Health Status showing an uneditable voltage value that it is running, and the MBIT menu allowing me to overvoltage... however, I can't find anywhere to undervoltage (not that I have any immediate plans to do so, but I'd like to know).