Could it be defective ram ?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
Hi all,

I am looking for some opinions. Since i bought and built my new computer i have been having trouble with it. I get from time to time BSOD and firefox crashes, games have trouble loading without crashing etc.

Whats happens is: I have tested every slot with 1 slip of ram individually. Everything working perfect with memtest86.
Then i put my ram into slot 1-2 into dual channel ( white slots together) and ran memtest86 for 12 hours. No problems everything works perfect! But then im simply surfing on the internet with Firefox and i get a BSOD 0x00000050.
I then retry memtest86 and it finds errors on the first pass.

I remove both slips of ram, replace them tight so i'm sure they well placed and rerun memtest86. 12 hours later, perfect no problems! 2 days later, Critical kernal power, BSOD 0x00000050. I run memtest86 again... errors AGAIN on the first pass....

I don't get it... is it ram or Motherboard ??

Opinions ?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,290
4,142
174,240
If memtest 86+ ever shows an error, I would suspect the ram. But--- since you were able to run it for 12 hours without a problem, There may be something else going on.
Some motherboards may have ram issues which are corrected by a bios update. See if there is an update that seems to address ram issues. Do not update the bios unless it looks like it fixes a problem you are having.

Are you overclocking? If so, back off to default settings.

You might test using prime95. It will stress the cpu while also testing some ram. Set the option for rounding checking. You should get NO errors.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Crashman

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Dec 31, 2007
48,594
91
66,190

Well, since you're asking for opinions, it could be voltage fluctation from the power supply. You didn't list your hardware configuration or settings, so I can't offer any specific advice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
BurningIce

BurningIce

Distinguished
Dec 4, 2009
49
0
18,540
From my own personal experience I would say it is most likely your RAM. It might be that your RAM chips are not the same brand? You should try to keep them the same brand because that can also cause this problem.

Another thing it could be is what one of the other guys mentioned earlier in this forum, it could be power. It migth be that your power supply doesn't have enough wattage to handle your pc hardware loud. What is the wattage of your PSU (power supply)?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
Ok guys, I have new info !

but first my PC configuration:

CPU : AMD Phenom 2 x4 965 125 watt (but for some reason it's getting 140watt) * overclocked to 3.8 ghz and NB 2200 ghz
GPU : XFX Radeon 5850
Powersupply : XFX 650 Watt
Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-790FXTA-UD5
Memory : Gskill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ dual channel DDR3

Now the new info i have ! When i let my computer on for a while (including when computer is off but power supply is on), i will eventually get errors in my ram. But if I do a HARD REBOOT, meaning shutting down power supply for 30 seconds and turn it back on, i then run memtest86 and voila! NO ERRORS ! One day later, errors in memtest86, shut down power supply and retry, no errors !

Interesting huh ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Crashman

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Dec 31, 2007
48,594
91
66,190

Try bumping your DRAM voltage up a little.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Crashman

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Dec 31, 2007
48,594
91
66,190

You won't fry it at 1.55V. In fact, most motherboards now use 1.55V by default for 1.50V RAM, due to a problem with one manufacturer not programing its RAM correctly. Try 1.60V, and don't be scared it's not that much.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
M

mindless728

Splendid
Jul 15, 2008
4,074
0
22,960
According to JEDEC[2] the maximum recommended voltage is 1.575 volts and should be considered the absolute maximum when memory stability is the foremost consideration, such as in servers or other mission critical devices. In addition, JEDEC states that memory modules must withstand up to 1.975 volts before incurring permanent damage, although they are not required to function correctly at that level.

from DDR3 Wiki Page
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
So i put the Dram voltage to 1.6v and tested it again this morning to make sure. Last night it passed Memtest86 no problems. I turned down the computer for the night (but power switch left on), this morning i ran a memtest86 and boom, errors,
errors per slot,
slot: 0 = 1
slot 1 = 5
Error confidence value : 45

I then shut down the computer completely and turn off power supply for 30 seconds, rerun memtest86 and voila it passes the test. So my computer will run flawless for 16 hours... then i will have to shut it down completely to reboot the whole thing...
Like I said, could it be ram? should i RMA it ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
Nope it was not the overclock! I tried memtest86 this morning and i failed again on test 5... i shut down computer and power supply, retry and it passes memtest86.

Could the power supply be the cause at this point ?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,290
4,142
174,240
There has to be a simple explanation.

Did you check for bios updates that might fix ram issues?

When you disconnect the psu, you may reset the bios. Leaving it plugged in will not. Is it possible that the motherboard battery is weak and causing problems?
A bad battery may cause bios settings to get disrupted.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
I am gonna check for a Bios update, however, if it's a bad battery in Motherboard, that would require to change motherboards right ?

Edit: Just checked for bios update, im up to date, the next bios is a BETA.
I really don't get it at this point and don't know what to do right now...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,290
4,142
174,240


Does the BETA bios address your issue?

The battery liiks like a nickel, it is a CR2032 3v battery. It is easily replaceable.

Is it possible that some sort of winows based overclocking is being invoked?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
geofelt

geofelt

Titan
Oct 9, 2006
54,290
4,142
174,240
Is the ram on the motherboard's ram QVL list? Or, is the ram shown to be compatible with your motherboard on the ram vendor's ram configurator. If not, you may have a problem replacing either.

Are the two ram sticks inserted into the recommended slots? The motherboard manual will document the requirements.

I doubt that the problem is the PSU.

My best guess is the simple answer, the ram.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
If you mean if the ram is in the motherboard supported list, yes it is! On the gigabyte site, this exact ram is said to be compatible and working! And ya, i have it in the recommended slots.

Well i have ordered two more slips of ram, i will remove the current ram and if the other one works without problems, then i will RMA the current ram... if the new ram does not work.. then the pain in my but will continue...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
J

jp6666

Distinguished
Jul 7, 2010
16
0
18,510
I received yesterday a new set of ram, same brand and kind, just replaced the ones in the PC with the ones i had received, tested it under exact same conditions, and up to now no errors at all. PC was off all night, ran memtest86 this morning (did not shut down power supply to reboot everything like i had to with other set) and everything seems A-OK.

Conclusion: Defective ram ! I will RMA it in the next week, i am just gonna wait a few days more to make 100 % everything is perfect with the new ram before RMAing the old one.

Now bring on Starcraft 2!!
 
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