Prime95 Results

[MaizeNBlue2]

Hey guys,

I got my system up and running, but and everything seems fine. I started Prime95 to stress test it, and only 2 of the 8 virtual cores has made it through more than 1 minute.

My build specs are here: Video Editing/Rendering PC Build

Workers #1, 3, 4, 5, 7, & 8 have all stopped after less than 1 minute. The error they give is: "FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 0.5, expected less than 0.4"

My temps look normal, so I'm not sure what to make of this. I've never used it before. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciate. Thanks in advance for the help.

Edit: Just so you guys no, I haven't overclocked or anything. If you need more information, let me know and I'll get it to you.

 

[hunter315]

did you set your ram voltages and timings properly? OCZ memory generally requires more than 1.5V, since its a triple channel kit i would bet on it needing the full 1.65V to get stable. Set the voltages and timings manually and try again, hopefully that will fix it.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

did you set your ram voltages and timings properly? OCZ memory generally requires more than 1.5V, since its a triple channel kit i would bet on it needing the full 1.65V to get stable. Set the voltages and timings manually and try again, hopefully that will fix it.

I appreciate the quick reply. I looked at the timings, etc. in BIOS, but there were a lot more options than I expected. I guess I'll look around and see if I can find a guide for setting the timings manually.

If you can offer any insight as to which options need to be changed, that would be great. Thanks again for your help.

 

[hunter315]

well the default timings are fairly loose so those dont necessarily have to be changed, but upping the voltage is definitely necessary. Its been a while since i played with my memory timings so someone else will need to do the guide, but try the voltage, if setting it for 1.65V fixes the issue then you are all set, you wont really notice the effect of the loose timings, its maybe 5% at most.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

well the default timings are fairly loose so those dont necessarily have to be changed, but upping the voltage is definitely necessary. Its been a while since i played with my memory timings so someone else will need to do the guide, but try the voltage, if setting it for 1.65V fixes the issue then you are all set, you wont really notice the effect of the loose timings, its maybe 5% at most.

Okay, so I believe I figured things out, and it is getting better, but I'm still not able to run all the cores at the same time without them quitting on me. I only had two quit this time and it was in about a 30 minute period. I believe the timings are set correctly.

Now, to the issue. I set the DRAM voltage in BIOS, but it seems to want to go in intervals of .02. If you increase it with the plus minues, it goes in intervals of .02, and if you type it in manually, it kicks it up to the next even interval. I didn't want to damage the RAM or CPU, so I set it at 1.64.

That's where it was at when I got the results above. Can anyone suggest anything to try. My motherboard is an Asus P6X58D Premium, by the way.

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[pepperman]

Check your ram timings; the default is 8-8-8-24. If they're currently below that, reset them to those timings.
If they are currently set at 8-8-8-24, raise them to 9-9-9-27 and rerun prime95.
If it passes, your ram isn't running at the manufacturer's specs, and I advise you to rma it.
If it fails, something else is wrong, either with your mobo or your cpu.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Check your ram timings; the default is 8-8-8-24. If they're currently below that, reset them to those timings.
If they are currently set at 8-8-8-24, raise them to 9-9-9-27 and rerun prime95.
If it passes, your ram isn't running at the manufacturer's specs, and I advise you to rma it.
If it fails, something else is wrong, either with your mobo or your cpu.

Thanks for the reply. I found some settings on an OCZ forum about what needs to be set where on my motherboard. I'm going to be running some attempts at MemTest86+ on my lunch break after I update the voltage to where OCZ said it should be. From there, I'll try Prime95 again, assuming it passes MemTest at their recommended settings. If it doesn't, I'll be RMAing it. I also might rethink it and just purchase some different RAM.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Well, raising the voltage helped, but I still had a core error out after about 12 minutes.

I noticed that I hadn't bumped the speed of the RAM up and still had it on auto, so I set that, and ran MemTest86+. It's still failing during the 3rd test. I've tried reseating the sticks. After work, I'll use them one at a time to see if I can narrow down which one is bad.

I'll also try the slower timings to see if it makes a difference. Thanks for the help.

 

[pepperman]

Good luck. If you have anymore questions\problems feel free to ask.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Your RAM should pass memtest .... if it doesn't, I'd RMA it.

When testing RAM, to eliminate CPU effects, you should set your BIOS as shown in Test B:

Test A
BCLK = 133
Mem Multiplier = 8 (DDR 1033)
CPU multiplier - 20

Test B
BCLK = 133
Mem Multiplier = 8 (DDR 1600)
CPU multiplier - 12

Your RAM should pass memtest on both .... if it doesn't, I'd RMA it.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Well, it wasn't earlier, but since I've had the sticks out and tried various arrangements, etc; and messed with a few BIOS settings, it hasn't had any errors on this latest test. Granted it's only 25% of the way through, but it kept failing on Test 3 before.

Edit: And LITERALLY as I type that, I get an error popping up on MemTest. It was on Test 6 this time.

Someone help me understand this. I'm going to put exactly what I have set up in BIOS right now.

DRAM Frequency: DDR3 - 1600Mhz
QPI/DRAM Core Voltage: 1.35000
DRAM Bus Voltage: 1.66
CPU Spread Spectrum: Disabled
PCIE Spread Spectrum: Disabled

DRAM CAS# Latency: 8 DRAM Clock
DRAM RAS# to CAS# Delay: 8 DRAM Clock
DRAM RAS# PRE Time: 8 DRAM Clock
DRAM RAS# ACT Time: 24 DRAM Clock
DRAM REF Cycle: 82 DRAM Clock
DRAM Timing Mode: 2N

Everything else is set to Auto.

All of these settings came from a combination of these two posts on the OCZ Support Forums:
Post 1
Post 2

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

I also tried with just the bare minimums. Setting the DRAM voltage and the 8-8-8-24 settings and it didn't make a difference. It's still failing MemTest. I believe I'm going to RMA it.

Anyone have any suggestions before I do so?

 

[croc]

I also tried with just the bare minimums. Setting the DRAM voltage and the 8-8-8-24 settings and it didn't make a difference. It's still failing MemTest. I believe I'm going to RMA it.

Anyone have any suggestions before I do so?

It might only be one 'stick' of RAM that is causing the issue, or more problematically one memory slot....

Time consuming, but try one piece of your RAM in slot 0, run memtest... Repeat with RAM 2, same slot, etc, then if all pass try slot 1 and re-test. Repeat until you have either found a defective piece of RAM, or a defective slot. PITA, but a professional likes to be thorough...

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

It might only be one 'stick' of RAM that is causing the issue, or more problematically one memory slot....

Time consuming, but try one piece of your RAM in slot 0, run memtest... Repeat with RAM 2, same slot, etc, then if all pass try slot 1 and re-test. Repeat until you have either found a defective piece of RAM, or a defective slot. PITA, but a professional likes to be thorough...

Yeah, I'm a computer tech by profession, so I know what you mean. I've just never done an advanced rig where you have to set the RAM timings manually, etc.

If my understanding is correct, the sticks should pass MemTest regardless of how they're set up in BIOS, correct? Or do I need to have their specs programmed in manually for them to pass MemTest as well?

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Okay, so after some further investigation, I do believe the RAM to be bad. Here's what I did:

1) I set the motherboard back to all auto as far as the RAM timings, etc.
2) I tested each stick in each of the 3 slots that were being used.

The results were as follows:

Stick 1:
One full pass with no errors in slot A1
One full pass with no errors in slot A2
One full pass with no errors in slot A3

Stick 2:
Failed MemTest Test 4 in slot A1
Failed MemTest Test 4 in slot A2
Failed MemTest Test 4 in slot A3

Stick 3:
Failed MemTest Test 8 in slot A1
Failed MemTest Test 8 in slot A2
One full pass with no errors in slot A3
Failed MemTest Test 8 in slot A3 (2nd attempt)

It looks to me like 2 of my 3 sticks of RAM are bad. I'm not sure why the third stick made it through a full pass in slot A3 the one time, but I'm calling it an anomaly.

If anyone disagrees, then please let me know, but it looks like I'll be RMA'ing the RAM on Monday to see if a new set fixes my issues. The only thing I'm not sure of is if I have to manually set the timings in order for them to pass MemTest, but it doesn't seem like it does, as stick 1 passed with no errors in all 3 slots.

Also a final note, I booted up the computer with the one good stick of RAM in and ran Prime95. It's been running for over 2 hours now at 100% usage with no errors. Granted these are still at "auto" times in BIOS. Thankfully the bad RAM didn't cause any issues installing Windows or any blue screening after install.

Thanks again for all the help.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Well, I went back and did testing with the RAM timings, speed, and voltage set and I've still got a stick that's failing.

The RAM will be sent back tomorrow, then we'll revisit this once I get the replacement RAM in.

 

[MaizeNBlue2]

Best answer selected by MaizeNBlue2.