Memory and motherboard problems, BSOD etc....need help pls

[Predikanten]

Hi,
after 8 years absence from the PC-world i recently bought components and put together a gaming-pc. Unfortunately things dont seem so easy now as they did 8 years ago. At least not when it comes to getting the memory and motherboard functioning correctly.

This is what has happened:

I put together my pc, installed win7 64, installed a couple of games, played a few times and everything worked well a few days. Then all of a sudden i got a BSOD during installation of Chrome. Since then the computer has been really weird.

Since i thought that it was software related i did a fresh and clean install of the OS. However, i had to try several times cause i got messages of corrupted files and such during install. At last i got the OS installed correctly but i keep getting messages of corrupted files when trying to launch different programs, software crashes and BSOD's. I have reinstalled the OS several times but with the same problems.

After having checked the harddrive with a harddrive health test I ran memtest86 to check the RAM.

This is what Memtest86 gives me (i have 4GB ram, 2x2GB):

Running both sticks, on Dimm_A1 and Dimm_B1, i get several errors after just a few minutes of testing.

Running only one stick, tried both sticks individually on both Dimm_A1 and B1, i get no errors at all running the test for several hours.

I have tried to change some settings in the BIOS, tried AUTO, tried XMP, tried them at both 1333 and 1600 MHz with the same results in Memtest.

What could be wrong? Need some help please

My specs are as follows:
Asus P7P55D-E Pro
Intel i5 760
Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 (2x2GB) (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)
2 x Geforce GTX 460
Fractal Design 800W PSU

 

[T_T]

How about voltage? Using one stick, as you may have figured out, uses less power. The default or [Auto] setting allows the RAM voltage to fluctuate, but some RAM sticks work better with constant voltage, hence my suggestion of manually setting your voltage.

 

[Predikanten]

Well, i have tried to put in 1.65V instead of auto but still get the errors when running both sticks. And when running on XMS the settings are 1600MHz 1.65V, also giving me errors.

Since i have warranty on the stuff i want to know if there is something in the hardware that is not as it should be. I mean, if you put in the memory sticks and enter the voltage, frequency and timing parameters as specified by the RAM i think it should work or something is wrong with some hardware? Or am i wrong?

 

[T_T]

No, you are correct. RAM is a plug and play device, sort of. Actually, RAM is nothing without the SPD chip, which is what tells your mobo what is installed, meaning what kind of RAM is installed. Generally, even if you don't set the voltage, you should be able to load Windows.

In your situation, if you have compatible RAM (this can be verified by checking the manufactuer's site - look for something like: Quality Vendor List); RAM settings manually configured to the specs on the packaging/sticker; and errors in MemTest86+, then it stands to reason that you have bad sticks of RAM.