Bizarre Memory Problem [Overheating?]

[chris_bio]

Hi,

I've got a Biostar A770E3 motherboard and 6GB 1333 9-9-9-24 1.5V corsair memory recommended by the manufacturer for it: http://www.corsair.com/memory/intel-memory-solutions/intel-triple-channel-kits/tr3x6g1333c9.html

I've been having really bizarre problems

Running ubuntu: works fine, no problems
Running win7: works fine, no problems

Windows 7 guest in ubuntu host in virtualbox: Crashes randomly while watching video

The really strange thing is, that the memory seems unstable after rebooting. Sometimes the next several reboots freeze up at the OS level immediately. I've run memtest as well, and I get error messages, and on top of that memtest+ locks up (with no error messages). My bios even froze once when I visited the 'peripherals' screen. After 30 minutes and a few reboots later, memtest works fine and I can boot into my system normally.

I've never seen memory problems persist like this after a reboot, so my only guess is that it could be a heat problem for the ram? The CPU temp is comfortably low.

The other strange thing is that my ram is rated for 1.5V, but my bios reports it running at 1.6, and the DRAM over voltage is already at it's minimum value (which is non-zero).

Does anyone have any ideas how I can confirm what the problem is, or at least attempt to fix it?

Thanks
-Chris

 

[geekapproved]

You got problems. You need to set the memory speed, voltage and timings in the bios manually. Sounds like you have inadvertantly overclocked the memory.

Set to 1.5v/1333/9-9-9-24.

Also, do you realize your using a Intel memory kit for a AMD system? Hence the "Core i7 Triple channel kit". The problem with that is you get best performance running your memory in dual channel mode, however your currently running in single channel mode. To fix this, you either need to remove 1 dimm or get 1 additonal dimm of the same exact model (timings, speed, and voltage). For dual channel you need memory in pairs, not in 3's.

 

[chris_bio]

Yeah, I've manually set the memory speed to 1333, and the info page shows the timings as 9-9-9-24. The memory is specifically listed on biostar's webpage for this motherboard as being supported: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/memory_report.php?S_ID=450.

The problem is, I have absolutely no idea how to lower the voltage. The 'over voltage' option for memory _starts_ at 1.6 volts. There is no way for me to set it to 1.5, only higher.

I'm not too worried about the dual channel support, it's a 'nice to have' not a 'must have' for me at the moment.

Any other ideas on how I can underclock the memory? If not, I'll consider buying another type of memory, is there a good brand you would recommend that appears on my board's supported memory page: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/memory_report.php?S_ID=450

Thanks for the help. I know it seems a little strange that I'm trying to underclock instead of overclock my memory

-Chris

You got problems. You need to set the memory speed, voltage and timings in the bios manually. Sounds like you have inadvertantly overclocked the memory.

Set to 1.5v/1333/9-9-9-24.

Also, do you realize your using a Intel memory kit for a AMD system? Hence the "Core i7 Triple channel kit". The problem with that is you get best performance running your memory in dual channel mode, however your currently running in single channel mode. To fix this, you either need to remove 1 dimm or get 1 additonal dimm of the same exact model (timings, speed, and voltage). For dual channel you need memory in pairs, not in 3's.

 

[geekapproved]

I'm confused, why do you want to underclock the memory??

You CAN lower the voltage, you just need to unlock the option, which should be easy to figure out. If you can't figure it out, then you need to read your manual.

This should fix your problem.

What are your other components and power supply?

 

[chris_bio]

I contacted biostar. They told me that the minimum voltage their board supports for DDR3 is 1.6V, which is strange because they list a 1.5V ram on their 'supported memory' list for my motherboard.

Other than that I am running:
650W corsair power supply
Radeon HD 6850 graphics card
AMD X3 450 CPU

I've lowered my ram down to 4GB by removing 1 of the sticks. The system is much more stable, but now suspend to ram doesn't work - my machine no longer can wake up.

I'll try experimenting with placing the sticks of ram in different slots for now. Worst case I guess I'll have to replace my RAM with the 1.6V variety. If you have any other advice, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again.
-Chris