RAM Failed Memtest. New mobo and RAM. Still failing.

[pie5566]

Hi,
I had been getting some random, fairly infrequent crashes in Windows so I ran a Memtest and it failed. I had the timings at 7-7-7-18 or something like that so I reset everything back to stock. Still failed. I tried both sticks one at a time in different slots and it still failed. Since I had the voltage at 1.71V and had been experiencing the problem for a while I figured I had burnt out both sticks. I wanted to run more memory which required a new mobo so I replaced that too. Now I still am failing Memtest and occasional crashes. In Windows I get a BSOD. In Ubuntu I get an error message that there was a fatal error or something but no reboot. I forgot the wording and the error code but I'll put that up here next time it happens.

Specs are:
Phenom II 955 BE
Biostar TA990FXE
32 gb Crucial Ballistix Sport (4x8gb)
HD 5770 1gb

There are three things I suppose could be responsible: bad power supply, bad memory controller in the processor or some issue with the 120V coming out of my wall. Any thoughts?
Sorry I wrote a short novel. Thanks for reading.

 

[o1die]

Populating all four slots can sometimes cause problems. Try 1.5v for the ram and set the speed a notch lower if needed just to test; if it's 1600, try 1333 instead.

 

[pie5566]

I tried it with the old motherboard and RAM and only one slot populated at 1333 and it failed. Today I confirmed that both the new RAM and the old RAM are good. I busted a hose in the water cooling when I was gonna test it with the new mobo and one stick of new RAM so the computer is drying out right now. I will report back when I am able to test one stick. I am also going to try and get my hands on another power supply to test with.

 

[pie5566]

Got tired of waiting on the water cooling stuff so I set it up on air. Tested with another PSU and wall outlet and it still failed. Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[bryanl]

1.71V won't damage the RAM, not even the type rated for 1.35V operation.

You haven't mentioned what power supply you have, and the HD 5770 needs something solid, not a 600W $19.99 special.

 

[pie5566]

I'll go try it with 1.7v. I have a Raidmax 630W and also tried it with an Antec 600W.
Shouldn't the videocard basically be idle when running Memtest86+? It immediately at the beginning of test 7 and generates 1000s of errors, even if I skip directly to test 7.

 

[bryanl]

Don't go back to the 630W Raidmax. It's crap known to fail at less than half power.

There's never a need for 1.7V memory voltage, except with excessive overclocking. Crucial Ballistix is not their best memory but should work at its rated voltage.

 

[pie5566]

Yeah I just tried the RAM at 1.7v real quick and it failed so I set it back. I RMAed the mobo so I am back to the original setup haha.

It seems to me that both PSU's I tested would have to be bad in the exact same way to give me the exact same results (failing test 7 immediately). I searched for methods to test the PSU with a multimeter and it seems like because it won't be under load it won't tell me anything but I will do it anyway. Hopefully I'll have a weak voltage.

I can't afford to replace the PSU and the CPU so I want to be as certain as possible.

Thanks for your help

Edit: ATX 24 voltages are within spec on the Antec which implies the Raidmax is within spec too.

 

[LagerLV]

Again soory

 

[LagerLV]

EDIT Never MIND didnt ready soory

 

[LagerLV]

I have guess that there are some failure between ram&HDD tell me please your HDD and or SSD just all drives

 

[pie5566]

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145520
DVD is brand new: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

The RAM tested good in a buddy's computer.

You gave me an idea. I had been running Memtest86 from a partition on the HDD so I will try and run it from a bootable disk.

Thanks for reply

 

[pie5566]

Well, my mind is blown. Running it from the disk allowed me to pass 16gb of the memory. I will test the other 16gb when I go to work. Also, ironically, my mobo only supports 4gb sticks of memory but I am running 8gb sticks. We'll see what happens when I try to populate all four slots with 8gb but that won't be until tomorrow assuming the other 16gb passes.

Now, the HDD. I assume this means that it is bad. I'll test with SeaTools and report back.

 

[LagerLV]

What did i sayed i always in these situations test HDD its really common problem because of HDD fails.Looks like it works properly but it isnt!

I recommend getting WD caviar black,blue top quality

 

[pie5566]

Yeah good call man. I was about ready to get a new CPU. I tried running SeaTools and it hangs part way into it. One time I didn't make it past 0% and another I made it to ~50%. I guess that means it is bad...I'm gonna look into getting another drive. Thanks.

 

[pie5566]

It turned out the be the HDD. Thanks.

 

[pie5566]

Best answer selected by pie5566.