Damn PC1066! Damn it all!

[SanTropez1971]

I cannot figure this out. Here is what I know so far on my quest for a PC1066 speed system.

Below is the summary of what I have tested so far. I am not sure what else to do. The way I am testing is by booting off a bootable Memtest86 v3.0 CD. This is a CD I created by downloading the ISO from www.memtest86.com . This allows me to see the memory speed and tests the memory for errors. The odd thing about this is that my friend has also built a computer based on the same GA-8IHXP motherboard and OCZ RAM and he gets the same problem as I. That is why I have thought all along that this was not user error but something with the Mainboard/RAM.

Below is the original system I started out with. This system runs great at PC800(400MHz) speeds but when I try and run the system at PC1066(533MHz) the system gets non-stop memory errors.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IHXP, BIOS F4
Processor: P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x OCZ Technology 256MB PC1066
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: PASS
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL

After trying to troubleshoot why the system above did not work and some research on the Internet I though it was a RAM problem. I called OCZ and they stated the RAM would not work in that board (they had a known SPD issue) and that Kingston would. So I ordered some Kingston memory which made the test setup look like the system below. The problem with this is that the system would not run at either PC800 or PC1066 speeds with the Kingston installed.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IXP, BIOS F4
Processor P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x Kingston 256MB PC1066 (KVR1066X16-8/256)
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: FAIL (system will not run)
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL (system will not run)

Now I started thinking that the problem was with the motherboard and not the memory since I had now tried two different brands of PC1066. I purchased an Asus P4T533-C since the guy at OCZ said they had no issues with that board and I know Asus has a pretty good reputation. This system also has the same issue as the Gigabyte, it runs great at PC800 but fails at PC1600.

Motherboard: Asus P4T533-C, BIOS 1003
Processor: P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x Kingston 256MB PC1066 (KVR1066X16-8/256)
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: PASS
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL

Motherboard: Asus P4T533-C, BIOS 1007
Processor: P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x Kingston 256MB PC1066 (KVR1066X16-8/256)
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: PASS
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL

Motherboard: Asus P4T533-C, BIOS 1003
Processor: P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x OCZ Technology 256MB PC1066
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: PASS
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL

Motherboard: Asus P4T533-C, BIOS 1007
Processor: P4 2.80GHz/533MHz
Memory: 2x OCZ Technology 256MB PC1066
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC800 speed: PASS
Memtest86 v3.0 results @ PC1066 speed: FAIL

So after all of this I still do not have a system that will run at PC1066 speeds. I have no real clue on what to try next. I don't really think the power supply could cause this and I have tried these tests with every card removed (SCSI and Audigy) and get the same results. I also don't think it is a problem with Memtest86 since the system is only stable when I get passing scores. If I try to boot the OS at any of the speeds that fail the Memtest86 test the system will not boot.

Please advise where I should go from here.


umm.. did my computer just reboot?

 

[Mr_Roboto]

I also have a GA-8IHXP and I originally purchased two OCZ 256 meg PC1066 chips as well. The OCZ chips ran fine in PC800 mode but in PC1066 mode I had several application errors and the system only recognized the 512 total MB as 384 MB for some reason. I sent the OCZ chips back and got two 128 meg Kingston chips instead because I could not locate a single vendor with 256 meg Kingston PC1066 chips in stock. The 128 meg chips work in PC1066 mode and Windows recognizes the correct amount of total RAM now but when I run SiSoft Sandra Memory Benchmark the Kingston RAM is not as fast as the OCZ RAM was. I got almost 4200 MB/s with the OCZ RAM but a very disappointing 3300 MB/s with the Kingston. If I'd known about the problems I'm having with this PC1066 setup I would have just gotten a DDR compatible chipset.