What is killing my RAM?

[Kostis]

Hi,
about a year ago I bought a new CPU for my PC (AMD Phenom 8650 Tri-core). First few times it turned on, only took a little more time than normally. But then it started not to turn on at all, sometimes it would get stuck at windows logo, sometimes the screen would show "no signal". Turned out it was a RAM problem (I had two cards, 3 gigs installed: 2GB and 1GB, which were working great for about 3 years) - taking the 1GB out helped and PC would turn on and work as it used to (however the 1GB card was dead - PC wouldn't turn on with it installed). After about a month I bought another 1GB card and it had been working fine until yesterday. I'd been away for a week, so the pc hadn't been turned on for a week as well. When I tried to turn it on, the same problem appeared - booting would stop at the windows logo. And once again taking the RAM card, 1 gig again, helped. What could this problem refer to? A PSU or MOBO problem? Or maybe something else?
P.S. I know that I should install two exactly same RAM cards, and I will, but I'm afraid that my MOBO or PSU or whatever else is causing the problem will destroy the second card as well.

 

[battlemarz]

First thing to check would be what voltage the RAM is rated for and what voltage settings you are using in your BIOS. Also check the frequency and timing ratings and what they are set to.

Also list the exact PSU, Mobo, and RAM (Or at least the brands if you don't know the model numbers).

 

[Kostis]

Can't check the voltages as I'm away at the moment, but I will do so as soon as I get back home.
The MOBO is ASUS M2N MX SE PLUS, the PSU is Codegen 400w ATX, RAMs:Kingston slim 2gb 800mhz DDR2 (the one that's still alive)
Apacer 1gb 800mhz DDR2 (the 1st dead)
Some other 1gb 800mhz DDR2, not sure which manufacturer's actually, it had a big REVOLTEC cooler all over it (2nd dead).

It's all cheap, low end and etc and I'm upgrading my pc at the moment, I just want to know what caused this problem.

 

[battlemarz]

Can't check the voltages as I'm away at the moment, but I will do so as soon as I get back home.
The MOBO is ASUS M2N MX SE PLUS, the PSU is Codegen 400w ATX, RAMs:Kingston slim 2gb 800mhz DDR2 (the one that's still alive)
Apacer 1gb 800mhz DDR2 (the 1st dead)
Some other 1gb 800mhz DDR2, not sure which manufacturer's actually, it had a big REVOLTEC cooler all over it (2nd dead).

It's all cheap, low end and etc and I'm upgrading my pc at the moment, I just want to know what caused this problem.

That Power Supply scares me. See AnandTech's review of a Codegen here. If you are in the process of upgrading your PC, regardless of problems you are having, I would start off with a reputable power supply (Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, Thermaltake, etc.).

As far as what is likely causing your problem, my first bet would be either PSU or memory sticks themselves. The ones that died looked to be budget brands as well, survivor is good brand. Could also be the motherboard, but that is less likely in my opinion.

Check the voltages and get back to us.

 

[Kostis]

Can't check the voltages as I'm away at the moment, but I will do so as soon as I get back home.
The MOBO is ASUS M2N MX SE PLUS, the PSU is Codegen 400w ATX, RAMs:Kingston slim 2gb 800mhz DDR2 (the one that's still alive)
Apacer 1gb 800mhz DDR2 (the 1st dead)
Some other 1gb 800mhz DDR2, not sure which manufacturer's actually, it had a big REVOLTEC cooler all over it (2nd dead).

It's all cheap, low end and etc and I'm upgrading my pc at the moment, I just want to know what caused this problem.

That Power Supply scares me. See AnandTech's review of a Codegen here. If you are in the process of upgrading your PC, regardless of problems you are having, I would start off with a reputable power supply (Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, Thermaltake, etc.).

As far as what is likely causing your problem, my first bet would be either PSU or memory sticks themselves. The ones that died looked to be budget brands as well, survivor is good brand. Could also be the motherboard, but that is less likely in my opinion.

Check the voltages and get back to us.

Will do. Thanks for your replies.

 

[Kostis]

So I got back and checked the voltages. Both (I have only two slots of RAM) are and always have been set at 1.8V. I believe that's normal for DDR2 800mhz memory. So I guess I will get a new PSU. I'm on quite a low budget at the moment and a PSU that fits my price would be Speedlink Pecos 520W. It's a german brand so I think it should be better than Codegen. But there is one problem. +3.3V rail has 28A, +5V - 40A and +12V has only 19A. Is that even possible for a PC orientated PSU? If so, I guess it won't be able to handle my system. Or maybe I'm wrong?

 

[smeezekitty]

Do the RAM sticks have matching voltage ratings? Do not mix RAM voltages.

But there is one problem. +3.3V rail has 28A, +5V - 40A and +12V has only 19A. Is that even possible for a PC orientated PSU?

That indicates an Ancient design.

 

[Kostis]

I guess 'Ancient' is not a PSU company..

And yes, RAMs do have matching voltage ratings. 'Had' would be more accurate actually.

 

[Kostis]

What a turn of events! For some reason it crossed my mind that I should check if my working RAM works on the 2nd slot. And it doesn't! Which makes me think that the slot is dead instead of RAM. But how is it possible that a slot dies, after some time starts working again and then dies one more time?

 

[smeezekitty]

Bad contact in the slot?

 

[Kostis]

Bad contact in the slot?

Not quite sure. Both of RAMs doesn't work when installed in the 2nd slot (after pressing power ON button CPU's fan starts to spin, however the GPU stays silent and the RAM light at the front panel does not light on). Meanwhile in the first slot both cards work just fine. Installing both of them at the same gives the same result as installing one at a time in the 2nd slot.

 

[battlemarz]

Good job isolating the issue. The intermittent failing of that slot is still interesting. Even if it is indeed the motherboard that is the issue, I would still replace the power supply first (or at least at the same time). I'm not sure what side affects that PSU could be causing and it wouldn't entirely surprise me that somehow it is still the cause of these problems.

As far as reasons for it to start and stop working. If the PSU is having issues providing consistent power on the 3.3v rail, then the motherboard may be having problems regulating that voltage to the 1.8v for the memory sticks. I'm not familiar enough with motherboards to know if each ram slot would have its own voltage circuitry or not, but if so then one slot may be dealing with the poor PSU better than the other.

Of course the simple answer is that that slot is bad. Not possible to know which until you have a new PSU or new motherboard (which without a new PSU is likely to be fried sooner rather than later).

 

[Kostis]

Good job isolating the issue. The intermittent failing of that slot is still interesting. Even if it is indeed the motherboard that is the issue, I would still replace the power supply first (or at least at the same time). I'm not sure what side affects that PSU could be causing and it wouldn't entirely surprise me that somehow it is still the cause of these problems.

As far as reasons for it to start and stop working. If the PSU is having issues providing consistent power on the 3.3v rail, then the motherboard may be having problems regulating that voltage to the 1.8v for the memory sticks. I'm not familiar enough with motherboards to know if each ram slot would have its own voltage circuitry or not, but if so then one slot may be dealing with the poor PSU better than the other.

Of course the simple answer is that that slot is bad. Not possible to know which until you have a new PSU or new motherboard (which without a new PSU is likely to be fried sooner rather than later).

Ha, our opinions do match, I am getting both a PSU and a motherboard.