DDR3 RAM issues

Hi! I'm really sorry if this might be yet another thread for the same issue, if someone else already made a thread like it.

Although I'm entirely new at this page..





My problem:


I just got myself a couple of Corsair XMS3 (DDR3) 2x2GB kit, PC3-12800 1600Mhz and I have never been happier about a couple of RAM's before ^^

I bought this kit and a new mo/bo at once, from different places...
My mo/bo is: ASUS Striker II NSE, (FSB:1333Mhz)
which I'm running an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 (2.5Ghz) on!

I'm not hightech on this mem-clocking stuff, not even setting the timings, so bare with me please. If you need to know ANYTHING more about my system etc, just ask!
I'll help you help me =)

Now, according to Corsair's web homepage, these memories are pretty much entirely made for the i5 CPU's.. although it says on the package (which I got my RAM's in) that these memories SUPPORTS i5 and i7... which made me wonder if it really would be a problem to run them on a Q8300? It's been working pretty damn well until now.
Also, on the sticker at the side of the sticks, it says Voltage: 1.65v. (f.y.i)

Now, I'm running these memories @ 9-9-9-24 1T, at first I had the default option for the voltage; Auto, and set the timings to 9-9-9-24 2T.
Then, when I played Assassin's Creed II (that I had played a couple of times before this happend) it just froze.. I had to push the reset button, and then it worked fine again.. for a couple of hours, then froze again etc.

I've tried both 1T and 2T, can't feel any difference there.
The voltages on this mo/bo are really precise, though I can only choose between even numbers, ex. 1.64 or 1.66, NOT 1.65 as it says on the package! But to me it would seem like the 1.64V SHOULD get around about ~1.65v...
I read in another forum this morning that someone had tried a couple of RAM's almost like mine, up to 1.8V!
Would it be really stupid to set'em up to 1.8V ?
What exactly depends on the Voltage? If I'm tightening the timings, should I increase the Voltage?

Well...
I got a bsod earlier today, while watching a movie in fullscreen, this never happens if I don't run the video's in Fullscreen.
I played some COD Mw2, all of a sudden the bushes turned WHITE, and then the whole game froze but not the whole computer as before, and I repedatly pressed Ctrl + Alt + Del to get out of the game, computer started to show the desk, then it froze... So I pressed the reset button again!

When it tried to boot up again, it got nowhere.. I sat there, watched the freakin' boot menu for like 3 minutes! So I found a button on the back of my mo/bo, it's like a "reset-bios" button or something.. wasn't sure what it was so I pressed it anyhow ^^

Then I finally got into Bios and set up the timings again etc.
But still, it acts strange.. I don't know what to do now!!!

can ANYONE help me out just with an idea or anything, doesn't have to be alot.. just so I can get on with this, 'cause I'm really stuck at this point.

Best Regards /// Wesa

 

LOL

Chill... deep breathe, relax.

Download Memtest86+ and burn the .ISO file to a CD. (Preferably using InfraRecorder)

Set the RAM voltage AND voltage to the recommended spec by Corsair. (set the voltage to 1.66, don't go to 1.8, that'd be suicidal!
While you are in BIOS, set the default boot to CD, not the HDD as it most likely set to.

Then run Memtest for an hour or until it crashes. Report back the results. (If you find a failure, run it again twice, each time with just one stick in)

 

I am calm ^^


the strange thing about the voltage is, when I'm going to default everything, just setting everything to Auto, then the Power in bios shows the mem voltage @ ~1.71 ~1.74, something like that :S


And no, the 1st boot is set to CD I'm not a total screwup!

Now I can't find memtest for win 7 64bit.. The only place I found to download it at was a broken site hahaha!

 

First off, patch the game. Mod it if necessary. AC2 for PC has major issues. Ubisoft kind of forgot to do QA on the PC version of their game... yet again. Bastards.

Second, what BIOS version are you on? And don't just tell us "the latest" give us a version number so we can compare release notes.

Oh, and about memtest for 64-bit... what OS are you in?

 

Well, as I explained earlier in the thread, it isn't only ACII that freeze's from time to time.. =) Also COD Mw2 which I've been playing for a couple of months with my old mo/bo and ram's..

But you're totaly right.. Ubisoft, freakin' sucking our money pouches dry :O

Bios Version is the LATEST 0901 , updated it yesterday, but the only reason I even updated BIOS was exactly because of these failures, but it doesn't seem to have fixed the problem. The update was supposed to fix some issues with a couple of CPU's and mem's I think, and some more..

But now, the problem hasn't gettin' any worse or better, it's exactly as it was before I updated bios..

And I also wrote WIN 7 64bit

 

Fine, fine... it's two minutes to midnight here and I'm old and tired, cut me some slack...

Open the Start Menu, type "mem" (without " " ) in the dynamic search field in the lower left, and Win7 will suggest Windows Memory Diagnostic. Click on it follow the prompts on the screen, and it will reboot your system into a 64-bit memtest tool. Let it run until it either crashes or comes out clean. If it crashes, set all memory settings in your BIOS to "auto", including voltage and frequency, and run the Windows memtest again.

If it passes with all settings on "default", the memory is not damaged/defective. It's trying to run at settings that are not supported by the rest of your hardware. Which sort of sucks, but at least gives you a starting point and hints on where the problem is. In either case, by all means post back here with the outcome and we'll do some more digging into the problems and look for a solution for you.

 

* Cutting big slacks *




Haha =) alright, well it's 08:00AM here haha, feels like my brain still lies in bed sleeping..

Well ok, I'll check it out and... hopefully I'll get some kind of positive results!

 

Yuck! Get some coffee... :hyper

I'm going to bed, but I'm already subscribed to this thread from posting in it, so whatever updates you add, I'll be able to find when I get home from work and have a moment to look them over. I'll check them out and post something coherent as soon as I have a moment.

 

I've been drinking like 15 cups of coffee now, feel excited! hahaha

Hehe great! =)

Well! I ran the test twice, once with everything at default, no problems at all, so it can't be a faulty module.

Second time, I boosted up the mem to pc3-12800 (as it should be) at 1600Mhz, though with AUTO timings.. now, it said no problemo!

So I think I'm gonna try adjusting the timings manually, to what the manufacturer recommend. 9 - 9 - 9 - 24 , that is ..

Right now, with default / auto, they're at 9 - 11 - 11 - 29 ! (1600Mhz)

Sounds wierd to me :S

 

So:

I just did the memtest again, for the third time, with my previous settings ( the one's that froze the computer )

Manually set the mem Mhz to 1600, with timings 9-9-9-24 1T, without problem.

I noticed that this makes the FSB : RAM ratio 5:12 .. now, isn't that a little too much? Sounds like it should be very unstable.

I should mention that my mo/bo CAN handle 1600FSB aswell, but that's OC, and it runs in 1333Mhz as standard.

If I lower the multiplier in bios to x6.0 instead of x7.5 I can increase the FSB to 1600Mhz, although my cpu will then be a 2.6Ghz (according to the ./sys function on mIRC) instead of 2.5GHz, but it only runs in 2.4Ghz if I look at CPU-z .. how is that possible?

Anyhow, if I increase the FSB then the FSB:RAM ratio will be 1:2.. isn't that more reliable?

 

Hm, probably should... is it unstable though? If it's not, then is everything fine and the computer okay again?

 

I'm running the RAM's (AUTO) 1333.3Mhz @ (AUTO) 9-9-9-24 1T, Auto voltage, ~1.64V

But that's the strange thing, the timings at the memory says the same as if I should run them at 1600Mhz, that's not right is it ?

Ah well, seems to work pretty well now.. now the FSB : RAM ratio is at 1:2 as I assume it should be at approx. =)

 

That depends. JEDEC standard timings for DDR2-800 are 5-5-5-15. Most performance RAM however is rated fr 4-4-4-12 at the same speed, and then they want you to bump up the voltage to make that possible. So for your memory, the 9-9-9-24 are the automatically set timings for 1333. They are the optimal, "only if everything else in your system supports it properly" performance rated timings for 1600. Make sense?

Out of curiosity, where is the middle of Sweden?

 

I see... but it says on the package ( AND on Corsair's website ) that the memories are "supposed" to run at 1600Mhz.. or something like that.. But yeah, I think I understand what you're saying =) well well, 1333Mhz isn't that bad when you just upgraded from 800Mhz, right?


Curiosity, noone is curious about sweden

Well, I don't live exactly in the middle of it, but pretty much.. in Värmland, kind of pronounced as Warmland.. =)

You've ever seen sweden on a map?

 

"On a map"? I spent a quarter century there before I moved to the US!

And no, Värmland is not in the middle. It's more like in the middle of the southern half... :-D

Välkommen till MGs! Det är alltid kul att träffa andra svenskar online. Och ja, jag bodde betydligt länge norrut än Värmland, vilket har gjort mig cynisk, elak, och deprimerad. LOL

 

Haha alrighty then =)


Ja men det är ju inte sååå långt ifrån mitten ändå

Haha ja, thanks, I've been looking all over for a forum like this! Where I can find or ask anything that comes to my mind =)

And btw, to me, the towns up over Skellefteå and beyond, is more like Finish / Norweigan to me haha that's just how it goes!

How long have you been living in the US ? I would love to get over there for a summer or something, maybe move there someday


Regards // Wesa

 

I moved in August 2004... did my last university years here, got married, and now I'm stuck here for good. Next election I'll be a citizen, so I get to vote! It is much warmer here than it was in Norrland... I miss the white winters though.

And MGs is a good place. Lots of smart people who know a ton of things. They let me play occasionally, and pretend I belong.

 

Aha, I see =) You're not familiar with the name "Lotta Carlbäck", are you?

Haha "stuck here" Nice to vote, I will turn 20 this year, so I get to vote in september I was 16 last time they voted, but you probably figured that out...

Yeah, the white winters here are really special. Speaking of white winters, this winter has been the longest, coldest, and definitly the whitest in about 25 years I think they said. Really something... So now I'm going to really enjoy this summer, I hope it will be a reaaaal nice, warm, sunny swedish summer

Yeah, so it seems =) Geeks....

 

You mean with frequent rains and strong winds...? :innocent

How's the PC doing?

 

Haha you seem to remember enough

No but when it's not pouring down, just "drizzle", or whatever it's called, then it's really nice =) And the rainbow and everything... It can be quite nice and relaxing!


It's doing fine, thank you. Seems to have solved itself, this little issue..
But it's come to my attention that the Assassins Creed II is faulting itself, that game does not freeze because of the RAM etc.

Must be a typical money-saving-edition from Ubisoft that they only encoded from Xbox 360, like a rip or something.. and sold as a PC version. *Stupid, stupid, stupid*

Well, I'm gonna go ahead and pre-order the Splinter Cell: Conviction, either today or tomorrow, we'll see.. I'm playing Need For Speed: Shift right now, really awesome game! It became even more fun when I found my old Logitech Wingman Formula Force Feedback steering-wheel ;P Moahahaha

Where exactly in the US do you live now?
Let me guess... "The middle"?

 

Not even close. I live in the desert in the upper left corner. The only thing that ever falls from the sky here is birds, during hunting season.

 

Hahahahaha! Omfg, think I pooped a little

Didn't expect reading something like that the first thing I did when I got up this morning =)

Made my day! ;D

And you really like it there? I mean, come on.. rain is stupid, but sometimes it can be really relaxing Just the smell of the warm but wet asphalt and grass etc. It's nice, in my opinion! And then the sun screams to the clouds " GTFO " and they do, and the rainbow comes and hangs out with the sun.. it's awesome ;D