A never ending stream of P8Z68-V/GEN3 problems

The Bass

The Bass

The Bass

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Joined
22 Jul 2010
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70
My MSI P67A-GD65 died recently so I purchased a P8Z68-V/GEN3 to replace it whilst leaving all other components the same.

Full spec list:
P8Z68-V/GEN3
i5 2500K 3.3GHz
4x2GB Corsair CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
MSI 560 Ti OC
2x1TB Samsung F3
Antec 650W

Things I've checked:
24+8pin mobo powers connected
RAM pushed in properly
CPU cooler not too tight
GPU in blue PCI-E slot
GPU 6pinx2 connected
MemOK test
Graphics set to PCI-E/PCI
Boot drive set to HDD with Windows on

After putting everything back together I was immediately greeted with a red DRAM LED in post which I only 'fixed' by removing 3 out of 4 of my sticks with 1 remaining in the 2nd slot along from the CPU (NB: a single stick in any other DIMM slot didn't work & MemOK achieved nothing at any point).

The mobo then passed the GPU test but failed at the boot device so that LED came on. Eventually I once again 'fixed' it, this time by removing my 560Ti and connecting the monitor via the onboard dsub.

I've finally made it into the BIOS now that I'm down to 2GB of RAM and no dedicated GPU but the motherboard is already set to use the PCI-E/PCI slot for graphics and I have no idea what to do in order to get the rest of the DIMM slots working. I've also tried going to Windows with this setup and it gets as far as the start-up repair screen ok. I then have the option of doing start-up repair which says it's finished and then immediately restarts the PC and ask me to run start-up repair again or I can run Windows normally and it will restart the PC after the Windows logo screen...and ask me to run start-up repair again.

So as it stands I can't use more than 1 DIMM, I can't use a dedicated GPU and I can't use Windows. What are my options at this point other than RMA?
 
While you have it working check the DRAM voltage is set to ~1.5V, it may have defaulted higher.

Also check the RAM speed and timings.

You should be able to sort the above by enabling the XMP profile and then setting the DRAM voltage to ~1.5V.
 
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My cooler is an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13.

My RAM was at 1.52sh IIRC, definitely way under 1.6V although I can set it manually to make sure.
 
Have you re-installed Windows with the new motherboard?

Windows may be wanting to do a repair because the required drivers are different enough between the motherboards for Windows to not be able to start.
 
The Bass said:
I haven't reinstalled Windows. Are you meant to after a mobo switch?
Click to expand...

Sometimes you can get away without it but it would seem in your case not.

I'd try and sort your hardware problems out first in case it's that stopping Windows from booting rather than the change of motherboard.
 
I'd definitely like to leave reinstalling windows until everything else is fixed.

Any idea why it's only happy with the integrated graphics even though it's set to PCI-E?

Also, thanks for the help so far.
 
when you're at the bios, press F5 for optimised defaults then, got to AI Tweaker and load XMP profile and set your DRAM voltage to 1.5 and see what happens. The (Initiate Graphic Adapter) PCIE/PCI is set as default but if the system does not find discreet GPU, it will automatically use the inbuilt graphics.

If the above does not work, maybe try to use another HDD, without the already used HDD on your old pc and install windows again. The old mobo drivers might have been the culprit.

Good luck
 
Right, I put the GPU in the other PCI-Ex16 slot and it's worked so that's a step in the right direction. What can I do to make the other slot work now?

I tried setting the voltage to 1.5 with XMP and the DRAM voltage is reading as 1.503V. I've managed to add another stick to the first slot so the first 2 dimms work but if I add anything to 3 & 4 it fails at post.
 
Perhaps it's time to have a look in the CPU socket and check for damaged pins.

Damaged pins can cause all sorts of odd issues such as RAM slots not working.

If everything is OK in the CPU socket then you may be on your second faulty motherboard :(
 
Looks like a bent pin in the bottom left :(. Can it be bent back into place? Is it possible that I caused it or was it a manufacturing error? If I've just lost two £140 motherboards in two weeks which I desperately need for university work I think I'm going to cry.

 
Unfortunately the image is blocked where I am at the moment.

I'll take a look later or hopefully someone else will take a look in the meantime.
 
Will I not be risking invalidating the warranty by doing that? I'd rather RMA it than attempt to fix it myself and end up being blamed for the damage.
 
The Bass said:
Will I not be risking invalidating the warranty by doing that? I'd rather RMA it than attempt to fix it myself and end up being blamed for the damage.
Click to expand...

You will most likely get the blame if its your fault or not. Best get in touch with overclockers or who ever you brought it from.
 
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I've just managed to have a look at the picture.

Definitely one bent pin.

I'm not sure one pin will be the cause of all your problems but it certainly won't help.

You're best to RMA the board rather than try and fix it.

Unless you're very, very careful you could make it worse instead of better and then you're screwed.

Wherever you bought it from may try to refuse an RMA saying you caused the damage but remember that the Sale of Goods Act is on your side in these circumstances.

Under the Sale of Goods Act if you take the goods back within six months of buying them the trader must accept that they were faulty at the time of sale and offer to repair or replace them.

If the trader doesn't accept that the goods were faulty they will have to prove this.

You don't have to prove anything, the onus of proof is on the trader.
 
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I'll RMA it then and make sure to check all of the pins on the replacement.

Thanks for the advice all, especially Surveyor. You've been very helpful :).
 
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