BSOD/Memtest failures

FeFiDoh

FeFiDoh

FeFiDoh

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I have Corsair XMS tri kit and had to RMA some about 3 months back due to BSOD and memtest failures.

Yesterday got another BSOD and today another, ran memtest and within 3 minutes got 4 failures!

Surely its not normal for my RMA'd ram to now be faulty as well?

My system is overclocked but its well within its limits and the ram isn't overclocked and is volted correctly!
 
R5Rich said:
Surely its not normal for my RMA'd ram to now be faulty as well?
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It's not normal but is very possible - i've experienced it on a couple of occassions.

However, i would bring the system back to stock speed and then run the tests again so that you can be sure that it's not the overlcock causing the problem.

Also, test each stick individually and each slot - so you can rule out possible DIMM slot issues. As it's also quite possible that you had faulty memory but also an undiagnosed, temperamental DIMM slot(an annoying thought i know).

You couldl also try just reseating the memory firmly - sometimes it's something simple.
 
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Really very frustrating.

I have ran single sticks in first slot for 5 mins as it was enough to get errors 6,80+,8 errors!

Moved one stick into dimm slot 2 and still started to get errors so think its save to say RAM is borked.

Reset the mem gave it a blow with compressed air and its all back at stock speed.
 
I know that frustration.

If it's the same stick giving out the errors, regardless of placement, as you say, it looks like the memory is borked. (Just to confirm, was it just the one stick giving out faults?)

Corsair take about 2 weeks for memory rmas (can be quicker) as you have to send it back to Holland (you have to fill out a RMA request on their site first.)
 
No all 3 sticks were giving me problems. Sorry didn't make my post that clear.

DIMM 1, Stick 1 = 6 Errors
DIMM 1, Stick 2 = Over 80!
DIMM 1, Stick 3 = 8

I moved stick 3 into DIMM 2 and got the same errors in same amount of time so just assuming now that all of it is broken.

Surely thats not normal to have all 3 sticks broken as well? Last time I think it was just the one stick but had to RMA the lot as it is a tri kit.
 
R5Rich said:
No all 3 sticks were giving me problems. Sorry didn't make my post that clear.
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That's not so normal - but again, not inconceivable as all the memory will be from the same batch (matched trio).

However, i wouldn't rule out the possibilty of another problem such as the MB or the CPU (or other) until you've tested the same memory in another spec.

DO you have access to another rig?
 
Thing is this system has been built for a while and the overclock was mild and had been in use for months and no problems.

My dad's PC is here not sure if my ram will work in that though other than that no other system to try it in :(
 
N.B. - Did you memtest this new set when you first installed them?

It's possible it's just the memory at fault.

My concern is that you've had a similar problem before and your present sticks worked fine for 3 months and then suddenly they all died at once, at the same time. If they had passed memtest previously - then this would be suspicious.

I would run CPU-z on you Dad's rig and identify whether his MB can take DDR3. If it can pop a stick in to test for confirmation.

Have you noticed any other anomolis with your rig - high temps, freezes graphical issues etc?
 
No high temps and no graphical issues all is running peachy apart from a BSOD the other day.

I have done some more testing, 3 sticks of ram ending 06/07/08

Tried 3 sticks in my dads PC as they work 5 min test as this was enough to cause errors before.

06 - No errors
07 - Loads!
08 - No errors

My PC DIMM 1
06 - No errors
07 - Loads
08 - No errors

DIMM 3
06 - No errors
07 - Loads
08 - No errors

Not sure if I seated the ram properly when I first tested and got issues across all 3.

So it would appear just stick 07 is at fault.
Trouble is I can't remember where 07 was placed originally if that makes any difference.
 
R5Rich said:
So it would appear just stick 07 is at fault.
Trouble is I can't remember where 07 was placed originally if that makes any difference.
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You can certainly put stick07 on the borked pile.

However, i would give sticks 06 and 08 through a few runs of memtest, on your Dad's rig, just to be absolutely sure they're OK.

Five minutes may have been enough to identify stick 07 but the other sticks 'might' need a bit more stressing to induce an error. But hopefully - it's just stick 07 at fault - but it would be sensible to get absolute clarification.

Have you tested sticks 06 and 08 back in your own rig again?
 
Well when I first tested them within 5 minutes they all seemed to show an error, but I am not sure I seated them correctly when removing them to test individually.

I ran them in my dads rig and 07 was the dodgy one, then I tested them back in mine again in different slots and this time within the usual 5 minute span nothing came back apart from 07.

At the moment I just have 06/08 in my pc but I will put them in my dads PC and run them whilst I have a shower and get sorted to see how they pan out.

Does it make much difference with timings/speed of the memory when testing? Dads pc runs it at different speeds by default to what I am in this PC as I am using XMP now to test them.
 
R5Rich said:
Does it make much difference with timings/speed of the memory when testing? Dads pc runs it at different speeds by default to what I am in this PC as I am using XMP now to test them.
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Yes, a big difference.

You will need to manually set the frequency/timings AND 'voltage' in your Dad's PC to the XMP values to get a valid like-for-like test.

If your Dad's PC has been underclocking the memory relative to the XMP (and the way your rig runs it) then the memtest results are not conclusive. It could turn out that 06/08 will fail too at their optimum settings on your Dad's PC. :/

But maybe not - i'm afraid you'll need to confirm this to be absolutely sure...
 
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Well ran it in my dads pc for a while was ok and just ran a complete pass in mine and no problems with 06/08 so it appears it is just the one stick.

Seemed to come around not long after bloody flash updated, firefox crashed, bsod and when restarting firefox said flashplugin had crashed.

Also noticed in Opera flash seemed a bit of a problem as well.

What ram would you recommend? Currently using TR3X3G1600C9 but might go for
Corsair 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Triple Channel i7 Memory Kit CL8 1.65V instead.
 
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