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CPU core fault?

demarcation86

demarcation86

demarcation86

Associate
Joined
3 Nov 2009
Posts
8
Dear All

I received a new CPU from OCUK this morning (all details below). However, I have had a number of unsual problems with it.

Can't seem to run Empire Total War, it crashes out after a few minutes of a battle, no change there then I here you say! but seriously it was working.

I tried running OCCT and Prime 95 both say there are core errors: OCCT says:

error detected on core #1 (just after it starts)

Prime95 says:

Hardware failure and something about the expected number being more than 0.4. (just after it starts)

I updated the bios on my board which was running an Athlon X2 4200 processor beforehand which was stable.

For clarity I have not adjusted any of the settings on this processor.

Is it likely that one of the cores is faulty?

It is a mystery...

Support Details:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3
Motherboard Driver: Latest
Motherboard Chipset: AMD RD770
Motherboard BIOS: Latest
CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550
Memory: Kingston Extreme 4096 MB DDR2-SDRAM
PSU: Akasa 500 watt (brand new)
Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4850
Graphics Driver: Latest
Sound Card: Sound blaster Audigy
Sound Driver: Latest
Operating system: Windows 7 latest
Changes prior to problem: No, I have only changed the CPU
 
It is very unlikely to be the CPU at fault, however it is possible. I'm not up with AMD chipsets and all that but does that chipset even support Phenom IIs?

Try clearing the CMOS of the motherboard with the jumper on the motherboard (see manual) as that should help with the new CPU. Remember to write down any custom settings before this though.

Also, is it overclocked? If so, drop it back to stock settings and test it again. :)
 
The error on prime and occt may point to faulty memory, had a simular problem with my I7 setup.

Download mem-test and check the memory for errors and check if your memory voltage and timmings are correct.
 
Progress report

Right, thanks for feedback, unfortunately no joy. I have:

Reset CMOS, same problems with Prime 95 and OCCT errors, Empire Total War crashes.

Have run Memtest 86, no errors.

All drivers completely up to date.

I have not OC'ed this CPU or any of the other components.

I am now stumped.
 
I ran into a similar problem recently with an older AM2 build that had been running at stock for years that suddenly started breaking. Have you tried changing the memory timing in the bios to the slower by SPD settings, rather than the optimal timings for the chips?

Once I did Prime95 passed fine, where it was giving the same error as yours before. Once I'd done that I then tried putting the quicker timings back, but relaxing 1T to 2T and it still worked fine.

Edit: Also on Prime95 try doing a Small FFTs test, it focusses a lot more on the CPU, may help narrow the problem down a bit.
 
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The board supports AM3 socket Phenom II 550 processors, am I missing something?

Currently consulting household insurance, interestingly I have lots of cover for my computer...
 
That board (I have the same) supports absolutely all AM2, AM2+ & AM3 CPU's so far, including the 550.

See (Rev 2.0) :

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3097#anchor_os

or (rev 1.0) :

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=2982

Check your bios is up to date. For Rev 2.0, you need bios FB or later, for Rev 1.0, you need bios F6 or later.

Also, try to set your bios to optmised defaults for compatability. This will default to slow timings for RAM etc but is useful while you determine if there is a problem.

Generally, CPU faults are very rare, motherboard & ram faults are more common.

PS The quickest way to tell if you have Rev 1.0 or Rev 2.0 is either to look for wriiting on the board, or the Rev 2.0 has an 8 pin auxilliary power where the rev 1.0 has a 4 pin auxilliary.
 
Prime errors can be caused by memory, but they can also be caused by the CPU not getting enough voltage, a noisy power source or low voltage (caused either by vdroop, or a poor PSU), or overclocking.

I wouldnt worry too much about "official" support for the processor, for example my Intel Badaxe 975 board doesnt support quads at all (its the BX1 not the BX2), yet it works just fine with the 65nm Quads.

As long as the board is booting up with the CPU its pretty reasonable to expect it will work ok at stock speeds, and probably with some level of overclocking. However it may not be giving enough power to the CPU, or it could be memory voltage is borderline and causing errors with the integrated memory controller.

If I were you I would check out what the "default" vcore and vddr voltages are on your system, compare them with the "official" spec for the processor, and then if necessary increase them just a little.

For example, most DDR memory is specced to run at 1.8V, however some brands of ram are actually nonstandard and really need 2.0 or even 2.1V to run without errrors.

Likewise using Intel as an example, every chip has its own "default" vcore, but overall the cores are designed for operation at 1.35V(for a conroe/kentsfield), so if a system is unstable at the "default" voltage, its generally safe to sneak it up a little. For example my Q6700 defaults to 1.2V and is stable at that, however I would have no worries increasing the voltage if there was any instablity.

Going back to your system, I dont know what voltage the Phenom's designed for (but someone here probably does), but increasing ram, and/or vcore voltages slightly could well resolve the instability. (I normally increase by the smallest possible option in bios, so taking the ram voltage as an example, I would increase the 1.8V default to 1.9v and then retest. No need to jump straight to maximum voltage, the goal should be the lowest possible voltage with 100% stability.

If a system isnt prime stable, its not surprising games like total war will struggle, as the AI is very cpu dependant on RTS games. I very much doubt there is a physical problem with the CPU, but there could be a slightly incompatibilty between the cpu / ram / motherboard and the all importand PSU. I dont know how smooth the Akasa's 12v rails are, but as long as they are reasonable, and the motherboard has good caps, a slight increase in voltage should resolve minor incompatibility. Just dont go nuts, a tiny voltage increase should resolve any problems at stock, if excessive voltages are needed then something is wrong.

PS, If a voltage increase helps, I would strongly recommend running prime for 24 hours on the burnin test. I once had an P4 system which would appear to prime just fine, but would fail after 16 hours or so, and it was the same test that failed every time!. It was overclocked, and reducing the FSB by just 1mhz completely resolved the problem.

With a dual/tri/quad core, I would recommend making sure you prime test every core, either together (if your cooling is good) or 1 core at a time if you dont want to leave the system unattended while the cpu is baking :P.
 
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Thanks Corasik

I've tried a small increase on both voltages, still have same errors. The errors on OCCT and Prime95 (and Super Pi) are almost immediate, not like an instability issue.

I've also tried several different versions of the BIOS to no effect.

I'm pretty sure it's not the CPU as putting in another AM3 CPU causes similar faults but it works with older AM2 CPU.

Possible mobo issue? or RAM? Possibly need to hack the gibson?
 
If your board errors with more than one AM3 CPU, I would pretty much put it down to a motherboard problem. The chances of having multiple faulty cpu's is pretty slim to be honest. Perhaps try and sell the motherboard with an AM2 cpu, and get a new board for your AM3? Just an idea.
 
As long as the timings and frequency of the ram is correctly detected with both the AM2 and AM3 processors, and it works with the AM2, then I would find it highly unlikely its the ram.

On the other hand, if the timings or clocks of the ram were different with the AM3 installed, that could affect it. IE if its 533Mhz 6/6/6/15 with the AM2, but 533/4/4/4/12 with the AM3 that could cause the problems your seeing. (Those numbers are just random numbers pulled out of thin air, not a guess at what your ram timings might be)

If you want to check the ram, I assume you have multiple sticks, can you just try 1 stick at a time, and see if there is any improvement.
 
BTW, you probably know this already, but there are two different revisions of your motherboard (Rev1, and Rev2), Different bios's are required depending on which board you have.

Your processor should be supported on a Rev 1.0 with Bios F6 or newer, and the Rev 2.0 needs bios FB or newer.
 
Thanks Corasik

I've definitely got the right BIOS, I've even tried rolling back the BIOS to earlier versions.

A new development is that Orthos runs fine also AMD Overdrive stability test and Prime 95 small FTT test runs fine.

Does this indicate anything?

Also Left For Dead 2 runs for about 5 minutes and then crashes out.
 
OK, problem finally solved. Props to Shade for correctly calling this. The fix was:

1. Look up datasheet for Kingston HyperX RAM.
2. Find SPD settings
3. Set RAM settings to exactly those SPD settings.
4. Computer now works.

I will RMA the RAM because it won't run at the optimum settings but at least it's a stable build:)
 
dr4g0nf1y said:
nope

doesn't officially support any phenom II x2 on AM2+ or any phenom on AM2
Click to expand...
yes it does

http://www.giga-byte.com/Support/Motherboard/CPUSupport_Model.aspx?ProductID=3097

his motherboard is a am2+ but it supports am2 & am2+ & am3 cpu's with DDR2 ram.

i know where your getting confused, in the lists where it say socket am2 & am2+ & am3 u thought only the socket am2 & am2+ lists was for his motherboard? it's not mate, all 3 lists are for that motherboard. basicly it should have said cpu interest of socket.
 
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