D0 I920 and Gigabyte EX58 UD5 issues.

I have tried setting RAM timings manually, but I am unsure what the advanced timings should be set to for my RAM, so when I tried to do this instead of using XMP profile it was extremely unstable...

I guess there isn't any harm in trying the F8b BIOS...

I will keep you guys posted incase it makes any difference...
 
Wow... now things are truely screwed up.... F8b BIOS has screwed my rig up big time... as soon as I start Prime95 it immediately Blue Screens on me every single time!!!

Even with the old BIOS settings that I used to get it to run Prime for a while...

I hope after I revert back to F7 things will go back to how they were!!!

I will never touch a beta BIOS again....
 
OK, I have flashed the BIOS back to F7 again, and this time I just entered the BIOS and loaded optimized defaults, then booted into windows, and fired up Prime 95 and it is running fine..

I am actually starting to suspect my RAM that is the problem, because right now it is only running @ 1078MHz 8, 8, 8, 20, 1T, and it appears to be stable...

This is what I have been like for over a week now... one minute I think it is the mobo that is at fault, and then I try something else, and then start thinking that something else is causing my problems...

I dont understand how it can appear to be stable with the ram running at a lower frequency, but when I try running it with the ram @ its rated frequency it craps out on me constantly....

I am just happy my mobo isn't bricked after that dodgy beta BIOS...

I have tried F4, F6, and F7, and so far F7 is the one that I have managed to get my rig stable with...

Do you guys think that the RAM could be the problem??

I mean, if it were the PSU, then why wouldn't my rig crash when I play games like Far Cry 2, Left4Dead, GTA4 etc etc?

I remember when I first bought an 8800GTX, I took it home and installed it into my rig at the time, and it only had a cheap generic 450w PSU installed in it, but I connected up the graphics card anyway, but anytime I went to load a game up, I would manage to play for about 2 seconds before my rig powered down on me... this happened every single time I loaded a game...

So I went out and bought my current Hiper PSU and installed it into my rig, and after that I never had any issues at all....

This problems I am having right now aren't the same as the problems I had with my old PSU crapping out...


::edit::

Here is a screen of the Prime run I am doing atm with current BIOS settings...


Primme.jpg


I am just about to goto bed, but I am going to leave this running overnight... I am fairly confident it will still be running in the morning with these settings...
 
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Memory is always a possibilty - it's a strange beast and can never be ruled out until you find the cause of the actaul problem.

Memroy that runs fine in one sytsem can cause merry-hell in another - it's peverse stuff.

Run memtest for 6 hrs and see what it comes up with (not just a couple passes). But even if it passes it would still be in the police lineup - along with the psu of course ;)

DavyBoy said:
I mean, if it were the PSU, then why wouldn't my rig crash when I play games like Far Cry 2, Left4Dead, GTA4 etc etc?
Click to expand...

Because they too are perverse - and the problem could be intermitant, and have no rhyme nor reason to it.

Unfortunately, you have a b*stard of a problem - and if you had a spare psu or memory to hand you could rule 2 major potential culprits out. The trouble is, until these theories are tested, as i've mention before, your'e at a bit of an impasse - as you've tried almost all you can with the components you've got.

Stick it on memtest and get some sleep...
 
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Well, I let it continue running Large in Place FFT's on Prime95 overnight, and it was still running this morning... I just stopped it manually about 5 minutes ago...

Here is a screenshot that I took just now...

10hours.jpg


When I run memtest, should I go into the BIOS first and set the RAM to run @ 1600MHz???
 
Yes, i would as you'll be using a boot disk to run memtest - and it would be interesting to see if the memory can pass at stock. (don't run it in a windows environment.)

Once you've given it a good test (4 - 6 hrs) and know the results i would slacken your timings/frequency once again until you've identified the problem. Which is either the psu (my strong favoutite) or the memory. But it could still prove to be something else...
 
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Additional: Unfortunately, as i've mentioned before, even if the memory fails the test it still doesn't prove, definitively, that the memory is the culprit - as the psu could still influence the result if it was faulty. (Still it will be another test under your belt.)

However, if it does fail - check each stick individually with memtest and run for a similar amount of time. If one stick was to fail while the others passed that would be a more compelling result...

Edit: read above post first - i meant to edit it rather than post a new. :/
 
Well, I just got off the phone to the place where I got the mobo and RAM, and they weren't very helpful at all...

He just told me to try a bunch of stuff that I have already tried a billion times!!!

Also, they sell me this 1600MHz RAM, and now he tells me that Intels specifications are only 1333MHz for the IMC, and anything above this is classed as overclocking, and that could be why it is failing?!?!?

Is this true, or is he just trying to fill my head with nonsence???

Surely if the RAM is rated @ 1600MHz then it should run at that speed without an issue???

Also, I see people online running there i920's @ 4GHz and beyond without any issues, yet I can't run my rig at stock settings without it BSODing and freezing on my a$$???

Just finished looking at the Intel Bundles on OcUK shop, and I feel sick...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB&groupid=701&catid=339&subcat=1333

I wish that I had waited a bit longer, and just bought this bundle instead, at least then it would have been tested before I got my filthy hands on it....

I only bought my processor from OcUK, but I wish I just got everything together now...
 
DavyBoy said:
Also, they sell me this 1600MHz RAM, and now he tells me that Intels specifications are only 1333MHz for the IMC, and anything above this is classed as overclocking, and that could be why it is failing?!?!?
Click to expand...

It's true - if you look at the mobo specs it should have the abbreviation *OC by anything above 1333MHz - and it may be the cause - it's certainly worth exploring. Although i think we've tried realxed frequency and timings already?

Run memtest at the settings he recommended - 1333MHz and then 'use and abuse' it in windows and see what happens.

Edit: it is useful to have the 1600MHz memory as it gives you more room for overclocking even if you cant get it stable at 1600
 
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Yep Intel only certify the IMC to 1333. Also be very aware that overclocking in some instances can blow the IMC on your CPU (which means its a bin job and warranty will not cover it either!!!).
I7 is very tricky to get the right combination of overclock you also need to mess around with all the voltages Gigabyte have exposed in the bios. Other brands of mobo do not allow you the same level of tweaking as Gigabyte so it may be easier to OC on another brand of mobo. Sometimes the smallest difference can make it unstable its a very refined art on I7. I gave up in the end as I am happy with my I7-965 @ the stock 3.33Ghz. Nothing even needs that much CPU power so no point me invalidating my warranty to try and get the 4.2Ghz some have got.

Look around here as someone had a similar issue with ram timings:
http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/
 
most of the time most problems are the easiest to fix but you are either too tired or skip over something to realise, i spent literally all day and night figoure out what was wrong with my last build only to find out at the end cpu mobo were not compatible, just start from the beginning
 
Thanks for the comments guys...

This is really annoying me not being able to have my RAM run at the rated frequency... I haven't done any testing so far today as I haven't had the time...

But I will try running the RAM @ 1333MHz and everything else on default to see if things are stable like that...

When I talked to the people I purchased the mobo and RAM from today, they said that I could send the gear back to them for testing, but I would have to send both the RAM and mobo back instead of just the RAM, I really dont want to rip my system apart and send it back only to find there isn't anything wrong with it, as it will cost me money if it isn't faulty...

I I will keep testing it myself for a couple more weeks to see if I can get it stable myself, and if I am still getting problems I will purchase a new PSU so I can rule out my current one, and if I still experience issues with a new PSU then I will RMA the goods...

The guy I talked to on the phone today said to me that it was highly unlikely that it was the CPU, and that it was more than likely the RAM or mobo...

Thanks again for all your comments though guys.. I will keep you all up to date as to how I get on with this problem...
 
Hey on my first build I could even install an OS on the HDD and a last after testing all components i found out that the mobo is the problem so check your mobo welll. GL
 
Remember if you do end up buying a psu and it doesn't solve your problem you're entitled to send it back via the 7 day long distance selling act.

It's not good practice - but you're buying it in good faith with the intention of keeping it if it solves your problem. Just ensure it's in the same condition that it arrived in, if you have to return it - including the packaging.

If i had a spare psu i would post it to you for you to try...
 
Plec said:
Remember if you do end up buying a psu and it doesn't solve your problem you're entitled to send it back via the 7 day long distance selling act.

It's not good practice - but you're buying it in good faith with the intention of keeping it if it solves your problem. Just ensure it's in the same condition that it arrived in, if you have to return it - including the packaging.

If i had a spare psu i would post it to you for you to try...
Click to expand...


I really wish that I knew someone that I could borrow a PSU from, but I dont, so my only option is to buy one....

I did check a local PC hardware store, and they had a cheapo brand 750w for £35, but it would probably be worse than my current PSU... And it only had 1 x 6pin PCI E connector, and I need an 8 and a 6 for my card...

It would have probably made my problems worse tbh because it looked pretty nasty...

I've been thinking about upgrading my PSU for a while now anyway, so even if it doesn't sort my problems out, I would still keep it anyway...
 
OK, I am now running Prime95 large FFT's after entering the BIOS and setting the RAM multi to 10x, making my RAM run @ 1333MHz, and it is working fine...

I wanted to see if anyone could tell me the best way to test for stability??

Is Prime95 enough for testing, or should I also be running other benchmarking applications??

Any suggestions are welcome...

When I tried to run it @ stock settings before (on F4 and F6 BIOS) it would crash in an instant, but for some reason it appears to be working just fine with auto settings... I haven't even touched any voltages.. or RAM timings... whereas before I had to mess around with the advanced RAM timings before I was able to run Prime for more than 3 minutes...

All seems to be well so far, but I dont intend on stopping here, I am going to let this run for a few hours, then I am going to try running the RAM @ its rated frequency...

Thanks again for all the replies people... Your help is appreciated... ;)
 
Hopefully you've nailed it - but if you suspect the memory - memtest is the best test.

I wouldn't hold it against the memory/system if it can't run it at 1600MHz - as you should still be able to get a healthy overclock with the cpu.

I've got 8500 in my system but I can only run it just above 900Mhz with my system clocked. You wont be able to tell any discernable difference between a couple of hundred MHz loss on your memory.

Plus, it will give you a bit more flexibilty when you do come to clock as it may well run over 1333 just not the max 1600.
 
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Well, I thought I had it sorted, but it ended up rebooting after about 3 hours of large ffts in Prime...

So I have went into the BIOS enabled the XMP profile for 1600MHz so that I could run memtest for a while... It has been running now for about 1 and a half hours without any issues...

I am typing this from my fiancees PC.. I will leave memtest running all night to see what happens...

I'm going to be purchasing a new PSU in a couple of weeks to install in this rig, so I will just continue to tinker around with BIOS settings to see if I can get it to run stable.... I'm not going to hold my breath though, as I am convinced that something is faulty here..
 
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