Issues with new system

CliffyG · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:09

Just installed the kit i bought in this thread: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18246641

It all works fine but then i noticed memory was at 1333 instead of 1866. When i change it to 1866 it becomes very unstable, graphics glitching during BIOS, not powering up and occasionaly says overclock failed on boot. Now i've been out of the whole pc building scene for a long time so would like some advice please

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stulid · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:12

Well 1333mhz is the sandybridge default memory speed, so thats normal.

1866mhz will be the rams maximum rated speed, with the right timings and voltage set in the BIOS, the info will be on the memory sticks on a sticker, or on the corsair website.

CliffyG · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:35

Ah yes forgot about all that, will have a play tomorrow.

CliffyG · 1 Mar 2011 at 22:38

Would it be normal for it to distort the graphics though?

CliffyG · 2 Mar 2011 at 08:16

OK i had a little play and im a bit confused. I set the memory to 1866 and then checked the timings and they were all on auto and 9-9-9-24. When i restarted it was unstable again and when i got into the bios it was showing timings as 9-10-9-27. I found a list of timing settings, the first one was under spd, and the last under xmp. Whats that all about?

Also, left it downloading torrents last night, got up this morning and the screen was frozen, could see utorrent but mouse wouldnt move etc. Buttoned it and when it powered up it said overclock failed. Have tried disabling turbo for now but am a little worried about whats going on.

Blue160 · 2 Mar 2011 at 08:46

XMP is eXtreme Memory Profile, and works in the same way as SPD, but with much more aggressive timings and frequency. You should be able to switch between them in BIOS. I've found XMP to be a little hit and miss in terms of stability, especially when combined with CPU overclocking.

Are you sure everything else is staying the same when you tweak the memory frequency? Anything set to auto may be changing as well, and affecting stability. RAM frequency has such a small effect on performance I'd be tempted to leave it at 1333 if it's giving you this much grief.

CliffyG · 2 Mar 2011 at 09:29

Ah ok, it looks like it is auto switching to xmp when i change the ram frequency then. How do i stop it?

No im not sure, so many things on auto i dont really know whats going on. I specifically bought the quicker ram so it seems a bit of a waste not using it to its full capacity.

CliffyG · 2 Mar 2011 at 17:08

Just got home today and system had hung, screen had gone into power saving mode but it was completely unresponsive. This is with everything at stock and turbo turned off.... Dunno wtf is up with it.

Blue160 · 3 Mar 2011 at 08:34

If the kit is brand new it might be warranty time. Best to try and narrow down the problem first.

Download and run memtest86 (you have to create a bootable disc) to check if the RAM is faulty. Try a different power supply if you can, and then a different graphics card.

Good luck

PhillyDee · 3 Mar 2011 at 08:35

Is the ram voltage also correct?

CliffyG · 3 Mar 2011 at 11:15

Yeah all brand new (apart from hard drives), i've got memtest lying about somewhere, will give it a go plus got a drive fitness test to try. Power supply isnt an option unfortunately.

RAM voltage is 1.5 which is correct, everything is on auto and it seems to be set right.

Funny thing is i was playing on the PC for an extended period last night and it was working perfectly fine. Temps all looked good and nothing was getting stressed at all.