Please Help...

RoEy

RoEy

RoEy

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Joined
10 Jan 2008
Posts
1,677
Location
Nottinghamshire
Hi all,

I built the following PC for my Dad yesterday:

E8200 CPU,
P5K PRO Motherboard,
CORSAIR DDR 2 XMS2 - 6400 2GB,
ATI 2400HD 256mb,
WD 250GB SATA2 HDD,
Samsung DVD-RW 20x Drive,
AKASA 500W ATX V 2.2 PSU,
Antec SOLO Mini Tower Case,
XP Home Edition.

He had a Sony LCD monitor, Mouse and Keyboard prior to this.

The installation went fine and I really took my time seeing as I was doing it for my Dad. One thing I did notice though was that the board was slightly warped. Because of this the small heat sink (that sits at the very top of the board) had a slight gap in the middle of it. Apart from that everything seemed fine.

I flashed the BIOS so the board would support the new Penryn CPU. I have the optical drive plugged into SATA1 and the HDD plugged into SATA2. I have one stick of RAM plugged into the A1 slot and the second plugged into B1. This is how I interpreted what the manual was saying.

I'll now explain my problems so far:

1) I formatted the HDD and it got to 75% and crashed so I rebooted it and opted to format NTFS (Quick) and it formatted and continued to install Windows.

2) I put the motherboard drivers on, which seemed to take a long time as I opted for them to be installed automatically (wish I'd of done it manually). They almost seemed to hang a bit for ages then at the last minute install.

3) Once all the main drivers and software were on I wanted to test the system in ORTHOS Prime95. I selected the Gramics/Gromics test that purely tests the CPU's and I thought it was fine as it was running for 32 minutes without any errors then the system crashed!

I reloaded it and then it crashed after 3 minutes. Restarted and the system crashed on the desktop literally after 30 seconds. Restarted again and the system wouldn’t POST. So I took one stick of memory out and it POSTED. I then ran ORTHOS again and my Dad informed me that it had been running for 5 hours without any errors and that the temperatures were 56/51 - the highest they had gone were 61/55. It never crashed and he then turned it off to go to bed. So it ran fine with one stick (1gb) of RAM.

Questions:

1) Should I RMA the motherboard for being a bit warped, but surely its ok if it’s ran ORTHOS for 5 hours errors completely stable? Or will the board being warped lead to intermittent faults in the future?

2) Does the second stick of RAM need to be directly next to the first so its A1/A2?

3) Does this prove that it was the memory causing problems because it may have been in the wrong slot?

4) Could it be the heat sink at the top of the board not working correctly? It doesn’t feel very warm or should it?

5) The board’s manual says it doesn’t support CORSAIR at 800Hz but surely it can’t be this?

6) What else could it be?

I really hope someone can help as I've had a right gut full of it!

Thanks everyone,

RoEy

P.S. It also seem to take 6-7 seconds before I see the POST, it takes ages for my monitor to come on don't know if it's because it's 5 years old.
 
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Hey again thought i would help seeing as i have the same stuff.

1) Dont relly know too much about whether this will effect it
2) No there should be a gap between them, I would suggest testing the other stick of ram in the slot where you have got it stable for 5 hours. Also check that the memory voltage in the BIOS is at 2.2v for crucial Ram i think
3) See above
4) Dont really know i will check my board when i get home tonight
5) It does support it because mine works

Hope this helps

Lee
 
Hi Lee,

The more I read about warped boards the more I'm starting to think it might be that? Can anyone help with this question?

When you say increase the voltage to 2.2v is this what you did for your CORSAIR memory? My memory specifically is:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-092-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

I thought I installed the memory correctly so I think it's rather the board being warped that's causing intermittent faults or its the memory. Surely I have rights to RMA the board? Did your motherboard drivers take ages to install, especially the network one?

Thanks for your help Lee. I feel really bad as I wanted it all to go smoothly seeing as it's my Dads.

RoEy
 
I would just check youre memory first, after looking at the memory the standard of 1.8v will be fine but just check youre timings are 5-5-5-12-T1

As i said you should check the other memory stick in slot A1 to determine if that memory is alright

Lee
 
1 The boards are pretty rigid unless you short them. Make sure the mobo is fixed correctly to the motherboard on risers and there no loose bit flying around the case,

2. RAM is normally installed in different banks to operate in dual channel mode. Conversely, it shouldn’t make any difference to system stability where the sticks are located..

3. No as above. Try running memtest86 on each stick of RAM at a time if one particular stick fails, then try it in another bank just to be sure. If RAM is ok in one bank and not the other, then the memory controller maybe at fault.

Make sure you are running your RAM at the recommended timigs and voltages. These are normally determined by SPD on the RAM but it's wiorth checking the manufacturers website for details.

4. HSF at the top of the board??? Is this the chipset or the CPU hsf.

If you can see a sizable gap then you should think about reasting the HSF.

Installing a HSF

applying TIM


5. It will work with 800MHz frequency but it’s not supported. There is a difference. What they mean is that the board hasn’t been tested on this particular memory module and therefore can not be guaranteed. Basically they are covering the arses.


6. Make sure all you connections (including both ATX 24 and 4/8pin connections) are secure.

Make sure your PSU is functioning correctly.

http://www.huddysworld.co.uk/Techpages/PCZone_TechieTalk_2.shtml

Hope that helps
 
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The heat sink is bronze and there at two at the top and then one for the northbridge and south bridge. The HSF is installed perfectly fine. I just thought that the board would run the memory automatically and I thought the only time you needed to mess around with voltagaes and timings was when you were overclocking ram.

I'm still pretty condifent that the board may be the problem purely becasuse its warped, which may cause intermittent faults. Regardless if the board was working or not I shouldnt receive it warped.

Thanks for your help again lads. If I RMA the board I'll then test the memory on the new board.

RoEy
 
Just be sure you are certain it's the board before you RMA it.

If it's proven otherwise, you will be possible charged a testing fee and the cost of P&P to return it back. This can be quite costly. It's worth spending some time eliminating other parts before you do.
 
Yes I agree with you Huddy and it is a game of elimination but can OC still charge me even though I've received a warped board? Do they see it as if it works its ok? Surely I've got rights to send it back for a replacement due to it being warped? I know if I put the second stick of RAM back in it's going to be unstable again. I'll look into the Voltage side of it but I'm not confident of changing them, especially as I'm doing it for my Dad!

Thanks,

RoEy
 
Will do mate. My Dad just phoned me to say that it ran Orthos with one stick of ram in for 6 hours perfectly fine. So I'll run orthos for an hour or so with the other stick in on its own to see how it gets on. If it works then I'll stick both back in and check the timings in the bios.

What shall I do if it crashes with both in again? Also when I mentioned earlier, why would it run ok for 32 mins with both sticks then crash, then crash after 3 mins of running orthos, then crash on desktop, then not post?

One thing I have noticed is when I first turn the PC on it takes about 7 seconds for the monitor to come on then show me the ASUS initial page, i,e, POST and enter BIOS option page. What could be causing this? The monitor is LCD around 5 years old.

RoEy

P.S. So if the board is fine wouldnt you worry about the board being slightly warped? If not then I'll keep it.
 
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Not just me then Lee!

Is there a way around it? Or that's just it? Did your motherboard drivers take a while to install too? I opted for the automatic installation. Wish I'd of done them individually! Especially the Marvell Mini Port driver!

Once I've tested both memory individually and then put them both in, if it crashes do you think its got to be the board then? Driving me mad this, sorry for so many questions. I really appreciate the help you've both given me. Just feel bad for my Dad. I've told him we'll sort it in the end...(Hope).

RoEy
 
Just turned PC on, it load windows drivers and then i got a black sreen, nothing. Thats with the memory that was orthos tested for 6 hours last night.

Weird...Any reason why it can work one minute then not the next. I'm opting for the board. I'm now doing another orthos test with the same memory that worked last night, ive gone onto cpu-z and it says the DRAM is running at a frequency of 400hz. shouldnt this be 800hz as that is what the memory runs at? i can change it to that in BIOS because its set to auto at the mo.

RoEy
 
Have your tried different banks with different sticks and so on.

It might be worth ringing the shop. Let them know what's going on and what tests you have done etc. They will advise of best course of action you need to take.
 
Surely your memory always goes into the first slot if you're using one stick.

Ill give them a ring and see what they say. Thanks for your help.

RoEy
 
Sorted it. Got board replaced. Fitted everything and it flys. It doesnt have a double boot Lee it should load immediately like mine does.

It flys...

Thanks for help everyone.

RoEy
 
Probably a bit late, but I have that memory and corsair recommend running it at 1.9v under cl5 timings, despite the spd info saying 1.8v.
 
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