No worries. I checked the RAM compatibility when I first started experiencing problems as well as lowering to 1333, but it didn't appear to make much difference (still had some crashing but by this point Windows was pretty corrupt so I couldn't determine which was at fault).
Problem PC
- Thread starter Auraomega
- Start date
If the board is 18 months old your only option is for it to be sent away to ASUS for replacement.
Unfortunatelty, the board may not be at fault as you have an annoyingly ambiguous problem. However, for the sake of ~£15 and a couple of weeks without your board - it may be at least worth it just to rule it out? (if you have another PC to hand).
The other component to consider is the chip itself, as the memory controller is built into the CPU. I've been involved in another thread - link - using a i7 920 with similar problems - and after weeks of changing components and being convinced it was memory/MB -it turned out to be a flaky CPU.
Reading through the thread right now. I've not had that thought before, the memory controller that is, I have however had many a worry that my mobo was of the Foxconn type and thus never pushed my CPU too far, it might be more prudent to physically check the CPU for damage.
A thought I have had is if there is no obvious signs on either CPU/mobo, if I can find a constant way to make the system fail I can then buy a replacement mobo to test with, if the PC fails it's the CPU, if not then it's my current mobo, either way I can then DSR the new mobo, as much as I hate doing this it does seem to only real option left to me. A long shot but any suggestions on how to make my system constantly crash that I may not have thought of?
EDIT:
Interesting, searching for my model board (P5P77D-LE) and faulty RAM slots picks up quite a few results, more than I'd like to be seeing in all honesty. This was an interesting read, I'll be checking my pins over in the next couple of days when I get the chance as I've always thought my CPU temps were higher than other peoples using the same coolers and a higher voltage.
EDIT 2:
I've contacted Asus about an RMA as the evidence points mostly towards that being the offending component, lets see what happens now!
EDIT 3:
Well Windows is reporting 4gb but only 2gb available again, fitting again with the faulty motherboard pins. Tomorrow when there is more light I'll remove the CPU and inspect it and the mobo pins.
A thought I have had is if there is no obvious signs on either CPU/mobo, if I can find a constant way to make the system fail I can then buy a replacement mobo to test with, if the PC fails it's the CPU, if not then it's my current mobo, either way I can then DSR the new mobo, as much as I hate doing this it does seem to only real option left to me. A long shot but any suggestions on how to make my system constantly crash that I may not have thought of?
EDIT:
Interesting, searching for my model board (P5P77D-LE) and faulty RAM slots picks up quite a few results, more than I'd like to be seeing in all honesty. This was an interesting read, I'll be checking my pins over in the next couple of days when I get the chance as I've always thought my CPU temps were higher than other peoples using the same coolers and a higher voltage.
EDIT 2:
I've contacted Asus about an RMA as the evidence points mostly towards that being the offending component, lets see what happens now!
EDIT 3:
Well Windows is reporting 4gb but only 2gb available again, fitting again with the faulty motherboard pins. Tomorrow when there is more light I'll remove the CPU and inspect it and the mobo pins.
Last edited:
Well, just had an interesting error message. Was about to watch some old skool Doctor Who (don't look at me like that!) when my screen started glitching... ohnoes I thought. Reboot system and I'm greeted by the black screen with just a cursor (I soon became a curser myself). Reboot into Memtest and I see a slew of errors faster than I can read, so I decided to reboot into Windows Memory Diagnostic on a whim and was greeted by:
(excuse the poor quality, my real camera is elsewhere...)
'The memory map contained ranges that extend above four gigabytes'
I wish
I have 4gb in this system and I've run Windows Memory Diagnostics before on this system and have NEVER seen this message before, and as soon as it started running I got the slew of errors I saw in Memtest.
I'm beginning to give my CPU and long hard stare as the memory mapping I would assume is part of the IMC? I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with this problem.
(excuse the poor quality, my real camera is elsewhere...)
'The memory map contained ranges that extend above four gigabytes'
I wish
I have 4gb in this system and I've run Windows Memory Diagnostics before on this system and have NEVER seen this message before, and as soon as it started running I got the slew of errors I saw in Memtest.
I'm beginning to give my CPU and long hard stare as the memory mapping I would assume is part of the IMC? I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere with this problem.
Just took the CPU out and checked it over; no physical damage, no burn marks and all pins appear to be making good contact... the motherboard however didn't look so good, a couple of the pins are bent. I don't have the steady hands required for bending them back into position nor a good enough eye to see if they were touching, so I whipped my macro lens out and took a couple of photos to check out.
Doesn't look promising...
Had a play with a pair of tweezers (inb4 sig) and I appear to have moved them slightly and they definitely aren't touching now.
Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be convinced the issue is gone and there is no way of proving it was this... ironically I'm now hoping for a crash so I know it's NOT this, ARGH!
Doesn't look promising...
Had a play with a pair of tweezers (inb4 sig) and I appear to have moved them slightly and they definitely aren't touching now.
Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever be convinced the issue is gone and there is no way of proving it was this... ironically I'm now hoping for a crash so I know it's NOT this, ARGH!
Yes, but that's no indication unfortunately as it can be problem free for months and then start up again. The system has however been crashing more regularly than usual so hopefully, if the problem persists, it'll rear it's head again in the next couple of days.