Kingston ValueRAM can not be this bad

This is not an overclocking question, but I was hoping I could get some advice.

So far this week, I have purchased and exchanged 4 boxes of 512MB PC3200 Kingston ValueRAM (KVR400/512R). All of them had problems.

The first one had Micron chips and was single-sided it checked out OK with both Memtest86+ and GoldMemory. But then when I put my other stick in with it (ULTRA ULT30215, 512MB, Samsung chips, double-sided), my system would just freak out or hang. If I ran with just one stick (either one) it was fine. Only when I had both of them in at the same time (no matter which slots they were in) did I have problems.

So I returned it, and got another one, this one had no-name chips, it failed in both Memtest and GoldMemory on the same single bit several times.

The next one I got, again no-name chips, failed with over 300 errors.

The next one (I believe this one had Samsung chips, but not sure) also failed with a single bit error the first time I ran GoldMemory (first pass). I have now ran memtest86+ for 5 passes with no errors (I just started testing this stick), but that one error in GoldMemory is enough for me to trash this stick too.

The last three sticks I got were all double-sided, so I don't know it that has anything to do with them working together with my ULTRA memory, only the single-sided Micron chips had that problem.

Has anyone had this bad an experience with memory? Kingston?

My system is an HP/Compaq Presario sr1010z with an Athlon 64 3400+ (2.4 GHz Newcastle) socket 754 Asus K8S-LA motherboard.

I'd appreciate any insite or advice you can give (please don't tell me to buy a better brand of memory, unless you know of better memory I can get for $18, which is what this cost me, although I probably spent twice that on gas just going back and forth to the store.)

Thanks!

One of your problems is mixing the Kingston with the Ultra. It's not a good idea to mix rams. It does work sometimes but it's dicy. The Kingston value line has a pretty decent rep. I have used it with good results. Next time you return it, don't buy a lottery ticket.

I have had great success with my 2x256 set, the memory is single sidded and are mosel chips this is the "Dual Channel" set. Mine did 215 @ CL 2.5 and was prime stable but I never tried to push it past 215 since i was happy with my OC. This used to be in my intel right, but I upgraded to a gig of Patriot (2x512) and is now in my XP-M 2600+ & NF7-S computer and just as stable.

I'm not doing any overclocking (the crappy motherboard has no settings for this), so these failures are at stock settings for PC3200 RAM.

My main problem is not with using the two differing sticks (that was only a problem with the single-sided Micron chips, I'm not even sure if the single-sided/double-sidedness has anything to do with the incompatability), all testing of the other three sticks found failures when they were the only stick in the machine (this motherboard only has two memory slots).

I am wondering if there is anything other then bad memory that could be causing these errors. I did run Memtest86+ for over 8 hours with my ULTRA stick and there were NO errors, so doesn't that rule out things like the processor cache, bad memory slot, etc.? (this is a new PC, so it is possible that there are problems elsewhere, I suppose)

I have now run Memtest86+ for 8 passes with no errors on this last stick (the one that failed in the FIRST pass with GoldMemory), so I think I will try running GoldMemory again to see if it still fails. Maybe it was just an Alpha particle .

The Kingston value ram might be incompatable with your system. I think most of the ram manufacturers post a compatability list on their websites. I'd look at Kingstons site and see if your comp is listed. I had problems with the Dell comp I had when using Kbyte ram. I took 3 sticks back to Bestbuy before buying Kingston, which worked perfectly. The Kbyte ram was made at different times, so I don't think it was a bad batch, just incompatable with my system.

johnz said:

The Kingston value ram might be incompatable with your system. I think most of the ram manufacturers post a compatability list on their websites. I'd look at Kingstons site and see if your comp is listed. I had problems with the Dell comp I had when using Kbyte ram. I took 3 sticks back to Bestbuy before buying Kingston, which worked perfectly. The Kbyte ram was made at different times, so I don't think it was a bad batch, just incompatable with my system.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this RAM (KVR400/512R) is not listed in the database on the Kingston site at all, at least I can't find it.

I did manage to find some info on it indirectly:
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR400_512R.pdf

This RAM was suggested for the K8S-MX motherboard (not exactly my board, K8S-LA, so don't know if compatible):
http://www.valueram.com/datasheets/KVR400X64C3A_512.pdf

Unfortunately the ram sugested specifically for my system (KTH-D530/512) did not have a spec sheet.

In comparing the above two, the only difference I find is the power, one is 3.422W (operating) and the other is 3.224W (operating).

Would that make any difference? Those numbers look like they may be the same and someone just had a dyslexic malfunction.

Well, I bought 4 more sticks today, planning to test each one until I got one that passed. I opened the first box, and started testing with GoldMemory...

The first pass passed with no errors (yay!), second and third pass, same thing, no errors!!

I am now running Memtest86+, but I don't expect any errors, since in my experience GoldMemory finds errors in the first pass that Memtest86+ may not find until several passes (i.e. in my limited experience, GoldMemory is the better memory tester).

Anyway, if all goes well, my next step is to run an overnight test with both this stick and my existing stick at the same time.

Hopefully on Monday, I will be returning all the memory that I bought except for this one stick that (fingers crossed) appears to (finally!!!) be good.

Thanks everyone!

I couldn't find anything either . You can ask for personal assistance here Link . Maybe they can give you some help.

"the single-sided/double-sidedness" has..alot...to do with the incompatability. My work pc (GA-K8NS Ultra 939) completely hates that kind of a set up and will eventually BSOD into a reboot.

the most important thing(when multiple failures of memory) in testing is to go with a known good component if possible in your case otherwise you end up buying a small fortune worth of ram..

Just to follow up...

This new stick of memory (along with my existing stick) ran clean for 11 hours on GoldMemory (~12 passes), so I have declared it good.

I returned all the other memory I bought to the store for a full refund.

I hope my experience is an isolated incident. I would hate to think that Kingston is selling a flawed product. Most people probably don't have the know-how to test their memory as soon as they buy it, only to have problems down the road.

I would guess that most people would have to bring their computer in to have it repaired (because they don't know what is causing the freezes/crashes) for $$$, unless the problems happen right away and can be directly linked to the new memory.

Anyway, I'm glad I was finally able to get this issue resolved. It has taken much too much of my time.

Thanks all!

I've used Kingston ValueRAM for over a year now. 333 (PC2700) oc'd to 365 (PC2900). Absolutely no problems. It isnt that bad!

V10Ace said:

I've used Kingston ValueRAM for over a year now. 333 (PC2700) oc'd to 365 (PC2900). Absolutely no problems. It isnt that bad!

Click to expand...

Yeah, I believe you, I am guessing that the problem is not Kingston, but the store I bought it from, they probably take back the returns from customers saying they had problems with it and put it right back on the shelf, eventually you end up with nothing but bad RAM.