Memory passing Memtest86 but failing Orthos

I bought a 2gb Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500 kit a few days ago, and i've been tinkering with it for a bit, but it seems to be failing Orthos after ~10 minutes, despite being able to pass Memtest86+ (bootable version) overnight for 11+ hours.

I've tried running it at various speeds (even at just DDR2-800 speeds instead of its rated 1066) and various voltages (from 2.0v up to its rated 2.2v)

I think it is important to note that the previous memory kit that I had (Corsair PC2-6400) also was doing something similar.. passing Memtest but failing Orthos.


So what can be causing this problem? My CPU? Motherboard? Or is it actually the ram?

If the ram is memtest stable, then it is most likely your CPU that's acting up. Most likely you need more volts on your CPU.

When you ran memtest did you do all the tests for 11 hours?

Is your CPU running at stock speed when you ran orthos?
If its OCed then that may be where it is failing.

Right now i'm at stock CPU voltage (1.375 i think)

I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro as my HSF and I have idle temps around 36 degrees C and load temps around 48 degrees C (these temps are with my e6300 overclocked to 2.8ghz).

What voltage do you recommend that I use? How much extra heat will this voltage increase result in?



[as for memtest, I just put the CD in and let it run automatically, I did not change any settings, it just started on its own]

When you ran memtest did you do all the tests for 11 hours?

If your CPU is OCed then that may be causing the orthos failure. Try adding a tad more voltage or backing the OC down a bit and test orthos again.

After 11 hours of doing all the mem tests then your memory should be ok, but it is not guaranteed.

did you give your Chip set ne extra voltage ? try that

SuperZ said:

Right now i'm at stock CPU voltage (1.375 i think)

I'm using an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro as my HSF and I have idle temps around 36 degrees C and load temps around 48 degrees C (these temps are with my e6300 overclocked to 2.8ghz).

What voltage do you recommend that I use? How much extra heat will this voltage increase result in?



[as for memtest, I just put the CD in and let it run automatically, I did not change any settings, it just started on its own]

Click to expand...

Sorry about the double post..

I would boot back into memtest and make sure all the tests were being done. Tests 5 and 8 are the most important if I recall.

You should do them all though and let them loop for a while.

Memtest is much more reliable then Ortho for RAM testing. So stick to Memtest.

Should I try increasing southbridge voltage? Or is increasing northbridge voltage more likely to help it pass orthos?

Also, I don't think the CPU voltage is the problem, because even at stock voltage, the CPU can pass the "stress CPU" test in Orthos for multiple hours. It's the "stress ram" test that's causing it to fail.

Does this mean the northbridge voltage is pretty much the only thing left for me to experiment with?

I see in your sig your CPU is overclocked do you have the memory boot-strap set to 1066MHz?

Roll back your CPU speed and set Vcore to Default/Auto whatever the BIOS says. Run CPU at stock speeds, then set memory divisor to 1066MHz (= to FSB speed of 266MHz * Quad Pumped). Then go down the list and be sure the PCIe is at 100MHz strap other devices at 33MHz and all voltages on Auto (including CPU) the only exception being DDR2 voltage. Leave this at 2.2V. Leave all the other settings at default such as CPU, NB, SB, etc.

Then enter chipset and be sure the memory is running off the SPD command first. These are usually most stable.

On a side-note when you go back to overclocking the CPU try this: begin overlcoking your CPU without increasing Vcore, leaving it on Auto and be sure Thermal Throttling, SpeedStep, any type of throttling devices are all disabled in the CPU settings. Then I jump to a very high FSB speed like 400FSB (depending on the board in question), being sure you go through other setting kepping them at default to isolate the CPU. memory divisor should islate the memory from the overclock cycling through your options. Obviously if the CPU is overclocked then which ever divisor you run off will be affected by that overclock so you'll be using the lower dividers. If the system won't post you power down and let the BIOS auto reset take palce setting the system to default although whn you enter the BIOS your original settings will remain. Drop the CPU speed to 375FSB (for example) and then re-set your memory divisor to keep the memory at it's defaul speed or even below if you want more stability.

Anyway it's the way I do it because anyone can overvolt, but it take a little more skill to find that optimal speed without increasing current hence wattage dissipated (HEAT). I find people tend to increase Vcore far too soon.