bad mem chip - what else to try before rma?

Cyborg · Feb 5, 2010

MB GB X58A-UD3R

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
I finally found the problem why my new build didn't boot and gave continuous beeping (power error)
Taking out one of the mem chips and all works fine with 2 chips (4GB)
I hate to send all 3 chips back to the egg and wait for them to send me a new set.
Is there anything else I could try with this chip to find what the problem is?

BTW, there is no oc on this system, yet and everything on auto in the bios.

PeterGarcia30 · Feb 5, 2010

you mean a bad stick of ram correct? the egg is making you send back all 3..that sucks have you tried contacting ocz directly?i dont know how long it would take but maybe they would allow you to send them the one bad stick instead of sending all 3 back to the egg....might take a little while longer but 4 gigs is far from horrible on a temporary basis..worth a shot anyways

redduc900 · Feb 5, 2010

Post pic's of Easy Tune6 open showing the current DRAM timings and voltages.

Cyborg · Feb 5, 2010

I haven't called new egg or ocz, yet, I thought I first come here to the people who know what they're talking about ;>)

redduc900 said:
Post pic's of Easy Tune6 open showing the current DRAM timings and voltages.

here you go

redduc900 · Feb 5, 2010

I need to see a pic. of the current voltages too. Also the RAM is only running at 1079MHz, when it's rated at DDR3-1600MHz and 1.65V. At a default BCLK of 133MHz change the FSB : DRAM ratio from x8 to x12 for an effective 1596MHz DRAM frequency. Also manually change the four primary timings from Auto to 8-8-8-24, and the DRAM voltage from Auto to 1.64 - 1.66V.

Cyborg · Feb 5, 2010

redduc900 said:
I need to see a pic. of the current voltages too. Also the RAM is only running at 1079MHz, when it's rated at DDR3-1600MHz and 1.65V. At a default BCLK of 133MHz change the FSB : DRAM ratio from x8 to x12 for an effective 1596MHz DRAM frequency. Also manually change the four primary timings from Auto to 8-8-8-24, and the DRAM voltage from Auto to 1.64 - 1.66V.

I will try to change the settings as you suggested tomorrow morning when I get up.
Thanks for helping.

redduc900 · Feb 5, 2010

In addition to raising the DRAM voltage from the current 1.52V to 1.64 - 1.66V, manually change the Vcc (Core Voltage) from Auto / .960V to 1.1V. And in order to view all of the current voltages in ET6, click on the Tuner tab--> Advance mode--> Voltage 1 tab.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

now I'm encountering a very strange problem.
The system takes very long (15min) to boot and when I open any program (like cpuz) it takes 1min to open and everything is in extreme slow motion.
If I put everything back on Auto in the BIOS, windoze boots and runs normal.
When I leave the new settings and remove one of the mem sticks the system boots normal and runs normal.

Edit:
Some more testing:
If I change the timings to 9 9 9 24, and have only one mem stick, I again get the booting problem that takes forever.
I tried this with both sticks.
Changing it back to 8 8 8 24 and all is good again.

Could I have one bad mem stick AND a defective MB?

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

You're still not showing me all of your current voltages like I asked.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

redduc900 said:
You're still not showing me all of your current voltages like I asked.

sorry about that.

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

Adjust the Vcore until it shows 1.1V in either CPU-Z or ET6 while running Prime. Manually adjust the QPI/VTT voltage to 1.21V (VTT may need to be around the 1.415 - 1.4350 mark in order to POST; leaving it on Auto would probably be best for the time being) , and the DRAM voltage to 1.64. Adjust the Uncore frequency to 3200MHz, and set tRFC to 110 (located in the DRAM sub-timings section of the BIOS; hit Ctrl+F1 at the main BIOS screen to unlock the hidden DRAM timings). Set Performance Enhance to Standard, and Command Rate to 2T.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

I really appreciate all your help.
I was able to find a multiplier for the Uncore, no Mhz setting, so I put it on 24.
The rest is as close as I can get. It seems that the voltage I select in the BIOS is not exactly the voltage these programs show once the computer has booted.

take a look at this:

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

Looks good. A few more settings that you might also want to change are...

Code:

CPU Clock Drive: [800mV]
PCI Express Clock Drive: [900mV]
CPU Clock Skew: [0ps]
IOH Clock Skew: [0ps]

... then install the 3rd stick of RAM and run Memtest86+ to check for stability.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

redduc900 said:
... then install the 3rd stick of RAM and run Memtest86+ to check for stability.

do I need to change all mem related settings in the bios (like 8-8-8-110-2T)
on the other 2 channels first?

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

redduc900 said:
Looks good. A few more settings that you might also want to change are...

Code:

CPU Clock Drive: [800mV] PCI Express Clock Drive: [900mV] CPU Clock Skew: [0ps] IOH Clock Skew: [0ps]

they already looked like that.

I did make the changes to the two other channels.
when I insert the second mem chip, I'm back to the long booting problem.
It takes windoze 15min to boot and everything is very very slow.
when I insert mem chip 3, I don't even get a boot screen, it immediately starts to give those continuos beeps for power failure.
After booting up again with the original mem chip, all settings are still in place and all works fine.

I guess I have 2 faulty mem chips?
or/and a bad MB?

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

Install just the one module, then up the QPI/VTT voltage from 1.21 to 1.4. Install the remaining modules, then see if it POSTs. If not, then go through the same procedure again, except up the VTT to 1.45V. If it still doesn't POST, then drop the VTT back down to 1.21V, and change the four primary timings to 9-9-9-24-2T.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

I'm finally back.
I did everything (twice, just to make sure) and have the same results.
With the VTT at 1.45V or back to 1.21V and the timings to 9-9-9-24-T2, one module puts the computer into extreme slow motion and the other module never even posts.

One question:
If I chose a setting (at first, I used Auto on everything and had the mem go at 1033MHz), that should work with even a piece of crap memory module, shouldn't the other two modules at least boot when used as single module in channel 1?
I guess we now found that one module works, but even if I take it out and insert one of the others, I get the bad results according to each of the other modules.
So I guess it's the two mem modules and not the MB.
I wish I knew someone close by with a DDR3 system, but everybody I know is still on regular DDr and P4s LOL.

Cyborg · Feb 6, 2010

another test I did.
with this one memory module in place and everything working fine, I figured I'd give it a try and see how far the bclock and cpu can go.
No luck.
I followed the 3 step guide on the front page and at 150 hit the end.
At 150 bclock with 1.31VTT everything is fine and well.
with 155 bclock (and I went all the way up to 1.49VTT), I get the same error as with module number 2, everything in slowmo and it takes 15min to boot. At 150bclock and 1.31VTT, I can run P95 for an hour with no problem at 155 the system doesn't boot anymore????
That would be a very poor oc for this setup.

I should have stuck with my old trusty Q6600 @ 3.4, but I already sold it to my neighbor.
Now I'm back believing that I have a bad MB and some bad memory modules.

redduc900 · Feb 6, 2010

It may not necessarily be a BIOS setting(s) that's causing the issue, or may be a combination of things. List how you have everything connected to the board, including the DIMM slots the RAM is installed to, 4 or 8-pin AUX PWR connector, video card power connection(s), HDDs, etc. And include the rest of your system components, including the make and model of PSU.

bad mem chip - what else to try before rma?

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