Help with new HTPC

Ok I have my HTPC set up now (3rd in sig) and I am having some BSoD issues.
I believe the RAM is the problem, do you guys think it is a dead stick(s)? I believe the CPU is stable (stock heatsink), I gave it far more voltage than it needs to try and remove that from the cause.

The RAM defaulted to 1333Mhz due to the bclk of 133Mhz. So when it BSoD'd I went into the BIOS and changed the bclk to 160Mhz (changed multi for a ~3.15Ghz clock speed) for 1600Mhz on the RAM with correct timings and 1.65V. Prime 95 lasts <1 minute before all threads crash. Temperature of the CPU is fine, doesn't seem to increase past 60C which is perfectly fine for these I believe (my 965 hits 74C with no issue!).

Here is a screenshot. Will try memtest to see if there is a problem with the sticks. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,
Ben

Did you run memtest at stock clocks before starting to up things?

Also (and this might be a stupid question but I'll ask anyway), why bother OCing a HTPC? That i3 should be plenty at stock.

I didn't overclock the PC. I ran it at stock first, which left the RAM at 1333Mhz. This wasn't stable with the timings manually entered and 1.65V. So I tried running the RAM at its rated speed of 1600Mhz, which meant changing the bclk to allow this, but I ensured that the CPU wouldn't be the cause of unstability (plenty of Vcore and only a tad over stock). I am not planning on overclocking this, will probably end up undervolting to save power once I get this issue sorted.

Will run Memtest tomorrow as it is pretty late now here in the UK. I was just seeing if I could rule out the CPU as the problem, and if running the RAM at the rated speed would help.

Thanks,
Ben

Some times running the ram at 1600 MT/s won't help, intel's stock speed of the MCH is 1333 MT/s anything over that is OC the stock speeds of the CPU MCH

Doesn't feel like CPU, I bet the memtest will crap out almost instantly even with everything at stock clocks.

Test each RAM module individually for 3-5 passes each. Be sure to disable Legacy USB Support in the BIOS while running Memtest. Also be sure to use the newest verion of Memtest from www.memtest.org (4.10).

Test them all at the same time so you can see if you have a bad slot or there not working together, if that fails test the stick individually.

Dual channel obviously fails, trying each stick individually now!
Looks like I will be RMAing the RAM then? Used memtest 86+, saw it was newer and worked on a USB.

Glad you found the problem.

Badbonji said:

Dual channel obviously fails, trying each stick individually now!
Looks like I will be RMAing the RAM then? Used memtest 86+, saw it was newer and worked on a USB.

Click to expand...

RMA time.. Unless you have a spare set you can test the rig with? Could be a bad socket on the mobo too, though in my experience that's much more rare than bad RAM.

Only one stick is bad, as the other is fine in the first slot. My G.skill also works fine. Asked OCZ for an RMA. Luckily this is going to be used at my student house after summer, just wanted to get it ready for then to make sure everything was working ok.

Thanks for all the help