bad mem chip - what else to try before rma?

[Cyborg]

Let me first thank you for all the help that you provided, I've learned a lot and really appreciate it.

I was still trying all day yesterday and now have an additional problem.
That problem with the second mem module, that makes the boot up take forever, now also happens with the "good" mem module in slot 1
When I move the "good" mem module into slot 3, it works just as when we were done setting it up at 8-8-8-24-2T 1600MHz, but not anymore in slot 1.

I use 1 WD 450GB HD with Vista for testing, but have 4 other drives that I tried and they all work perfectly in my original setup (Q6600) and don't make a difference with this testing on this MB.
I also connected a formated HD and my DVD drive, inserted the vista installation disk and set the bios to boot from cd/dvd with the same long booting problem.
I have a Corsair TX850 PS, the 8pin connected to the board.
Megahalems with 120mm fan
NVIDIA GTX285 with both power connectors and installed in slot 1 - PCI-E16.
keybord and mouse in USB and internet cat5

That's all I have for testing, not even in a case, but laying on top beside me.

The fact that I can't reset the cmos to factory, install mem modules in slot 1, 3 and 5 and have the computer boot up, means there is already something broken.
With all three mem modules, I can't even get to the bios and only get a "power failure" error.
With two modules installed in slot 1 and 3, I get to the bios, but changing or not changing anything, makes the computer take 15 min to boot up.

Since the same two modules cause a consistent problem, even if used single in slot 1 or 3, I'm very sure I have bad memory modules.

It was working with one out of the three mem modules in slot 1 and 3, but now only works with the mem module in slot 3, even if I "underclock" this module at 10-10-10-24-2T X6, it now causes the same long bootup time in slot 1.
In slot 3, everything is back to normal.

I took out the cpu, cleaned off the paste and made sure it's installed right, no changes after that, same problems.

I put the MB and mem back in their packages and boxed them up, to be returned tomorrow, the bad part about this is:
New Eggs policy says, you have to send it back and they will send you a replacement after they recieved your RMA.
This means the whole process might take a week and a half.
I just got my old Q6600 system back from my neighbor. I sold it to him, now he's borrowing it to me for a week

I don't have experience with returning stuff to New Egg, but I was thinking I just order the same thing again and return what I have for a refund.
I guess it would be worth the shipping cost, not having to wait for almost 2 weeks.

If there is one more thing that you would like me to try, I have no problem taking it out of the box and connect it again.

Again, thank you so much for your help, I wish this forum had a reputation button or something like that.

 

[redduc900]

Just for the heck of it, see if you can get it to POST w/ all 3 sticks installed, and w/ these settings for 3.8GHz (190MHz x 20 and DRAM at 1520MHz / x8 multiplier)...

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Advanced CPU Features {Press Enter]
CPU Clock Ratio............................: 20
CPU Frequency .....(Ghz)...................:3.8
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech..................:[Disabled]
CPU Cores Enabled..........................:[All]
CPU Multi Threading........................:[Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)....................:[Enabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support.....................:[Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor........................:[Enabled]
CPU EIST Function..........................:[Enabled]
Bi-Directional PROCHOT.....................:[Enabled]
Virtualization Technology..................:[Enabled]

Uncore & QPI Features [Press Enter]
QPI Clock Ratio*...........................:36
QPI Link Speed* ......................(Ghz):6.84
Uncore Clock Ratio.........................:x17
Uncore Frequency......................(Mhz):3,230
Isochronous Support........................:[Enabled]
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
Base Clock (BCLK) Control*.................:[Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (Mhz)*......................:190
PCI Exxpress Frequency (Mhz)...............:103
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
CPU Clock Drive (mV).......................:700
PCI  Express Clock Drive (mV)..............:700
CPU Clock Skew (ps)........................:0
IOH Clock Skew (ps)........................:0
Advanced Dram Features [Press Enter}
Performance Enhance........................:[Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)............:[Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD).............:x8
Memory Frequency (Mhz).....................:1,520
DRAM Timing Selectable (sPD) ..............:[Quick]
Channel A Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel A Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel A Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) .....................:1
>>>>>Channel A Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................:[Auto]
Channel A Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel A Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel A Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]


Channel B Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel B Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel B Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) ..........................:1
>>>>>Channel B Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................: [Auto]
Channel B Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel B Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel B Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]

Channel C Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel C Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel C Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) ..........................:1
>>>>>Channel C Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................: [Auto]
Channel B Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel C Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel C Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]

Advanced Voltage Control [Press Enter]
>>>>CPU Voltages
LoadLine Calibration.........................:[Standard]
CPU Vcore....................................:1.29375v
QPI/VTT Voltage..............................:1.280v
CPU PLL......................................: 1.80v
>>>>>MCH/ICH Voltrage
PCIE.........................................: 1.50v
QPI PLL......................................: 1.10v
IOH Core.....................................:1.10v
ICH I/O......................................: 1.50v
ICH Core.....................................:1.10v
>>>>>Dram
DRAM Voltage.................................:1.60v
DRAM Termination.............................: [Auto]
Ch-A Data Vref...............................:[Auto]
Ch-B Data Vref...............................:[Auto]
Ch-C Data VRef...............................:[Auto]
Ch-A Address Vref............................:[Auto]
Ch-B Address Vref............................:[Auto]
Ch-C Address VRef............................: [Auto]

 

[Cyborg]

Just did all that,
Memory channel B and C can't be adjusted and always take what I enter in channel A.
T he post screen comes up and shows 3.8GHz, the mem shows 1520GHz, but sometimes it shows 2GB memory, sometimes it shows 4GB memory, but never 6GB. I have all three modules installed and don't get the power fault at startup.
However, it always stops where it would take 15min to bootup.
There is also two clicks (not the speaker beeps) when the boot starts, after those two clicks, there is a pause and then comes the regular one beep for bootup.

 

[Cyborg]

the "good" mem module lets me boot into the os.
to make a long story short:

however, trying to open some programs (like core temp or 3d mark vantage) causes the computer to reboot.

Your honest opinion, what should I send back tomorrow morning?
Mem and MB or does the MB look like a keeper?

Thanx again

 

[redduc900]

I'd have to say there's a problem w/ the board. There are only 2 BIOS revisions that have been released, one being the original, and the other has to do w/ support for new and upcoming processors. But since you've already got a RMA number for both the board and the RAM, I'd probably just send both back for replacements. One other thing you could try is upping the VTT to the previous 1.45V, and change the DRAM timings to 8-8-8-24-1T Command Rate w/ tRFC set back to 110 at 1520MHz.

 

[Cyborg]

one big mistake on my side,
all the programs that I tried to open are on a drive that I had not connected.

The only change I made is mem to 8-8-8-24 1T and 1.65V
I'm now able to run 3DMark Vantage with no problem. although, the score is much lower than I thought it would be.
Score was 15373, CPU score was something like 54000 and the highest temp I saw during the cpu test was 46C.
I will now reboot and connect the drive with the other programs and see if it runs P95

edit:
all my drives are connected, P95 is running for the past 11min and has done 11 tests. CPU temp never went higher than 38C
I leave it running and go to bed.
I have no RMA yet, I just read their policy online, I wanted to call them first thing tomorrow morning.

 

[Cyborg]

got up this morning and saw this:
Your magical settings did it.

P95 was running all night.
Maybe this board needs a good bios update (which will come, I'm sure)

I will call New Egg as soon as I here from you. MB keeper? yes or no

 

[redduc900]

I'd still swap out the board and RAM, since it still won't POST w/ all 3 sticks installed. There's a Newegg rep. that frequently posts in the forums here, so you might want to PM him and point him to this thread. You might also want to post in the OCZ support forum, and again point them to this thread... it may just be DRAM sub-timings or other BIOS setting(s) being incorrectly set that's causing the issue. But either way, get an RMA from Newegg just in case they can't help you get this sorted..

 

[Cyborg]

How do you like this?

100%stable running P95 for 30min

 

[redduc900]

Awesome...

 

[Cyborg]

after seeing how stable P95 ran all night, I figured it only costs me one more day of waiting to try something.
I went to compusa, bought the exact same mem, took out the "good" module from new egg and inserted the three new ones.
Voila, post of 6GB and perfect bootup.
In the original package is one stick that works, one that posts, but makes the system go very slow and one that doesn't even post.
It cost me $50.00 more at compusa, but now it's well worth it that I don't have to wait 2 weeks and maybe go through the same process again.

I thank you again so much and I would have never gotten anywhere without your help.
I will now install everything in my case and enjoy it for a week, then I'll be back with new thread to go for the 4GHz oc.
BTW, I still wonder why I hit the end at 150 bclock and your settings immediately went to 190 with ease. You should have those settings on the front page of the 3 step OCing

 

[redduc900]

I'm glad you got it figured out, and you didn't have to RMA the board or RAM. For 4.0GHz, using the same template as in post #22 and w/ the timings currently at 8-8-8-24 and DRAM voltage at 1.64V...

MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Advanced CPU Features {Press Enter]
CPU Clock Ratio............................: 20
CPU Frequency .....(Ghz)...................:4.0
Intel(R) Turbo Boost Tech..................:[Disabled]
CPU Cores Enabled..........................:[All]
CPU Multi Threading........................:[Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)....................:[Enabled]
C3/C6/C7 State Support.....................:[Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor........................:[Enabled]
CPU EIST Function..........................:[Enabled]
Bi-Directional PROCHOT.....................:[Enabled]
Virtualization Technology..................:[Enabled]

Uncore & QPI Features [Press Enter]
QPI Clock Ratio*...........................:36
QPI Link Speed* ......................(Ghz):7.20
Uncore Clock Ratio.........................:x17
Uncore Frequency......................(Mhz):3,4
Isochronous Support........................:[Enabled]
Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
Base Clock (BCLK) Control*.................:[Enabled]
BCLK Frequency (Mhz)*......................:200
PCI Exxpress Frequency (Mhz)...............:103
>>>>>Standard Clock Control
CPU Clock Drive (mV).......................:700
PCI  Express Clock Drive (mV)..............:700
CPU Clock Skew (ps)........................:0
IOH Clock Skew (ps)........................:0
Advanced Dram Features [Press Enter}
Performance Enhance........................:[Turbo]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.)............:[Disabled]
System Memory Multiplier (SPD).............:x8
Memory Frequency (Mhz).....................:1,600
DRAM Timing Selectable (sPD) ..............:[Quick]
Channel A Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel A Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel A Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) .....................:1
>>>>>Channel A Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................:[Auto]
Channel A Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel A Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel A Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]


Channel B Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel B Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel B Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) ..........................:1
>>>>>Channel B Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................: [Auto]
Channel B Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel B Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel B Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]

Channel C Timing Settings Sub Menu [Press Enter]
>>>>>Channel C Standard Timing Control
Cas Latency Time.............................:7
tRCD.........................................:7
tRP..........................................:7
tRAS.........................................:19
>>>>>Channel C Advanced Timing Control
tRC..........................................:27
tRRD ........................................:4
tWTR ........................................:4
tWR..........................................: 8
tWTP.........................................:[Auto]
tWL..........................................:[Auto]
tRFC.........................................: 60
tRTP.........................................:4
tFAW.........................................: [Auto]
Command Rate (CMD) ..........................:1
>>>>>Channel C Misc Timing Control
B2B CAS Delay................................:[Auto]
Round Trip Latency...........................: [Auto]
Channel B Turnaround Setting [Press Enter]
>>>>> Channel C Reads Followed By Reads
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................: [Auto]
>>>>> Channel C Writes Followed By Writes
Different DIMMs..............................: [Auto]
Different Ranks..............................: [Auto]
On The Same Rank.............................:[Auto]

Advanced Voltage Control [Press Enter]
>>>>CPU Voltages
LoadLine Calibration.........................:[Level 2]
CPU Vcore....................................:1.30625v
QPI/VTT Voltage..............................:1.280v
CPU PLL......................................: 1.80v
>>>>>MCH/ICH Voltrage
PCIE.........................................: 1.50v
QPI PLL......................................: 1.10v
IOH Core.....................................:1.10v
ICH I/O......................................: 1.50v
ICH Core.....................................:1.10v
>>>>>Dram
DRAM Voltage.................................:1.64v
DRAM Termination.............................: [Auto]
Ch-A Data Vref...............................:[Auto]
Ch-B Data Vref...............................:[Auto]
Ch-C Data VRef...............................:[Auto]
Ch-A Address Vref............................:[Auto]
Ch-B Address Vref............................:[Auto]
Ch-C Address VRef............................: [Auto]

 

[Cyborg]

THANK YOU SIR!
From a total low to the absolute high in one day.

I downloaded real temp, my cpu fan is at 1600 rpm (could go to 2400 rpm but gets loud)

How does this look on a 30 min test?

I will let it run all night tonight, when I go to sleep and a wonderful good night rest I will have, thanx to you.

 

[redduc900]

Looking good. Let it settle in at 4.0Ghz and DDR3-1600MHz / 8-8-8-24 for awhile, and when you're ready we'll shoot for a higher clock and / or tighter timings.

 

[Cyborg]

Will do.
What is a save temp limit?
If I start P95 with 8 workers at 100% load, the max temp after a 15 min test. goes up to 70°C

 

[redduc900]

70C is fine considering > 1.3V Vcore at 4.0GHz, although you might want to start lowering it one step at a time until Prime fails. You want the lowest Vcore possible, while still being Prime stable.

 

[Cyborg]

After this newly found success, I installed my MB into my case.
Wow, what a difference that made.
The idle temp went from mid 30s to mid 50s and the inside of my computer case feels like an oven. When I lower the Vcore 1 click, the computer doesn't boot, it resets into the bios. I upped it one click and it is now 1.28750V.
The system is very stable and even runs P95 with 8 workers, but I'don't want to leave P95 run for too long, since the temps on all four cores, immediately goes to 80°C.
I decided to leave it like this for now and went one lower on the vcore and to 190 bclock, until I get my shiny new water cooling system.
I will wait awhile and start looking and educating myself about radiators, pumps and whatever else I'll need.
Thanks again for the help, to get a stable 4.0GHz system.

Water cooling here I come! LOL