Do I have faulty memory?

[zheyizhu]

Recently I've been experiencing numerous system crashes that are not BSODs, especially during gaming. The way my system crashes is that the system will freeze up, as in there are not outputs for any inputs, not even mouse movements, and a looped sound will be played. I've already reinstalled my sound drivers and ran Furmark, none of that fixed or detected any issues. So then I decided to run memtest86, and within the first few minutes, errors already started appearing.

Here is the end-result of the test that I ran for 6 hours.

Does the errors tell me that I have bad memory or bad memory slots?

My system specifications are:
Intel Core i5-6600K OC'd at 4.2GHz
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming ATX Motherboard
4X4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR4-2400 RAM
Gigabyte GTX 980Ti
EVGA G1 650W 80+ Gold

 

[Shaun o]

What it likely means is that the memory set at It`s 2400Mhz speed is producing errors due to the latency timings set while XMP mode is used.

You should verify that the values on the memory stated are set and configured right in the bios setting for the latency timings.

And the voltage of the memory is set correctly.

Even memory that is Xmp enabled can produce the odd error.
The solution is to lower its clock frequency and test the memory at a slightly slower speed.
Xmp over clocks memory.
The off set result of over clocking memory is when it`s put under a lot of work load it is more likely to produce errors.
Because the higher the frequency the more voltage it requires to keep it stable.

For example the symptoms you are describing, point to a fact that the memory possibly needs a bit more voltage to keep stable.

In such a case manually setting the voltage of the memory modules with a 0.250Mv or 0.500Mv millivolt increase can stabilize memory modules while under load.

By dropping the working Mhz speed of memory modules you are reducing the amount of voltage needed to keep the memory stable.
And why you lower the speed of the memory first.
If it becomes stable at that point not producing errors.
It means you should apply a slight voltage increase if you wish to run the memory at its 2400Mhz speed.

 

[zheyizhu]

What it likely means is that the memory set at It`s 2400Mhz speed is producing errors due to the latency timings set while XMP mode is used.

You should verify that the values on the memory stated are set and configured right in the bios setting for the latency timings.

And the voltage of the memory is set correctly.

Even memory that is Xmp enabled can produce the odd error.
The solution is to lower its clock frequency and test the memory at a slightly slower speed.
Xmp over clocks memory.
The off set result of over clocking memory is when it`s put under a lot of work load it is more likely to produce errors.
Because the higher the frequency the more voltage it requires to keep it stable.

For example the symptoms you are describing, point to a fact that the memory possibly needs a bit more voltage to keep stable.

In such a case manually setting the voltage of the memory modules with a 0.250Mv or 0.500Mv millivolt increase can stabilize memory modules while under load.

By dropping the working Mhz speed of memory modules you are reducing the amount of voltage needed to keep the memory stable.
And why you lower the speed of the memory first.
If it becomes stable at that point not producing errors.
It means you should apply a slight voltage increase if you wish to run the memory at its 2400Mhz speed.

In tweaking with the DRAM voltage and XMP settings, I've came across another problem: my system can't run default BIOS settings.

This was an old problem with my system, the motherboard is probably the culprit here, where any changes except by EZ Tuning would not save and the POST will just result in "overclocking failed, please enter BIOS to re-enter settings". Previously, I can run with default settings, but now I can't.

I think I'll just have to RMA my motherboard because it is just becoming too problematic for me.

 

[Tradesman1]

Sounds like a mobo problem, possibly the BIOS chip (might try a different CMOS battery) , would also suggest against using software based OCing and BIOS changes

 

[zheyizhu]

Sounds like a mobo problem, possibly the BIOS chip (might try a different CMOS battery) , would also suggest against using software based OCing and BIOS changes

I just changed the CMOS battery with a brand-new one, and the situation is still the same.

ASUS EZ Tuning is a feature within ASUS's UEFI that allows users to OC w/o having to manually input the settings so I don't think that is considered a software.

As for software OCing, I can OC my computer just fine with Al Suite III.