Help with dual channel problem!

[jpwwong]

Hi all tech gurus

New to the community - great information on this website.

However, did not help me solve my problem

PC (brand new) Specs : Gigabyte P55-UD3R, 2x2gb G.SKill Ripjaws 1600Mhz, INTEL i5 750, no OC and mods.

Scenario is I've been getting BSODs frequently and randomly and I've done all the tests available (memtest on dual sticks inserted at same time, individual ram sticks tested individually and in different slots), HD Tunes, FurMark and all tests have came back passed.

I've recently been testing running with only one RAM stick inserted, and I've gone a week without any BSODs which I haven't been able to do previously when dual channel RAMs were used. So I am thinking there is a problem with my dual channel RAMs working together, as I have tested each RAM individually and my PC seems to get along fine with just one.

Anyone have a clue what is wrong?

Thanks alot guys!

 

[dj1997]

i dont think the i5 750 supports the speed of dual channel 1600 modules try to disable dual channel in bios somehow

 

[ko888]

Do you still get BSOD's when you run both modules together in single channel mode (i.e. use slots DDR3_1 and DDR3_2)? I know this isn't a solution but it will confirm whether or not the problem is limited to dual channel operation.

 

[Scott2010au]

As above, plus

What voltage are those DIMMs meant to be running at?

 

[jpwwong]

@ ko888 - I have yet to try running it in single channel mode.

@Scott2010au - Voltage rated at 1.5v running at DDR3-1333 (667 Mhz). The RAMs are made to run at 1.5v, DDR3-1600 (800 Mhz).

But from how I understand it, running at 1333mhz should not cause BSODs!

 

[geofelt]

1) Is the ram on the motherboard's QVL support list? Sometimes, there are construction anomalies with particular ram, like single sided vs. double sided. Alternatively, does Gskil say that these sticks are supported on your motherboard. Obviously is looks like all should be OK, but if neither vendor will own up to support you really may have an issue.
2) Check to see if there is a motherboard bios that will address the issue. This is the type of problem that may surface after the release of a new motherboard.
3) It takes a bit more voltage to run multiple sticks of ram. Normally it is only needed when 4 sticks are used. Try raising the voltage one notch in the bios. DO NOT exceed 1.65 volts.
4) How long was memtest run for? It may take several full passes to find a small error.

 

[jpwwong]

Gigabyte's website says it supports 4 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory - does it mean I can only provide 1.5v for the system?

Checked both G.Skill's list and Gigabyte's QVL and both listed each other as compatible.

Bios updated to latest F10.

Maybe I can try increasing the DRAM voltage to 1.6v to see whether it stabilizes - but back to my first point, mobo says it supports 1.5v DIMM sockets, does this mean I shud keep voltage at 1.5v?

Memtest ran overnight (8 hours) individually and in dual channel with no errors.

Can I also ask, since the RAM is running at 1333, what do I need to do to get it running at 1600? I played around with XMP and by enabling it, it bumped it up to 1600, but I read that XMP is dangerous and people prefer to manually bump the settings.

Thanks again.

 

[geofelt]

1.65v dimms are really 1.5v dimms that can be overclocked to higher speeds. Run cpu-z to see what your ram is really running at.

All such dimms should run by default at 1.5v so you can get into the bios.

Leaving ram to default to whatever the motherboard finds that works is often the best.
There is very little benefit to running ram extra fast. The difference in synthetic benchmarks looks impressive, but it translates ot 103% real performance or fps. Not much worth it.

It looks to me like your ram is good.

What is the BSOD code? Is there a referenced module? You might be having graphics card driver issues.

 

[jpwwong]

Well true enough, putting my dual sticks back into my PC has made it BSOD twice in one day when it had not BSOD at all for a week with just one stick. I've tried increasing the voltage to 1.6v so seems like it does not help at all.

I'll try to OC my cpu to bring my dual channel sticks to stock at 1666mhz coz right now its running at 1333mhz so that might be the problem.

I was just wondering if anyone has seen such a problem before. I notice that before any crashes happen, my screen flickers and my taskbar turns into a light color as shown by taskbar1.jpg (taskbar2.jpg shows how my taskbar is supposed to look like). Sometimes it flickers and turns back, sometimes it doesnt. Anyone have any idea whats causing it? Fyi ATi drivers are all up to date.

 

[geofelt]

OC on the cpu or raising the ram speed should exacerbate the problem. 1333 is fine and preferred for stable operation.

Is it possible that you have a driver problem? Look particularly at your graphics driver.
Screen flickering is an indicator of a graphics problem.

Is it possible that you installed a 32 bit driver instead of a 64 bit driver?
It seems that your problem happens when 4gb is installed vs. 2gb.


To reinstall the graphics driver, follow this procedure:


1) Download driversweeper to your desktop, or wherever you can find it easily.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/Guru3D---Driver-Sweeper-(Setup)-download-1655.html

2) Download your new driver to the same place.
3) In add/remove programs, uninstall any Nvidia or ATI vga drivers and programs.
4) Boot into safe mode. Press F8 repeatedly while booting to enter safe mode. Your display resolution may be minimal.
5) Run driversweeper. Check the selection boxes for the removal of all nvidia vga drivers and ati drivers.
6) Rerun driversweeper. All such components should be gone.
7) Install the new driver from the desktop or saved location.

Since memtest runs with all sticks and 4gb, I don't think you have a ram problem.

 

[micman]

I am having a similar problem currently. You can see it in my thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/278825-30-computer-crashes-dual-channel-configuration#t1916957

 

[jpwwong]

Thanks for your replies.

I thought the flicker was due to a bad driver initially, but after 2 months of testing I do not think its a ATi driver problem because the flicker did not happen once when single memory sticks were used.

I am currently testing it with 1.65v added to DRAM voltage. I was just hoping someone could put me out of my misery bcoz its been soooo long and I still haven't figured out why my dual channel is acting up.

Sigh

 

[micman]

There are two things you could try if possible to troubleshoot this issue. Try swapping out your PSU to see if maybe the PSU is sending improper current to the mobo.
Second, try putting your ram in someone elses mobo to see if your mobo is the issue. I hope this helps.

 

[jpwwong]

I have yet to try what you suggested micman, but I have found out another problem!

Running my rams individually, one of the rams throws out BSODs (this RAM I have not tried previously to run individually) while the other one tested out fine with no BSODs.

I have performed memtest individually on each RAM and also tested when both of them are in and all tests have passed.

One of the ram definitely causes BSODs, while the other one doesn't.

Can anyone explain why memtest isn't picking up any errors with the faulty (assumed through my tests) RAM stick and yet I'm getting BSODs running with that individual ram and not with the other working one?