Question How accurate are Memory Testers?

[nagonis]

Hello

I received a used Laptop (Lenovo x280 i5-8350U, 1 x 8GB RAM). Since its RAM is soldered, it gives me even more reason to check the RAM health before accepting it. I used memtest86 10.5 pro, and another one named similar memtest86plus v6.20 for testings. I am kind of confused about the results.

Memtest86plus gave me 0 errors after the 1st pass. But after another pass, it gave me errors. While Memtest96 10.5 gave me alot of errors (over 300) at the first pass. Then I did a Bios Update and reset the Bios, and Memtest86 10.5 gave me 0 errors at first pass when testing again after BIos Update. But tat the second pass I got 500+ errors.

Memtest86plus also started to give me errors occasionally. Using the RAM test of Windows, it gave me "you have hardware problems" result. While the diagnostic tool from Lenovo, which tests RAM, said everything was fine.

Usually I would just replace the RAM, but since it is soldered, it is not possible here. What is the best way to be sure about the current health state of the RAM? The results of the different softwares kind of confuse me and tbh I dont know how to analyze them or what exactly the 500+ errors mean on mentest86 10.5 for example.

And this one is not about Memory, but since I am already posting here, maybe someone has an idea: The CPU seems to be mostly at 3,5 GHZ when using the Laptop. Thats the Boosting speed. I set the Max CPU power to 90% in my Energy Saving Profile, but it still seems to boost to up to 3,5 GHZ. What could be the reason for it to ignore Windows Energy Settings?

 

[zx128k]

Memtest requires about 32 passes to 100% cover all patterns for all tests. Sometimes the memory will heat up and get to hot. Then error like crazy, some settings take awhile for error to show. Memtest is not the best available memory testing program but each person has that one test program they think is best. For me its 8-10 hours of prime95 large ffts. With the settings I use that covers all the tests.

I also run TestMem5 with the extreme cfg and Prime 95 small ffts.

500+ errors in memtest on the second pass is very bad. Memory is very unstable. Given this is a Laptop its doesn't look good. This could also be caused by bad settings in BIOS, overheating RAM and/or a hardware fault. As the RAM is soldered you will need a rework station is remove and replace it.

It would say its faulty but likely could be fixable.

 

[nagonis]

(...)

Thanks for your reply. For now, booting into Windows works and I dont see any issues when using the Laptop. But yes, because it is soldered and so much work to replace, I wanted to be sure about the RAM Health. I am kinda confused about these results. Testing my Desktop Ram for example, with the same tools, always gives me 0 errors.

So, I think the softwares kind of work. I am not sure if it is the setup or the heat. And since I updated the Bios and also reset it to default settings, I think I can exclude BIOS-setting issues (can I?). The CPU gets 81°C during the mentest86 10.5 test by the way. I also re-tested with Lenovo Diagnostics on Uefi-level (like, booting directly into diagnostics, instead of Windows) and it gave me "failed" errors this time.

So, can I assume, when even Lenovo Diagnostics gives me these errors (since it is a Lenovo Laptop), that the RAM is faulty and I should better return it? What confused me the most, is, that the errors are displayed only now and then during a test. As said, some tests (well, at least 1-pass tests) result in 0 errors. I unfortunately dont have the time to do alot of passes. But yeah, since I even get errors already at the 2nd, and sometimes already at the 1st pass, I think this is not really a good sign.

EDIT; Btw is Testmem 5 safe? I checked the original website (with google translation) and there are also the older Testmem version (1-4). Some of them seem to be bootable. But Testmem 5 isnt. Does it make a big difference?