[SOLVED] Memory Error or...?

[jawats]

Hello all!

I have an HP Compaq with a Core i5 3570 in it. It has an HP 3397 motherboard. The graphics card is a Geforce GT 710 with 1 GB of DDR3 on it. I have a Samsung SSD with 256 GB of storage for apps and OS, and a 1 TB storage drive for photos, dropbox, etc.

Without any changes to the system, doing photo editing in LightRoom and Photoshop is suddenly resulting in error messages for lack of memory. I downloaded CPU-Z, which finished downloading, then took 3+ mins to install. Under normal OS operation (chrome, etc) I don't notice any issues. It's only when I do photo editing (such as focus stacking in PS and LR, or using ICE for stitching) that I run into problems.

After running CPU-Z for memory info, I noticed something odd.

I have two (supposedly) matched pairs of memory in my system.

Group 1 (DIMM 1 & 2) -

SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) Kingston (7F980000000000000000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700 (667 MHz)

Group 2 (DIMM 3 & 4) -

SMBus address 0x52
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) G.Skill (7F7F7F7FCD0000000000000000)
Size 4096 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-12800 (800 MHz)

Seems like they match. However, when I dig into the stats on CPU-Z, I notice that 3 / 4 memory sticks say "Dual" in their Ranks, while the G.Skill in slot 3 says "Single."

Is this an error in the memory or motherboard someplace, or should I look for other issues? Thoughts?

Thank you!

--J.

 

[kanewolf]

Hello all!

I have an HP Compaq with a Core i5 3570 in it. It has an HP 3397 motherboard. The graphics card is a Geforce GT 710 with 1 GB of DDR3 on it. I have a Samsung SSD with 256 GB of storage for apps and OS, and a 1 TB storage drive for photos, dropbox, etc.

Without any changes to the system, doing photo editing in LightRoom and Photoshop is suddenly resulting in error messages for lack of memory. I downloaded CPU-Z, which finished downloading, then took 3+ mins to install. Under normal OS operation (chrome, etc) I don't notice any issues. It's only when I do photo editing (such as focus stacking in PS and LR, or using ICE for stitching) that I run into problems.

After running CPU-Z for memory info, I noticed something odd.

I have two (supposedly) matched pairs of memory in my system.

Group 1 (DIMM 1 & 2) -

SMBus address 0x50
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) Kingston (7F980000000000000000000000)
Size 2048 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-10700 (667 MHz)

Group 2 (DIMM 3 & 4) -

SMBus address 0x52
Memory type DDR3
Module format UDIMM
Module Manufacturer(ID) G.Skill (7F7F7F7FCD0000000000000000)
Size 4096 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3-12800 (800 MHz)

Seems like they match. However, when I dig into the stats on CPU-Z, I notice that 3 / 4 memory sticks say "Dual" in their Ranks, while the G.Skill in slot 3 says "Single."

Is this an error in the memory or motherboard someplace, or should I look for other issues? Thoughts?

Thank you!

--J.

If you suspect a memory error, the first thing is to run MEMTEST -- https://www.memtest86.com/
But I would suspect that you just have insufficient RAM. 12GB RAM is not a large amount today and Lightroom has a recommended configuration of 16GB or more -- https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/system-requirements.html

 

[jawats]

If you suspect a memory error, the first thing is to run MEMTEST -- https://www.memtest86.com/
But I would suspect that you just have insufficient RAM. 12GB RAM is not a large amount today and Lightroom has a recommended configuration of 16GB or more -- https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/system-requirements.html

That may be, but the entire system is slowing down. I was also getting out of memory errors on the MS Image Composite Editor. I have a lesser-spec’ed laptop which did both operations just fine.

I should now mark this resolved as I just bought one of these:

https://www.costco.com/asus-desktop---10th-gen-intel-i5-10400.product.100693069.html

A decent system for $499.

 

[geofelt]

What you are seeing is called "flex mode"
That is where the matching capacity in each channel operates in dual channel mode and the odd capacity runs in single channel mode.
Mismatched ram can cause problems, but not so much with intel.

 

[jawats]

What you are seeing is called "flex mode"
That is where the matching capacity in each channel operates in dual channel mode and the odd capacity runs in single channel mode.
Mismatched ram can cause problems, but not so much with intel.

And does that happen with just one of the four banks, or should it happen in pairs?

Well, I inveigled permission from the spouse to buy a new system, based on this one’s age and the very good prices of new desktops out there. So, there’s that. I can troubleshoot this more leisurely, or simply sell it. I will run Memtest and see what happens.

thank tou

 

[geofelt]

Most systems we are talking about can ram in dual channel mode.
That is what gives you the effective speed advertised on the sticks.
To run dual channel requires two sticks and two channels.
In the event that you have a third stick, it will be installed in a third slot, but since there is no matching capacity, it can not run in dual channel mode.
Sometimes on a laptop, you see where 4gb comes soldered in and the laptop is offered in strange 12 or 20gb sizes.
Not anything to worry about. More ram is more useful regardless.
This is normal operation.