Memtest errors... bad ram or mobo?

[elitescouter]

So I just built my PC not even a month ago. I had quite some issues with DOA items. First I had to get a replacement mobo from AsRock because a couple of CPU pins were bent. They got me another one that looked refurbished. Once I got the mobo back it wouldn't post. Then I found out 2 out of 8 sticks of G.Skill 32gb DDR3 were bad. I did an RMA on that and they told me it might not work correctly if I just sent 2 sticks because they come pre configured. So I said w/e just replace the 2 sticks. They replaced the 2 sticks, I got them and I had a couple issues getting it to post again. I had to play around with reseating the 2 sticks in the quad channel slot and finally got it to boot. Coming from work yesterday my CPU was rebooted and error showed up. It was a BlueScreen error. I said crap, let me do memtest. Here are the results.

1st MEM TEST with the 2 sticks being in the quad channel slot.

I then cleaned the RAM contacts on those 2 sticks and swapped them into the 3rd channel and took the 3rd channel and put it in the 4th channel. Here are the results.

Any ideas what is going on? Even though I swapped the channels around, its still on 9658.0 that it errors on.


Build:
3930k Six Core I7
AsRock X79 Extreme6/GB Mobo
G.Skill DD3 1600
240GB OCZ SSD
nVidia GTX 480 GFX
Antec 750W PSU

 

[o1die]

Have you tried setting the voltage and timings in manual mode on the board? See if this helps it run more stable. I would not touch the ram contacts anymore. It is not recommended.

 

[jaquith]

After you start getting ANY errors there's no point in continuing the collect errors. G.SKILL was correct and it's best to send in the entire matched set for a replacement.

I don't know what exact set or sets of G.SKILL you have so I cannot offer BIOS setting to 'try'. Often increasing the DRAM Voltage by +0.05v and setting the VCCSA and CPUVTT Voltage to 1.20v is advisable if using XMP.

 

[elitescouter]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231498

G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 32GB (8 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9Q2-32GBZL

When I get home I will try manual settings. It's just weird that the address stays the same when I swapped the ram sticks around.

 

[jaquith]

F3-12800CL9Q2-32GBZL (8 x 4GB) 32GB DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24-2N (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS-CR) @ 1.50v

I would advise using BIOS 1.20 - http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=X79%20Extreme6/GB&o=BIOS
Update via ASRock Instant Flash (unzip the (.ROM) file on a FAT32 Flash drive and place on a USB 2.0 port @ I/O i.e. not USB 3.0 or Case USB ports) - http://www.asrock.com/feature/InstantFlash/index.asp

BIOS:
Load Defaults
DRAM Frequency -> DDR3-1600
DRAM Timing Control /Enter
DRAM tCL -> 9
DRAM tRCD -> 9
DRAM tRP -> 9
DRAM tRAS -> 24
-
Command Rate (CR) -> 2N
-
VCCSA Voltage -> 1.20v
VTT Voltage -> 1.20v
DRAM Voltage -> 1.50v~1.55v ; errors use 1.55v
CPU PLL Voltage -> ___ ; sometimes but generally on 8GB/stick this needs to be increased

** IF you have other required BIOS settings then make those changes

Save & Exit = Yes

 

[elitescouter]

F3-12800CL9Q2-32GBZL (8 x 4GB) 32GB DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24-2N (CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS-CR) @ 1.50v

I would advise using BIOS 1.20 - http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=X79%20Extreme6/GB&o=BIOS
Update via ASRock Instant Flash (unzip the (.ROM) file on a FAT32 Flash drive and place on a USB 2.0 port @ I/O i.e. not USB 3.0 or Case USB ports) - http://www.asrock.com/feature/InstantFlash/index.asp

BIOS:
Load Defaults
DRAM Frequency -> DDR3-1600
DRAM Timing Control /Enter
DRAM tCL -> 9
DRAM tRCD -> 9
DRAM tRP -> 9
DRAM tRAS -> 24
-
Command Rate (CR) -> 2N
-
VCCSA Voltage -> 1.20v
VTT Voltage -> 1.20v
DRAM Voltage -> 1.50v~1.55v ; errors use 1.55v
CPU PLL Voltage -> ___ ; sometimes but generally on 8GB/stick this needs to be increased

** IF you have other required BIOS settings then make those changes

Save & Exit = Yes

Wow! Thanks so much. I am going to give this a shot when I get home from work today. Thanks again, I will keep you guys updated how my next memtest goes after those settings.

 

[elitescouter]

Got home, Decided to punch in the settings. Got an error within a couple minutes. Decided to take out the 2 sticks that were sent back to me and with the settings that were give to me this is what I got in 7 hrs...

 

[elitescouter]

Update: Reverted BIOS settings back to Factory. Took all RAM sticks out. Put 1 RAM stick in, ran memtest, found 1 defective RAM stick. I left that stick out and put in the other 6, no issues for a couple hours. I will be getting a hold of G.Skill to do an RMA.

Can I just RMA the 2 sticks or would it be better to do the entire set. I know some people including G.Skill are saying that they work better when they are from the same batch and etc. I can manage to borrow a stick from a friend to use my PC until I get all 8 sticks back from G.Skill but kind of have doubts. What if they send me 8 sticks and I find 1 or 2 that are bad.

 

[o1die]

You don't need to get all from the same batch. Not worth the hassle. I ordered two 8gb sets of gskill ripjawsX and they work fine together.

 

[jaquith]

Update: Reverted BIOS settings back to Factory. Took all RAM sticks out. Put 1 RAM stick in, ran memtest, found 1 defective RAM stick. I left that stick out and put in the other 6, no issues for a couple hours. I will be getting a hold of G.Skill to do an RMA.

Can I just RMA the 2 sticks or would it be better to do the entire set. I know some people including G.Skill are saying that they work better when they are from the same batch and etc. I can manage to borrow a stick from a friend to use my PC until I get all 8 sticks back from G.Skill but kind of have doubts. What if they send me 8 sticks and I find 1 or 2 that are bad.

It's always best to RMA the entire kit. Yeah having a bad stick or a few bad sticks out of many is indeed a PITA. Clearly you're smart enough to find the problem.

To expedite IMO arrange a 'Cross Ship' -- you'll need to give G.SKILL a credit card but it cuts the time in half!

 

[elitescouter]

So I sent the 2 sticks back to G.Skill. Got them back yesterday. I am now running all 32gb on auto settings. Here is a memtest for 8 hours. It's looking much better!

 

[elitescouter]

Best answer selected by elitescouter.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr