Need help to troubleshoot my system

[darkvador80]

Hello everybody !

My HTPC is having blue screen , bsod ?, but I can't figure out the faulty component.

Last year I built an HTPC :
Amd a10 5800K
asus F2A85M pro
8 gb kit from gskill ripjawsx DDR 3 1867
Intel SSD for boot
1 TB western digital black
3 Tb toshiba
Latest bios for the mobo.

Things were good, a few freeze when dldng with microtorrent but stable in overall. I also played few games.
I found out that I forgot to change the ram freq in the bios, so after changing from 1600 to 1867 with DOCP, everything was good until few weeks ago when the bsod started.
i checked the ram with memtest and 1 stick was faulty. I filled an RMA with gskill and got the sticks back 2 weeks ago.

I did a fresh reinstrall of WIN 7 64, and the bsod came several times during win 7 install...
I checked the ram with memtest, separetely and both were good at 1867...
I updated the bios and reset ram at 1600
I tryed a fresh reinstall with only 1 stick, it worked well.
Then I put the other stick and ran 3d mark , results were good.
I enbled DOCP in the bios and ram freq to 1867, I had few bsod eveyone of them during an installation process... ???
I ran memtest with the ram at 1600 , it froze after 3 min, then I tried with the ram at 1867, still frozen around 3 min.
So... wtf is going on there? I'am suspecting the mobo.

any Ideas ?

 

[darkvador80]

A little update,

In the bios I switched from DOCP mode to auto and set the ram freq to 1866, It booted, but I had no time to test it or run it with my usual routine, I ll keep the thread updated.

 

[Tradesman1]

Try raising the DRAM voltage + 0.05 and the CPU/NB (MC (memory controller)) up + 0.10

 

[darkvador80]

So go to manual mode and set this, ok I'll do that tomorrow.
what is DOCP, when I select it, It sets the true timings of the ram, but make the system unstable, when I put to auto and set 1866 there are no timing set , but it seems more stable...

 

[Tradesman1]

AMD has weak MCs, the slight additional voltages should help stabilize

 

[darkvador80]

I did the changes in the bios,
is NB Vref voltage same as CPU/NB voltage ? anyway it hasn't froze yet but I,ve only been using netflix, I'll keep you updates after few days of use.
Thank you.

 

[Tradesman1]

No worries, keep me updated 😉

 

[darkvador80]

Hi and Happy new year to all !!

I'm back with my BSODs and freezings.
After couple of weeks without turning the pc on, I restarted it 2 days ago and it froze while watching a video on youtube, with netflix open in another tab. It froze twice.
Today I got a BSOd with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION and an adress error etc...

I'll ran memtest on my ram tonight and post the result tomorrow.

I'M thinking of changing the mobo + ram, I think the FM2A85-M pro is a good choice but if you have any suggestions, go ahead.

Thank you.

 

[Tradesman1]

Very good mobo!

 

[darkvador80]

Hi !

I ran memtest, I had errors with both sticks in, I isolated the faulty stick.
Question :
those sticks come right from Gskill RMA, is it possible that the mobo is damaging them ??
I mean they were brand new. They cost me 40 bucks on special, and it's 15 bukcs to ship them to RMA.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL

Can I RMA it again ?

Also what other brand or type of ram would be good for this system /?

thank you

 

[Tradesman1]

Those should be fine, are they set to run at 1866, if they are at the mobos default, they prob have sloppy timings which can cause errors

 

[darkvador80]

Ok, I checked in the bios,
On this mobo, AI overclock tuner in AI tweaker page, I have the following:
they run at 1866 mhz, in DOCP mode.
under this mode, I can select the frequency I want them to run at.
It automatically displays the correct timings of this specific ram.
I can select 2 profiles but each gives me the correct timings.
a part from DOCP mode I have:
- AUTO mode, witch displays the ram at 1600 mhz at firts, but I can select 1866 mhz for the ram frq.

- MANUAL mode. It shows auto for the ram frea but I can select 1866.

When I loaded bios default, It put the auto mode directly.

So what mode should I be in to properly use this ram.

Also I read in the mobo's manual that some leds should be on and green when epu and tpu are on, but those leds are not lit, is this normal ?
I also had a strange thing, after a change in the bios, it rebooted 2 times by it self right during the post ???

 

[Tradesman1]

DOCP and the select 1866, set the freq to 1866, and on the restart - shouldn't so raise the CPU/NB voltage to 1.2 and add + 0.05 to the DRAM voltage

 

[darkvador80]

is there another term for cpu/nb voltage ?
I have NB vref voltage and it is at 0.750

 

[Tradesman1]

How about straight NB voltage

 

[darkvador80]

I changed the DRAM voltage but all that I have with NB is
NB VREF voltage

Should I run memtest again ?

 

[Tradesman1]

Can try it and see how it goes, Yes

 

[darkvador80]

Hey,

I ran memtest and it found the same errors as when testing before the changes, the faulty ddr 3 stick is still faulty.
Those being the sticks from gskill RMa, what should I do, can the mobo damage the sticks or the sticks could already have been compromised ?
What would be my best course of action here ?
Order a new set of ram and a new mobo ?

 

[Tradesman1]

Odd for two sets of DRAM to be bad, could you borrow sticks from somebody to test with, thinking it might be mobo or MC (memory controller)

 

[darkvador80]

I'll try to have my sticks and the mobo tested at the local shop,
I'll keep you updated, thank you very much for your help

 

[darkvador80]

Hi,

I'm back with new facts:
I tried memtest with each stick alone in each memory slot, here are the results:
stick A : no errors at all.
Stick B : no errors in slots 1 and 2, but errors when in slots 3 and 4
and when stick B in slots 2 and stick A in slot 4, no errors at all.
What should I do ? is my ram really faulty or its the mobo ? anyway the mobo is going rma, but it would be good to know if the ram is really bad.

 

[Tradesman1]

Sounds like mobo or the MC in the CPU

 

[darkvador80]

Okkk...
Is there a way to test the cpu for this ??, I'll email gskill support with this and we'll see how to proceed.

 

[darkvador80]

Hi,
Gskill support got to me and they tell me that the stick are fine.
Do you know any way to test the CPU ?

 

[Tradesman1]

Could pull it and check for bent or broken pins, otherwise almost need another mobo and CPU to check for sure, or take it to a shop