Question System is unstable when RAM is in certain slots ?

freznar

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Apr 22, 2017
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So back in 2019 I built my current system. When building it, I had an issue where if I inserted my 2 ram sticks into the A2 and B2 slots, the computer would not boot. Tried other RAM sticks with the same result. Instead of RMAing like I should have, I instead put the ram into slots B1 and B2 and the system worked without any hitches.

Fast forward to recent times it seems like this problem has caught up to me. Many recent games have run poorer than they should for my specs. While playing Space Marine 2, I was just getting awful performance and 100% cpu usage no matter what I did. After some googling, I decided to update my BIOS, and for the heck of it I decided to put my ram into the A2 and B2 slots to try it out. The system booted this time. Space Marine 2 got a 20 fps boost and played at a solid 60 fps and CPU load was no longer at 100%. But then my computer froze after about 30 minutes of play and got stuck in a boot loop, LEDs and fans spinning up, but black screen, then shutting down, over and over until I cut the power.

So I decided to reset the CMOS after that. Did a full Molten Core raid on World of Warcraft Classic the next day with no issues. But after that I tried Space Marine 2 again and this time it crashed within 10 minutes. I tried flashing the BIOS, same thing happened. I decided to put the RAM back into the B1 and B2 slots again. The game's performance once again tanked, but it no longer crashed the PC. Over the years, I've resat the CPU multiple times for different reasons, so I feel like I would've noticed any bent pins, but if that's the likely culprit, I'll guess that's the next thing to check when I get a chance. Any other suggestions?

Specs
Motherboard: MSI Z390-A Pro
CPU: i7 9700K
GPU: EVGA Geforce 2070 Super
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHz
 
Bent socket pins usually manifest itself by ram glitches.
A bad slot, no dual channel, and so on.
It is all too easy to do if you wiggled the cpu to get it seated.
One needs to just drop it in the socket.
Check to see if you have a bent pin.
They are tiny and delicate. You can sometimes fix things by bending the pin back in place.

Corsair will have a lifetime warranty.
Run memtest86+
It boots from a usb stick and does not use windows.
You can download it here:

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

If you run B1/B2 and all is ok, then your ram is ok.
It will just be running slower in single channel mode.
 

freznar

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Apr 22, 2017
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So I opened up and checked, no bent pins from what I could see. There was a small speck of dust in between some pins that I was able to get out. After reseating the CPU, the computer will no longer boot again with the ram in A2/B2 or A1/B1. B1/B2 still boots fine. I'm guessing it's just a motherboard issue with no actual fix.

If you run B1/B2 and all is ok, then your ram is ok.
It will just be running slower in single channel mode.

Yeah, this is what I've been doing for years with the build. The speed loss has never been noticeable until a few recent game releases being heavy on the CPU, where in Space Marine 2 it's been costing me a 33% performance drop .