Question Yellow DRAM light shows up only for A2, B2 Channels 2 different Mobos

[Macky_Mac]

Hello everyone been using this website for troubleshooting until now but I think I finally need to ask for my specific situation. Made an account and everything thanks to everyone on here for being helpful up until now.

Firstly, new build specs below.

Z790 Asus Hero Mobo / Z790 Gigabyte Aorus elite
I9 13900k cpu
Thermalright 120 assassin cpu fan
Klevv cras 16gb x 2 Ram (6000mhz)
MSI Meg A1300 PSU

So essentially the issue is that I built this entire new build (with gigabyte board first) and then got post issues with a yellow DRAM light. I can post full specs if needed but these seem to be the components that are suspect.

In order to troubleshoot I disassembled and started with just the cpu and fan. Same thing goes to yellow dram light I then add the ram and I notice that seemingly the A2 and B2 channels are not working but the A1 and B1 are working fine it can even post and I can get into BIOS. I assume either the channels are bad or the sockets are bent so I order a new Mobo (Asus hero).

With the new mobo unfortunately same thing only the A1 and B1 channels work. So CPU issue? Ive inspected the pins on both boards and im pretty certain there are no bends. The thing is I'm so sick of troubleshooting I want to just proceed with the build but I'm afraid I'm just asking for trouble down the line if I ignore this.

Is this a surefire cpu issue?
Should I suspect the psu or ram?
If I can get into bios on a1 b1 is it Safe to proceed without expecting future trouble?

Would really appreciate the help sorry for grammar and length and thanks in advance as this community has been a huge help even getting to this point.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Inspect the CPU's socket for any bent or broken pins. Rare to have them on both but I've seen people do the same mistake more than once. You might want to use diffused lighting to avoid pins throwing sharp shadows in case they are. Viewing the socket under sunlight helps.

As for your cooler, can you relieve the mounting pressure on the cooler/socket...perhaps just have the cooler rest on the processor while the motherboard is breadboarded(so the cooler's weight has it atop of the CPU's IHS.

If you're able to POST and then move along without issue on slots A1 and B1, it would indicate that the IMC(integrated memory controller) on the processor is at fault, you should contact your seller/Intel to initiate an RMA.

You could also try and use the BIOS FlashBack option on your Asus motherboard/Q-Flash Plus option on your Gigabyte motherboard and flash the BIOS to the latest version.

 

[Macky_Mac]

Hello Thanks!

Yeah I've been testing the system(s) with just the cpu fan sitting on top of the cpu to rule out an uneven mounting pressure.

I was thinking about trying to update the BIOS I can give that a last try before I try to RMA the cpu. Do you think it could be the RAM itself or the PSU?

I've read alot that seem to suggest cpu failures are rare but everything seems to point towards it.

 

[Macky_Mac]

Update: I flashed the BIOS to the latest version and this didn't have an impact. A2 B2 still do not work. I ran 1 pass of memtest86 from within the BIOS it found no errors.

I don't know much about memtest but would it detect an issue with the IMC?

Anyway I feel pretty confident the RAM is fine too leaving the CPU and PSU as the only contenders but really I can't think of a reason the PSU would be an issue at this point.

 

[Macky_Mac]

Hello to anyone just in case someone else goes through similar issues.

The problem was the i9 13900k CPU seems like you were correct in diagnosing the IMC. Either way this was fixed by swapping out the CPU.

I took the opportunity to upgrade to the 14900k. After I flashed the mobo to support it I figured why not.