Hardware problem - RAM or MOBO?
in [Home Built PC]
|
Prev: System Utilities
Next: New Window 7 build
From: Manuel on 24 Nov 2009 13:12 On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:17:41 -0800 (PST), M Bourgon <bourgon(a)gmail.com> wrote: >I just built a new machine and have been plagued with crashes. When I >first ran MEMTEST on it, everything came out okay. Both sticks in >bank 1 & 2 work fine (except for one set of errors when running it for >12 hours), and if they're in 3 & 4 they work fine, but in banks 2 & 4 >I get errors. If I try one stick at a time in bank 1 or 2 they look >fine too. I had a similar problem. It was the ram. I can't be totally sure but probably you'll solve the problem if you buy new sticks. Try also a different brand. We are lucky that today ram is not expensive so we can change it easily. I think that tweaking could make the situation worse, so just run to your trusted shopkeeper and buy the new sticks. -- http://NewOnlineShopping.net Read the article about the Star Wars Jersey! http://TechGamesBlog.com USB Gadgets, Music, a Magic Wand and... Star Wars.
From: M Bourgon on 30 Nov 2009 17:00 > For dual channel operation and maximum performance, you want > to have the two sticks in like-colored slots, usually 1+3 or 2+4. As > I recall, you purchased DDR2 1066 memory. Maybe these?www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231144 Yup, that's them. AND, I've gotten them working - in bays 2 & 4, they're totally stable. Been gaming heavily the last week without any issues. But I'll definitely grab the CPU-Z and check things out. > The SPD may set it to run at lower voltage and at slower speed so > that it will work initially in all motherboards. To run at rated speed, > it is often necessary to manually adjust the voltage, speed, and > timing. The downsides of building my own. I might as well just overclock it at this point; I'm busy mucking with timings and voltages anyhow... :) > > How, without buying new hardware, can I determine if it's the > > motherboard or the RAM that's having issues? > > Download and run the Prime95 torture test.http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/ > > If this test produces errors, and your memory is running within spec > and getting enough voltage, you might try bumping your cpu voltage > (vCore) a tad. Thanks again for the assist.
From: M Bourgon on 30 Nov 2009 23:03 > They're specified to require 2.0 to 2.1 volts at rated speed. All the > motherboard BIOS configuration settings seem to vary, but it's > generally very easy to set the memory multiplier wrong and be > running memory out-of-spec. Download CPU-Z and make sure > your memory is running within specification. You can view the > SPD information with this tool, also.http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php If I need to go read up on what all this means, please say so. Does this help at all? It says it's a Intel Core 2 Duo e7500 @ 2.93ghz, Core voltage 1.096 - 1.104V Family 6, Model 7, Stepping A Ext Fam 6, Ext Model 17, Revision R0 Clocks core speed: 1600.2 MHz Multiplier X6.0 Bus Speed 266.7 Rated FSB 1066.8 Mobo: Foxconn Mars Memory: DDR2 DRAM Frequency: 533.4 FSB:DRAM 1:2 CL 5 tRCD 5 tRP 5 tRAS 15 tRFC 52 CR 2T Slot #2: 1024 Max Bandwidth: PC2-6400 (400mhz) JEDEC1 JEDEC2 EPP#1 Freq 266 400 533 Cas Latency 4 5 5 RAS to CAS 4 5 5 RAS recharge 4 5 5 tRAS 10 15 15 tRC 16 24 48 Voltage 1.8v 1.8V 2.100V
From: Fishface on 1 Dec 2009 02:23 M Bourgon wrote: >> They're specified to require 2.0 to 2.1 volts at rated speed. All the >> motherboard BIOS configuration settings seem to vary, but it's >> generally very easy to set the memory multiplier wrong and be >> running memory out-of-spec. Download CPU-Z and make sure >> your memory is running within specification. You can view the >> SPD information with this tool, also.http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php > > If I need to go read up on what all this means, please say so. Does > this help at all? > > It says it's a Intel Core 2 Duo e7500 @ 2.93ghz, Core voltage 1.096 - > 1.104V > Family 6, Model 7, Stepping A > Ext Fam 6, Ext Model 17, Revision R0 > > Clocks core speed: 1600.2 MHz > Multiplier X6.0 > Bus Speed 266.7 > Rated FSB 1066.8 This is likely Intel's Speedstep lowering your multiplier to save power. If you put a load on it, such as running Prime95 torture test, the multiplier should go up. > Mobo: > Foxconn Mars > > Memory: DDR2 > DRAM Frequency: 533.4 > FSB:DRAM 1:2 OK, I think your memory is technically running asynchronously twice as fast as the stock speed specified by your CPU and chipset. Since you do have DDR2 1066 memory, the memory itself should be capable, but only at the specified 2.0 - 2.1 volts. Sometimes you might need more MCH voltage to run it this fast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northbridge_(computing) Also, different motherboards will vary in their ability to run the memory this fast. If you set your FSB:DRAM to 1:1, and DRAM Frequency to 266, that would be the stock speed of your other hardware. I have similar G.Skill memory, but four sticks, and it is set at 1:1 with a frequency of 400 with timings of 4-4-4-12 at 2.0v. That is technically under- clocking the memory, but running at tighter timings. Your E7500 has an 11x multiplier, so if you ran your memory at 1:1, you might have to drop your multiplier. My 400 MHz when multiplied by your 11x multiplier would equal 4.4 GHz and I don't think it is capable, certainly not without extreme measures. > CL 5 > tRCD 5 > tRP 5 > tRAS 15 > tRFC 52 > CR 2T > > Slot #2: 1024 > Max Bandwidth: PC2-6400 (400mhz) > > JEDEC1 JEDEC2 EPP#1 > Freq 266 400 533 > Cas Latency 4 5 5 > RAS to CAS 4 5 5 > RAS recharge 4 5 5 > tRAS 10 15 15 > tRC 16 24 48 > Voltage 1.8v 1.8V 2.100V So, how much voltage is *your* memory getting while running at 533 MHz?
From: M Bourgon on 2 Dec 2009 01:24
On Dec 1, 1:23 am, "Fishface" <fishf...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: > M Bourgon wrote: > >> They're specified to require 2.0 to 2.1 volts at rated speed. All the > >> motherboard BIOS configuration settings seem to vary, but it's > >> generally very easy to set the memory multiplier wrong and be > >> running memory out-of-spec. Download CPU-Z and make sure > >> your memory is running within specification. You can view the > >> SPD information with this tool, also.http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php > > > If I need to go read up on what all this means, please say so. Does > > this help at all? > > > It says it's a Intel Core 2 Duo e7500 @ 2.93ghz, Core voltage 1.096 - > > 1.104V > > Family 6, Model 7, Stepping A > > Ext Fam 6, Ext Model 17, Revision R0 > > > Clocks core speed: 1600.2 MHz > > Multiplier X6.0 > > Bus Speed 266.7 > > Rated FSB 1066.8 > > This is likely Intel's Speedstep lowering your multiplier to save power. > If you put a load on it, such as running Prime95 torture test, the multiplier > should go up. > > > Mobo: > > Foxconn Mars > > > Memory: DDR2 > > DRAM Frequency: 533.4 > > FSB:DRAM 1:2 > > OK, I think your memory is technically running asynchronously > twice as fast as the stock speed specified by your CPU and chipset. > Since you do have DDR2 1066 memory, the memory itself should > be capable, but only at the specified 2.0 - 2.1 volts. Sometimes > you might need more MCH voltage to run it this fast.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northbridge_(computing) > Also, different motherboards will vary in their ability to run the > memory this fast. > > If you set your FSB:DRAM to 1:1, and DRAM Frequency to 266, that > would be the stock speed of your other hardware. I have similar > G.Skill memory, but four sticks, and it is set at 1:1 with a frequency > of 400 with timings of 4-4-4-12 at 2.0v. That is technically under- > clocking the memory, but running at tighter timings. Your E7500 > has an 11x multiplier, so if you ran your memory at 1:1, you might > have to drop your multiplier. My 400 MHz when multiplied by > your 11x multiplier would equal 4.4 GHz and I don't think it is > capable, certainly not without extreme measures. So I need to (or should) stay at this current speed of 1:2? Sorry, not sure > So, how much voltage is *your* memory getting while running at 533 MHz? 2.115. |