New build, possible ram problems

So I've been thinking about building a new desktop for a long time and finally decided to go for it. Unfortunately its turned into a bit of a nightmare and was looking for a little advice.

The spec was the following:

RAM 16GB 4x4GB CMZ8GX3M2A2133C11R

CPU Intel Core i7 4770K

MOBO ASUS Z87-DELUXE

SYSTEM DRIVE 240GB PNY PREVAIL SSD

All other hardware was reused from my existing desktop. Everything went together perfectly with no trouble. Installed windows/drivers etc fine until I [by complete luck] discovered data on non-system drives was being silently corrupted.

It seemed to occur at random and only a small number of files were affected but extremely frustrating. I then started to try and find the problem. Things to note though, it was happening on multiple drives across multiple, different branded, controllers. No corruption has been seen on the system drive. rebooting seemed to result in more files becoming corrupted. Some files would fail md5 checks, reboot, then pass.

after checking all drives and controllers I turned to the RAM. RAM passed memtest fine after running overnight. I then disabled XMP in the bios and problem became MUCH better. Replaced the RAM and used some from a friends machine and its been ~2days without an error. It did take up to 24 hours to find a failure though so I can't guarantee its fixed.

The question, is it possible for the RAM to cause this directly? Did overclocking the ram via XMP stress over parts MOBO or CPU and that in turn caused the problems? or could this all be coinsidence and the problem will return! :(

The question, is it possible for the RAM to cause this directly? Did overclocking the ram via XMP stress over parts MOBO or CPU and that in turn caused the problems? or could this all be coinsidence and the problem will return!

Anything ius possible when it's memory related. But i dont think it's anything a simple BIOS adjustment wont cure. Since the XMP profile of 2133mhz is an overclock, all beit a small one for that CPU , try setting the DIMM voltage to 1.55v with the XMP profile active. You may need to go as high as 1.6v

There is also the good possibility that it is because you have mixed two kits. Corsair does not recommend or support using multiple kits on the same board, even if they are the same part number. You just cant tell if any two random kits are going to play well with each other.

'You might try isolating your two 8 gig kits and test them on their own as well. If they test out fin alone but not together , even with the voltage adjustment, then it would be best to return them for single matched 16 gig kit.

Thanks for your reply. That is interesting to know, I've always thought that same part numbers were ok but lesson learn the hard way! :) Its still running fine on the borrowed RAM so I'm hopeful of finding a solution. I emailed the retailer and they are happy to accept a return so I'll try your suggestions and if no luck return them for a 16gb kit.

Thanks again!