A7n8x-vm/400

[bentleycollins]

Hi Ram Guy,

 

I bought 2 of the Asus A7N8X-VM/400 MBs and 2 sticks of CMX512-3200C2 ea of RAM (Listed as compatable on your chart) last June to build a couple of new systems for our CAD draftsmen. I had tons of problems trying to even get XP loaded. When I didn't get Checksum Errors from the BIOS upon boot, the Windows Install itself would hang.

 

I did some searching on various forums and saw mentions of this board not liking *TOO FAST* of RAM. I had used AMD 2800+ CPUs which run 333 and set the RAM to run the same. For kicks I took some 2700 sticks by another manufacture out of my system and tried them. Voila, it worked.

 

So I returned the 3200 sticks and bought CMX512-2700C2's (Listed as Compatavble on your chart). I was a little peeved at ASUS that it cost me about $60 to downgrade my RAM. When I used the new RAM one system was able to get going, but the other never did. I put in the other 2700 sticks again and got the system all loaded, but it won't run with the Corsair RAM that I had purchased for it.

 

I'm embarrassed to tell you that because I needed the test RAM for my own system, this system has been gathering dust in my office since. I really need to get this computer in use. Can you help?

 

thanks

bentleycollins

[RAM GUY]

Sorry about that, lets get those modules replaced.

Please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it!

[bentleycollins]

Thanks Ram Guy,

 

I did get an RMA, but because I've seen you recommend MEMTEST in so many posts, I downloaded it and gave it a shot.

 

The 1st run, with both sticks installed came up with errors right away. So I tried them 1 at a time in each of the MB's 2 slots. The MB manual doesn't indicate a preference for which slot to use with only 1 stick, it simply labels them on the diagram as DIMM2 and DIMM3.

 

Both sticks, when put in alone, came up with errors within 3% of the 1st pass while in DIMM2, and then ran error free in DIMM3 for over 3 passes. Naturally I started thinking the MB slot DIMM2 is defective.

 

For kicks, I tried the 2 sticks from the other system to see how they fared. Both of those ran alone error free in either slot.

 

What's a guy to think? All four sticks were bought at the same time from the same vender. But while the part numbers are the same, each pair's label is different. The pair that didn't work in DIMM2 has XMS2702v4.1 over 0422054-0 in the upper right, while the pair that worked has XMS2702v1.2 over 0415867-0. All the other text is the same. The printing is also slightly different, bolder on the later pair.

 

Since I don't know what those 2 lines of text mean (possibly serial numbers), I ask you, do they mean anything to me?

 

I still plan on exchanging the pair after seeing the results of all my tests, though I did consider mixing the pairs up and using the 'good' ones in DIMM2. I just need to know if I should request anything special other than the model number, CMX512-2700C2?

 

Thanks again,

bentleycollins

[RAM GUY]

Can you tell me the settings you had set in the bios for the CPU and memory?

And with 2 modules if you have more than 2 slots they should be staggered or in slots 1-3 and I would set the timings manually to Cass 2.5-3-3-7 at 2.7 Volts and test the system again. If you are running 3 modules you may have to limit the memory frequency to DDR266 to match your CPU as well.

[bentleycollins]

Son of a ….

 

Just for kicks, after I posted my last message, I put the ‘good’ RAM back in its own system and ran MEMTEST. While I didn’t get a plethora of errors like before (I stopped the earlier tests after the error count passed 1 million on the 1st pass) I did get a list of six errors. I think the error count shown above was higher, the list only showed the six entries below:

 

TEST PASS FAILING ADDRESS GOOD BAD ERR BITS CHG

4 0 00005b59df4 91.5MB 3926b4b9 3966b4b9 00400000 2

6 0 00005b75df4 91.3MB 00020000 00420000 00400000 2

6 1 00005b59df4 91.5MB 00020000 00420000 00400000 1

6 1 00005b75df4 91.3MB 00020000 00420000 00400000 3

6 3 00005b59df4 91.5MB 00020000 00420000 00400000 1

6 3 00005b75df4 91.3MB 00020000 00420000 00400000 1

 

Since I don’t know how to interpret these results, I guess I’m just wondering if they are anything that I should be concerned with. Do I need to do more testing to know what it means? The system runs fine, as is, so should I wait until (if) problems develop? Or is this much ado about nothing?

 

I’ve done some more research and found a lot of complaints about this board regarding memory issues. It really surprises me because I assumed this was just the little brother of the A7N8X deluxe board that I use in my home system and have put into several systems I have built for friends.

 

As for your questions of me regarding the 'bad' RAM:

 

> Can you tell me the settings you had set in the bios for the CPU and memory?

 

There are no User Settings available, I can't even see what settings it is using (automatically?).

 

> And with 2 modules if you have more than 2 slots they should be staggered or in slots 1-3

 

This is a Mini ATX board, it only has 2 slots.

 

Ram Guy, please answer the following and I'll let you go:

 

Is there any meaning, to me, regarding the two lines of text on the DIMM Lable from my previous post that would require me to request something specific, other than the part number, for my RMA?

 

and

 

Should I be concerned about the errors received on the other sticks as explained above on this post?

 

Thanks a ton, I appreciate your time and the knowledge I gain from your posts.

 

bentleycollins

[RAM GUY]

I would suggest we go ahead and get them replaced and see what happens.

But with this MB it does seem to be picky with memory in general. As far as asking for a specific part, we would only be able to replace the modules for the exact same part# that is received. But let's try getting them replaced and go from there. But we will not leave you hanging if you should still have a problem.