MrFreeze Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 system: m2n-sli deluxe (bios 0404)AMD 64 x2 3800+ (socket am2)Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 with EPP (TWIN2X1024-6400C4)BFG 7600GTWD 2500YD SATA 1.5BenQ DW 1655NEC 3540AThermaltake TR2 W0070 ATX 430WRosewill TU-155onboard soundDell FP 20" widescreen Hi all! I'm having a few probs with my system and have tried a number of fixes that I've seen on these boards to no avail. The support here seems amazing, though, so I thought I'd see if someone could help! When I first put the system together, I turned off legacy USB and left all the other bios settings alone. The RAM is recognized at 5-5-5-18-2T with Bank Cycle Time (Trc) of 23. I then ran memtest for 21 passes with no errors. I installed XP and the system ran fine for a few days. I wanted to exploit the RAM's EPP capability and I thought my mobo would support the EPP settings in the RAM but I couldn't figure it out :(: ...does this mobo actually support the EPP settings or did I get that wrong? I disabled AI OC and manually set the timings to 4-4-4-12 and voltage to 2.1v with all other settings remaining the same. The system fails immediately upon booting to XP. Sometimes I'll get a message about a program crashing (usually MS Update) but other times it will reset with no message. I then set the vdimm voltage to 2.0. The system seems a little more stable and will boot to XP but I get all sorts of crashes and random resets...sometimes a minute after logging in and other times after 3 minutes of browsing in Explorer or IE. The system won't stay up for more than about 5 minutes in XP, though. I checked the Asus website for bios updates but my bios is version 0404 and the latest on the website is 0307 so I'm guessing that I've got the most recent. I installed Asus PC Probe II and seem to be getting normal values but CPU-Z doesn't report the same thing for Vcore. I've attached a few captures of the CPU-Z screens along with PC Probe II. CPU-Z reports vcore fluctuating around 1.120v, sometimes going down to ~1.08v. PC Probe seems much more steady at 1.30v, sometimes dropping to 1.28v. AMD recommends 1.20-1.25v for these chips so I tried setting the vcore in the bios but no change is reflected in the values that CPU-Z or PC Probe report. I did some searching and found that there are software updates from AMD and Microsoft for dual core chips, so I installed amdcpusetup.exe, TscSync.zip, and WinXPdualcorehotfix.exe. These seem to have helped very minimally, if at all. One odd side note is that CPU-Z recognizes the EPP settings in the RAM as 4-4-4-12-22-2T, but when I set the timings manually and left all of the advanced settings at Auto, the system sets Trc to 23. I went in to the Advanced settings and put Trc to 23 but the stability was not affected...the computer was still crashing very often. I've got an idea or two left to try but I'm nearly out of options...Anyone have any suggestions? If I've left out some info, please let me know and I'll post any additional screenshots, settings, etc. Thanks a ton! :cool: Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 8, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 8, 2006 Please make sure that you have the latest bios and then load setup defaults and set the Dim Voltage to 2.1 volts and then set the timings manually to the tested settings for the specific module you have, and then test the module/modules one at a time with http://www.memtest.org! If you still get errors, please follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it! However, if you get errors with both modules that would suggest some other problem and I would test them in another system or MB to be sure. In addition, with this MB you have to disable legacy USB in the bios when running any memory test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 8, 2006 Author Share Posted November 8, 2006 I appreciate the response! After loading system defaults, the system is running WinXP stable at manual settings of 4-4-4-12 with 2.0v. The system won't POST with any lower voltage and with 2.1v I get immediate lockups in WinXP. I had to manually specify a few other settings including FSB and multiplier to get to where I'm at. I also disabled legacy USB. After doing quite a bit of research, I found a forum where there were at least 5 people who had experienced stability issues with an AM2 proc while trying to crank RAM up to the published specs...all of these people had a Thermaltake 430 which is the same PS I've got. The weirdest part is that all 5 people experienced the issue less than a week apart. I went ahead and ordered a Silverstone SST-ST50EF 500W supply that should arrive tomorrow. I'm not sure if I'll have time to run the tests before the weekend but I'd like to eliminate a poor PS as a possiblity before hasseling you with a warrantied part. At the least, my system will thank me for some clean power ;-) I'll get back to you ASAP! Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 9, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 9, 2006 That might suggest a power problem, can you test the modules in another system and or test your system with a bigger better PSU? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 Ram Guy, I don't have another DDR2 system to test the modules in...however, I should be receiving a Silverstone SST-ST50EF 500W power supply today that will go into the problem machine. The specs on that Silverstone power supply seemed quite nice, with dual 12v rails and >80% efficiency. It's also SLI certified (even though I won't be using an SLI config) and supposedly supports a constant 500w load. Do you think that will be enough juice? Thanks a ton! Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 9, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 9, 2006 Yes that should do the trick and remember to load setup defaults in your bios after you install the new PSU and then set the settings again manually to be sure the new PSU is seen properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 Ram Guy, Got the new PSU installed and followed all of your directions: loaded bios defaults, disabled legacy USB, then set the mem to 4-4-4-12-2T at 2.1v. Cranked up MemTest and got more than 32000 errors in the first 30 minutes. Restarted the computer thinking something must be going wrong. Verified bios settings, restarted MemTest. This time there were 64,500+ errors coming from test 5 and 7. I restarted the computer and got more than 70,000 errors by the end of test 7. I then restarted the computer again, but this time changed the voltage to 2.0v. MemTest ran fine through test 7. I restarted the computer and booted into WinXP to post this message. I'm guessing I've got a couple bad chips, so I'll probably start the warranty process tomorrow by using the link in your sig. Any other suggestions? Thanks! Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 16, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 16, 2006 Test the modules one at a time. If no errors occur on either stick, would direct to either a motherboard or CPU isssue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 Ram Guy, I apologize for posting too early...I re-read all of your posts right after I posted at 8:07pm and noticed that you suggested testing one at a time. With only one stick in the mobo, I repeated the process of: reload bios defaults, disable legacy USB, set mem to 4-4-4-12-2T at 2.1v. The first stick went through 2 cycles of MemTest without incident. I took out the first stick and put in the second stick, then ran MemTest. The second stick produced 4,096 errors mainly in test 5. I restarted the machine and ran MemTest for a second time on the second stick and came out with more than 7,000 errors. Seems I've got one good stick and one bad stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 16, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 16, 2006 Let's get them both replaced. Please use the RMA request found in TSXpress or follow the link in my signature “I think I have a bad part!” and we will be happy to replace them or it! And please note that you are from the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 16, 2006 Author Share Posted November 16, 2006 Done...RMA filled out! Once I tested both sticks individually and found that one was bad while the other was good, I knew you'd say "send 'em back"...I actually filled out the RMA form at TSXpress last night :p: I'm just waiting on the RMA e-mail from tech support to get them sent in. I really appreciate your help on this one, Ram Guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 16, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 16, 2006 Thanks for the update. Let me know how the replacements work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFreeze Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Ram Guy, Sorry to keep hassling you about my situation, but I've got one more question if you don't mind ;): Do you have any suggestions on how to match Rev #'s on the RAM that will be returned to me from my RMA? Is there any chance I could get another gig directly from Corsair that would match the pair that is being returned? Any other ideas, or will it be a situation where I've got to bite the bullet and hope for the best when I buy another gig from an on/off line retailer? Thanks again...these forums have been a lifesaver! Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted November 21, 2006 Corsair Employees Share Posted November 21, 2006 Travis, To be honest it will be hard to do as most reseller will not tell you what revision of modules they have. And I am sorry we do not sell direct! I would just wait till you get your modules back from RMA and then try to mach them with a reseller that will tell you the revision they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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