tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I've been trying to get my new PC stable for the last week - here's the spec: Motherboard: Asus P5N-E SLI v1.xx CPU: E6750 not overclocked Memory: TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX in yellow slots Video Card: Gigabyte HD2600XT Power Supply: Corsair HX520 More case fans than you can shake a stick at... Bios: 0703 Memory: manually set at 4-4-4-12 -2T 2.08v I've been getting a litany of freezes, reboots and various BSODs. The last BSOD today was 4E - PFN_LIST_CORRUPT suggesting a memory error. I've just run memtest86+ v1.7 and I'm seeing errors on both sticks: 425.1MB, 441.1MB, 1168MB ,1184MB. This suggests that I'm either very unlucky (both sticks are bad?) or there are some config changes I should make. I've seen some people changing Trc to 22 or 24 - should I do this? Or should I just RMA the memory? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Download memtest from http://www.memtest.org Extract and burn the ISO image to a n optical disk. Boot to the optical drive and allow for two full passes of the memtest. Results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Sorry... that's what I did - memtest86+ v1.7 (I guess I missed out the 86?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 It's very doubtful that you would receive both sticks with errors. I would test them in another machine to see if you can repeat. If the errors repeat I would look to RMA and if you were overclocking with high voltages, I would NOT repeat that in the future. Not saying you were, just letting you know that high voltage overclocks can very easily damage both sticks. If the sticks prove error free on a different system, then I would re-flash to the latest BIOS, load full setup defaults, set the timings manually to 4-4-4-12 and the Vdimm to 2.1v and leave all else alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 It's very doubtful that you would receive both sticks with errors. - I agree (as per my original post.) I would test them in another machine to see if you can repeat. --not an option for me unfortunately... If the errors repeat I would look to RMA and if you were overclocking with high voltages, I would NOT repeat that in the future. Not saying you were, just letting you know that high voltage overclocks can very easily damage both sticks. --Ok, thanks I understand but I was not overclocking. If the sticks prove error free on a different system, then I would flash to the latest BIOS, load full setup defaults, set the timings manually to 4-4-4-12 and the Vdimm to 2.1v and leave all else alone --I'm on the latest bios (0703) I've set timings manually to 4-4-4-12 and the Vdimm to 2.08v this is all in my original post. Can anyone else help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I would test them in another machine to see if you can repeat. --not an option for me unfortunately... You need to perform a testbed analysis so if you are not able to install to another system, then I suggest taking them to a tech shop where they can test. You can RMA, but if the issue repeats, this would have been isolated with the testbed analysis. --I'm on the latest bios (0703) I've set timings manually to 4-4-4-12 and the Vdimm to 2.08v this is all in my original post. then I would re-flash to the latest BIOS Note that this was edited prior to your post. You might wish to save your editing and refresh the screen prior to posting as additional posted information may well be available. It is possible that your previous flash brought about a stack or singular bit flip corruption that a Winflash Verification missed and a re-flash would clear this possible issue. Certainly this could bring about errors on both sticks. Can anyone else help? I will now bow out of this thread for others to address this issue as clearly you do not see my posting as helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 My apologies... just some frustration coming across... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I understand. It's not an easy thing to have a non-working system and also not have the components to perform the tests. RAMGUY will come in here to help you. It takes a bit of time as he runs the entire site and is pretty busy as he must read "each and every post". :) If you were in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia I would perform the testbed for you, but that isn't very likely. Your best step is to test this DRAM in another system. That isolates your entire system from the diagnostics and if the DRAM errors, then the RMA path is clear. If it passes at the 4-4-4-12 with 2.1V on 800Mhz then clearly you have an issue with your mainboard or CPU, and the CPU is very, very doubtful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted October 24, 2007 Corsair Employees Share Posted October 24, 2007 What test were you getting errors on when you test the modules one up? And if you can I would test them in another system to isolate the memory from your system. However, I dont have a problem replacing your modules if you want to try that, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Thanks for your help and taking the time to reply. Yes it is very annoying... especially after all of the research I've done... I've seen so many issues posted for this motherboard (voltages and RAM timings) I was sure it would be a case of a config setting that would sort it out. Of course you're right that the ram should be tested in another system to be sure... but the only way I can do that is to send it back to the supplier. And thanks for your offer, but I'm not in British Columbia, I'm in Switzerland! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 RAM GUY.. the tests failed on no. 5 (as predicted by a post in another forum...) As I'm in Switzerland - I just send them back to the supplier right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted October 24, 2007 Corsair Employees Share Posted October 24, 2007 You should talk to them for sure and see if they can help you test them, but errors in test 5-8 would normally suggest some other issue. But I would try replacing them and see what happens from what you have posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 25, 2007 Author Share Posted October 25, 2007 I took RAM Guys advice about testing one module at a time (I also read a lot of ASUS Forum threads suggesting the same) and there were no errors with an hour of MEmtest86+. I've now been running the machine with just 1 stick for the last few hours without any problems. This proves that the RAM is not the issue -right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted October 25, 2007 Corsair Employees Share Posted October 25, 2007 Yes that would suggest it is some other issue, did you try moving the modules to the other two slots and do you have the latest BIOS version and when you set this up did you load setup defaults before you set the settings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Thanks for your help. No, I haven't tried the black slots yet, because there are many ASUS forum posts saying the black slots are worse than the yellow ones. But I will try them if all else fails. I didn't set defaults in the BIOS after I loaded the 0703 version so I'll try that next. By the way, I used AWDFlash within the BIOS setup to load the new BIOS but I didn't clear the CMOS first, so that will be plan B. Looking at the ASUS forums, there are some useful posts to help with these issues. Shame on ASUS for releasing a board that doesn't work with stock settings and relying on Forums like this to provide its support. Anyway, I'll keep trying the empirical approach until I get this working and post back if and when I've solved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I didn't set defaults in the BIOS after I loaded the 0703 version so I'll try that next As a general rule of thumb. After a flash, load setup defaults, save setup defaults, restart the system and then enter the BIOS to create new settings. As well, never use saved BIOS setting configurations after a BIOS flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 Thanks for the tip. I guess I should clear the CMOS anyway just to be sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splatter Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 It would be great if you could report if you were successful or not. Because i have the same board and memory and i cant get the 4-4-4-12 timings to run stable. No matter if i set these timings manually or use the SLI-Memory EPP Feature. I´ve also tried to switch banks from black to yellow. No difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyblerone Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 I've resolved my issues by using "Load Setup Defaults" in the Exit menu (I didn't bother clearing the CMOS). I initially tested with 5 hours of memtest86+ which showed no problems and subsequently I've been running for a couple of days without any issues. The precise solution (as DerekT advised) was to use the "Load Setup Defaults" option, save and reboot and then set all the values again. A big thanks to DerekT and RAM GUY for their help on this. Splatter, Let me know if you want fuller details of my BIOS settings... I would be interested to hear back if you resolved your issue already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 A big thanks to DerekT and RAM GUY for their help on this. You are very welcome :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splatter Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Well, clearing the CMOS did the trick. Now my RAM runs with the lower timings. 1,5 hour memtest86+ without any errors. But when i use the EPP feature i have to set the voltage manually to 2,175v, otherwise it does not run stable. Somehow this Board sets the voltage to low for the memory. But even this didnt work before i cleared the CMOS. In any way, this is one of the buggiest boards i ever saw. After the CMOS reset it wasnt even able to boot, because it sets the Command Rate back to 1T. The BIOS just stuck at the POST screen. I had to remove a stick to make it boot right. This never happened before, even after flashing back and forth through different BIOS versions. Anyway, thanks for the hint. Sometimes the simpliest thing helps you out:D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 In any way, this is one of the buggiest boards i ever saw. I fully agree with you on this board. All the ones I have worked with were not very friendly. I personally never go with other than Intel chipset based boards for Intel CPUs. It would be nice to be able to unlink the DRAM on Intel chipset based boards. SLi has never been a feature I would use because every new VGA architecture is faster than two of the previous ones in SLi and since they come out with new architectures quite fast, I would end up with 2 cards that were worse than one. My money goes downhill in tech fast enough already thank you very much... :D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splatter Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I allways made some good experiences with nforce Boards. No matter if they were for AMD or Intel. But this one is a disaster. I only choosed this one because it has two IDE Connectors / 4 IDE Channels and i thought "you cant go wrong with a nvidia chipset". But like my last ASUS Board (A8V Deluxe), a new BIOS a new bug. With the latest Version for the P5N-E SLI my system will not boot beyond the POST screen when a Razer Mouse is plugged in. The version before slows down the system because of a bug in the algorythm for CPU-Detection and has trouble with USB. And any other older Version wont recognise my E6750 at all. Now i found out that Abit and Gigabyte released Boards with the same 650 chipset and features and much less bugs regarding RAM and stuff. Im playing with the thougt to switch the Board to one of these. Well, im glad that this memory issue is solved and that i can use my Corsair like it should be :): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekT Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I allways made some good experiences with nforce Boards. No matter if they were for AMD or Intel. But this one is a disaster. I only choosed this one because it has two IDE Connectors / 4 IDE Channels and i thought "you cant go wrong with a nvidia chipset". That's why there are so many different boards. :) I personally loved Nvidia's Nforce2 for AMD. When P4 was floundering in the dust, I was gaming like crazy on A8N-Sli --> A8N32-SLi. A few bugs (USB) in A8N-SLi but fixed in the A8N32-SLi. I have found more errors in Nvidia for Intel though. But to each, their own :) But like my last ASUS Board (A8V Deluxe), a new BIOS a new bug. With the latest Version for the P5N-E SLI my system will not boot beyond the POST screen when a Razer Mouse is plugged in. The version before slows down the system because of a bug in the algorythm for CPU-Detection and has trouble with USB. And any other older Version wont recognise my E6750 at all. Life can be troublesome for the Enthusiast. Now i found out that Abit and Gigabyte released Boards with the same 650 chipset and features and much less bugs regarding RAM and stuff. Im playing with the thougt to switch the Board to one of these. Well, im glad that this memory issue is solved and that i can use my Corsair like it should be :): Good luck with the 650i. I won't go into the return rates I see. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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