gutted Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 I built a system for my wife a few years back - it's based around the ACIT IC7-max3 (same as mine). It had issues from day one which eventually were diagnosed as faulty RAM. I identified the faulty module using memtest a long time ago, but only just got round to sending it back to Corsair I - RMA'd it just the other week. A replacement matched pair arrived very recently, so I installed them into my own system. Immediately I noticed a problem while gaming (not proper extreme gaming - pretty tame stuff: MS Age of Mythology). The only change was the addition of the Corsair RAM. Sure enough, I booted into memtest and the test now fails. I tried it 3 times to be sure - it consistently fails at the same point (around 17%). I'm concerned that I've had 2 unlucky experiences with VS1GBKIT400 using 2 different ABIT IC7-max3 boards. Is there some sort of compatibility problem with the value select RAM and the ABIT board? The board is using latest available BIOS (rev 20, I think) and all settings are pretty much default - no overclock, no speed adjustments, everything set to auto for CPU/FSB/RAM/AGP etc. Is there something causing this RAM to become faulty, or am I just really really unlucky here? When I initially bought the RAM, it cost around £100 although these days the same kit costs around £40 or less. When I first RMA'd it, I sent the RAM recorded - it cost me £8. If I need to send this next batch back it'll cost me a further £8. If I RMA'd it and it crapped out for a 3rd time then it's getting to the stage where it's not even worth sending the stuff back. Am I doing something wrong here? Any advice appreciated. Cheers. EDIT: I should add that VS1GBKIT400 is listed as compatible with my board according to the Corsair memory configurator. But nonetheless there seems to be some sort of problem here and I'm not sure if it's the board or the RAM or something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 1, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 1, 2009 With only our modules Please make sure that you have the latest bios and load setup defaults and and test the modules one at a time with http://www.memtest.org to be sure one is not failing. 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 some MB's (Mostly ASUS) you have to disable legacy USB in the bios when running any memory test. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutted Posted May 1, 2009 Author Share Posted May 1, 2009 Thanks. I disabled USB for the most recent run with memtest, but it still failed. Per my first post, to my knowledge I'm already on the latest BIOS for my board. Also as above the BIOS is already set to defaults in pretty much all areas (although I disabled the Intel logo at POST, and I've jigged around with the boot sequence). If you think it's really necessary, I'll load the fail-safe defaults and try again. I'll remove the other RAM and retry memtest to see if I can identify a faulty Corsair module - and RMA it (if applicable). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 1, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 1, 2009 Any time you make hardware changes you should load setup defaults (NOT Fail Safe Defaults) and set any settings needed to run but I dont have a problem replacing the modules, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutted Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 Ok, thanks for the advice. I'll run it through memtest and see if I can identify which one of the modules is failing. If it's a Corsair one I'll request RMA. Question still remains though: this potentially means I've found 2 faulty modules across 2 different examples of the same board. That's pretty unusual, no? Is there something that I'm doing wrong to cause these modules to fail - or am I just really really unlucky? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 5, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 5, 2009 Maybe so maybe not, just sometimes you cannot mix memory like that and when you use different modules you need to reset the BIOS with the other module only installed to test it properly. Some modules have some odd chipset settings that are not compatible with other modules. Or test them on another system is always a plus as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutted Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Ok - so now I'm very confused. Firstly? I was mistaken insomuch as I don't have 2x Corsair and 2x <OTHER> modules in there. In fact I have 4x Corsair in there! They are slightly different sizes, which is why I though they were different brands: the newer (faulty?) stuff is not as high; looks like the PCB has been changed over the years. I used 2x <OTHER> RAM as a replacement in my wife's PC since the first pair of Corsair modules that I RMA'd were originally in my wife's PC. In point of fact, I've actually got 2 identical kits in my PC - but one kit is a few years old, and the other (faulty?) one is "current". Either way, the part numbers are the same - each RAM module has the same part number on the Corsair label. Here's the confusing bit. I removed the known good Corsair RAM. In an attempt to identify with module is giving me a problem I installed only one of the faulty (?) modules. It runs clean in memtest. So I removed it, and then installed only the other faulty (?) module. It also runs clean. So then I install them both in dual channel configuration. They both run clean. Then I install them together with the original "known good" Corsair RAM. memtest now craps out at 17% again. Summary: 1 half of the new VS1GBKIT works fine. The other half of the new VS1GBKIT also works fine. When installed by itself, the new VS1GBKIT works fine. When I install it with my other (older, "known good") VS1GBKIT something goes wrong. I've also run memtest successfully on the older "known good" Corsair modules - no errors. All 4 modules are the same part number. They are clearly different revisions as 1 pair is not as high as the other pair. I'm not mixing the modules - I'm installing them in dual configuration in pairs. I am sure of this because they're a physically different shape and so easy to tell apart. The first test had the original "known good" Corsair stuff in dual config in banks 0 and 2. The most recent test had the new, replacement Corsair modules in banks 0 and 2. Essentially I've tried every possible configuration (except mixing the pairs) and I get a memtest fail in each case. Some sort of compatibility issue between old vs new Corsair RAM??? What happens now?? I can send the entire lot for RMA, but unless they're tested together then the RMA testers may not find any problem. And that would also leave me without any RAM at all (and therefore no working PC) in the interim. Dammit. This is just too much of a headache :evil::evil::evil: EDIT: I should also point out that the memtest failure at 17% is a bit unusual. It doesn't list any errors - instead it says "unknown interrupt - halting" and then the screen freezes with what looks like a stack dump. I've seen failures before where memtest will show hundreds of errors in a particular test, but it will continue testing and not "crash". In all cases with this Corsair stuff (both for the original stuff I RMA's and this new stuff) memtest crashes out with the "unknown interrupt" error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 8, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 8, 2009 Like I said that is still mixing memory. Memory will change about every 90-180 days Memory Manufacturers continually try to refine their DIE's to get more yeild from them and in doing so may change the properties of the memory IC's. Let's get them all replaced, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutted Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Corsair will replace all 4 modules?? That would be pretty cool. But during RMA testing, they'd have to test all 4 modules at once - I couldn't find any errors unless I run memtest with all 4 at the same time... I'd hate to send all 4 back and then have them returned to me because no errors could be found... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 8, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 8, 2009 At this time all RMA;s are just replace with new memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutted Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Fair enough, thanks: I'll go ahead and request an RMA. Do I need to state anything when I raise the RMA request? Like - do I need to specify the problem or say that the 2 pairs of modules appear to be incompatible etc etc? I don't remember there being any option to enter free text when I raised the original RMA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employees RAM GUY Posted May 14, 2009 Corsair Employees Share Posted May 14, 2009 Just fill in the request form if there are any questions they will ask you but you should have a place for comments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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