CMT4GX3M2A1600C7 with Crosshair IV Formula

[x00x]

Hi guys, i got problem with this ram (CMT4GX3M2A1600C7 - 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB), test it with memtest86+ and its fail all the test i made, i configure just like its said, timing 7-7-7-20 2T with dram voltage 1.65V, i hope some can help me on this or give any suggestion whether this ram is faulty or should i use other configuration?

[trackrat]

That RAM is not tested and approved for AMD systems, just Intel i5/i7. It may not function properly on your AMD system?

 

Did you test each module - one at a time with memtest 86+ @ 1333 MHz. which is what your socket AM3 CPU officially supports? If not try that. If you still get errors try 9-9-9-27 timings and test again. You can also test at 11-11-11-30.

 

For future reference, the link below has a list of Phenom II approved Corsair RAM:

 

http://www.corsair.com/products/phenomii/default.aspx

[x00x]

thanks trackrat, i tested each of the stick, and find out that one of the stick was giving error on all slot, and another stick was passed, i think its time for me to RMA this ram, thanks again for your help :D

[lordkermit]

Actually I have to intervene here... RAM is almost never CPU specific. In 20 years of building computers no module I have ever worked with has been specific to a certain brand of CPU.

 

Being specific to a brand of motherboard is a different story.

 

As an example, most recently, I originally bought my ram which was "approved for AMD" which was bad. After RMA'ing it I bought new sticks of a slightly different model number but in the same series (but rated for Intel CPU's). They work perfectly. Now admittedly I realize there are infinitly many combinations of ram/mobos/cpu's and admittedly some hardware configs are just not going to work. But being CPU specific shouldn't affect whether they perform in a system or not.

 

Cheers

[trackrat]

With newer, faster CPUs it has been determined that memory approved for Intel systems will frequently not function without issues on AMD systems and vice versa. Corsair test 100% of their RAM and specifies the platform it is guaranteed to function on. It may or may not function on other platforms without issues. That is precisely why Corsair goes to the trouble to actually test all of their memory and tell consumers what memory works with which platforms.

 

Memory is not specific to a mobo brand/model. If the mobo is properly built to the appropriate Intel or AMD CPU specifications then any of the Corsair tested and approved RAM for that platform will function on the mobo. Many mobo makers are slow however to update their BIOS which can result in memory issues on some mobos.

 

Testing and confirming which memory works with what CPUs is nothing new. PC memory incompatibility issues date back decades. If you ever read mobo reviews from the 80's onward it was common practice for memory to work on one mobo/CPU but not another. Corsair eliminates the guess work by testing and sorting the memory for consumers.

 

Consumers however need to exercise good judgment and purchase the proper memory for their system if they want guaranteed memory compatibility.

[lordkermit]

To the original poster: yes rma the ram... if memtest is erroring out then you most likely have issues...

 

As for the compatibility discussion, trackrat is correct; memory compatibility has been an issue for a very long time.

 

However from the early 80's to the mid 90's there were only a few cpu manufacturers and ram was usually made specifically for those cpu's (i.e. dec alpha-unix, motorola cpu's-mac, intel/amd/cyrix-pc, etc.) Memory during the mid-late 90's was made VERY generic at least as far as intel,cyrix,amd cpu's were concerned. There were obviously issues but rarely would you find a specific model of ram that would not work with a cpu. Usually it was one specific kit (i.e bad stick/kit), not a whole model line.

 

While I and many others appreciate the fact that corsair "tests" and "sorts" their memory products for the rest of us in an effort to simplify the purchasing/building process, it is NOT a steadfast and concrete rule; More like a guideline/recommendation. ;)

[trackrat]

Actually Corsair guarantees memory compatibility on the platform it is approved for. It's more than a recommendation because they have actually tested and confirmed it functions properly on a specific platform.

 

Why would anyone chose to use memory that has NOT been confirmed to work on the specific platform they have when the different Intel/AMD platforms exhibit errors with some memory modules and not others?

 

Guessing at what RAM to buy is an exercise in futility and unwise IMO when you can purchase RAM that is guaranteed compatible. We see many people in forums complaining about system instabilities because they purchased the incorrect RAM or have set the incorrect timings/frequency. There is plenty of technical info. available to prevent these issues if people did their homework prior to purchasing hardware.