Problem with CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9

I bought a Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit and I built a stable system ASUS p8z77-v, i7-2700k Corsair HX750W, H100i, Crucial M4 256 and a Carbide 500r. Windows 8 pro

I overclocked the cpu to 4.4ghz and set up the memory to 1600mhz. I am completely new to OC so I used AIsuite II. The system was fast and stable.

Yesterday I bought another pair of 8gb (2x4gb) memory which is CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz. The cover is the same but on the stick the version is v.8.16 not v.5.29. In bios some of the values are different

tRPC 208 new - 128 old

tCWL 8 new 9 old

I installed the sticks and couldn't boot (new A1-B1 Old A2 -B2). There was a Red light i pressed the memOK button. No luck. I tested one only at A2 it booted properly, the other one though got the machine to an infinite boot loop. I used Memtest86 for the old all ok, the working new one all ok. The bad one could boot at all.

Then i though experimenting a bit more. I put the bad stick at b2 and the good one at A2. It booted properly ! and i did a usb memtest with no error for 3 loops. I tried again the bad stick alone and i couldn't boot at all. Then i put all the sticks together and it booted but crashed on a BSOD almost imediately as it was trying to load windows. I rebooted in memtest86 it passed the test.

I believe that one of the sticks is no good. But i wanted to make sure that i didn't miss any bios trick.

Any ideas ?

Yesterday I bought another pair of 8gb (2x4gb) memory which is CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz. The cover is the same but on the stick the version is v.8.16 not v.5.29. In bios some of the values are different

tRPC 208 new - 128 old

tCWL 8 new 9 old

Then i though experimenting a bit more. I put the bad stick at b2 and the good one at A2. It booted properly !

Test each stick individually out of the kit that is giving you issues in the first MB slot with memtest and let them run for a min of 3 passes or until you get an error. If the one stick still fails that way then get the kit replaced

I really would strongly suggest you just return the kit for a complete single matched 16gig kit so you do not run into compatibility issue between the different sets. Different version number indicate that that the modules were made with different chips and so on and may not work together.

With two unmatched kits you may need to run the memory at the next lowest speed(1333mhz)

I overclocked the cpu to 4.4ghz and set up the memory to 1600mhz. I am completely new to OC so I used AIsuite II. The system was fast and stable.

One thing about the auto overclock features some of the new boards are coming with....they make it easy for beginners to overclock .However often set system voltages and other settings that are higher than needed. I would seriously suggest you take the time to learn the basics of manually overclocking in the BIOS. Generally you get your memory stable first and then start raising your CPU overclock. You can actually reach higher overclocks at lower voltages and temps and still be stable and fast.

It's never recommended to mix memory even if they are the same exact part number. Corsair does not suggest or support mixing kits because of the issues you are facing right now. Basically it's just about impossible to guarantee that any two random kits would play nice with each other. The different version numbers are good indication

Before trying to return them i tested them in another workstation P9x79 with i7 3930k. (it has quad channels) The memory worked properly. I tested also one by one! did memtest - occt 4 hours , asus diagnostic etc all fine... so the problem is with the p8z77-v and the 2 x CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz. I opened a token with Asus to see what they have to say about that.

Test each stick individually out of the kit that is giving you issues in the first MB slot with memtest and let them run for a min of 3 passes or until you get an error. If the one stick still fails that way then get the kit replaced

None fails on the other workstation

I really would strongly suggest you just return the kit for a complete single matched 16gig kit so you do not run into compatibility issue between the different sets. Different version number indicate that that the modules were made with different chips and so on and may not work together.

I would love to return them but they are from different providers and i lost the first box too ! I could try ebay i assume.

With two unmatched kits you may need to run the memory at the next lowest speed(1333mhz)

I wish! But it doesn't boot with the 4 kits in any speed, when you first install them the default to 1333mhz ... but it doesn't boot. After millions of tries i realize they boot only when i put the version 8.16 in A2 B2 and the 5.29 to A1 B1. Then if i leave it to 1333mhz it boots and crashes without BSOD as it loads windows. It also boots if i put three sticks A2 B1 B2. Order doesn't matter for that.

One thing about the auto overclock features some of the new boards are coming with....they make it easy for beginners to overclock .However often set system voltages and other settings that are higher than needed. I would seriously suggest you take the time to learn the basics of manually overclocking in the BIOS. Generally you get your memory stable first and then start raising your CPU overclock. You can actually reach higher overclocks at lower voltages and temps and still be stable and fast.

It is not that bad for small o.c AI suite II does 1.32v for 4.4ghz (44 x 100. ) and manually you can do aprox 1.31v for the 2700k. And i don't have to boot one million times doing tests! it is rock solid ... If only i could add the extra memory. Anyhow now it is not overclocked i cleared cmos so i can get the default vanilla settings.

I wish! But it doesn't boot with the 4 kits in any speed, when you first install them the default to 1333mhz ... but it doesn't boot. After millions of tries i realize they boot only when i put the version 8.16 in A2 B2 and the 5.29 to A1 B1. Then if i leave it to 1333mhz it boots and crashes without BSOD as it loads windows. It also boots if i put three sticks A2 B1 B2. Order doesn't matter for that.

The different version numbers indicate that the modules were made with different materials and chips and may be part of the problem. Since you can get three sticks to boot and be stable, it might just need a slight bump in voltage to regain stability with all four. Have you tried setting them to 1.55v or 1.6v if you need to go that far? Also you could try adding .2v to the VCCSA voltage . (memory controller) which may also help if the added bump to the DIMM voltage doesn't work.

I tried to move to 1.56 and it booted! # First time!!

but it was really unstable ....prime i tried 1.57 1.58 last one was 1.6 + 0.2 v to vccsa. 1.61 +0.2 vccsa For all these cases i got BSOD in the first 1 minute of prime95. I got irql_less_than_equal and page_fault_in_non_paged_area_BSOD