problems w/ F3-10666CL8 - GA-MA785GMT - AMD Phenom II X3

[stravy]

I have a purchased the following components and I am running into major system stability issues.

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail

I built the system about a month ago. When I first booted the system and entered the bios to configure everything the bios locked up. I searched on your forums and found a lot of talk about the memory speed and timings problems with this RAM and AMD Phenom II's. After letting the system sit for a few minutes I was able to return into the bios and sure enough the Bios detected the timings as 9-9-9-24. I changed the timings to 8-8-8-21 and left the clock speed at 1333. After that the system was stable and I was able to load Windows 7 64 bit. Since then I have not had anymore problems until yesterday. Windows just freezes and I am having problems getting into the Bios without the system freezing. Finally, I was able to get into the bios and change the clock speed to 1066 but that has not helped.

I have since downloaded memtest86+. I pulled the second ram stick out and tested one ram stick. I let it run for 1 complete cycle and it passed and no errors were found. I pulled the first ram stick and put the second ram stick in the same slot as the first. Memtest loaded but never completed before the program froze. I replaced the second ram with the first and rebooted the computer. When the system posted I pressed "delete" to enter the bios but the system froze again. I rebooted again and was able to enter the bios and exit into windows. The computer ran for several hours with one stick of ram.

With both sticks of ram in the computer, after a freeze I cannot reboot the machine immediately. When I restart the machine after a freeze everything inside comes on, there are no system beep errors, but there is nothing on the screen. I have to wait a few minutes with the computer off before it will post.

edit: the latest bios was flashed to the mb and the memory is listed as being verified to work with this motherboard as per gigabyte's spec sheet.

Please advise.

Thank you for your help.

[GSKILL TECH]

Go ahead and send them in for new replacements and hopefully that will solve your problems.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[stravy]

I sent the RMA request in yesterday. I have not heard back yet.

[stravy]

GSKILL TECH -

I have RMA'ed the ram. You all received it yesterday. When I get the new ram back do I set the bios to ganged or unganged mode? I just want to make sure I have the settings correct. Also, could you provide me with the complete list of timings and ddr3 settings for this particular ram?

My ddr3 slots are labeled DDR3-1, DDR3-2, DDR3-3, DDR3-4. DDR3-1 and DDR3-2 are blue. DDR3-3 and DDR3-4 are white. The motherboard manual says when running dual channel memory to put the sticks in DDR3-1 and DDR3-2 or DDR3-3 and DDR3-4. Since I want to run in dual channel mode I think I need to set the bios to Ganged if I put the memory in 1 &2 or 3 &4.

The manual states the following:

Ganged Sets memory control mode to single dual-channel.
Unganged Sets memory control mode to two single-channel. (Default)

Thanks for your help.

[GSKILL TECH]

Unganged Mode. With the basic timings, the motherboard will be able to pick up the rest.

Ganged Mode means running slots 1 and 2, AND 3 and 4 as ONE 128 bit channel, while unganged mode means running both channels seperately at 2 x 64 bit channels.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[stravy]

Gskill Tech-

I received the new RAM today. Thanks for the quick turnaround. However, I have been running memtest86+ for about 5 hours and have come up with the following error.

Tst: 4
Pass: 4
Failing Address: 0010f218134 - 4338.0 mb
Good: 0254f55e
Bad: 0256f55e
Err-Bits: 00020000
Count: 1
Channel:

The ram are manually set to 8-8-8-21 @ 1333. Unganged mode. The voltage is auto detected at 1.6v (with no way of reducing the voltage).

Please advise.

[GSKILL TECH]

One stick passes just fine and the other gives you that error? Very odd, can you post screen shots of your BIOS so I can see if anything is set incorrectly?

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[stravy]

No, this is with both sticks in the computer.

[stravy]

GSkill Tech

sorry, i dont know how to read the memtest screen. were you basing your comment on the memtest output i showed?

[stravy]

I won't be able to get you current screen shots for a few hours. But this photo was taken a week or two ago when I was testing one stick of my old ram. The settings are the same. More photos can be seen in my album. If you need a particular screen shot let me know and I will try to get if for you. Thanks.

[GSKILL TECH]

Try testing each stick with the proper settings to insure that neither stick is defective.

Based on the screen shots posted, the changes I see that may be required are:

tRFC 0 for DIMM 1 - 160ns
tRFC 2 for DIMM 2 - 160ns
tRFC 1 for DIMM 3 - 160ns
tRFC 3 for DIMM 4 - 160ns

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[stravy]

I have not changed anything yet, but memtest has been running almost 8 hours and passed 7 tests w/o an error. How long should it take for the error to show itself again in memtest?

[GSKILL TECH]

Typically that is enough. You can try another program just to confirm.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT

[stravy]

what program would you recommend?

[GSKILL TECH]

Run Everest Ultimate for benchmark tests and you can see exactly how fast the memory is operating at and compare it to other similar systems. Generally speaking, DDR3-1333 will have a 9000MB/s read bandwidth so if you're getting results in that range everything should be fine.

Or, if you want to test your system's overall stability under high stress, Prime95 would be a good program, but make sure you watch out for overheating temperature. The program is designed to stress the system, so it will be running at full load. Conveniently, when you open Everest Ultimate it will place temperature readings in your lower right side of your taskbar.

Thank you
GSKILL SUPPORT