Cant get stable timings for 8GB

[Cry0Tek]

I ran memtest86+ overnight and it completed a full pass, which took quite a while, and stated that no errors were found. I then restarted the machine to windows log in and windows ran a repair and then booted fine.

I went away from my PC when closing memtest and usually dont run the windows repair, so I'm not sure if that fixed it or what but its currently running stable with the settings you provided me with. Not sure whether to think its fully fixed or not, ha.

[wevsspot]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you!

[Cry0Tek]

Left my PC alone for the weekend as I was away and when I got back I turned it on and it started up and ran fine all day. I shut it down last night and turned it on again this morning and it continually crashed at windows log in.

I reset the thing to factory defaults and then re-entered the settings you provided me with and now its running just fine. What the heck is wrong here?!

This is getting ridiculous and I'm tired of messing with the thing, heh. =/

[wevsspot]

Cry - the recommendations I'm going to make below are just the next steps that I personally would take. Some may sound silly, and most come from experience and nothing that you might find in a technical manual.

1. Check the 12v and 3.3v power rails on your power supply at idle and then under 100% load. This requires a digital multimeter to get accurate readings. The measured outputs should be within 5% of the nominal voltage for the rail you are measuring. The ATX specification allows for a 12v range between 11.4v and 12.6v

However, you really want your 12v rail to be at and/or above 12.0v minimum at idle and under 100% load

2. Unplug all periphals not needed to boot your machine (commonly referred to as a minimum system build) and retest

3. Check your SATA and IDE cables and make sure that they are secure and in good condition - if you have spares swap them out just in case

4. Try a different mouse and keyboard

5. Reseat your cpu and your memory (again)

6. Replace your CMOS battery

7. Try a different wall outlet/circuit in you house/office to rule out a problem with incoming power

After these things I'm pretty much out of ideas and it may be time to consider an RMA for your board, or memory, or both.

[Cry0Tek]

Alright, I'll give some of these a try. Once again, thanks for all the help.

Would you think that this could be a problem with the mobo driver perhaps? I'm not sure if I currently have the latest version installed as the program I have to update it doesnt work correctly, so I've not messed with it. I've downloaded the actual file from the asus site but its not a direct install file and I done know how to install it. Not sure what to do about that, but just an idea.

[wevsspot]

Cry,

Are you talking about the chipset driver for the motherboard? As you know there are several drivers required for all of the hardware on your board to function properly.

[Cry0Tek]

Ya, the chipset driver. Asus Update, a program used to easily update the mobo, doesnt work so I dont know if I'm running the most current version.

Just fyi, I switched all the ram and put them in different slots, checked all connections and routed wires for better airflow, and cleaned everything. The mobo kept the ram settings you gave me and didnt boot up properly at first but after another attempt it did so just fine.

Guess I'll see how things go the next day or so and go from there. Think I should send in the ram first if I continue to have problems?

[Onslaught2k3]

Alright, I'll give some of these a try. Once again, thanks for all the help.

Would you think that this could be a problem with the mobo driver perhaps? I'm not sure if I currently have the latest version installed as the program I have to update it doesnt work correctly, so I've not messed with it. I've downloaded the actual file from the asus site but its not a direct install file and I done know how to install it. Not sure what to do about that, but just an idea.

This is precisely why I left ***-US. Their motherboards are unstable when overclocking memory with all slots occupied. ***-US motherboards also may (not) have a CPU-NB voltage tweaking option through their BIOS. Once you populate all your slots this is a necessity to get the system running stable. Also, if you get any stop screen (blue screen) errors, make sure to download BlueScreenView and check to see which driver is at fault (will be highlighted in light red or pinkish colour). If you're unable to find the options you need through their BIOS, I would recommend getting on the ASUS VIP forums (VIP is an extraneous word to cast exclusivity but is redundant) and browse their threads for your motherboard model to see if others have reported the same issue. You also may want to increase the Ripjaws timings to 8-8-8-24-2N(T) timings to see if you have bootup issues after the first post/restart. However, depending on the error you receive should your windows blue screen, it may or may not be needed to adjust your existent timings.

[wevsspot]

Ya, the chipset driver. Asus Update, a program used to easily update the mobo, doesnt work so I dont know if I'm running the most current version.

Guess I'll see how things go the next day or so and go from there. Think I should send in the ram first if I continue to have problems?

You can build yourself a full driver installation package (latest drivers) from the Asus website in their support/downloads section if you have any question about whether you are using the latest motherboard drivers.

It won't hurt to overwrite the current drivers - even if they are the same revision level.

Strange that the Asus update utility isn't working though.

If you have any question about the RAM you can always RMA it, but the fact that it passed memtest for an extended run gives me pause. Fortunately GSkill will replace the RAM even if you return it and they test it good.

It seems like the majority of issues with many models of GSkill DDR3 memory occur on Asus AM3 motherboards - and I'm not sure why that is. It just seems like I see alot of issues here that are specific to Asus AM3 boards. I run Asus X58 boards almost exclusively and I never have any issues.

Are you running the latest BIOS release for your board?

[Cry0Tek]

This is a post from the ASUS forums from a guy having the exact same issue as me:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...age=1&count=11

Apparently another guy is also having the same issue below his initial post. I went ahead and updated the BIOS to the newest version which states that it has been updated with 'Improved System Stability,' guess I'll see how it goes the next day or so and go from there.

If this persists I'm going to have to RMA the board...=*(

[wevsspot]

Ok,

Well, keep us posted and good luck.

[Cry0Tek]

It's officially the ram. My roommate has the exact same PC setup I do, so we switched all of our ram yesterday and ran everything at default settings. When we turned on our PC's in the morning his crashed and mine booted beautifully.

Guess I'll be sending in the stuff for a new set.

[wevsspot]

Glad that you pinpointed the problem - sorry that it was your ram........

[Cry0Tek]

Well hey it's much better than it being my mobo, this way I'll actually have my PC to use as my roommate is going to let me use two if his sticks until my replacements come in.

Thanks so much for the help, Wev. I really appreciate everything you've helped me with and you arent even a GSkill mod, correct?

[wevsspot]

No sir I'm not. For several years I was a mod and then admin at the old DFI-Street forums, then when Travis merged with OCC Forums I moved over there. I did a few prelim hardware reviews and was asked to join as a full time hardware reviewer but accepted a position that requires a lot of time and travel. I'm still very active at OCC under the same user name.

I help here because the folks who come here really need help most of the time. And also because I've been a loyal user of G.Skill RAM for several years now. You name a kit and I've probably used it myself or built someone else a rig using G.Skill memory. I think they make a great product and they always price it fair for the performance. I thought the least I could do was contribute here as a way of showing my thanks.

God speed on the RMA of your memory.

And, thank you for the kind words.

Regards,

Wev