Attack of BSOD - New Build

[chappy311]

Hi all,

I just built a new semi-gaming rig (specs below), and have been getting a bunch of random errors/crashes since getting it all up and running. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit. At first I figured my hard-drive was crapping out because it was getting quite a few "corrupt installation" type errors messages; so I went ahead and got a brand new one (listed below). It's been running great for a week or so.. until tonight. I got the BSOD again "memory dump.. blah blah". I've out of the system-building game for a while, and so I took a chance that this build would go completely smoothly, without the need to troubleshoot anything. So now I need your help. Some more problems:

- Google Chrome acts weird. I get quite a few "whoops! page couldn't load, etc." things, when I know my connection is fine. Crashes from time to time.

- Starcraft 2 continues to give me a corrupt installation message, and then the repair tool fails to fix the problem. I've reinstalled about six times since I built this new system.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated. I have a feeling it's either RAM or vid card related, but both are brand new. Could be a driver deal, but it seems everything is up to date.

Thanks!


AMD Athlon Phenom II X4 945 3.0 Ghz
ASUS M4A88TD-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G I Micro ATX
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
XFX HD-567X-ZNF3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB

 

[Arik5405]

run memtest yet?

 

[chappy311]

I ran it last night. It was still running when I went to bed, but last I looked there were several errors, after just the first test. This is my first time running it (I've had good luck with RAM so far), but I'd say it's looking like the memory is the culprit. Will I get some kind of report that I can view and share with you guys if need be?

 

[mtnd3vil]

Are you running SPD or manual memory settings? confirm SPD and retest if not.
Run one memory module at a time and see if your problems are related to one module.

 

[chappy311]

I'll think it's set to SPD, but I'll confirm. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[BadOmen]

Have you tried to update the BIOS? It has helped quite a few Asus users recently.

 

[chappy311]

No, but that's on my list of to-do's before I go replacing any hardware. I'll try that tonight. Thanks.

 

[crucibelle]

I ran it last night. It was still running when I went to bed, but last I looked there were several errors, after just the first test. This is my first time running it (I've had good luck with RAM so far), but I'd say it's looking like the memory is the culprit. Will I get some kind of report that I can view and share with you guys if need be?

Sounds like a memory problem since you got errors. From what I've read, OCZ memory has a lot of problems. Try some G-Skill... it's pretty popular around here.

 

[chappy311]

Yeah, I guess it must be. The mem test was still running when I got home from work, and it went until I stopped it about an hour ago. It had something 18000 errors when I cancelled it. Should I assume it's the memory and replace it? Any chance it's something else? I guess I'll try updating BIOS anyway.

 

[chappy311]

Are you running SPD or manual memory settings? confirm SPD and retest if not.
Run one memory module at a time and see if your problems are related to one module.

I guess it's time for a quick lesson if you have the time. I'm not really sure what SPD is. If the question is whether or not I've played with the timings, then no. How exactly do I check to see if SPD is running? Sorry I'm nub.

Also, now that I think about it, I remember that this particular memory was not on the list of compatible memory for my board. I figured that since it was newer memory on a newer board, there was a very slim chance it would be a problem. Maybe I was wrong after all.

EDIT: After some Googling, I have a pretty good idea of what SPD is. I still don't know how to check if it's running, though. Definitely needs to be.

 

[Arik5405]

Did you make sure you have the proper voltage, frequency, and timings for your ram? Also unplug every USB device except for your keyboard and try again.

 

[mtnd3vil]

I guess it's time for a quick lesson if you have the time. I'm not really sure what SPD is. If the question is whether or not I've played with the timings, then no. How exactly do I check to see if SPD is running? Sorry I'm nub.

Also, now that I think about it, I remember that this particular memory was not on the list of compatible memory for my board. I figured that since it was newer memory on a newer board, there was a very slim chance it would be a problem. Maybe I was wrong after all.

EDIT: After some Googling, I have a pretty good idea of what SPD is. I still don't know how to check if it's running, though. Definitely needs to be.

If you reset your bios, it will be on SPD by default.
Like I mentioned, try running cpuz in windows to determine what ram settings your motherboard is actually applying. Make sure they match the suggested settings from your ram mfg.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

 

[chappy311]

If you reset your bios, it will be on SPD by default.
Like I mentioned, try running cpuz in windows to determine what ram settings your motherboard is actually applying. Make sure they match the suggested settings from your ram mfg.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Will do. Any chance that using the wrong settings has fried the memory? That would be a bummer.

 

[crucibelle]

Will do. Any chance that using the wrong settings has fried the memory? That would be a bummer.

I doubt you fried it, but using the wrong settings can give errors like you got in Memtest. So, hopefully it's just a matter of your settings being wrong, instead of bad memory.

 

[oynaz]

I ran it last night. It was still running when I went to bed, but last I looked there were several errors, after just the first test. This is my first time running it (I've had good luck with RAM so far), but I'd say it's looking like the memory is the culprit. Will I get some kind of report that I can view and share with you guys if need be?

Just for the record, if Memtest reports even a single error, there is no point in letting the test continue. One error is one too many.

 

[chappy311]

Just for the record, if Memtest reports even a single error, there is no point in letting the test continue. One error is one too many.

Gotcha. I sorta figured, but let it go anyway. Thanks for the info.

 

[chappy311]

If you reset your bios, it will be on SPD by default.
Like I mentioned, try running cpuz in windows to determine what ram settings your motherboard is actually applying. Make sure they match the suggested settings from your ram mfg.
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Okay. So I've updated BIOS, and ran cpuz. My timings were off -- [7, 7, 7, 16] instead of [7, 8, 8, 26] -- so I changed. Also, the voltage was low (1.5v instead of 1.65), so I changed that in BIOS setup as well. Also changed freq from 866mhz to 1600mhz.

Unfortunately -- if I am gathering what cpuz is now telling me correctly -- it looks like the timings have indeed been corrected, but the voltages are still at 1.5v (under SPD tab at bottom, theres four), and the DRAM frequency is 803.6mhz. That said, I haven't experienced any of the issues I was experiencing in the 20-30 minutes since I made the changes.

I'll run memtest again tonight, but any additional feedback is appreciated. Thanks again everyone.

 

[mtnd3vil]

The SPD tab is a read out of the data programmed to the memory modules. The columns in the SPD tab will always say 1.5 because SPD is always based on the standard voltage.

To achieve the timings and speeds listed in any given SPD column, all you need is 1.5v

You might confirm that you're still good to go at 1.5v and you'll spare yourself some heat and power consumption. Glad to help.

 

[chappy311]

You might confirm that you're still good to go at 1.5v and you'll spare yourself some heat and power consumption. Glad to help.

And what exactly do you mean by this?

Since updating the timings it has been running great. So that may have been the ticket. Thanks to all who helped. It is much appreciated.

 

[mtnd3vil]

You mentioned changing the timings AND voltages. Since the timings might be what solved the problem, you can hopefully return the voltage to 1.5 from 1.65

 

[chappy311]

You mentioned changing the timings AND voltages. Since the timings might be what solved the problem, you can hopefully return the voltage to 1.5 from 1.65

OK, that's what I thought you meant. It's weird that the standard voltage is 1.5v, but modules and OCZ's site say 1.65v. But it definitely seemed to be the timings, so I'll try setting back to 1.5v. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[mtnd3vil]

This confusion is all caused by the fact that high performance ram like yours often requires non-standard settings to be taken advantage of.

SPD is a technology that hard codes a ram modules specifications to a small chip on the module. This information tells the motherboard what settings to use, it's a great system.

The PROBLEM is that high performance ram often requires non-standard (higher) voltages. These settings are not and should not be reflected in SPD data. This is why the ALL the spd data on your ram modules is for 1.5v only.

Buying and using high performance ram (I.E. comes with a heat spreader) only makes sense for people who fully understand what they are doing, BECAUSE SPD can't help them like usual.

A new standard, XMP, seeks to solve this problem by allowing ram modules to contain regular SPD data PLUS a new column that contains the high performance settings.

The bottom line here is that you need to operate your RAM at SPD settings until you fully learn the capabilities of your high performance modules and gain an understanding about RAM speed, timings, voltage and the relationship between these attributes.

Figuring this out sooner than later might be advantageous to you since sometimes defective performance ram will operate correctly at SPD timings but NOT at its advertised level or performance. In this situation the bad modules need to be identified and replaced by the MFG under warranty.

 

[chappy311]

This confusion is all caused by the fact that high performance ram like yours often requires non-standard settings to be taken advantage of.

SPD is a technology that hard codes a ram modules specifications to a small chip on the module. This information tells the motherboard what settings to use, it's a great system.

The PROBLEM is that high performance ram often requires non-standard (higher) voltages. These settings are not and should not be reflected in SPD data. This is why the ALL the spd data on your ram modules is for 1.5v only.

Buying and using high performance ram (I.E. comes with a heat spreader) only makes sense for people who fully understand what they are doing, BECAUSE SPD can't help them like usual.

A new standard, XMP, seeks to solve this problem by allowing ram modules to contain regular SPD data PLUS a new column that contains the high performance settings.

The bottom line here is that you need to operate your RAM at SPD settings until you fully learn the capabilities of your high performance modules and gain an understanding about RAM speed, timings, voltage and the relationship between these attributes.

Figuring this out sooner than later might be advantageous to you since sometimes defective performance ram will operate correctly at SPD timings but NOT at its advertised level or performance. In this situation the bad modules need to be identified and replaced by the MFG under warranty.

I'll make it my goal over the next week or two to learn what I can so that I can take full advantage of the RAM's capabilities. Until then I'll run at SPD settings (i.e. change back 1.5v). I appreciate your advice.