Horror story. Is my brand new A8N $2400 rig toast?

[GuitarDaddy]

What did he say "Bad Ram" ! Details? I'm also using the OCZ rev 2.
Should I be scared!

 

[SkyBum]

I may have had some other problems going on but we'll never know for sure at this point. All I know is that I got the RMA'd mobo and PSU back, re-assembled the rig and immediately started having all the same problems as before (corrupted windows installs, mouse and keyboard working intermittently, physical memory dumps, shutdowns, etc) Then I put 2-256 simpletech pc2100 ddrram from my old rig in there and it was like a dream, windows installed effortlessly onthe first try (keep in mind that I had 10 failed windows installs today alone with the OCZ in), all my drivers and software installed without incident, no periphial problems...

Someone in this thread (guitar daddy?) mention early on that my ram was underpowered and Im thinking that was right. Must have been the cause of all the corrupting files etc. Not sure it can explain it all but the fact is that a simple change of ram seems to have cleared ALL of my probs.

Question: Can I simply up my ram voltage in bios with no other changes or do I need to make other changes in combination with ram voltage? I'm wantin to put the ocz back in with some more volts behind it and see if i see any more install corruption or not. Either its bad memory or it was just starved for voltage not sure which at this point.

beyond that, how can I test this memory? Sorry such a noob but I only know enough to be dangerous...

 

[mechBgon]

Are you telling me you still haven't raised your memory voltage?! How many times did I harp on this so far in this thread... one... twooooo...

 

[joelslaw]

Originally posted by: SkyBum
IT WAS MY RAM!!!!

hmmmm ..... didn't see that coming. screwy.

so is this a problem with a lot of ram?

 

[SkyBum]

Ahhh, should have known......

Heh, I've been known to listen to suggestions, problem is that I don't always act on them. Guess I was so focused on some of the problems which seemed as if they were mobo I never dreamed it could be ram related.

Now what should i do about this ram.......? I could use some specific advice if you got a minute.

 

[mechBgon]

Sure, crank it to 2.8 volts since its design target is 2.75 volts as I posted earlier. Don't try forcing 1T command rate on it to start with, it might get cranky

 

[SkyBum]

done. I'll give it 2.8 and leave everything else alone.

Thanks.

Bad as all this was (and it seems MOST of it was simply my own ignorance) at least I learned quite a bit in the process....

 

[SkyBum]

Finished installing apps with the pc2100 in and then set the voltage at 2.8v and booted with the OCZ plat. 2. Then I fired up Far Cry and had a bit of trouble getting it to even load. I fooled around with the games settings in the setup panel for a while and finally got it to load up and man if I wasnt treated to some of the most amazing graphics and performance I've ever seen. Damn near made me cry

After awhile though, the game crashed and despite my best efforts I could not even get it to show the splash screens (immediate crash to desktop after launching). After that I decided to install Half Life 2 just to see if I was still getting file corruption with the OCZ installed and sure enough, on disk 2 I got a "cannot read file" error. Then I set voltage back to 2.6, dropped the pc2100 back in and sure enough, Far Cry was able to load up again.

Most definitely theres a problem with my OCZ RAM. both at default and 2.8v. Is this common? I've never heard that much about such problems with RAM before. I'm a bit gun shy about firing off another RMA at this point though, whats the best program to test my Ram out?

 

[MaverickBP]

run some test like memtest...also according to asus site, unless i read it wrong, your board doesnt support ocz rev.2 . which sucks considering 3/4 of the enthusiasts in these forums have or want to get that memory. maybe theyll have that fixed in a bios update. but who knows...maybe its just bad memory and once you get some rma'ed(if thats the prob) itll run like a champ. like you told me earlier...$270 for ram...it better damn work.

edit: Some person giving their 2 cent review said that his board works fine with ocz..another said he had to use the recommend KVR Kingston mem...but thats on newegg so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[DB27]

I haven't had a problem with the OCZ on my A8N-sli system. Did you try using one stick of OCZ at a time? Maybe you have one bad stick.

 

[MaverickBP]

Originally posted by: DB27
I haven't had a problem with the OCZ on my A8N-sli system. Did you try using one stick of OCZ at a time? Maybe you have one bad stick.

was thinking the same...aren't those sticks tested and sold as pairs? Doesn't prevent future problems though it seems. good to hear that hopefully he didnt waste $270.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I've had no problems with the OCZ. I have noticed that it loves volts!

For instance to get it to run stable at 235 FSB, I had to give it 2.85, at 255 FSB 2.95 and to run stable above 260FSB I had to give it the full 3.0. Even though OCZ warranties this ram to 3.0 I wouldn't run it at that for very long

 

[SkyBum]

After having problems installing my ethernet and firewire controllers, I called ASUS tech support. The guy tells me the motherboard is bad and I should RMA it. My god can this horror story get any worse?

Ummmm......yeah. So after talking to him I put in an ethernet card. System wont boot with it in any of the slots. So I'm thinking what the hell is this all about? Well then I decided to try the Audigy 2 ZS. No dice. It isn't seen at all in any of the slots but at least the system will boot with it in. How can this project get any more forked up?

Tell ya what....if the A8N comes out of that rig again there is no way in hell another one is going back in there.

When my luck is good it's pretty good. When it's bad though, it's off the charts!

On the bright side though, Far Cry runs beautifully at maxed settings. Almost made me feel better after all this nightmare. Think I'm gonna go shoot some merc's and try to forget about all this for a few hours.....

Mama mia, dont let me get near any of your rigs...

 

[dababus]

skyburn, if you are still looking for psu, then pc power and cooling 510 watts psu should be your choice. they cost around $200 minimum but it would prudent if you get one.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

I had a lot of trouble getting ethernet to work on mine also. I'm using WindowsXP w/SP2, and found that using the nforce lan port doesn't work for me, because evidently there are no drivers released yet that will work for SP2. However I did get the Marvel Yukon lan jack to work by downloading the upated drivers from the ASUS website.

Are you overclocking yet! If you are, the problems with your PCI cards (ethernet,audigy). may be that the PCI bus is increasing with your FSB.

It has been discovered by the folks in this forum, that to activate the PCI locks. Boot up with stock settings except FSB, set FSB to 201. Then as you increase FSB the PCI bus will stay locked. I activated my locks early on and didn't even know it. But after reading a post on the subject by Pudds, I tested and sure enough if I boot up with plain stock settings and increase FSB the PCI bus goes up with it. The best way to check to see if your locks are working is with Clockgen NF4 a free downloadable utility. Google for it.

 

[SkyBum]

have not OC'd this board at all. Stock settings all the way. The ONLY change I made was to up the RAM voltage to 2.8 but even then I still had the corrupt file problem when trying to install HL2 with the OCZ installed.

I find it hard to believe that I have another bad board but according to the tech at ASUS there is no question about it. He told me that if Monarch wouldn't RMA a second time though, not to worry, ASUS would take care of me. That eased my mind a bit. If you knew the kind of luck i've been having in general just lately, none of this would surprise you though.

I'll keep trying to find a solution for awhile more but I really think I'm SOL here as far as this board goes.

Anyhow, HAPPY F"N NEW YEAR!!!! Just spent the evening down on the Las Vegas Strip. Holey Schmoley Batman!!!!! The cleavage factor was unbelievable.......what a night!

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Ok, I see one glaring issue here just right away: Ultra X-Connect power supply. That's a 20-pin unit, is it not? And not a particularly good one, from the reputation it's developed so far. I know I'm a PSU nazi, but I would be using this if I planned to set up full SLI someday. If you're just powering what's in your sig now, then they've got lower-end models with the 24-pin arrangement too.

Newegg's site seems to be down at the moment, guess I broke it :evil:

I'm in agreement with this. Ultra power supplies are made by POWMAX - I wouldn't trust them with a 150 watt system.

 

[penelopeb]

i'd try RAM that's actually on the approved vendor list before assuming the board is bad myself... ASUS is known for having memory issues...

 

[SkyBum]

Originally posted by: penelopeb
i'd try RAM that's actually on the approved vendor list before assuming the board is bad myself... ASUS is known for having memory issues...

First, I am not running the OCZ ram currently, and I still have no working ethernet ports, no working PCI slots, and no working Firewire port. I just dont see how non-approved ram could explain all of that.

Second, after some troubleshooting over the phone, ASUS themselves told me the board was bad. As far as the RAM goes, the tech I spoke with said he was running the same RAM on on his A8N with no problems. He said the only reason the OCZ Plat Rev 2 is not on the list is because they haven't had time to test it yet. According to him it'll be approved at some point in the future.

 

[imported_DangerMouse]

Well regarding OCZ Ram i can tell you that i'm currently running 1gb ocz platinum 3700 EB
with 2.7 v. Comp was assembled in a shop and i dont want to mess with bios/oc meanwhile because
they mistakenly got me 3500 Newcastle instead of Winchester. So i am waiting till i get CPU replaced.
Nevertheless system seems pretty solid with obviously underclocked memory though
i admit i didnt put too much stress on it yet.

 

[penelopeb]

well...if the corruption happens to be on the chipset driver, bad RAM could explain alla the failures. but i agree, it's unlikely. i had thought you were just waiting on a driver for a LAN port.

boy...i hope your experience is an anomaly...my board lands tomorrow...

 

[SkyBum]

I wouldn't worry too much penolopeb, I don't think many have seen the kind of probs i've had here. For the most part people seem to be liking their A8N's.

 

[Arcuivie]

I was having similar game problems with HL2 and DOOM3. They would crash 20 minutes into the game. Whenever you get your board, if you're still having the same problems try loosening the timings on your RAM. My Mushkin caused the problem at stock settings (2.0-2-2-6 @ 400mHz with 2.75 volts), so I upped the voltage (like mech recommended) to 2.8v and changed my timings to 2.5-2-2-6 (though the tech at Mushkin, before I made the change on my own, recommended 2-3-2-11 at 2.6v).

If you don't want to go through the agonizing pain of watching your game freeze up halfway into something really awesome, just download yourself the newest version of memtest and let it run through. Test different LOOSE timings and check for errors, especially in tests 4 and 6 (which determined my stability).

 

[SkyBum]

Thanks for the tip.

ASUS just issued me an RMA for board #2. I really don't know if I want to put the replacement back in after all the probs I've had with the first 2 boards. I may give it a go but at this point I'm half tempted to just sell it when it arrives and take my chances with a different NF4 option.

Man what a nightmare this has been.......

 

[joelslaw]

should we even ask?