GA-MA790X-UD3P F7a failing 8 GB RAM

[absic]

Hi,

although I am not running your motherboard ( I am using the GA-790XTA -UD4), I've done a little experimenting over the past day, to see what problems, if any, I encountered with 8 gigs of RAM and my old Phenom ii X4 965 C2 140W. I am no expert and I have limited resources but I thought it was worth a try to see if I could help solve this for you.

My RAM is Corsair Dominator rated at 1600 Mhz and it runs fine with my Phenom ii x6 1090T but, as soon as I tried it with the X4, I had no end of BSOD's and the only way I could get it to run was to use optimized defaults @1333Mhz. I couldn't even get 4 gigs to run at stock without it being very fussy, as soon as I pulled it back to 1333Mhz, it ran fine.

So, to my mind, the problem is either the CPU or the BIOS. Now, I know this doesn't help you directly but and it's a big but,  I can recreate a very similar problem on a different motherboard with different BIOS, the common factor is a Phenom ii x4 CPU. And, the memory controller is built into the CPU!!

Once you have re-set CMOS and loaded Optimized defaults in BIOS try running with just 4 gig of RAM to see if you can get it to run OK. If it works, without issue I would then contact both Gigabyte and AMD, explaining your situation and asking them for a proper answer as to why you are unable to run 8 GIG without issues.

[Glaucous]

4 GB works without any problems whatsoever. I just flashed and cleared CMOS, and I am now running memtest with 8 GB RAM. My guess is that memtest will work well, but that I will later on not be able to start the computer anyhow.

I will try to contact AMD/Gigabyte in case I get problems again. The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Oh, and thank you for testing it out.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi absic115, so that is where you were hiding yesterday. Anyway great work.

[absic]

The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Oh, and thank you for testing it out.

I agree it shouldn't be a problem and never really was with the older CPU's and memory controller on the Mobo, but now....... who knows!

Edit: I think this is one of the questions that really needs a proper answer, rather than groping in the dark. If there is an issue then it needs to be sorted and the more definite evidence that can be gained the easier it is to go to these big companies and state your case. I just hate being a ping pong ball. By, taking the time to run my own tests you now have a 2nd example that there is problem somewhere along the line.

[Glaucous]

Well, now I got a MEMORY_MANAGEMENT BSOD. So I increased the NB voltage to 1.2 and decreased memory speed to 667 MHz. Going to see if I get any BSODs now.

[Dark Mantis]

The problem might be that the RAM modules aren't exactly the same, which I remember reading about on the Corsair Memory Forums, even though I think most of the time it shouldn't be a problem.

I agree it never was so much of a problem in the past mixing different memory as long as they conformed to the general format but now chipsets seem to be much more picky even about the type of memory they will work with down to specifics. It would seem that the AMD chips with the built in memory controllers might be even worse.

[Glaucous]

Oh well, got a BSOD yesterday and now I can't boot with 8 GB RAM.
What would be the best way to contact AMD and/or Gigabyte?

[Dark Mantis]

For Gigabyte Technical Support go here:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/support-downloads.aspx

[Dark Mantis]

And AMD technical support go here:

http://support.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDSupportHub.aspx

[Glaucous]

Starting to seem quite likely that it is one of my RAM modules that is broken, after a couple of Memtests and setups it seems like one of them fails at some times. I'll talk to Corsair about it.

Kind of annoying to actually find an error now, did some tests a few days ago and found nothing. Guess I wasn't very thorough.

[Dark Mantis]

Sometimes it can take ages to show a fault, although more often than not they come up fairly quickly.

[Glaucous]

Oh well I sent a RMA request to Corsair, hopefully they'll replace my memory modules. As soon (soon?) as I get new memory modules I'll try out 8 GB again.

[Dark Mantis]

Well at least you got somewhere in the end. They are normally quite efficient and you shouldn't have to wait too long. Post back when you have them.

[IceColdBeer]

Another potential memory problem with Corsair RAM and a Gigabyte motherboard.

Yes, we will see.

I having the similar problems, although mine occur with 2GB or 4GB and seems to depend how long the system is on before they occur.

[Glaucous]

Got my RAM modules today, and it does indeed work so far.
I'd say the problem was without a doubt the failing module.

I'll be back if more problems occur.