GA-870A-UD3

[Berties]

Having problem, not sure what's the cause

GA-870A-UD3 with OCZ 1333mhz RAM

http://www.avforums.com/forums/motherboards/1373564-post-problems.html?highlight=post+problems
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_pc3_10666_gold_amd_edition_low_voltage

boot/post problems, not starting up everytime. Thought the board was faulty, got replacement, same thing.

Tried one stick only, ok that works. Both sticks, does not work. The other stick, does not work. Ok could be RAM
So got another pack of RAM, stick 1 ok, both sticks, not ok, second stick not ok. Hmmm so out of 2 packs of RAM (total of four sticks) two are faulty? Seems a bit high.

So any idea what the problem is?

Corsair 450W HX PSU, also tried Enermax Liberty 650W, ATI 5450 PCI-E videocard

I thought if I buy another bundle of RAM of a different make that is known to work, and it works fine then something up with RAM, if they're not faulty god knows I'm stumped.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

It would be very helpful if you could list all your hardware so we have a better idea of your system.

[Berties]

oops wrong section not a Intel.

MSI PCI-E 5450
One 3.5" SATA HD
One 2.5" PATA HD
One DVD-RW PATA
Corsair 450W HX PSU
Scythe Ninja hsf
Antec P182 case
AMD 245e 2.8ghz dual core
OCZ 1333mhz cas 9 ram dual channel 4GB matched pair
Not overclocked.

Basically I'm lost, pretty experienced at fault finding. But this doesn't make sense, two boards, two sets of dual channel ram and does the same thing. One stick ok, other stick bad. In both packs.

[jolphil]

T

tried one stick only, ok that works. Both sticks, does not work.

Hi,
I am unclear about this point..
Are you trying one stick in slot 1, then removing that stick and trying the second stick in the same slot 1?
Or are you trying the first stick in slot 1 then putting the second stick in the next slot?

It seems to be the consensus you should test your RAM using the first procedure then after both pass the
single stick test try putting two sticks in..
jolphil

[Berties]

The former.

Two sticks of RAM, let's call one Bill and Ben

Stick Bill in 3_1 No problem, RAM works
Remove Bill
Stick Ben in 3_1, computer does occasionally POST
Fit both Bill & Ben, computer does occasionally POST
(needs a few attempts on power on/off to get it to POST)
Totally stable in Windows

Therefore Ben is faulty, send both back. So I got another set of RAM, Billy and Benny

Stick Billy in 3_1 No problem, RAM works
Remove Billy
Stick Benny in 3_1, computer does not POST  (at all, multiple attempts)
Stick both of them in, computer does not POST (at all, multiple attempts)

Two modules out of four faulty? :-/ Doesn't seem right. Also not in the next slot, in the other blue one (3_3)

Anyone know of guaranteed RAM to work? Maybe OCZ is a bit dodgy, maybe not or maybe just weird goings on. But if I try another brand and it works fine, at least I know OCZ has problems (got OCZ with Intel and that's fine)

[absic]

Hi there,

whilst it might seem odd that both sets of RAM have a faulty module it has happened before. I have to say that when I put together a PC I use Corsair RAM and, touch wood, I have never had any issues with it.

Not sure of your budget but here are a couple of options from Scan UK that I have used frequently on my AMD builds.
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2gb)-corsair-xms3-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-dhx-16v
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-(4x2gb)-corsairxms3-ddr3-pc3-10666-(1333)-240-pin-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24

If you don't want to use Corsair RAM then the best advice I can offer is to look for modules that run at 1.5V as these tend to be more reliable.

[jolphil]

He He ..Bill and Ben have problems as do Billy and Benny...
I must admit you have a way with words..Hehe..
Like absic says it's not impossible to get two defective sets..
I have the same Motherboard as you do but I have another brand (Mushkin)1333 @1.5 V and the
first set was defective (Ben was bad)..I RMA'd  Both Bill and Ben and got Billy and Benny
Volia!!! Both Billy and Benny were both Happy and so am i..
Goodluck,
jolphil

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I would advise kicking Bll, Ben, Billy and Benny out on their collective ears for giving you such a hard time!

Get some decent memory like Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin etc but steer clear of OCZ as they seem to have more than enough problems recently.