GA-890GPA-UD3H (2.0) BSOD's + dual channel memory + optimized default

[Z1-900]

     My brother built this computer and he didn't like Windows 7 and wanted to stick with XP so he let me use it. Anyway we have followed directions in the motherboard manual on setting up dual channel memory but always ended up with blue screens I finally gave up trying to troubleshoot it and went back to my old pc, but I decided to give it another shot since I really liked how 7 looks.
     I got ideas to try after reading some posts on this website so I tried with only 1 4gb stick in the first slot and it was very stable so added the other stick to slot 3 to run in single channel mode no problems this way either. I seen a bios update at the Gigabyte support and downloads center I was previously at version ff and I thought maybe if I update the bios to the latest version this will help to run dual channel mode but I still got blue screens of death when i switched the memory to slots 1 and 2 like the manual says. I also read about issues with the AMD Phenom and using anything over 1333 so i left the ram in slot 1 and 2 and tried lowering frequency to 1066 and so far again its been stable but from what I read I thought this processor was able to use up to 1333 ddr3 but mine doesn't seem to be able to.
     Anyway I would like any help or advice about optimizing my bios for stability with this motherboard, I have no idea what most of the bios settings mean especially under cpu and ram and have no experience overclocking and I don't want to overclock it just change settings to make it more stable and reliable. Thank you following are my specs:

Model: GA-890GPA-UD3H (2.0) 
Bios Version:  Award Software International, Inc. FGf, 7/27/2011
     SMBIOS Version: 2.4
Graphic Card: ATI Radeon HD 4290 (Integrated Graphics)
CPU: AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 965 Processor, 3400 Mhz, 4 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
Memory: Crucial DDR3-1333(PC3 10600) 2 Sticks @ 4GB/ Sockets: Currently Occupied Slots - DDR3_1 and DDR3_2
Hard-disk:  Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB, IDE Mode
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium, Service Pack 1
PSU: Antec TruePower New 750-Watt Blue

If you need anymore info please let me know I have also downlaoded AMD overdrive and maybe could get a printout with more specs if needed, thanks again.
       

[absic]

Hi there,

The first thing I would do is run MemTest to make sure that you don't have a faulty module. You need ot run the test for several passes on each stick individually, to make sure everything is OK. If you get any errors then the Module is faulty and you will need to swap the whole kit not just the faulty stick.

Once you have tested the RAM and you are sure it is OK the next thing to try is increasing the DRAM Voltage under teh MIT Section of BIOS. Set your RAM to 1333MHz and then increase the DRAM voltage by 0.025V. Run the PC and see if you get a BSOD. If you do, go back into BIOS and increase the voltage by another 0.025V and then try the PC again.

If your RAM is rated at 1.5V then be careful not to go to high in your efforts to get stability, I would probably get concerned if I had to go over 1.6V - 1.65V. If you get to 1.6V and the system is still unstable try moving the RAM to slots 3&4 on the motherboard and try again.

[Z1-900]

Hello Absic thanks for helping me,

Before I went to sleep last night I read your reply and downloaded memtest86+-4.20.usb.installer I don't have any cd's to install to right now so will try it through a usb. Before I run this can I set it to run for a certain amount of passes then stop or does it keep running and i need to manually stop it. And how many passes do you consider several?

Thanks

[absic]

Hi there,

It's been a while since I actually used MemTest (I used a USB stick too) but if I remember correctly it just keeps running until you tell it to stop.

There are no hard and fast rules about how many passes you will need to make on each stick but the longer you can allow it to run the more chance of detecting errors if the RAM is faulty. I would suggest 8 - 10 passes but, if you have any errors thrown up in the early stages you can stop it as the memory has a problem.