GA-890GPA-UD3H Rev. 2.0 w/ X6 1055T - Computer Locks Up

[talis]

Hello and greetings from a first time poster and 2 day lurker 

Almost 3 months ago I bought the following from Newegg:

GA-890GPA-UD3H Rev. 2.0 Bios Ver. FA
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T w/stock cooler
GSkill 4GB DDR3 1600 (2x2GB) F3-12800-CL9D-4GBRL 9-9-9-24T 1.5V
Rosewill RG530-S12 530W continious/630W peak

I had a copy of Win7 Ultimate 64-Bit.

I bought this after seeing some great reviews from a few people. I did the build and it fired right up. I looked at the RAM settings in Bios and I only needed to change the RAM from X6.66 to X8 and it changed gears from 1333 to 1600. I was able to install windows without a glitch and get down to my 3D modeling work. The CPU would run 29-31C at idle and when I was rendering my work on all 6 cores it would go to 49-51C. I was very happy with this build as it was saving me hours each day on my projects and it was rock solid until this past weekend.

I left work on Friday and left the computer idling. When I came in to get some extra work in on Sunday the monitor would not wake up with a jiggle of the mouse like normal so I held the power button down until it powered off and gave it about 20 seconds and then turned it back on. It loaded windows but locked up when the desktop was loading with no DSOD error codes just a frozen picture of the desktop.

I figured that I lost a stick of memory so I pulled one of the two and ran Memtest86+ Ver 4.10 and it would lock up between 2-3 mins. so I did this for all four slots and then repeated with the other stick for the same results. Memtest does not list any errors for the sticks, it just locks up around the same time that the computer is powered on.

Ok so maybe this is a thermal issue so I go into Bios and it shows the system temp as around 29C and the CPU around 32C. I know that this CPU limits out at 62C so this looks ok. While I am looking at the Bios the computer locks up again and I can get this to repeat and it does so again most times mid 2 mins. I take the side off the case again and place a high CFM box fan I have close to it and turn it on and this brings the temps down 5-6C but I still get those lock ups they just take about an extra 30 seconds to happen with the extra air.

I have flashed my Bios from version FA that it shipped with to FB and then FC and finishing with the newest version FD. This did not resolve the lock ups but once I hit Bios FD I now see in POST for the memory information string a random value from DDR3 6XX - 10xx when for versions FA-FC it would show DDR3 1333 or 1600 depending on what I had it set to in Bios. Even though Bios Ver. FD shows it listed wrong on the post screen it shows up ok in Bios and Memtest picks it up ok.

If I turn the computer off by holding down the power button once it locks up I can turn it on again and it will repeat the lock ups about the same amount of run time each time. If I hit the reset button once it locks up it will lock up again about one min. faster then if you do not use the reset button but if I use the reset button for a second time in a row then it will not post and I get a 2 Long 1 either short or medium beep code. If I try to rest again I will get the code again. I have to hold the power button down until it powers off to break the cycle.

I have been testing and looking for answers on the net for about 38 hours and I am starting to go nuts trying to keep all the information clear and find a answer. Absic's sticky post about the issues AM3 chips have running DDR3 at speeds greater then 1333 brought me to this forum ( and freaked me out) and I see that both he, DM and others have been able to help other users with their issues so I am crossing my fingers that you all can help me in my time of need 

I am sorry if this post rambles on a bit but lack of much sleep and a dead computer with your work piling up muddles the brain a bit 

[autotech]

First thing i would check in bios is if you are running ganged mode or unganged mode for memory timing. This can be verified with cpud. It should be unganged with the 1055t.  I mention this as a point to start maybe as this problem usually only rears it head with all 4 memory slots filled. You can also check to make sure the rest of your memory timings are set right with cpud.

[talis]

Hi autotech thanks for the reply.

I forgot to add that I was and still am running my ram in unganged mode. I have tried it in ganged just to see if it would make a difference but it did not so I have changed it back. I will have to check and see if cpuid has a bootable version that I can put on a mem stick as the system will not stay up long enough to use it in windows like I have done in the past on other computers.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I am afraid that it may be bad news. By running your memory at the overclocked speed of 1600 instead of the JEDEC standard 1333 you may well have damaged the memory controller  on the CPU. AMD recommends only running at 1333 for safe working. If you want more information on this check out absic's thread at the top of this AMD section.

[absic]

Hi Talis,

Sorry if my sticky freaked you out that wasn't the intention of writing it. It was more to inform people of the limitations of the Phenom ii Memory controller, which hadn't been made very clear.

Trying to trace and solve these kind of problems can be a real challenge and I'm afraid I don't have a simple answer for you.

Before we go any further how solid is your PSU? It might seem a strange question, especially when you are looking at RAM, CPU, motherboard to be at fault but you would be surprised at how many problems of this nature come down to the choice of PSU.  This is the first place I would be looking at and testing.

After you are sure that the PSU is solid and reliable the next thing to try is resetting BIOS to Optimized Defaults.
Resetting BIOS will, of course, bring your RAM down to 1333 MHz but leave it at that setting.
Leave just one stick of RAM in the 1st slot and then try Booting up. Hopefully this will enable you to get the system to BOOT properly and not hang.
If the system still won't start-up or BOOT properly then try swapping the RAM modules over and seeing if it then works.
If it does work add the second stick of RAM and see what happens then, remembering to keep the RAM at 1333 Mhz.

[talis]

Thanks for the replies DM and absic.

@DM - After finding absic's post about AMD's dirty little secret that you only should run your ram @ 1333 and looking at all my test data I was leaning towards a flakey mem. controller. I just wanted to see what you gents thought before I fight with AMD support. I am just frustrated that they do not make this very plain. It was not listed in any of the documents that came with the CPU. The ram and mb are both setup to run at 1600 and I was not looking to oc this rig I was just wanting to set it up and have it work like I thought the parts were rated to do so from the factory. If it was not for this forum and absic's post about this I would still be in the dark.

@absic - from what I can tell the psu is solid but I have been trying to find a friend or co-worker who has one that is new enough to run this rig and will let me borrow it so I can rule it out for sure.

I set the Bios to optimized defaults early in my testing and I have left it there. I have tested all 4 slots on the mb with both ram sticks one at a time with the same results so either both of them are bad or it is the controller or psu. The computer boots and runs for 2-3 min. on average before it locks up. I do not have access to another computer that uses ddr3 so I am not able to test the ram more then this.

Thanks to you both for you thoughts. I will spend some more time trying to find a psu I can borrow and see if you have any more thoughts about all of this before I contact AMD.

[Dark Mantis]

I think that in principle you are right and AMD should be more open and above board about this "restriction".  The problem being they are a big corporation and you are not. If you take them on it takes a lot of time and money. The only other option is to try and reason with them and let them know that you know the score and it would be the right thing for them to do to replace your chip.

[talis]

I did call AMD Support and after telling them all the facts of what happend and the results of all my testing the tech said it does sound like the memory controller is failing. He issued an RMA and said that I should have my new one in 7 business days from the day I drop it off at one of their approved FedEx locations.

I will try to get this off to them today and then cross my fingers that it all works out. I will update you all with the results.

Thanks for the advice and help!

[Dark Mantis]

You're welcome and we will keep our fingers crossed for you.

[absic]

Hopefully the new CPU will solve your problems and there won't be any issues with the RMA. Don't forget to let us know how you get on.