A7n8x Dual channel memory errors

  • Thread starter Thread starter steve p
  • Start date Start date
S

steve p

I've been getting strange errors, occasional blue screen crashes with
different error types but usually involving ntoskrnl.exe or win32k.sys.

After patching the system to the hilt and discounting the hard drives
through testing I used memtest-86 v.3.1a (http://www.memtest86.com) to run
12 hour tests on the 2 sticks of RAM

If either stick is installed on its own in any slot then there are no
errors.
If both sticks are installed in slots 1 & 2 (ie. not dual channel) then
there are no errors.
If both sticks are installed in dual channel mode, ie. slots 1 & 3 or 2 & 3
then then errors occur - usually in test 5.
14 errors listed in 48 test passes.

System is set to Optimal.
Memory is set 'by SPD'

I can just settle for not using dual channel but does anyone have ideas on
how I can beat this ?

System :
Win2K Pro SP4
A7n8x deluxe Rev 2 bios 1006.
nForce drivers 4.27 WHQL
XP3000 400Mhz running at stock 2100 (10.5 x 200)
2 x 512Mb Crucial CAS3 PC3200 RAM
Radeon 9800 pro 128Mb
2 x SATA 80Gb Maxtor plus 9 drives - one Boot, one Data, not raided.
1 x NEC nd3500 DVD RW Drive as primary master
1 x PATA 40Gb Hitachi deskstar as secondary master

Cheers for any advice.
Steve P.
 
steve p said:
I've been getting strange errors, occasional blue screen crashes with
different error types but usually involving ntoskrnl.exe or win32k.sys.

After patching the system to the hilt and discounting the hard drives
through testing I used memtest-86 v.3.1a (http://www.memtest86.com) to run
12 hour tests on the 2 sticks of RAM

If either stick is installed on its own in any slot then there are no
errors.
If both sticks are installed in slots 1 & 2 (ie. not dual channel) then
there are no errors.
If both sticks are installed in dual channel mode, ie. slots 1 & 3 or 2 & 3
then then errors occur - usually in test 5.
14 errors listed in 48 test passes.

System is set to Optimal.
Memory is set 'by SPD'

I can just settle for not using dual channel but does anyone have ideas on
how I can beat this ?

System :
Win2K Pro SP4
A7n8x deluxe Rev 2 bios 1006.
nForce drivers 4.27 WHQL
XP3000 400Mhz running at stock 2100 (10.5 x 200)
2 x 512Mb Crucial CAS3 PC3200 RAM
Radeon 9800 pro 128Mb
2 x SATA 80Gb Maxtor plus 9 drives - one Boot, one Data, not raided.
1 x NEC nd3500 DVD RW Drive as primary master
1 x PATA 40Gb Hitachi deskstar as secondary master

Cheers for any advice.
Steve P.
Click to expand...

What are the 'MB' and 'CPU' temperatures being reported at,
by 'asusprobe' and/or the BIOS? It sounds like a possible chipset
overheating problem. You have some power-hungry kit in there,
so need active cooling of some kind.
HTH
 
doh.CeSpamHuh said:
What are the 'MB' and 'CPU' temperatures being reported at,
by 'asusprobe' and/or the BIOS? It sounds like a possible chipset
overheating problem. You have some power-hungry kit in there,
so need active cooling of some kind.
HTH
Click to expand...

Have you tried setting the memory timings manually, rather than SPD? And/or
increasing the memory voltage?
 
doh.CeSpamHuh said:
&

What are the 'MB' and 'CPU' temperatures being reported at,
by 'asusprobe' and/or the BIOS? It sounds like a possible chipset
overheating problem. You have some power-hungry kit in there,
so need active cooling of some kind.
HTH
Click to expand...
Rob

Power is handled by a Tagan 480W supply
MB temps are about 30 - 32C
CPU temps about 42C rising to 48C under load.
The side is off it at the moment as I've been swapping the RAM round for
those tests.
The temps seem quite normal to me, plus the errors only happen in dual
channel mode.

Thanks for the thought though.

Steve P.
 
Doug Ramage said:
Have you tried setting the memory timings manually, rather than SPD? And/or
increasing the memory voltage?
Click to expand...

Thank Doug,

I've set it to User Defined, 100%, 8,3,3,3T.
I'll run memtest on it again tonight and see what happens.

I've never overvoltaged memory before.
DDR Voltage is set to 2.6V.
What's a safe amount to raise it by, or to ?

Cheers

Steve P.
 
steve p said:
Thank Doug,

I've set it to User Defined, 100%, 8,3,3,3T.
I'll run memtest on it again tonight and see what happens.

I've never overvoltaged memory before.
DDR Voltage is set to 2.6V.
What's a safe amount to raise it by, or to ?

Cheers

Steve P.
Click to expand...

Just one "notch" at a time, and see if it makes any difference.

Is slot 3 OK? Does a single stick work in it?
 
Doug Ramage said:
Just one "notch" at a time, and see if it makes any difference.

Is slot 3 OK? Does a single stick work in it?
Click to expand...

Either single stick in slot 3 tests with no errors.
Same for the other slots, with just one stick.
Just ran memtest overnight using slots 2 & 3 @ 2.7V.
Still getting same errors.
Will try again tonight @ 2.7 with slots 1 & 3.

Cheers
Steve P.
 
Doug Ramage said:
Just one "notch" at a time, and see if it makes any difference.

Is slot 3 OK? Does a single stick work in it?
Click to expand...

Now tried it at 2.7V in slots 2 & 3 and in slots 1 & 3.
Still lots of errors in memtest.
Going to email Crucial to see if they have any suggestions.

Thanks for your help.
Steve P.
 
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