Stability problems with F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL

Hi all,

Here is my problem. I have an Asus M4A79XTD Evo motherboard with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 processor and F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL memories.

Sometimes, I got windows blue screens or programs all crashes at startup. I just have to switch off the computer and start it again, and there are no more problems. But this issue happens around 2 times a week.
I also can't download any large file (more than 600-700Mb) or there is some chance it'ld be corrupted. I also can't extract some large zip files or I got randoms corrupted file errors. All this don't happen often. Only sometimes, and when it happens, retrying almost always works.

I ran Memtest for around 12h and there were no errors with memories.

I'ld like to know where is the problem? Are the memories bad? Are motherboard slots bad?

I'm using Windows 7 64bits. No overclocking. Default values in the bios.

Any idea? I'm prepared to do any test you'll ask for.

Thanks,

Cam'

[wevsspot]

Cam,

What power supply do you have? What types of USB devices are connected to your computer?

If Memtest ran for 12 hours and didn't find any errors, then it is safe to say that your memory is ok.

Have you checked the Windows Event Error log to see if there are errors or critical events happening.

The two logs of special interest would be the Applications Error Log and the System Error Log.

[cameleon33]

Thanks for you answer:

My power supply is a Cooler Master GX Power - 550W
As USB devices, I only got a keyboard and a mouse plugged in... nothing else... sometimes an external hard drive but it's not related to the problems.

I only ran memtest with both memories plugged in. Maybe I'll try memtest on each memory just to be sure.
Maybe an update of the BIOS should be useful? I never did one.

I'll also check the windows error log to see if there is something useful. How to access them on windows 7 ?

Another question: I saw this post: http://gskill.us/forum/showthread.php?t=2977
Does it applied to my situation?

Cam'

[cameleon33]

Hi,

I checked my BIOS version and i'm with the 901 revision. So it's not the latest one.
Before updating it, I wanted to try lowering frequency to 1067Mhz and so far the system is running fine. I'll have to wait to see if the problems come back.

A question: Is there a difference by using the RAM at 1067MHz instead of original 1333MHz?
Will I notice loss of performance or is it only noticeable in benchmarks?

I also checked windows event logs and I found no critical errors prior to crashes.

Tonight I'll ran a memtest on one module at original frequency.

Cam'

[wevsspot]

If both modules passed Memtest when ran together, it's highly unlikely that one or the other will fail when testing them individually.

There is a performance penalty when running at lower memory bandwidth, but it's probably imperceptible to the end user in most cases (except for benchmarks of course). However a bigger concern than that is the fact that your memory should run at it's advertised speed at the voltage specified by the mfg.

It might help if you post up all of your actual BIOS settings or at least screen shots so we can take a look at whats going on relative to your BIOS settings.

And if it were me, I'd definitely update your BIOS to the latest revision.

Regards,

[cameleon33]

Thanks again for your help.

Ok, I just updated my BIOS and set everything on auto.
I checked Ram are recognized at DDR3 1333MHz Ganged Mode.
Timing are default one. For now, the computer is running fine. Don't have any problem. It can take a while for problems to appear. I'll try unzipping some big files to see if there are any CRC errors.

I'll keep you posted!

Cam'

[wevsspot]

sounds like a plan

[cameleon33]

Ok I ran a memtest for 7h with both modules together and it found 2 errors:

http://www.jupload.fr/images/2010/im...1282979635.jpg

So I tried to launch a test for one module. But on one slot, memtest detects it as 200MHz (DDR400) and on the other one as 667MHz (DDR1333).
I tried with the 2 other slots and it's the same scheme. Is it normal?

Here are the screens:

http://www.jupload.fr/images/2010/im...1282979819.jpg

http://www.jupload.fr/images/2010/im...1282979846.jpg

Cam'

[wevsspot]

cam,
no that's not normal. what slots are your memory modules installed in?

modules should be installed in DIMM_A1 and DIMM_B1 (the black ones closest to the cpu socket)

[cameleon33]

Modules are installed in DIMM_A2 and DIMM_B2, the blue ones. It was what was recommended on the motherboard manual.

If I only plug one memory on DIMM_B2 or DIMM_B1, for both cases, memtest only detect DDR400. Don't understand why. Do you have an idea?
If I plug one memory on DIMM_A2 or DIMM_A1, memtest detect it as DDR1333
If both in blue, memtest detect it as DDR1333
Same for black.

Should I plugged modules in black slots?
What tests do I need to do?

Cam'

[wevsspot]

let me run and get the manual for that board real quick

[wevsspot]

cam,
you're right - the manual does say to use the blue slots for better overclocking. kind of strange since those are the b-channel slots, but oh well.

there wouldn't be any harm in trying the a-channel slots though. does that one memory module always report out as DDR400 regardless of what slot you have it installed in?

[cameleon33]

Thanks again for your help.

No I tried both modules in B2 and B1 slots, and both were reported as DDR400.
But both are reported as DDR1333 in A1 and A2 slots.
I asked the question on the Asus forum. We'll see if there is any explanation.

Anyway, I think I'll try a memtest on one module on A2 (blue) slot and see if there is any error during the night. Then I'll test the other module on same slots and we'll see the results. If both are ok, I'll try both modules on black slots and memtest again.

Unless you have some other ideas?

Cam'

[wevsspot]

sorry for the late response cam,

i took advantage of a quiet house and got a little saturday nap in

not sure what is up with the blue slots only reporting your ram as ddr 400 so hopefully you'll get a quick response over at the Asus forums.

in the meantime, i'd memtest each stick individually in the black slots instead since they are the ones that are reporting the correct speed.

i'm really wondering if that's a typo in the manual - because, like I said earlier, it's a really strange recommendation to run your primary memory in channel b...............

maybe that's why they call the blue slots the best for overclocking - because by default they underclock your ram so as not to affect your fsb to cpu ratio? just a thought.

[cameleon33]

You are right to take advantage of your week-end. I'm doing the same

It's not the blue slots which are reported as DDR400. It's secondary slots of blue and black pairs.

In the manual they call A1 and B1 the black slots and A2 and B2 the blue slots.
A1 and A2 are detecting DDR1333 and B1 and B2 are detecting DDR400. It can't be both B's slots being broken so I suppose it's a normal thing or a wrong detection of memtest. Maybe I'll try to start windows with only one module on a B slot to see at which frequency windows is detecting my module, just to check.

Anyway, I'll launch a memtest of the first module for the night. It'll test for 8 to 9hours. And tomorrow, I'll do the same with the second one. To be sure, I'll launch the test using the A1 slot (black one detecting DDR1333).

I'll keep you posted!

Cam'