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F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL and Asus M4A88TD-V Evo USB3.0 Troubleshooting

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  • F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL and Asus M4A88TD-V Evo USB3.0 Troubleshooting

    I have seen on this board that these ram modules should be compatible with this motherboard even though they are not technically on the compatibility list, so I got them to go along with the following:

    Asus M4A88TD-V Evo Motherboard
    AMD Phenom II x6 1055T processor
    2x4gb G.Skill F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
    Antec 750w PSU
    Sapphire ATI 5770 Video Card

    Everything is stock, brand new as of Nov 2010, nothing is OC'ed. I am using stock heatsinks on all. RAM settings are:

    9-9-9-24, 2T
    DRAM Freq 669.6 mhz per CPU-Z
    NB Freq 2008.9 mhz

    I know this is long, but I figure it's best to give you the whole story.

    The back story:

    I put the system together in the beginning of November, it booted first time no problem. I installed windows and used the system for 3 days, then I started getting random BSOD's. The BSOD's indicated memory issues, so I ran Memtest again and the memory passed still. However, over the next 12 hours the BSOD's became more frequent, and eventually the system would not post. The MemOK light was solid red, so I pressed it and held it until it began blinking. This would allow the system to post, but Windows would randomly freeze.

    At one point it ran 6 SuperPi's fine for over an hour, but when I closed them and started browsing the web it rebooted. Temps were fine the entire time, and I was not OC'ing. Everything in the BIOS was left untouched, voltage was stock at 1.50v and timings were stock at 9-9-9-24. I swapped the sticks between DIMM's, reseated them, etc - nothing seemed to work.

    Once the system became too unstable to use windows for more than 5 minutes without crashing I ran Memtest again, and this time both sticks threw errors. Once I accumulated over 3,000,000 errors I RMA'ed the sticks.

    Now:

    I got the new sticks back from Newegg and put them in the computer. It immediately posted - good news. Windows loaded, but had corruption issues. I was not surprised due to the amount of crashes I had before, so I reinstalled Windows.

    The system ran great for 12 hours, didnt crash under stressful load, or at idle. Then it started BSOD'ing again. I am not the luckiest person in the world, but I didnt think I got two sets of bad RAM modules in a row, but ran Memtest anyways. These sticks passed, so I decided maybe the processor/heat sink interface wasnt good and maybe this was causing the memory errors. I popped the heatsink loose, wiggled it, and locked it back down. The system booted and ran fine all night. However, the next day while I was at work, it froze and upon reboot windows had a registry corruption preventing it from loading.

    Now I was trying to reinstall windows again, but the installer would freeze at random points. Sometimes after loading, once just after I formatted the hard drive, and other times in between. After a few attempts the system would now no longer post, so I removed both sticks, then put just 1 back in. The system posted fine. I removed the stick and replaced it with the other stick. Again, it posted fine. I put both in, and the MemOK light came on. I held it, but the system would not post.

    I went back to 1 stick, installed windows, installed drivers, then tried installing the second stick again. No luck. I figured if it won't work in dual channel, it might work in single channel - and it does. It has ran for almost 24 hours now without problems. From what I have experienced, that doesn't mean it's fixed. I have thought it was fixed multiple times, from reseating the heatsink, to swapping between slots, turning of USB3.0 in the BIOS, etc. However, it seems as soon as I get these stable, they only run for about 12-72 hours before crashing and sometimes causing file corruption.

    I would like to get the sticks working in dual channel again, or at least determine why they won't work in dual channel, but last time I tried the system would not even post. Let me know if you have any suggestions or need some info I did not post. Thank you.

  • #2
    Actually sounds like the mobo. Do you have the latest BIOS? If not may want to get it. Might also want to increase NB voltage by .05 to .1, also CPU/NB by .04, and DRAM voltage by .05


    Pls offer comments on support I provide, HERE, in order to help me do a better job here:

    Tman

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Tradesman View Post
      Actually sounds like the mobo. Do you have the latest BIOS? If not may want to get it. Might also want to increase NB voltage by .05 to .1, also CPU/NB by .04, and DRAM voltage by .05
      I have the latest BIOS off of Asus website. I flashed it shortly after I got the board. I'll see if I can get it to post in dual-channel mode and make those voltage adjustments - if not I'll make the adjustments then put the sticks into dual-channel. I'm also going to borrow another brand of DDR3 sticks to see how they play with the setup.

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      • #4
        Sounds like a plan - let us know what happens


        Pls offer comments on support I provide, HERE, in order to help me do a better job here:

        Tman

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Tradesman View Post
          Sounds like a plan - let us know what happens
          I was never able to get it to post in dual channel mode. I have been running it for 1 month + in single channel, and it was fine for a while, but now it is starting to BSOD once or twice a day. Ironically, it happens when the computer is doing nothing but streaming music from www.slacker.com. I haven't had time to re-run memtest, but last time I ran it everything passed.

          G.Skill has offered to RMA the ram a second time, but I don't want to go through the hassle of RMA'ing again, especially if I do not know for sure the RAM is at fault. There have been recent posts on the ASUS forum regarding this board and RAM problems that include RAM from multiple other manufacturers where the board crashes if more than one slot is occupied.

          I have been busy with work and family and have not had time to troubleshoot this a lot, but I am going to try again tonight. I am hoping your recommended voltage adjustments will allow the board to post and run smoothly. In case they do not, can anyone make a recommendation for an alternative board? Everyone I know loves ASUS but this is second time I have had issues with a build and both times involved an ASUS board, so I would prefer to switch brands. If I cannot get this to work I may just buy a different board. Both my wife and myself are tired of the random reboots and I just want to get it fixed.

          Comment


          • #6
            Let us know how it goes, and I agree w/ you on ASUS, used to basically use them exclusively, but got away from them a couple years ago after a number of different issues/mobos, might take a look at Gigabyte offerings


            Pls offer comments on support I provide, HERE, in order to help me do a better job here:

            Tman

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            • #7
              I put sticks in dual channel, it would not post until I pressed and held the memok button. After that it posted, I went into the BIOS to save settings, when it restarted after that the memok light came on again. Any ideas?

              It will post with non g.skill ram so I'm not sure the problem.....

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by mkw87 View Post
                I put sticks in dual channel, it would not post until I pressed and held the memok button. After that it posted, I went into the BIOS to save settings, when it restarted after that the memok light came on again. Any ideas?

                It will post with non g.skill ram so I'm not sure the problem.....
                Sorry for double post, finally got it to post with memok. Windows loaded and immediately bsod'ed with a memory management error. It rebooted, I had to press memok again, went into BIOS to adjust voltages and it is currently frozen in the BIOS, which I've never seen a computer do. Does that usually indicate mobo or ram?

                edit: rebooted, went back into BIOS, made it to RAM page before it froze. The timings were set properly, but the DRAM Voltage was at 2.4v!!!! The board is apparently having to push the voltage that high to get it to post, but only in dual-channel. For some reason I'm guessing this board does not like this series of g.skill ram even though many others have not had any problems. I am currently resetting CMOS and hoping to have more success....
                Last edited by mkw87; 01-26-2011, 02:24 PM.

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                • #9
                  Send them in for RMA to see if a new kit works better.

                  Thank you
                  GSKILL TECH

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by GSKILL TECH View Post
                    Send them in for RMA to see if a new kit works better.

                    Thank you
                    GSKILL TECH
                    I hate to have to go through that a second time without knowing for sure it will fix the problem, but it's looking like my only option.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Did both kits have the same issue? Do you have the latest BIOS?

                      Thank you
                      GSKILL TECH

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by GSKILL TECH View Post
                        Did both kits have the same issue? Do you have the latest BIOS?

                        Thank you
                        GSKILL TECH
                        I have the latest BIOS available for this board on Asus' website, I re-verified that today.

                        Both kits worked initially for multiple days. The first kit worked great for 3 days, the second kit worked for 2 days. In those days I did nothing unusual, I did not overclock, just installed windows and common programs. The only addon card I have in my computer is my video card (sapphire ati 5770).

                        The first kit failed memtest with millions of errors after that 3rd day. I have not ran memtest on this set of sticks because I cannot get it to boot in dual channel mode. I know I could run it on them individually, but I was trying to avoid having to do that. Odds are they will pass individually considering they work fine in single channel mode except for random BSOD's once a day or every other. Sometimes it happens twice a day, other times it is fine for 3 or 4 days straight.

                        As mentioned the board posts with alternative ram in dual channel, which is what makes me think the RAM is at fault, though it could still be the motherboard because I have not ran it with the other ram for extended periods of time. Statistics say I shouldn't get two bad kits in a row, and I have owned multiple sets of G.Skill RAM in the past without issue..........can't say the same for Asus. I just want to RMA the part that is actually defective, even if I have to keep troubleshooting.
                        Last edited by mkw87; 01-26-2011, 03:47 PM.

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                        • #13
                          I completely agree, and that's what I'm trying to pinpoint, but based on the given info, it's hard to say.

                          Thank you
                          GSKILL TECH

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by GSKILL TECH View Post
                            I completely agree, and that's what I'm trying to pinpoint, but based on the given info, it's hard to say.

                            Thank you
                            GSKILL TECH
                            Everything boots and runs fine with both sticks in slots A1+A2 or B1+B2. It will occasionally blue screen, but almost every time I am streaming music from a website. However, that could just be coincidence, as I stream music quite often successfully.

                            It will not post with A1-B1 or A2-B2 configurations unless MemOK ups the DRAM voltage to 2.4v, and at that point it will freeze while in the BIOS.

                            If I could get it to post in dual channel so I could adjust settings it would be easier to troubleshoot. I find it strange that the ram worked flawlessly for two days, then quit. It is the reason I'm on this board and not the Asus board trying to troubleshoot.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              So there is a problem with dual channel, but you said the other memory works fine? It has no problem in slots A1 and B1? Any memory should work fine in those slots.

                              Thank you
                              GSKILL TECH

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