Bad RAM, or am I doing it wrong?

[leffuejk]

I have a evga 790i ultra board that I've been running 1333Mhz corsair memory on perfectly. Never crashes.

I thought I'd pump it up and I bought the 2x2GB DDR3 Patriot RAM and downclock that to 1800 (price was right on newegg). I redid my bios following suggestions of the experts on EVGA's forums. Heres what I found.

If I have one of the patriot sticks in, either one, it does a memtest perfectly. As soon as I put both in, memtest gets to about 50% of its first pass and reboots the machine.

So skipping testing with both sticks in, I can get into vista 64, everything linked and synced at a cool 1800Mhz. I got stress test software, intelBurn test, and my rig BSOD's (which it does not do on the 1333 RAM I've had).

Basically, every time I try to access the RAM's full potential, either through a check or stress it crashes the rig.

Am I doing it wrong, or is the RAM bad?

[Patriot_Ben]

Try these screenshots...
http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1267

I would recommend flashing to the P07 bios.

[Lord_Hades]

You Need To Test The Memory For Errors At Default CPU, Mainboard And Memory Speeds. If You Get Any Errors With Memtest Then You May Have A Memory Problem. If You Do Not Get Any Errors With Memtest Then You Can Try Overclocking Again.

Your 1800mhz Frontside Bus Overclock / Linked And Synced Is A Hefty Overclock, Will Need To Be Fully Proven By Testing And Is Certainly Part Of The Problem At This Point. As You Said The Corsair Memory Was Running At 1333mhz Flawless, But It Wasn't Running An 1800mhz FSB Overclock.

It Is Possible That Your System May Or Maynot Ever Run Flawless At 1800mhz FSB overclock. I Don't Have Any Idea What All Of Your Other System Parts Are.

You Will Need To Set The Suggested Manufacturer Rated Speeds And Voltage For The Memory To Test For Memory Stability. Save Changes In CMOS And Then Test With Memtest Version 2.11 For At Least One Pass Having No Errors.

Boot the Computer To An Uncorrupted OS And Test In Windows With Prime95 Version 25.8 Or Higher For At Least One Hour (Blend Test)With No Errors Or You May Also Try OCCT To Test For Stability.

If You Pass Memtest Then Unlink Your Memory And Begin Overclocking / Testing Each Component Individually For Stability To See What They Are Capable Of, Then You Can Begin Overclocking Everything Together As A Whole With the Memory Linked.

I Recommend You Use Bios p07 With The EVGA 790I Ultra SLi.

Install Your Memory Into The Black Slots Only. This Is Recommended For Best Results When Trying To Obtain Up To 2000mhz Memory Overclocks.

You Are Going To Have To Manually Tweak The Voltages And Settings On Everything To Get Your 1800mhz FSB Overclock. At 1800mhz FSB Everything Comes In To Play, Power Consumption, Tempurature, Heat, Power Effeciency, Cooling ......etc.

These Are Recorded Settings I Have For A Evga 790I Ultra With A QX6850 Quad Core Processor Running Stable On Air At 1600 fsb With A 10x Multi (4.0ghz CPU) And 2000mhz Patriot EPP Memory At 1600mhz linked, Using Vista Ultimate 64Bit And A Three Way Sli .

BIOS Version: P07
**System **
CPU Freq, MHz: 4GHZ
FSB Reference Clock, MHz: 1600
CPU Multiplier: [10X]
PCle x16-1 & 16-2, MHz: [100]
PCle x16-3, MHz: [100]
SPPc->MCP Ref Clock, MHz: [200]
nForce SPP --> nForce MCP: [5X]
nForce SPP c-- nForce MCP: [5X]
**Spread Spectrum**
CPU Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
HT Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(SPP): [Disabled]
PCle Spread Spectrurn(MCP): [Disabled]
SATA Spread Spectrum: [Disabled]
**FSB & Memorv Config**
FSB - Memory Clock Mode: [Linked]
FSB - Memory Ratio: Auto
FSB (QDR), MHz: [1600]
Actual FSB (QDR), MHz: 1600
x MEM (DDR), MHz: 1600
Actual MEM (DDR), MHz: 1600
P1: [AUTO]
P2: [AUTO]
**Memory Timing Setting**
Memory Timing Setting: [Expert]
tCL (CAS Latency): 8
tRCD: 8
tRP: 8
tRAS: 22
Command Per Clock: [2T]
** Advanced Memory Settings **
tRRD: [Auto]
tRC: [Auto]
tWR: [Auto]
tWTR: [Auto]
tFAW: [Auto]
tREF: [Auto]
**System Voltages**
CPU Core: [1.45]
CPU FSB: [1.3]
Memory: [2.000]
nForce SPP: [1.45]
nForce MCP: [1.65]
GTLVREF Lane 0: [+05]
GTLVREF Lane 1: [+05]
GTLVREF Lane 2: [+05]
GTLVREF Lane 3: [+05]
**CPU Configuration**
Limit CPUlD Maxval: Disabled
Intel Speedstep: Disabled
xPPM Mode: [Native]
CPU Thermal Control: [Disabled]
C1E Enhanced Halt State: [Disabled]
Execute Disable Bit: [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology: [Enabled or Disabled]
CPU Core 0: [Enabled]
CPU Core 1: [Enabled]
CPU Core 2: [Enabled]
CPU Core 3: [Enabled]


The 790I Boards Have Vdroop And Vdimm Voltage Losses That Can Be Seen Under Load From Windows. Many People Have Opted To Mod The Mainboard To Aid The Vdroop Problem When Overclocking.

With Each And Every Overclock Tweak You Successfully Change, You Will Need To Test For Total System Stability Using Prime 95 Or OCCT.

[leffuejk]

Thanks for replies.

I am on p07.

Relevant parts of the system are:

EVGA 790i Ultra
Intel Quad Q9450
BFG 9800GX2

Evidently several people on the evga boards have the same setup as far as processor and motherboard and run at 1800 24x7.

Looking at your system Hades, my bios is basically the same (but now for 1333). I guess before I shoot for 1800, I'll try it out at 1600. Less OC may work better.

[Lord_Hades]

You should test your memory at 1800mhz unlinked for any errors before you overclock the system linked and sync'ed. As I Said Earlier you should push each component individually to see what each is capable of. Never assume because you have the same components as another person that your system will overclock theirs or even match it.

Any overclock you achieve should be tested for stability using memtest, occt, prime95 or similiar program to get some idea of stability or where the problem lies thats holding you back on your overclock or even what the system is doing. You may discover your system will do 1800mhz fsb, more than, or it may do alot less.

Keep your eyes on voltages and temps under load, your problem could be either one of these or both.

Your cpu, according to intel, has a thermal limit of 71.4°C and a voltage limit of 1.362V.

Stay in the green zone with all of your voltages In the bios and keep all temps as far under max specs as possible while under a load.