Just what I wanted, Memory issues with my new system!

WeatherMan

WeatherMan

Active Member
Back again :rolleyes:

Just installed the 560Ti 448 into my gaming rig, and decided to power it up to monitor the temps of the system in the BIOS etc...

The board is a Asus P8Z68V-LX
RAM is 2x4GB Patriot Viper Xtreme D2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-PA

Also my PSU is a OCZ ZT 550w. I've also tested everything below without the GPU installed.

I tried booting the system up with the sticks in memory banks A2 and B2 for dual channel

A1&A2 are Channel A and B1&B2 are Channel B

No POST, just a red light on the MemOK! LED, stating an error

I've tried pressing the MemOK! button to test the RAM, but the testing sequence never seems to end.

I've tried all sorts of combinations and I can only get the sticks to work in A1&A2 slots, both sticks work in either Channel A slot and both sticks pass Memtest, but obviously only in single channel.

I've updated the BIOS to the latest version, still the same issue.

Also, I've noticed that these sticks are not listed in the manual as compatibilty tested. (There are no Patriot sticks listed)

I've also booted the board up with no sticks installed and I get the same MemOK! LED status, meaning that maybe Channel B on the board is bad. (The furthest 2 slots from the CPU socket)

As a side note, the board had been laying boxed in the loft for around 6 months, it gets cold in there, and when I unboxed it and installed it I heard a lot of funny creaks coming from the board as it flexed slightly.

My next option is to buy a new stick of memory that is listed as compatible with the board and try that in Channel B to see if it works.

Otherwise I can only RMA the board.

Suggestions?

Thanks :)
 
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Was the memory running fine before you installed the video card? The compatibility list is ok, but it really means nothing. Its just a list of the few memory sticks they have tested. I know you said you updated the bios, but have you manually reset the bios?
 
I had no way of testing the RAM before today, as this is a brand new system, I've only just tried getting the system running

I've tried to get the system working with just the i3's IGP but I still have the same problem.

And yeah I have manually reset the BIOS :)
 
The problem could potentially be your board - especially if it has been sitting in the loft for months.

Have you tried manually setting timings for RAM in the BIOS? I had a similar problem with an ASUS board in the past and manually setting RAM timings to 9-9-9-24 worked for me.
 
I will try that out when the new stick arrives, I can't be bothered to get it back out of the box now :P

I was a bit concerned when I heard the board creaking when I got it out it's box, I think it was cold :confused:

None of my other boards have make such a sound

If I do have to RMA it though, that's going to be a nightmare.

I've had it for like 8 months now and bought it from Amazon UK, they have a 30 day return policy, I also cannot find their RMA page, do they even have one?

Asus' RMA seems to only support LCD's and Notebooks etc :confused:
 
ASUS' RMA should support motherboards. It is possible the board did get a bit damaged, maybe from moisture or something? Not sure.

I don't think you'll be able to send it back to Amazon, sorry.
 
I've just booted the board back up with with both the default X.M.P profile (changed from Auto) and Manual timings of 9-9-9-24 (Slower than rated to eliminate badly binned sticks).

The MemOK! LED still shows a solid red glow whenever any module is inserted into Channel B slot.

Think I'm going to have to wait for this new stick to arrive
 
It could be a weird thing with the memory. But since neither sick will work in the B1 or 2 slots, my guess is its the board not the memory.
 
Yep I think I'm going to agree with Strangle here. You've got a bad board I think. :/
 
Lol, Idk but could it be that the memOK! Always burns? Mine does.
It could be the RAM slots, but what I find weird is that the fans spin up and that you're able to get in BIOS...
Make sure you don't shorten your board.
My second hand Asus m3a32 didn't even spin up the fans, but I know it has power over whole the board, since the 2 lights are burning (top and bot)...
 
I just had a thought.

While I am waiting for the new stick of RAM to arrive, is it worth sticking my 2 Patriot sticks into the first 2 slots, installing an OS and seeing if CPUZ can detect the 3rd & 4th slot on the board?
 
Okay today I spent some time trying to install Win XP on the machine, my CD kept coming up with a STOP error (Windows had detected a problem) straight after loading up the NTFS & FAT filesystems during Windows Setup, during 'Setup is Starting Windows' is when it happened.

I managed to get the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation to install, ran CPUZ and it detects the 3rd & 4th slot, the same as the BIOS does.

I then pulled the board out of the case and ran it up without the graphics card, optical drives and hard drives, also remounted the heatsink a lot looser to eliminate any grounding issues, reset the cmos and the original MemOK problem is still there when the 3rd/4th slot is populated.

Guess I'll have to wait for this new stick of RAM, it should be here on Thursday.
 
Okay, 2 parcels arrived for me today, but I was out :(

The ETA on the RAM is Thursday, but Amazon are usually pretty speedy with their dispatch & delivery, so I recon what is waiting for me at the Delivery Office is the RAM, a new nano router /client AP for the YouView box in the lounge, and a set of PC speakers for one of my clients.

I should hopefully be testing this new RAM out tomorrow when I get home :)

I've been thinking, that if I can't get this board to POST with this new stick in the 3rd / 4th slot, instead of RMA'ing the board, I may sell it on with 2 faulty slots, soak up the loss and buy a new board.

I've been looking at ASUS UK RMA reviews and they seem to be pretty terrible, there is no Advanced RMA support in the UK so the wait could be quite long. I also still can't find anywhere online to request an RMA for a motherboard with Asus!

Could someone recommend me a replacement board?

I'm not too bothered about the Chipset this time around seeing as I can't overclock the i3 anyway. All I want right now is a working dual channel system :P

Cheers
 
I've just stuck the new stick into the system and the problem still persists.

So I've come to the conclusion that the board is ****ed!

Instead of RMA'ing it and getting a refurb back I'm going to place the board on eBay, cut my losses and pick up a new board!
 
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