Stability issues. FX-6300 and . Frequent Freezes

H0lyD1ver · 01 Jun 2014

Hello,
I've got a machine that I think the only issue preventing stability are the BIOS settings. The machine will not run Prime95 without errors, and as soon as I bumped the voltage to the CPU it seemed to be more stable. I haven't really had BSOD's to analyze. I've got several logs from running Prime95 at various settings. The most stable I've gotten it (fewer errors, longest run time) is to run Prime95 for 24+ hours by dropping the RAM bus clock speed to like 400MHz (from 667)

Has anybody else had issues with machines not running at stock/default settings?

Attached are the reports from the Log Collector and a few Prime95 logs (named after the BIOS settings or cpu voltage).

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated! I've been spending the past few weeks running tests and pulling out my hair. :)

Below are the hardware specs:
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
Case + PSU: RAIDMAX Super Hurricane ATX-248BP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G + SB710 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz (4.1GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Desktop Processor FD6300WMHKBOX
RAM: CORSAIR 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMV4GX3M1A1333C9
Hard Drive: Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive - OEM
Disk Drive: LG Internal Super Multi Drive SATA Model GH24NSB0 - OEM

H0lyD1ver · 02 Jun 2014

Update: I'm running Memtest 86+ again and this time I've so far encounter one error and I'm at 5 passes...could that be the culprit?

Mellon Head · 02 Jun 2014

Could be the problem there. What is your RAM voltage set to?

H0lyD1ver · 02 Jun 2014

Love your avatar!

I've tried various settings, including 1.6 and 9-9-9-24, 2T, but I still get errors from Prime95. Is there a good way to narrow down the ideal voltages, or just trial and error?

Mellon Head · 03 Jun 2014

The ideal voltage is no more than 1.5 volts. I would relax the timings to something like 10-10-10-30 and see if you can get it to be stable with Prime95. Once it's stable, we can experiment with tightening up the timings a little bit.

Some motherboards simply don't like running the memory at the advertised timings. I have one like that. I can't run 2 4GB sticks together at their advertised timings, but I can run 4 2GB sticks at tighter timings. Same brand of RAM, and I don't know why there's a difference, but like me, your mobo might be part of the problem.

Another thing. You shouldn't normally have to raise your core voltage to run the CPU stable at stock (or turbo) speeds. I think the problem in this case is memory related. Especially if you are getting errors with Memtest86+.

H0lyD1ver · 11 Jun 2014

Thanks for the help. I think you may be on to something with the ram speed and compatible ram. In my previous torture tests, when I dropped the ram down to like 400mhz or whatever it ran solid. I'll keep you guys posted with my progress.

Indianatone · 11 Jun 2014

Just for giggles what is the brand of the power supply? A crappy no name brand can cause instability issues. Download HWMonitor from CPUID website and give us a screenshot of the voltages (and temps for that matter). Version 1.25 is the newest.

HWMonitor CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

H0lyD1ver · 12 Jun 2014

I'll take a screenshot from CPU-ID tomorrow, but it's a PSU that came with the case:

RAIDMAX::Super Hurricane

H0lyD1ver · 13 Jun 2014

Image 1 is normal conditions.
Image 2 is under Prime95.

Indianatone · 13 Jun 2014

I can't see anything wrong with those readings. Can you take a screenshot of the voltages and temps in your bios and if you have a camera the label on the side of the Power supply. Post back your findings.