Bad RAM? Help Interpret Memtest86 (28,416 errors then 0 errors)

[Keiichi25]

Will do Keiichi. I got my work done today and now I'm running memtest on it. I'll create a restore point and load that driver up first thing in the morning.

Still getting crazy lag on the mouse and keyboard (and whole system really) anytime I'm putting even a little load on the system.

Internet is still going snail-slow.

The only things that have changed are drivers and BIOS settings.

I ran stable all day though without a single BSOD after this last round of revisions to the BIOS settings. I tightened the timing up to 5-5-5-18, left everything else the same as above in the last post, and I'm running memtest now. If I get any errors I'll go back to 6-6-6-18 and rerun memtest. If I get through 5-5-5-18 with no errors and it's stable, what can I do then to increase performance? Go down to 5-5-5-15? Up my RAM voltage to 2.0 or 2.1 (currently 1.9)?

I have to get rid of this lag. It's driving me nuts. Is it going to be possible for me to get rid of the lag and still have a stable system?

I believe it is possible.

I also probably guessing part of the problem may be how the OS is interacting with the memory bus.

 

[josh99ta]

Is that what the driver you're talking about (INF?) does?

3 passes through on memtest86+ and it's showing 0 errors now with the 4x2GB configuration and the updated settings. I'm going to let it run overnight but expect no errors to show up as they normally show up within an hour on the first pass. So where to from here guys? How can I maximize this setup via the settings? What do I start changing to ramp things up, and then when I start getting crashes again what do I back off?

 

[Keiichi25]

Is that what the driver you're talking about (INF?) does?

3 passes through on memtest86+ and it's showing 0 errors now with the 4x2GB configuration and the updated settings. I'm going to let it run overnight but expect no errors to show up as they normally show up within an hour on the first pass. So where to from here guys? How can I maximize this setup via the settings? What do I start changing to ramp things up, and then when I start getting crashes again what do I back off?

Well, I am of the belief that the OS has a basic understanding of how to do something on your system. Sometimes having the manufacturer drivers for your OS will help it use it properly or use it optimally.

The tweaking of the RAM timings on the Bios can help improve memory access or stability. Whether or not it will improve issues with memory lag, I do not think so, as it is usually the OS that tries that actually issues commands to the hardware to carry out what it needs to do. Which is why in most cases, MemTest doesn't always help determine stability, but it does help determine if a RAM stick is going bad or seems like there is a problem with the Motherboard's Memory controller.

As I stated before, once you have a system restore point... Install the Intel INF, it should have proper instructions for the OS on how to access the memory and see if it improves your situation.

 

[Dave76]

Update your chipset driver as suggested, check all the other drivers listed, they are all fairly recent, install all drivers that are newer than what you have now.

GA-EP43-UD3L (rev. 1.3)

Your goal for now should be to get the system running stable.

You can overclock for performance after everything is running smoothly.

If your at 5-5-5-18, DRAM1.9v, NB 1.2v, and you run 7 passes of Memtest86+ without errors. If Memtest86+ gives any errors, let us know.

You should D/L Prime95.
Have your CPU temp monitor open and running, this will cause the CPU to get hot.

Your Max temp is 72°C, if it reaches 65°C Stop the test.

Open Prime95, stop the test if it starts running, in the 'Advanced' tab select 'Round off Checking', in the 'Options' tab select 'Torture Test', when the window comes up select 'Blend' and in the 'Number of torture test threads to run' enter 2.

Run this for 1 hour, if it stops or you get a blue screen, the test failed.

 

[Wishmaster]

AS it has been mentioned earlier in this thread, with 8GB of RAM sometimes the 800-1000Mhz is about all some chipsetswill want to do.

But this isn't really a bad thing actually.


Do you OC by chance a little? If you do, my experience might help you a little.


Keep in mind, that the flat out speed of the RAM isn't always better.


What I mean is, I run 8Gb as well.

I also OC slightly, running my Q9650 at a 400FSB.


Heres what I found worked for me if its any help.

For me, I had 2 main choices for what I wanted.
Which was a 400FSB (3.6Ghz CPU speed)

1) 400FSB with the RAM @ 1066. (Base 400/1066 DRAM Strap)
2) 400FSB with the RAM @ 960Mhz (Base 333/800 DRAM Strap)


The 1066 Setting was slightly unstable at the deafult 5-5-5-15 Timings (At least with all 4 DIMM slots full)
To stabilize it I had to drop to CAS 6 and 2.1V.

At the 960Mhz setting, I was not only able to maintain the tighter 5-5-5-15 Timings, but use much more aggresive sub timings as well.

The end result was much more Memory Bandwidth/performance

So in the end for me running 4x2 (GB), the lower 960Mhz speed actually turned out to be faster.

I have a feeling something similar would work for you. Although it may take a little extra tuning/testing and experimenting.

 

[Mellon Head]

AS it has been mentioned earlier in this thread, with 8GB of RAM sometimes the 800-1000Mhz is about all some chipsetswill want to do.

But this isn't really a bad thing actually.


Do you OC by chance a little? If you do, my experience might help you a little.


Keep in mind, that the flat out speed of the RAM isn't always better.


What I mean is, I run 8Gb as well.

I also OC slightly, running my Q9650 at a 400FSB.


Heres what I found worked for me if its any help.

For me, I had 2 main choices for what I wanted.
Which was a 400FSB (3.6Ghz CPU speed)

1) 400FSB with the RAM @ 1066. (Base 400/1066 DRAM Strap)
2) 400FSB with the RAM @ 960Mhz (Base 333/800 DRAM Strap)


The 1066 Setting was slightly unstable at the deafult 5-5-5-15 Timings (At least with all 4 DIMM slots full)
To stabilize it I had to drop to CAS 6 and 2.1V.

At the 960Mhz setting, I was not only able to maintain the tighter 5-5-5-15 Timings, but use much more aggresive sub timings as well.

The end result was much more Memory Bandwidth/performance

So in the end for me running 4x2 (GB), the lower 960Mhz speed actually turned out to be faster.

I have a feeling something similar would work for you. Although it may take a little extra tuning/testing and experimenting.

+1

This is great information, and spot on. I did the same with my last AMD rig and ran the 8 GB of RAM at 960 with much better performance than the semi unstable 1066 stock timings. I did manage a couple of benchmarks at 1066, but with looser timings, as Wish is suggesting. The results were better at 960, and I was rock solid on top of it.

Sometimes less is more.

 

[Dave76]

AS it has been mentioned earlier in this thread, with 8GB of RAM sometimes the 800-1000Mhz is about all some chipsetswill want to do.

But this isn't really a bad thing actually.


Do you OC by chance a little? If you do, my experience might help you a little.


Keep in mind, that the flat out speed of the RAM isn't always better.


What I mean is, I run 8Gb as well.

I also OC slightly, running my Q9650 at a 400FSB.


Heres what I found worked for me if its any help.

For me, I had 2 main choices for what I wanted.
Which was a 400FSB (3.6Ghz CPU speed)

1) 400FSB with the RAM @ 1066. (Base 400/1066 DRAM Strap)
2) 400FSB with the RAM @ 960Mhz (Base 333/800 DRAM Strap)


The 1066 Setting was slightly unstable at the deafult 5-5-5-15 Timings (At least with all 4 DIMM slots full)
To stabilize it I had to drop to CAS 6 and 2.1V.

At the 960Mhz setting, I was not only able to maintain the tighter 5-5-5-15 Timings, but use much more aggresive sub timings as well.

The end result was much more Memory Bandwidth/performance

So in the end for me running 4x2 (GB), the lower 960Mhz speed actually turned out to be faster.

I have a feeling something similar would work for you. Although it may take a little extra tuning/testing and experimenting.

Agree +1,

Excellent advice, have seen this help several people, the Prime95 test should prove this point.

Stability first, lowering the RAM frequency can also give you better performance.