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Can't seem to run memory at stock settings

B

brikis98

Diamond Member
My system setup:

AMD x2 3800+ s939
2x1GB Mushkin PC4000 (991483), rated at 3-4-3-8
MSI Neo4-F s939 mobo

when i installed the RAM, it defaulted to a frequency of 200Mhz and 2.5-4-3-8 @ 2T timings. i set it in the BIOS to 250Mhz, 3-4-3-8 @1T timings, and booted the computer. It started up fine, the boot screen reported the RAM as DDR500 and it began to load Windows. Then I noticed a few oddities:

1. My CPU and mobo temps went up from 37/38C at idle to 42/41C. Should the CPU/mobo temps increase from just running the RAM faster?
2. CPU-Z, in the memory tab, reported the frequency as 134.0 Mhz instead of 250... wtf?
3. My computer was not running stable - i had random lockups that i've never experienced before

since nothing else changed with the system, running this RAM at its default settings seems to be causing problems. By default, this motherboard gives the RAM something like 2.6 volts, which I tried increasing all the way up to 2.85, but that didn't help anything.

is there something wrong with the RAM? or is my mobo just having difficulty? Note, I did not OC the CPU or change any other settings. I'm running the 1.D0 drivers for this MSI Neo4-f motherboard, which afaik are the latest.

Update: looks like one stick is bad... any1 ever RMA memory to mushkin? i believe they have a lifetime warranty, but i no longer have proof of purchase... will that be a problem?
 
If you don't o/c why did you get o/c'ed memory? 😛

The 3800+ uses a 200MHz memory setting. You should be able to run it at 200MHz cas 2.5-3-3-6 or better. Be sure to stress test you system.
 
i do plan on OCing, but I want to wait until I have my new PSU and video card... on that note, what kind of settings should I shoot for if i OC my CPU to say, 2.5Ghz?

also, i'm assuming 1T is the way to go (not 2T)?
 
Your going to have to play around with it. And need some spare time (like overnigh) to run memtest. With every new setting (like bumping down a timing, or OCing it a little more) you'll have to run memtest for 8h+ to make sure it's stable. You can probably guess the stability ballpark to minimize the about of mem-testing you'll be doing though (i hate running any kind of test that eats up time 😛).

At stock DDR500 (250mhz) I'd stick with the default timings. with 2x1GB and at DDR500 your not really gonna get any better unless you have some infinieon CH-5's or whatever there called (what I got). However, I do think you can raise up the clockspeeds a little bite. Now first, you might want to try and get your 3800+ to a 1:1 thing with the ram. Like 250x8 would give you 2ghz which I belive is stock on a X2 3800+. This is also a great time to start OCing your CPU as well.

Then just start upping the FSB by about 5-10mhz at a time, pretty much untill it's unstable or doesn't boot. And there's NO WAY 1.9v is the default voltage for this ram. My mobo only goes down to 2.6 for DDR ram. I think the stock is probably 2.8 or somewere around there and for RAM, I wouldn't really touch the voltage. Just see how high you can get it with stock volts.

Edit: A little late?

If your gonna OC, then for 2.5ghz, 250x10 (you have 10x multi right?) would be perfect. Just run it 1:1 with the ram and all is nice 🙂

Might need a LITTLE extra voltage on the CPU, but you might not even need that.
 
thanks for the advice folks, but i'm having some trouble...

when i installed the RAM, it defaulted to a frequency of 200Mhz and 2.5-4-3-8 @ 2T timings. i set it in the BIOS to 250Mhz, 3-4-3-8 @1T timings, and booted the computer. It started up fine, the boot screen reported the RAM as DDR500 and booted into Windows. Then I noticed a few oddities:

1. My CPU and mobo temps went up from 37/38 at idle to 41/41. Should both of these temps increase from just running the RAM faster?
2. CPU-Z, in the memory tab, reported the frequency as 134.0 Mhz instead of 250... wtf?
3. My computer was not running stable - i had random lockups that i've never experienced before

since nothing else changed with the system, running this RAM at its default settings seems to be causing problems. By default, this motherboard gives the RAM something like 2.6 volts, which I tried increasing all the way up to 2.85, but that didn't help anything.

is there something wrong with the RAM? or is my mobo just having difficulty? Note, I did not OC the CPU or change any other settings. I'm running the 1.D0 for this MSI Neo4-f motherboard, which afaik are the latest.
 
Have you searched the Mushkin support forums?

It helped me out with exact motherboard/memory/bios settings.
 
Originally posted by: Thor86
Have you searched the Mushkin support forums?

It helped me out with exact motherboard/memory/bios settings.
Click to expand...

thanks for the suggestion, seems like a good place for my question... 🙂
 
I hate saying this, but i simply don't understand why newbs buy OCing RAM when they have no clue how to OC or no desire to OC.
I've seen zillions of threads on the same kind of issues, since installing non-stock speeds RAM is always going to result in needing tweaking.


Now theoritically, you should be able to set the divider to 250 for the RAM & it would work magically.
It's not usually that simple though.

May i ask what setting exactly you set to 250?
Based on what you are describing, it sounds like you just overclocked your system to 250!?

Maybe post a pic of the bios settings you have there, & we can help better.


 
Originally posted by: n7
I hate saying this, but i simply don't understand why newbs buy OCing RAM when they have no clue how to OC or no desire to OC.
I've seen zillions of threads on the same kind of issues, since installing non-stock speeds RAM is always going to result in needing tweaking.


Now theoritically, you should be able to set the divider to 250 for the RAM & it would work magically.
It's not usually that simple though.

May i ask what setting exactly you set to 250?
Based on what you are describing, it sounds like you just overclocked your system to 250!?

Maybe post a pic of the bios settings you have there, & we can help better.
Click to expand...

1. don't jump to stupid conclusions: i'm not a newbie, i have been working on computers for years and have overclocked several computers without any issues. that doesn't mean i won't make mistakes, but don't treat me like an idiot.
2. i will be OCing this system, but usually it's a good idea to make sure it works at stock settings first! you coming in here and bitching/insulting people is unnecessary - either provide some useful info or get lost
3. "in theory", yes, the RAM should magically work set to a frequency of 250. in practice, each combination of RAM/CPU/mobo, requires fine tweaking to pick the right permutation of timings, voltage, speeds, etc. to get it working. so far, the right combination has eluded me which is why i came here for advice.
4. i did not overclock the system to 250 (the fsb is set at the default 200)... i went into the DRAM settings (under advanced chipset features, i believe) and set the RAM's frequency to 250. actually, i worked my way up from 200 to 250 in increments and had no issues until i hit 250.
 
Originally posted by: brikis98
4. i did not overclock the system to 250 (the fsb is set at the default 200)... i went into the DRAM settings (under advanced chipset features, i believe) and set the RAM's frequency to 250. actually, i worked my way up from 200 to 250 in increments and had no issues until i hit 250.
Click to expand...
Didn't mean to come across as rude, but i kinda did i guess, sorry 😛

But you've got me confused.

Htf did you increase RAM speed in increments???

There should be only certain dividers.

100/133/166/200/233/250

Is that what it looked like when you selected 250?

Have you run Memtest to check for errors?

Also, try 2T to see what happens.

Hopefully those ideas help a little.

keep us posted.
 
Originally posted by: n7
Originally posted by: brikis98
4. i did not overclock the system to 250 (the fsb is set at the default 200)... i went into the DRAM settings (under advanced chipset features, i believe) and set the RAM's frequency to 250. actually, i worked my way up from 200 to 250 in increments and had no issues until i hit 250.
Click to expand...
Didn't mean to come across as rude, but i kinda did i guess, sorry 😛

But you've got me confused.

Htf did you increase RAM speed in increments???

There should be only certain dividers.

100/133/166/200/233/250

Is that what it looked like when you selected 250?

Have you run Memtest to check for errors?

Also, try 2T to see what happens.

Hopefully those ideas help a little.

keep us posted.
Click to expand...

no worries, i've just seen way too many threads where someone asks for advice and half the replies just insult the OP for no reason.

anyways, by increments, i meant that i sequentially tried out each of the dividers from 200 up to 250... all seemed to work fine except 250, which had the problems i listed earlier.

i'll try out memtest and the 2T setting and see what happens. if any1 has experience with this particular ram though, don't be shy 🙂
 
i set the RAM to the default 3-8-4-3 1T timings (everything else on auto) and ran memtest. it passed both at 200Mhz and 250Mhz with no errors. however, once i get into windows, things were quite different. at 200Mhz, everything is fine, except every now and then (once every couple of days or so), i get a total lockup. the only way to recover is to reset the computer. there's no garauntee it's the RAM that's causing the problem, but it's the only component i changed since these (rare) lockups first appeared.

at 250 mhz, once i get into windows, things start going really sour. explorer.exe will crash, other programs will have errors and then BOOM, the computer will just shut down. i don't think it's a heat issue, at least not with the CPU, as no temps get above 50C. perhaps the RAM is overheating, but i don't know how to check that.

so, i'm stumped. i can't get this RAM anywhere near its rated settings... i'll try everything again at 2T when i get more time, but i'm skeptical that will do much. any help is greatly appreciated...

oh, and the newer version of CPU-Z does detect the 250Mhz settings properly, so issue #2 from my first post is no longer a problem...
 
ok, so at 2T and 250Mhz, the computer would not post. i then tried moving both sticks to two different slots, but that didn't help anything.

finally, i tried one stick at a time. interestingly, the computer would post and boot into windows with one stick at a time at 2T and 250Mhz settings. however, with one of the sticks, windows was extremely unstable, all sorts of wierd issues followed by a crash & reboot.

the other stick, hoewver, seems to be running fine at 2T and 250Mhz. Windows seems to be stable for normal use and gaming and I've run Super PI and Prime 95 for a while with just the one stick and haven't seen any problems. I'm going to run memtest on it in a little while, but so far, the conclusion seems to be pretty simple: i have a bad stick of RAM 🙁

has any1 had to RMA mushkin memory? i beleive it has a lifetime warranty, but i no longer have proof of purchase... will that be a problem?

edit: the one "good" stick also works fine at 250Mhz, 3-8-4-3 @ 1T... so, i'm pretty sure the other stick has issues.
 
i actually have a thread going on the mushkin support site, but i imagine those guys are off for the night and i wanted some quick answers 🙂

also, i just ran memtest on the "good" stick and it passed without any errors. interestingly, it took less than 20 minutes, where as with both sticks it took just under 40 minutes. does memtest take longer depending on how much RAM you have or is that just a sign of a "bad" memory module?
 
also, i just noticed something new. when i'm booting up with the one "good" stick, it now says that the memory is "DDR 500 single channel 64 bit". i'm pretty sure before (with both sticks) it said 128 bit. is it a lower number because i'm not using dual channel or is something wrong?
 
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