KTI TinyBGA and Athlon... Anyone?

[MrSuperstar]

Hi. I have 2xDIMM of KTI TinyBGA 128MB PC133 RAM. I'm having problems with 'em. I've heard from a lot of people that TinyBGA and Athlon's are compatible. So... is ANYONE using more than one DIMM of KTI TinyBGA in a motherboard(more specificly an athlon mobo)?

Thanks.

MrSuperstar

 

[Technonut]

Read this: Kingmax Article It sounds like you may have the earlier revision that is mentioned.

 

[DaddyG]

I agree with Technonut, Kingston has stated that they will replace early rev DIMMS with later versions.

 

[MrSuperstar]

After reading that article, I opened my case and inspected both of my DIMM's. First of all, they are BOTH Rev. 1.2. So, they are supposed to be the new revision that works. The only difference I saw(as far as numbers) was on the little grey sticker that says PC133 on it. One of them ended with -K7, the other with -883(i think). That just appears to be the serial number or something. I also went ahead and looked on the actual ram chips themselves. The numbers are identical on both sticks.

Do you guys know of any ways to eliminate RAM as the problem? Any tests, benchmarks or anything? I also think it could be my motherboard, Damn Epox 7KXA. If it is, I'm planning on getting a K7V, but if it's the RAM, I'd just rather get new ram... Thanks.

MrSuperstar

 

[pm]

There's a couple of "burn-in" type programs available as shareware/freeware which just write and read to and from memory in various patterns.

Check www.softseek.com, www.download.com, etc.

 

[Technonut]

DocMemory is a great free memory tester that runs from a bootdisk. DocMemory

Give that a try, and if your RAM is OK, I would point the finger at the 7KXA. I have had a few of them, and solved the problems that I had by RMAing them for KA7's. A lot of people had good experiences with them, but there are also many that have had nothing but trouble. The most stable that I have had them was by following the 7KXA configuration guide that could be found by running a search at the AMD Zone. I am in the middle of building a T-Bird 800/KT7 system at the moment, and do not have time to post the link.

 

[MrSuperstar]

Update: Ok I ran DocMem, with both modules installed, for 2 and a half hours, with no problems whatsoever.

I ran 3dMark before, and after I applied the recommended BIOS settings from amdzone, and it crashes each time. It's crashed twice on the helicopter high quality test, and once during the adventure(i think that's what it's called) medium quality test. I did notice, however, weird and strange things flashing. Like the tail of the helicopter would flash something really quick. Or the radar thing in the lower right hand corner would flash something, basically screw up....

Note: I am using a VisionTek GeForce 256.

I'm going to try to test each DIMM individually using 3dmark now. Maybe the problem is my geforce.. not my RAM or motherboard.

Thanks Everyone, I'll let ya know....

MrSuperstar

 

[MrSuperstar]

UPDATE:

Ok, well I tried each DIMM individually as well as both DIMM's together.

I disabled AGP 4x and Fast Writes, and that solved the texture tearing visual screwups

3dMark results
DIMM #1 - Pass
DIMM #2 - Pass
Both DIMM's together - Fail

I just used the "default" test. 1024x768x16

Again, seemed to fail on the high quality part of the heli. test

Also, I'm using the Detonator 5.32 drivers.


I'm starting to really think it's my motherboard at this point. What do you all think?

MrSuperstar

 

[MrSuperstar]

Another update:

Both modules are currently installed. I started 3DMark, setup a custom benchmark that consisted of ONLY the high quality helicopter test. It ran fine 3 times, no problems...