Memory problems, is this a timing issue?

[JOhnZXR]

Hi,
I have just built a new pc and am having a strange problem, well strange to me anyway.

Im using an Abit KV8 mobo, AMD64 2.2GHz and 1GB of Kingston HyperX PC3200 RAM.

The problem is apparently random blue screens of death in XP, always reporting the MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION error.

Im not running anything overclocked, everything is default settings as far as timings and voltages are concerned.
I ran memtest86 to discover test 5 failing near the end (around 95%). I played around with the chips in different slots and tried just using a single chip at a time and the only time the test fails was when both chips are connected. On their own they are fine.
Now the problem is I dont know much about memory timings and voltage settings, so I dont know if adjusting these can / will fix this problem.
One thing I did try was running the RAM at 333 Mhz instead of 400. This solved the problem so I could just run at 333, but the mem is specified to 400Mhz so surely I should be able to run it at that? I also increased the DRAM voltage from 2.55, to 2.7 and eventually 3.0. none of these changes made any difference.


Any ideas gratefully received,
thanks.

 

[Ryoga]

If you're running your RAM at SPD (that is, you're running it at what it auto-detects as and not overclocking) and you're getting errors in MemTest, replace the RAM. It's bad.

If you have more than one stick, you can try running with just one stick and running MemTest to find out if both sticks are bad or just one.

If you end up replacing one stick and keeping one, be sure to buy RAM from the same manufacterer for best compatibility.

However, I have heard numerous bad stories about Kingston RAM recently. You might try some other brand entirely if you have the cash, like Crucial or Corsair.

 

[JOhnZXR]

The memory sticks seem to work fine individually. The settings in th BIOS are set by SPD (whats SPD?) but i notice the settings are not 2-3-2-6-1 which is what the kingston website says they should be. I set the memory settings to 2-3-2-6.... but i dont know what the 1 relates to - what is this for?


thanks,

 

[lobadobadingdong]

rma.