MSI K8N Neo Platinum problems

[BScythe]

Well I finally decided to build a new system for myself after several years of using my last system. I decided on an MSI K8N Neo Platinum with an AMD 64 3000+ processor, 512MB RAM (single stick Corsair Value Select 2.5), PNY GeForce6800GT, and a Maxtor 200GB UDMA HDD.

Now the problem(s):
1. The most notable now are random crashes (to the desktop) in Doom III. Sometimes I will be able to actually load and play a game for a little bit, othertimes it crashes to the desktop before the menu even comes up. Even Farcry does this.

I tested the system voltage and found it to be stable above 12V. I tried a GeForce 3 Ti500 card and had the same problem. I made sure to have all of the latest drivers installed. I am not overclocking the system.

I decided to test the RAM with Memtest86 and found it to fail test #5. I bought a different stick of memory from Best Buy and tested it...and it failed as well (test #5). I tried the first stick in a friends system and it passed. So I decided to try it again in my system and I installed both sticks and now they both pass. Could the oddity be the motherboard having a problem with only 1 stick?

2. Other oddities include: MSI's voltage monitor reporting the 12V rail as 1.86V (Though it is 12V verified by a Fluke multimeter), Windows losing my network connection randomly (hasn't happened in awhile though), one PNF_LIST_CORRUPT BSOD (lead me to test the memory).

I guess that maybe updating the drivers fixed everything in point #2, but I am still worried about point #1. Why would the memory pass test #5 only when both sticks are installed? Should I RMA this board now that it seems to work with 2 sticks of memory? Are there any other memory tests anyone can suggest?

Thanks!

 

[BScythe]

Anybody know?

 

[Paperlantern]

when you loaded the system, did you load the MOTHERBOARD drivers BEFORE anythign else? I always always always load all mothebroard drivers first, the agp SLOT drivers, chipset, EVERYTHING, BEFORE doing anything with my device drivers, it ensures all the devices will play nice with the board. Also, a BIOS flash might help, but if it doesnt, or it creates more problems, back up your old BIOS so you can put it back if nessecary.

If that stuff doesnt fix it, you MIGHT have a bad board, but would need to know more about what happens/changes/or keeps happening when you load all board drivers

 

[BScythe]

Hmmm....I can't remember if I loaded all of the board drivers before anything else, but I think that I did since I only have a graphics card in there and everything else is on-board. As a matter of fact, yes I did install the graphics drivers last to make sure that wasn't the problem.

As for the bios flash...I flashed both the MB and the video card bios' to the latest ones. Though I am fairly certain it is not the video card anyway since 1. The GeForce 3 Ti500 did the same thing and 2. The voltage on the 12V rail never dropped below 12.05V even when playing Doom III

Thanks for the feedback though!

I guess it comes down to this question: Why would only 1 stick screw up my system, but 2 sticks of memory make my system run fine?

 

[NeophytexDMD]

"Windows losing my network connection randomly (hasn't happened in awhile though)"

I have this problem on any computer on my home network. It will say "local area cable disconnected" for a split second, then go away and I'm back online. What brand memory do you have? I hope I don't encounter this problem when my board/proc/mem arrives. I have the same board, Kingston 1gb Kit (consists of 2 512mb DDR400 ram sticks) and the Athlon 64 3000+.