Otherwise Stable Rig Fails PC Mark Memory Suite

[ajemm]

I've just finished building a new rig. It's running stable, passing both Memtest86 and Prime for 8+ hours. The problem I have is my computer hangs halfway through the 1st test (Raw Block Read - 8 MB) in PC Mark '04 memory test suite. I thought Memtest86 was the holy grail of memory testing. Could this be a software issue? This is the 2nd rig in my sig.

 

[imported_goku]

Could be a software issue.. Have you run programs like superpi? Try running prime95 for more than 8 hours. BTW memtest86 may be the holy grail but it definately doesn't pick up everything.

 

[imported_goku]

Hey forgot to mention, might want to check out the stability of your power supply. Get a volt meter or multimeter and see how the voltages are on the 5v and 12v rails.

 

[myocardia]

Memtest86 was only the holy grail because it was the first, and while SDRAM was king, it worked fairly well. Now, there are quite a few other apps that work better. The new holy grail is SP2004, the single-core version of Orthos, what we all use for our dual-core rigs.

Run the Blend test for 8-12 hours, and if it passes, then it was probably just a software glitch in PC Mark. You do know that the minimum voltage that Crucial Ballistix will operate on is 2.80v, right?

 

[ajemm]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Memtest86 was only the holy grail because it was the first, and while SDRAM was king, it worked fairly well. Now, there are quite a few other apps that work better. The new holy grail is SP2004, the single-core version of Orthos, what we all use for our dual-core rigs.

Run the Blend test for 8-12 hours, and if it passes, then it was probably just a software glitch in PC Mark. You do know that the minimum voltage that Crucial Ballistix will operate on is 2.80v, right?

It passed SP2004 for 12+ hours and SuperPi @2.65v . I didn't realize I was undervolting. I'll bump it up to 2.80v and try again.

 

[ajemm]

OK. I've upped the voltage to 2.80v and didn't make a difference. In fact things are worse. I can't even run Everest's Memory Benchmarks. I tried 2.90 and 3.00 and started getting random reboots. Could I have a PSU problem? I'm stable at 2.65v.

 

[myocardia]

That's quite likely, with the psu you're using. Antec makes great cases (I have two), but their psu's aren't for overclockers. Try reducing your overclock by 100 Mhz, and see if it makes a difference. If it does, it's almost definitely your psu. Nothing is a given in the computer world, though.

I do know that that TP 450 is one of the worst psu's that Antec has ever made, as far as longevity. At least that's what we hear from all of the people who've had one fail on them, almost always with 1-6 months.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Well what happens when you try to do the tests at stock speeds?

 

[kmmatney]

My old overclocked Sempron ran every test perfectly well, and ran DC projects 24/7. It also ran every application fine and was stable in every game I played. Except for one: Oblivion. I had to lower my overclock by 100 Mhz to play Oblivion without occasional random crashes. So not all tests pick up everything.

However, if it ain't broke...

 

[ajemm]

I've read the horror stories about some Antec PSUs. I'm at work right now. I'll try running stock when I get home. I can actually hear the fans change speed when I start the memory tests.