Prime95/Memtest86 Test Conclusions?

[teejay01]

Test results

Memory seems to be pretty stable at its rated parameters, although I don't know what happened to cause the reboot during my second test. It didn't happen again though after I moved the RAM to slot 3. I remember reading another thread where someone had posted something about Athlon systems commonly failing test 4 in Memtest86. I'm not sure if this is something I need to worry about.

CPU is being cooled by a SLK-800U with AS Ceramique. Temps hover around 37-38C and went as high as 41C after that long-ass session of Memtest. I'm using stock cooling on the NB but since I'm not really pushing it beyond spec here, I can't imagine it would be a problem. Vcore is at default, and I can't adjust Vdimm since the BIOS menu simply locks up when I go into that option. Could this be an indication of a motherboard problem?

Windows XP loads fine in all cases and I was able to get in a few games of WC3 on the OCed setting. The OS never crashed completely but would sometimes act glitchy (abnormal delays), so I couldn't tell if this was due to hardware or general Windows weirdness. Of course the real concern is the fact that I can't pass Prime95 at all (always fails within the first minute), not even when the processor is underclocked. Should I just RMA the CPU (and possibly the motherboard) now or can anyone suggest some other test(s) that might reveal the problem? Thanks.

 

[SpideyCU]

teejay01, I had the same problem with the Vdimm menu in BIOS. I reflashed and that issue went away. I'm not sure how you flashed, but I first did the update through Windows using MagicBIOS. This last time I went through the trouble of digging out a floppy drive and using the Alt-F2 method. Flash seemed to go fine, and the Vdimm issue went away.

 

[gramboh]

1826 is stock right? Prime95 should not be failing at stock speed, especially not with an SLK-800U and an Athlon not going over 41. Something must be wrong with the CPU, since Prime is failing even with relaxed timings? That is my guess.

 

[Duvie]

What is with ppl just selecting a few test in memtest86??? Run them all....I don't think it means chit if you don't....

I agree the cpu at default speed and ram at default timings should not fail prime95....I would trust prime95 as there is a problem...Prime may pass when there is still a problem but it usually is right when it comes to failing...the program is rather simple and therefore it should not be software related...

 

[teejay01]

SpideyCU, thanks for the tip. I originally flashed the BIOS using the DOS method so I don't know what happened. Anyway, I reflashed and the problem went away.

Duvie, thanks for the heads-up on the Memtest test set. I did a couple of retests and selected "all" this time.

Check the link in my original post for the current results. It now looks like the RAM could be bad since I can't pass Prime95 with bus speeds over 100Mhz. However, Memtest86 still doesn't show any problems on any bus setting. I don't know what to believe at this point. Could the NB rev A1 be an issue? I would think the RAM could at least run at 166Mhz if not 200Mhz even if it isn't rev C1 or whatever. Dammit, I was hoping this would be a smooth upgrade.