Q9550 vs OCZ ddr3 RAM

[nostro]

Q9550 - Processor
P43DE3 - ASRock motherboard
OCZ3G1600LV4GK - DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) RAM - 2gb x 2 sticks

Am having RAM voltage setting problems OR the one of the mem. stick is bad

I ran MemTest86 with 1st stick in all four slots and it failed on all.
Then tried MemTest86 on 2nd stick, and it passed in all four slots.

I'm a noobie so do not know much about ram voltage settings. Can anyone with experience suggest something.
My other option would be to rma the RAM... but am not sure if that would help.
Also, the computer crashes if I open few programs at the same time, especially Blackhawk down helicopter game.

Please Help.

 

[BD231]

Set everything that has to do with memory to Auto and start reading about how to set your ram timings via hardware specific tech articles. Meaning, find reviews of your motherboard and ram then scour them for overclocking info; that should help you with the timings and other misc settings accurately.

Make sure you know your memory timings, which you should be able to find on OCZ.

 

[nostro]

thanks BD231, but I tried the Auto settings initially, and then started getting the blue screen crashes often as time went by. Then I set the timings to 8-8-8-24 as recommended for that RAM on the OCZ website, and the volt settings to 1.65 (1.645 or 1.665 the closest allowed on MoBo). Still the crashes.
So as you suggested my only other option is the search the internet for the same MoBo for issues; before I decide to RMA it. - I am hoping to find some answers here too though

 

[soccerballtux]

It sounds to me like you have a RAM stick problem. If the 2nd stick is fine 1st fails then you are definitely having a RAM problem. RMA it.

Try running with only the 2nd stick that works. How does your stability fair then? Can you open your game then?

 

[nostro]

I ran game with only 2nd stick in and the comp seems somewhat stable. But my only concern is that since this is dual ram MoBo, I think I'll need to run it with 2 or 4 sticks in. I did run the game, and it took a while to load by pixelating, but in the end it loaded up and ran. Not just quite happy the way this ram handles - probably OCZ isn't that great of a product.
note: in the MoBo manual this stick is not recommended. I realized that after I had purchased it - as it was on some sort of rebate...

 

[evolucion8]

OCZ has dropped the ball lately with their DDR3 kits, they used to be one of the best in the DDR1/DDR2 era. Try to increase your voltages safely and run Memtest again, if not, RMA, sell and buy another brand, I recommend G.Skill all the way. My G.Skill PC8500 are running like a champ.

 

[Shmee]

ya, gskill is a good brand. Their DDR2 kit DDR2 1100 is top notch, and low voltage. Got it running with a Q6600 at 3.5, doing just under 1066 at 5-4-4-12. May even be able to tighten timings more.

 

[nostro]

thanks evo & Shmee, sounds like rma would be my best option and go with gskill. I've read quite a few good reviews about them. what a shame for ocz, they don't even have good support - the memory stick started causing problems right from the start.