Unstable system

[JSSheridan]

First off, here's the parts list.

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R

OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt

Intel Core i7-860 2.8 GHz

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3

POWERCOLOR 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 5770

Western Digital 640GB HDD

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Case

The problem I'm having is that the system won't post most of the time, it just gives me a series of long beeps. The manual says this is a "power error," but I can't see what would cause this.

When it does boot, Windows 7 installation will freeze up most tries while expanding the files. Two complete installs resulted in BSOD/reset every startup.

I tried the PS on a different system, and it worked smoothly. I booted to memtest86 and tested each DIMM separately and they passed 3 passes, but testing the DIMMs together caused the system to reset. I tried a few combinations of slots.

I'm convinced the MB is causing the problems. Do you all agree, or did I miss something?

Should I exchange it for an identical model, or do you recommend something else? TIA.

 

[Patrickz0rs]

First off, here's the parts list.

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R

OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt

Intel Core i7-860 2.8 GHz

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3

POWERCOLOR 1GB GDDR5 Radeon HD 5770

Western Digital 640GB HDD

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

LIAN LI PC-60BPLUSII Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Case

The problem I'm having is that the system won't post most of the time, it just gives me a series of long beeps. The manual says this is a "power error," but I can't see what would cause this.

When it does boot, Windows 7 installation will freeze up most tries while expanding the files. Two complete installs resulted in BSOD/reset every startup.

I tried the PS on a different system, and it worked smoothly. I booted to memtest86 and tested each DIMM separately and they passed 3 passes, but testing the DIMMs together caused the system to reset. I tried a few combinations of slots.

I'm convinced the MB is causing the problems. Do you all agree, or did I miss something?

Should I exchange it for an identical model, or do you recommend something else? TIA.

From the Newegg motherboard specifications:

Memory Standard: DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800

The memory you have is DDR3 1600 and that is not listed. However, some reviews say that the 1600 works. Could be a motherboard issue with a memory slot.

 

[JSSheridan]

From the Newegg motherboard specifications:

Memory Standard: DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800

The memory you have is DDR3 1600 and that is not listed. However, some reviews say that the 1600 works. Could be a motherboard issue with a memory slot.

The memory has been running at 1333.

 

[Pederv]

I have some Mushkin on an AMD Gigabyte board.
What I had to do was increase the RAM voltage to 1.65 volts and change the command rate from 1T to 2T.

I was originally going to put the Mushkin in a system that I built for my mom but when the BIOS was reset (to simulate dead bios battery) the system didn't like it. My mom is 500 miles away so her new system needs to be stable, so I looked at Gigabytes suggested memory list and got her some GSkill. Now everything is fine.

I put the Mushkin in a 965BE system that I just built for myself and in order to get it Prime95 stable I needed to set the memory to the above settings.

 

[philosofool]

It's the RAM. I had the exact same issue with my Gigabyte board (P55M-UD2) and some crucial memory. Tt would not post and it gave totally the wrong beep code. Does it sometimes fire up and the shut down and try again? The RAM i had was listed as compatible according to Gigabyte, but it wasn't.

 

[JSSheridan]

It's the RAM. I had the exact same issue with my Gigabyte board (P55M-UD2) and some crucial memory. Tt would not post and it gave totally the wrong beep code. Does it sometimes fire up and the shut down and try again? The RAM i had was listed as compatible according to Gigabyte, but it wasn't.

What brand of RAM did you end up doing with?

 

[philosofool]

What brand of RAM did you end up doing with?

OCZ. I'm happy with it, but it cost me more than I wanted to spend--I bought it locally because waiting a week for the turn around from New Egg wasn't worth saving $20 to me anymore. GSkill seems also to be popular.

I'd take a look around new egg reviews of your mobo to see what people are using that they are happy with.