RAM errors w/ memtest86+

Blue|Fusion · Posted: Fri, 26 May 2006 22:13:34 Post Subject: RAM errors w/ memtest86+

Hey all! Today, while I was away at the movies, I decided to run memtest86+ on my desktop after changing some of the RAM timings to ensure everything's running smoothly. After almost 5 hours and 55 minutes of running, I had 28 errors...
All of them were from Test 5 on Pass 9 (of alot of passes). The errors went in somewhat sequential down the memory addresses, and the bit error on all of them was "00ff0000."

Than RAM is rated for DDR2-800 (400MHz) at 4-4-4-12 timings @ 2.1 volts. I just tweaked the timings a bit to 4-3-3-8. The voltage is set to AUTO in the BIOS and lm_sensors shows it at running at about 1.85V.

Are these errors indicating a problem or is it just that there was a sporradic error on one of the passes?

BeerCheeze · Posted: Sat, 27 May 2006 15:19:30 Post Subject:

An error is an error. Computers are kind of an exact science thingie...

If you want to try and keep the timings like that, then try upping the voltage, and get more air running across them.

Other wise, back down the timings.

Beer Moon · Rated PG Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 13

Yupyup. Errors are bad. I would back them down so you don't get errors. P4s don't really care about latency all that much anyway. They're more bandwidth hungry.

I wouldn't bother pushing more volts through it, just run them at the SPD settings. Unless you've purchased RAM specifically for overclocking, you're unlikely to get much more than a few Mhz out of them. I've had stuff that wouldn't do ONE MHZ over specification without crashing, lol. And that was CORSAIR, a major name-brand!! Even if you could get them down that far, I doubt it would be worth it.

If you want a happy P4, just feed it more bandwidth and to heck with the latency.

monkeysauce · Rated PG Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 13

make sure you can run it stock speeds and voltage without errors! I just sent back a set of ram that would fail memmtest #5 after about 5 passes at stock settings. And generally speaking, higher speed = looser timings, and lower speed = tighter timings.

Memmtest #5 is a pretty good way to tell if you're having ram issues.
________
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Das Capitolin · Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 10:47:41 Post Subject:

Hello. You didn't mention if you also ran MemTest 86+ using the standard settings for your RAM. I would run at least three passes on your RAM with the standard rated settings just to make sure everyhting is stable to begin with. After that, you could try making small changes one at a time to see what changes causes the errors. Good luck!

Blue|Fusion · Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 12:08:03 Post Subject:

I did run memtest86+ on my RAM when I first got it all put together for a few hours (like 10 passes) and no errors were present. I've still been running it on the same timings I mentioned in the first post and no problems thus far, although I'm not really stressing the RAM at all. I only play BF2 occasionally.

Blue|Fusion · Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:06:57 Post Subject:

Well seeing that blue moon in mid afternoon today, I decided to boot up linux (if you don't get that, you're too deprived of social communication). Anyway, I now see the effects of these dcreased RAM timings.

I was playing COD2 a few minutes and the entire system froze and rebooted. Maybe I'm mistaken in assuming this is a RAM related issue and not overheating, but I'm re-running memtest86+ now and manually setting various voltages (AUTO only keeps it at 1.8v; I'm testing with 1.9-2.1v). At 1.9v, I still got some errors in the first pass memtest86+, but now running it at the rated 2.1v and so far it's looking better. I'm hoping this is the problem and not overheating.

Das Capitolin · Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:20:39 Post Subject:

Hello Blue Fusion:

Crash & reboot is the most obvious sign of RAM failure, so it appears you picked the right path. I would also use Prime95 for CPU and RAM stressing; it is by far on of the best stress tools out there. I would also suggest Microsoft's Memory Diagnostic Tool, as well.

Blue|Fusion · Posted: Wed, 14 Jun 2006 20:35:16 Post Subject:

Thanks alot, I'm going to try that Prime95 out. The system just finished pass 2 in memtest86+ at 2.1v at the 4-3-3-8 timings and looking good so far, so I'll go ahead and try that program now.

Blue|Fusion · Posted: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:02:29 Post Subject:

Ran Prime95 with RAM at 4-3-3-8 @ 2.1V for 12 hours and no errors/warnings. Do you think I should continue to decrease some of the timings and test some more or just stick with what I've got. I didn't bench it at the original timings of 4-4-4-12 so don't know how much of a performance I've gotten or could still get. I've also heard mixed messages on which timings I want to decrease. Some sites said the best performance booster is getting the CAS latency down, while others said that RAS to CAS Delay and RAS Precharge are best to knock down. Which is it?