PC slows down and occasional crash

I tried the 2D Graphics on its own before i set the RAM to 667 and this time it passed.



Set the memory to 667 in the BIOS and ran the test again, this time it passed:-

Like to lnow how the system runs with the memory @ 667MHz, can you post a CPUZ with this setting?

If things are OK, we will set the memory to 800MHz and increase the voltage by 0.05V at a time till it is stable or passes the tests, even with 1066MHz all the way up to 2.3V if need be and play with some other voltages before deciding to change any component.

First lets see if the lag goes away with memory relaxed a bit. Memory voltage is supplied by the +5V rail, that leaves the +12V rail, we will test that using CPU and 3D video test in Burnin Test with 100% load!

What was a slightly weird was that there was a MS update yesterday(before i altered the RAM in BIOS) and strangely the lag was almost none existent!
This was the first update ive had since updating the graphics card etc so that may of been the cause.

So now do i leave well alone and hope that the lag has now gone and the update helped or do i continue testing seeing that i am getting errors from burnin test etc?

Heres are the burnin test results with RAM set to 667 and just testing 3D Graphics and CPU at 100% both passed and the CPUID report.

I noticed though you asked for the 3D test and not the 2D test which had the fails on it before?

3D will draw more from the +12V rail the reason why I asked to test it. Individual tests passed which is good, but next time you have about an hour, run Burnin Test, disable Network, Floppy, CD and such but leave all other ccomponents checked and test all together with 50% load, do this back to back at least 4 times. The trial version limits to 15min tests.
I use the full version and run tests over night in loops!

Next, increase the load to 75% and run a few tests back to back and then 100% load.

It is OK to get some errors doing tests back to back under high load. If they pass with these settings, then we concentrate on your software and drivers and you should be good to go.

There is still a BIOS update, I like to keep all hardware firmware as well as software patches and drivers up-to-date.

Ok am running the test now(still with RAM set to 667)
Have enabled:-
CPU
RAM
3D & 2D
Video
Sound

Will do 4 consecutive cycles then post the report

these were the BIOS updates,

There is a BIOS tab BIOS (3) [BIOS History]

1. Says First release
2. Says Update LAN option ROM.
3. Says Update ExpressGate to v1.4.9.5.

if you think its worth updating i will but have never done a BIOS update before so not sure how and dont want to muck anything up

BIOS updates are rather safe, I have never had a bad flash. With your board, all you need is the BIOS image file on a USB stick or on your drive, perhaps the root of C:\ and use the EZ Flash which does not require a bootable floppy/ CD.

The Express Gate is the "mini linux" that laods before OS to give you access to Internet, Skype and such, this also is a good way to "check" the hardware since Windows is not running.

The LAN Option ROM you will most probably not use, I would still like to see the board flashed with the latest image file.

Let's see how the test goes and how happy you are with performance since the chipset and video driver updates plus the RAM running with relaxed settings.

Another short trip to North Carolina tomorrow, might be some time in between replies.

Done the four back to back tests at 50% :-
1 error for the RAM Error Verifying Data in RAM this only occured in the first test though, the next 3 everything passed!

at 75%:-
4 Errors for the RAM the rest all passed

then 100%;-
2 errors on the RAM and 1 error for the 2D graphics thuis was the same for the 4 15min tests.


Will have a go at the BIOS update tomorrow.

What is Error Verifying Data in RAM?

Enjoy your trip, as always no rush at all for your replies i just appreciate you taking the time with me on this

Verifying Data points to corruption, DATA is written to RAM and once read back, it is different or can not even be read..
Let's try another test with all hardware selected and the RAM at 667MHz but the voltage at 1.85V instead of 1.8V.

Seems as your RAM has at least one chip that was passed with marks close to upper oe lower limits. A little boost in voltage might help it stay stable or prove an RMA is needed..

As for the 2D Video, I have to look in your board and see what values we can change to test the card again.

So far, not bad at all with everything running together full load. How is the overall system performance since you first posted with issues?

The system doesn't seem to bad, before i set the RAM to 667 there was an MS update and the lag was hardly noticeable(possibly still there but not as bad as it was)

How do i set the volt to 1.85V is that in the BIOS too?

Yes, in the BIOS, go up 0.05V each time and see

Checked in BIOS and at the moment the Voltage is set to Auto, the minimum value i can set is 1.85 and the max is 2.243.
I presuming then that the setting is already at 1.85v, will i still need to increase it?

The idea is to see if little increase at a time to the voltage is going to stop the memory test errors, so if it is at 1.85V, increase it a notch, maybe 1.875V then try 1.9V and so on till your RAM is stable with memtest. If not, you'll need to get new module/ s.

I'll start this tomorrow then

Keep RAM at 667 and add 0.25 increase in volts.

How many tests and at what load should i run with Burnin Test?

Also up to what max voltage shall i go, is it safe to keep increasing it?

I would do Memtest if I could.

You are the one with experience in this test, you had Memory test fail at certain speed and voltage, the idea is to repeat the failed test but with increased voltage,

We should assume the RAM set to 800MHz would fail the test, the voltage is same for both the 667MHz and the 800MHz. The range should be from 1.8V to 2.3V.
If you can't get the RAM to pass the tests at 667MHz with up to 1.975V, I would not bother 2.0V and try to get other module /s.

Memtest hasnt reported any errors after being left for around 10 hours, this has been the case for each 0.5 increment, and was done for both 667 and 800.

I reset back to 800 and ran BurninTest again and that does report the errors, so not sure whats happening?

These tests where run iver the weekend.

I have however had my first reboot since the 16th of Aug i was burning a dvd and it rebooted.
BlueScreenView reported this :-

OK, increased voltage proved to help the RAM stay stable!

When it failed at 800MHz the voltage was set back to 1.85V, correct?

Even though there were no need to increase the voltage any more after the first pass with higher voltage, it is rather good you did it.

Chances are the motherboard doesn’t supply enough voltage to your modules, your modules need about 4.4W each that is 2.4A at 1.85V. My thoughts are you might need a new motherboard down the road but we could run your RAM at 667MHz and ... let's say 1.9V and see how things run, we might even increase the CPU voltage a notch.

The BSOD you had, was it with the RAM at 1.85V or higher?

I'll go over the thread again to refresh my memory then will have few more tests if you are willing, cannot ignore the fact your +12V is reading low!

Yes BSOD occurred with RAM set to 800 at 1.85v(After the tests i reset it all back to default)

Hope its not the MB as its only 6 months old!

I don't understand why you set your RAM back to defaults when you yourself say Memtest errors out!

800MHz at 1.85V = ERRORS
800MHz at 1.90V = ERRORS
800MHz at 1.95V = NO ERRORS

If the results were something like the above example, we stop testing as soon as we get no errors and run the RAM at 800MHz 1.95V from that point on (these are just examples)

What I understood from your last post is that they pass the tests when set to 667MHz or 800MHz with any voltage higher than 1.85V which means, DO NOT run your RAM at 1.85V EVER with your current configuration!

I suggest running your RAM at 667MHz and the first voltage that did not fail the test for a day or 2 and see how stable it is, I believe that would be 667MHz at 1.9V!

This way, we can leave the RAM out and look at other factors when and if your system crashes.

I set them back to the default setting after memtest gave no errors at any level so i could re test again with BurninTest to double check. i just never changed it back.

So which am i to believe Memtest with NO errors or BurninTest with some?

I'll reset it back to your suggestion and see how it gets on for a couple of days

I see ... you/re saying Memtest did not report any errors even with 800MHz at 1.85V?

BurnIn Test is used for other purposes than testing alone, Memtest does not necessarily apply 50% load while testing.

Using both tools we can see what voltage makes your system stable even under full load (that is where BurnIn Test comes in)