RAM timings

[EvilBoris]

I've been having never ending BSOD on my new PC , I ran memtest last night and I had 3 errrors by the time I had got to 30% coverage.

I had a flick through the website and the timings for the RAM seemed to be 4-5-5-15

Memtest told me it was running at 5-5-5-15

Could this be the cause of the errors and the crashes?
I've changed my timings manually so they display 4-5-5-15 but It is totally random as to when I get a BSOD anyway.

[briareos_kerensky]

Less latency (lower numbers) could make a system crash due to higher power requirements and bank/motherboard tolerance; if memtest "detected" 3 errors in less than a single pass, I'd change the RAM right away.
You can also try to switch off dual channel if you're using two or four banks and try to isolate if it's just one defective stick by running multiple memtests with different bank configurations.

[EvilBoris]

This was a windows version of memtest that gave me the errors. The Memtest86 (DOS one) hasn't reported any to me yet.

Weirdest thing about these BSODs is that they only happen in 32bit Vista.

64bit was perfect

[smouty]

This was a windows version of memtest that gave me the errors. The Memtest86 (DOS one) hasn't reported any to me yet.

Weirdest thing about these BSODs is that they only happen in 32bit Vista.

64bit was perfect

It wouldn't point to a hardware issue then.
Maybe a flakey driver? What is the actual failing module in the BSOD?

[EvilBoris]

CR 400
CAS LATENCY (TCL) 5.0
RAS/CAS DELAY (TRCD) 5CLK
MIN ACTIVE RAS (TRAS) 15CLK
ROW PRECHARGE TIME (TRP) 5CLK
RAS/RAS DELAY (TRRD) 4CLK
ROW CYCLE (TRC) 23CLK

These are the settings the motherboard has given the RAM automatically, I changed the TCL to 4 so it was the same as the recommended settings.

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_6400_gold_gx_xtc_rev_2_dual_channel

Thats the ram I have

http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=1&l2=2&l3=407&l4=0&model=1155&modelmenu=1

and that is the case and mobo I have

[EvilBoris]

It wouldn't point to a hardware issue then.
Maybe a flakey driver? What is the actual failing module in the BSOD?

Most commonly TCPIP.SYS

sometimes It doesn't say, sometimes it just freezes.
I've had mouhid.sys (mouse related driver) appear once and last night when I was debugging a minidump it BSOD and gave me an error about win32k.sys

I actually reinstalled a week or so ago and it gave me BSOD on the first boot, before any USB devices were there and when it had all the latest drivers installed.

[Dazzyman]

Sounds to me its more a software conflict causing the BSOD. Frequency is more important than timings now so its better to have a slower timing but a faster frequency. Check your voltage on your memory as thats usually a point of concern if its not getting enough that can cause conflicts (I had it on my last pair of dc memory so whapped it up a few .xvolts)

[briareos_kerensky]

Any firewall/antivirus on Vista 32bit? Never heard of any product making TCPIP.SYS go blue but it's something worth considering.
Or, try to uninstall motherboard drivers and install the latest version, if the Win memtest reports error that memtest86 doesn't it might be a damaged/faulty/whatever northbridge driver.
You can also try to disable the auto-restart to see if the OS dumps the memory onto the driver during the BSOD.

[Hohum]

I've been having never ending BSOD on my new PC , I ran memtest last night and I had 3 errrors by the time I had got to 30% coverage.

I had a flick through the website and the timings for the RAM seemed to be 4-5-5-15

Memtest told me it was running at 5-5-5-15

Could this be the cause of the errors and the crashes?
I've changed my timings manually so they display 4-5-5-15 but It is totally random as to when I get a BSOD anyway.

5-5-5-15 is more lax, so wouldn't be the problem. Personally I reckon that either your RAM is duff, or you've forgotten to set the correct voltage for use. According to your weblink the required minimum voltage is 1.95v upto a maximum voltage of 2.1v (although OCZ also allow upto 2.2v extended voltage without invalidating warranty). The default used for generic DDR2 is 1.8v, therefore if you haven't set the correct value manually in the BIOS you are undervolting your RAM, which will cause the issues you describe.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Me now remembers why I don't bother with PC games anymore.

[EvilBoris]

5-5-5-15 is more lax, so wouldn't be the problem. Personally I reckon that either your RAM is duff, or you've forgotten to set the correct voltage for use. According to your weblink the required minimum voltage is 1.95v upto a maximum voltage of 2.1v (although OCZ also allow upto 2.2v extended voltage without invalidating warranty). The default used for generic DDR2 is 1.8v, therefore if you haven't set the correct value manually in the BIOS you are undervolting your RAM, which will cause the issues you describe.

What voltage do you suggest I set it at?

I just had a browse through my bios and couldn't see any voltage controls

could you download the manual and see if you can see the bit where I'm meant to change it?

http://uk.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=1&l2=2&l3=407&l4=0&model=1155&modelmenu=1

[Hohum]

Uhm... I looked, unfortunately your motherboard BIOS has no voltage controls whatsoever. Seems to be quite restrictive, I guess that's due to the form factor you went for. Sorry, think you're a bit stuck... unless you can get those modules replaced for a DDR2 set that runs off the regular 1.8v setting, I don't see how you can resolve your issue.

[EvilBoris]

Typical!

Well I'll just have to stick it for now, the bios is only on it's 2nd release, so hopefully it will be fixed at some point. I've not had a BSOD today!

[Hohum]

Even if you did decide to replace them, it wouldn't cost that much now:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-010-OK&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813

Rated for 1.8v upto 2.1v apparently. Sorry I couldn't help any further than that, you've found yourself in a bit of a catch-22 situation. I don't think a BIOS update will fix your problem... it's possible, but usually it only fixes compatibility issues (usually to the extent that the PC doesn't even POST with a certain brand of RAM, etc). Also, be careful with your important files; memory errors can/will result in them becoming corrupted when modified or copied elsewhere.

[EvilBoris]

Thanks for the help, I'll see how I go. I'm fed up of buying upgrade after upgrade to fix problem after problem.

But should anyone want to trade ram sticks with me, feel free