Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB PC4000 kit gone bad (merged)

[ToneC]

While your settings didn't work for me. I did find something that did.

When I lowered my ram to 2.6v I can get stable dual channel pc3200 ballistix memory with two sticks in 2&4 slots.

 

Here are the settings that work for me:

 

Errtta94= Disabled

CPUthrottling = Disabled

PCIpayload = 256 or the amount of RAm on video card

Harddrive delay = 2

 

From the BIOS:-

PCI Express Relative Items... Maximum Payload Size..

Maximum TLP payload size for PCI Express devices. The unit is BYTE.

 

http://tinyurl.com/9mtn3

 

Has nothing to do with video cards, only PCI Express in general. Seems to be a buffer or queue setting. Maximum is best, period.

 

I don't know where this crap came from about setting according to RAM on vidcards, forget it. Leave at default 4096.

[cyberexia]

ok, i have 1x2gb crucial ballistix (bought 2 single sticks, not pair) and I've oc'd them to 298mhz (1:1 3-3-3-8-7-0-1T) I have them in Orange slots and everything seems to be working ok...I haven't tried them in yellow slots yet, but I guess I should try.. my goal is to get them stable at 300mhz 1:1, which they aren't so far. Here's what I don't get though...I run 270x10 with a 7:6 (233mhz) divider and my ram passes with flying colors in memtest...now theorectically this should put them at 315mhz?!?!, however with the divider it might make it slightly less...even still that would equal over 300mhz. This is stable with memtest, but 300x9 @ 1:1 divider isn't stable...can someone explain this to me?

 

danke...

[learners permit]

If thats a divider it would have to be 6/7 not 7/6. Redo the math and it'll become clear. Has anyone tried booting with a low divider and jacking it up once windows is loaded using a64 tweaker. I had to do this to get these infineon modules to run at even stock speed in this setup. I start it up 246 with a 150 divider and incrementally jack it up to 183 using tweaker. Only way I could get these modules above 200.

[muckipup]

I know this issue is typically an nF4 issue, but since you simply say Ballistix has issues with DFI boards I thought I'd share. I have the s754 nF3 250 DFI board and I can and always have had zero issues with my Ballistix in this DFI mobo. I can run DDR500 and above all day long on memtest without errors. I'm running the 2.8v these sticks are rated for. Not one hitch ever...I love them.

 

Ditto all of that although I will say that I must have them in DIMMs 1&2 as using 1&3 = no POST

[corgi1]

I just built the system in my sig about 3 weeks ago. I ran memtest and Prime and the Ballistix passed without a problem. The system has run very well up until this weekend. Then it began randomly crashing for no reason. Sometimes just because I was moving my email window to another location on the screen. At first, I thought it was my overclock and I backed off the settings and tested until I had set everything back to the optimized defaults in the bios with no overclock. That made no difference and the PC was still unstable and would crash when least expected. I thought it could be a driver issue, maybe the AMD driver or the MS Dual core hot fix, and I decided to wipe and do a fresh install of XP Pro. During the install, at a point where it needed to reboot, it refused to post at all and just would repeat the long beep and pause indicating a DRAM error.

 

I tried many things: orange slots, yellow slots, single stick, bios settings. Nothing could get it to even post again. I pulled out the Ballistix and put in the 2 sticks of 512MB Geil PC4200 RAM from my kid's PC running on a IC7-MAX3 with a P4 2.4 oc'd to 3.0 (was my system before this new build) and the Ultra-D posted fine. I put the Ballistix in the kid's PC and at first it would start loading Windows but would crash before completing. Then it would not post and just gave the DRAM error beep code.

 

So, I have RMA'd the Ballistix for replacement from Newegg. I noticed today that there are at least two others that have written a Newegg review for the 2x1GB Ballistix with the same problem. The RAM worked for a few weeks, then started showing errors. Anyone here using the 2GB kit having the same problem? Sounds like there may have been a bad batch of RAM. I hope the new replacements are not from the same batch.

[ExtraPickles]

Unfortunately it seems to be the luck of the draw and happening more and more frequently.

 

-pickles

[hitman012]

Possibly happening to me also, although this is odd since we are in completely different locations. Is there only one fab for the chips? That would explain it.

[Craybit]

Grrr. I think it may be happening to me as well, ran for about 3 weeks smooth as silk at 260 1:1 3-3-3-7 2.7v, 12hr Prime Stable. Now it craps at random, has corrupted a couple of files and does anywhere from 1 minute to 2hrs Prime. I cleared cmos, loaded optimized, changed tref to auto and it's still randomly unstable. Oddly, no memtest errors after 4 hours.... I'll keep my eye on this thread, I hate RMAing stuff but Newegg will probably be cool about it.

[BiffSteel]

Is there only one fab for the chips? That would explain it.

Micron Technology has several fabs in the US and several more around the world; Italy and Singapore come to mind.

[hitman012]

Grrr. I think it may be happening to me as well, ran for about 3 weeks smooth as silk at 260 1:1 3-3-3-7 2.7v, 12hr Prime Stable. Now it craps at random, has corrupted a couple of files and does anywhere from 1 minute to 2hrs Prime. I cleared cmos, loaded optimized, changed tref to auto and it's still randomly unstable. Oddly, no memtest errors after 4 hours.... I'll keep my eye on this thread, I hate RMAing stuff but Newegg will probably be cool about it.

 

This is exactly what's happened to me. No combination of settings keeps it stable - it might appear that way at first, but then the next day, the issues are back. Seems like this is hardly uncommon...

 

P.S. Biffsteel, thanks for the info

[prodigyru]

Same thing happened to me with 1GB Kit (2x512). Had to RMA crucial to get replacements. They better improve their Quality Control procedures or else they are going down the drain with this kind of product.

[Liquidfire]

interesting....ive been having probs but not with the crucial, with either the board or the video card.