4gb of Ballistix, dead.

[ryboto]

The title really says it all. I purchased 2 2x1gb kits about 9 months ago. As soon as I got them I ran memtest86+ and Memtest in windows. Ram was set to DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 2T, with 2.15vdimm, since the board overvolts, and the only other option is to set it to 2.25v, which is an effective 2.3v. So, 9 months of perfect use, nearly 24/7 folding, I get errors. So, I systematically tested each stick with a quick pass through memtest86+. I did the testing at DDR2-700, since my CPU has a half multiplier by default, and underclocks the memory. Only two sticks passed. I installed those two, and ran Memtest in Windows for a few hours with no errors found.

Crucial sent me some new sticks after receiving the old ones, and upon installing them I ran Memtest in Windows again. Well, I saw errors almost immediately. So, I decided to test the new RAM first. Uninstalled the old pair, and ran Memtest in Windows for a few hours. No errors. Yay. Installed the old pair again, by themselves, and system wont boot. Just long beep, pause, long beep pause. So, I tried each stick individually. Still, Long Beep, Pause. Making sure my board wasn't just having a fit, I removed the suspected bad ram, and installed the new pair. Booted up perfectly, and works just fine. So, I should assume the old pair is dead? I tested each stick in every bank, and the system would not turn on with the original pair in any of the dimm slots.

Is this normal? 4gb of Crucial memory dying in a month? Should I be worried my board isn't slowly killing the ram?

[cstkl1]

u said the board oversvolts

so y are u super overvolting it??

if it undervolts than u overvolt it..

[Catz]

mind yourself this could be to several causes:

- unlucky and just getting some bad memory
- broken psu that delivers to much voltages
- overvolting motherboard

Did you try the memory you received new on a different motherboard before putting it on your own motherboard? Maybe the store you buy it from isn't that careful with memory..

[stangracin2]

what was the 5 digit number on the side with the big sticker if it was 97432 then yes

also if it was 97432 u are lucky cause you got 9 months out of it
on most with that part number they were 3 months max

[TedShred]

I know a guy (how cliche, I know) who went through a mess of bad ballistix recently, but the last ones he got a few days ago were apparently rock solid. Perhaps Crucial's quality control might have been out of whack for a while, but maybe it's now fixed? I believe Crucial was always pretty good about replacing the bad stix for him in any event.

[ryboto]

u said the board oversvolts

so y are u super overvolting it??

if it undervolts than u overvolt it..

Super overvolting? Crucial states the RAM needs 2.2v, I gave it 2.15. I set 2.1v in the BIOS and all of the monitoring programs show it as being an actual 2.15v. I can't fix this. It's either set it to 2.15v, 2v, or 2.25v(which becomes 2.3v). I would try lower, but two of the sticks wouldn't work on any voltage below 2.0v. The system would not POST if they were installed and the vdimm was less than 2.0v.