Modded P4gpl-x/p4gd1 might be killing RAM

OK, here is the story how 2 sets of RAM died (actually only 1 stick of each set) on a vdimm modded P4GPL-X board + dothan 750 in exactly the same way.

CPU voltage set >1.55 in bios (~1.65 actual).
RAM voltage: 3.5V DMM measured, 120mm fan over them
Chipset voltage in bios 1.6, 1.8V (modded) DMM measured

Booting at fsb 167+. It happened only if cpu voltage is >1.55. Usually I don't set it that high (remember the board is overvolting by ~0.08) but this time I tried. The board shuts down and after that only 1 stick survives.

Could it be coincidence? Maybe, but 2 sets in the same way is kinda strange...


1st set is kingston hyperx BH5, worked several months on NF4 260 3.4-3.5V with 120mm fan over them, no problems at all
2nd set is redline xp4000, worked one month on NF4 255 3.4V with 120mm fan over them, no problems at all

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwi

1st set is kingston hyperx BH5

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Ouch

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwi

2nd set is redline xp4000

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Double Ouch.

BH5 should take the volts, especially given that you had a 120mm fan blowing on them. - Saaya has blown 2 sticks on a similar board (p4dg1) ... I don't spose you were using clockgen and CPU-Z at the same time?

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Originally Posted by Saaya

i almost forgot, franck the author of cpuz is working on a p4gd1 tweaker for us

i was beta testing the tweaker and while i was at it i discovered a serious issue on the p4gd1 board. never, ever, use clockgen and cpuz at the same time on this board!
if you do both will report an increased fsb but the speed will actually stay the same! well whats the problem with that?
after you reboot your memory will die... dont ask me how or why, but i lost a 256mb bh5 stick at first and thougt it was a coincidence and the stick was just old, but i repeated the same situation and lost yet another stick...


oh and none of the boards i sent out yet have the bios flashed!
im sorry but i only got a cpu to flash the bios on monday, and i had the boards already wrapped in paper and put in boxes.
i will try to flash all the boards i havent sent out yet, but i dont know if i have enough time.

if you get your boards and want to flash them i recommend you to flash to 1006 and not 1005, i dont know if it was me or if the options werent available, but in 1005 there was no option whastoever, no fsb setting, no dram setting, vcore, vdd, vdim, fsb termination voltage, pc and pciE locks etc etc...

the bios is really lame imo, and it took me some time to get used to it. i will make a new thread with tips soon

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I guess it is true , take a look at the " P4GD1 torture chamber " thread , 3 sticks have been killed in the same board . My Kingston bh-5 sticks are fine with 3.4v here , but now i am worried :( .

WTF, I did use clockgen and cpuz at the same time but I still don't get it. What does it have to do with killing RAM? RAM is supplied constant voltage and if frequency/timings are out of range it simply restarts or you have to reset CMOS. But not kill RAM instantly!

Which Vdimm mod are you using on the board? The Vdimm=Vio mod, or the variable Vdimm mod?

hmm, looks like i'll be getting a budget ram stick for testing. Not risking blowing anything expensive. My condolences, Kiwi.

Just 3.3V to VDIMM

PSU is OCZ powerstream, adjustable rails ofcourse :)

I just killed 1 stick of 512 tcc5 at 2.8V using clockgen on the p4c800e dlx with a 760, booted at 250fsb clockgened to 261fsb and it crashed with no reboot and will not boot with that 1 stick now.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwi

Just 3.3V to VDIMM

PSU is OCZ powerstream, adjustable rails ofcourse :)

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Same here . My 3.3v rail is adjusted to 3.4v .....

Whoa, it might turn out now Asus boards take over the memory killing features from DFI :eek:

kiwi, as far as I understand, both times it was the same DIMM slot?

Btw, I've used both Redline as well as old shool BH-5 without much problems, however, 3 things are different:
* using OCZ Booster to supply Vdimm higher than 2.9v
* the board is unmodded
* actual Vcore never over over 1.55.

so this problem only exist if ur using vdimm mod?

Prolly, wonder where it came from?
I've made the vdimm mod today with a bit modification. I observed the vdimm during the boot sequence and it was stedy 3v all the time.

I thought on of my stickes had died on me but that wasn't the case. I think it was because my ground :banana::banana::banana::banana:ed up the vmod a little bit and I had to resolder the wire to the FB pin.
Please try again to boot up with the sticks. Cpu-z + clockgen have been running very many times in my room for sure.

persivore i doubt this has anything to do with the vdimm mod he made...
my sticks died in ram slot 1

and i have no idea how changing speeds results in killing memory kiwi... absolutely no idea... but i can reproduce it.
id rather say its a board issue and it can get triggered by using cpuz and clockgen at the same time. if you push the fsb with clockgen it wont increase the fsb even thoug thats what it shows. i dont know if you have to increase the fsb above a level its stable at or if simply adjusting the fsb 1mhz is enough, but when you reboot the memory is dead.

8 sticks dead on p4gplx/p4gd1 already...
and 3 dead sticks on other boards using the ct479... hmmm

i wonder if it has to do with the ct479 as i know 2 people who had memory die on them that used different boards but also ct479 adapters.

if your system freezes then power off the psu and remove the memory before you reboot, i hope this saves the memory... :/

Thanx Saaya, thats eg what happend to me,that was a good clocking stick I lost.I will try your method next time.

yeah, I think it was slot 1 both times but I am not sure, don't remember

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saaya

if your system freezes then power off the psu and remove the memory before you reboot, i hope this saves the memory... :/

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remove, reboot and then? Then I get beeps no RAM installed. Should I then reinstall RAM and power on? Or reset CMOS before installing?

hm.
im running p4gpl-x and often used clockgen+cpu-z at the same time but never killed any ram :-/

utt ch-5, crucial ballistix, kingston bh-5 ...never had any problems.

but my board isnt modded at all, thats why i was asking if ram dies because of the vdimm mod.

strange issue :confused: .

i hope that helps... :/
i sent my p4gd to macci already, so i cant reproduce this anymore :/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwi

yeah, I think it was slot 1 both times but I am not sure, don't remember

remove, reboot and then? Then I get beeps no RAM installed. Should I then reinstall RAM and power on? Or reset CMOS before installing?

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better reset cmos to be sure id say...

raiden, if you use cpuz and clockgen clockgen doesnt work anymore, you opush the fsb up but it stays the same actually. i pushed the fsb above 200 even though 150 was the max stable, rebooted and the stick died.
dont ask me how, but i repeated it and a second stick died...

other people also seem to get system freezes or crashes when they push the hardware above whats stable and when the system reboots the memory gets killed.

the funny thing is when i increased the fsb using clockgen and cpuz the system didnt crash, ast least not toally. the smbus was crashed i think, because clockgen couldnt find or access the pll anymore. so something was definately not running like it should.

I'm one of those who's sticks where killed in a P4GD1...
I'm using variable Vdimm mod with the ground for the mod is taken in the chip too.
How it happens is described in the p4gd1 torture chamber thread.

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Originally Posted by Ratax

Well, time to a sad update...

1x256Mb Mushkin LevelII PC3500 BH5 (old-school) 270Mhz@2-2-2-5 DEAD
1x1Gb OEM Kreton (chips VT) that can do 275Mhz@2.5-3-3-7 2.8v DEAD

With the first, the system was on dual-channel and only one dimm died... don't know why... 3.6v max used and 275Mhz attempt...

The 1Gb was bought to exchange the OCZ PC3500EB kit that was on my girlfriend pc, but as it was BrainPower B6U808 PCB I decided to give it a try before.
It scaled till 275Mhz@2.5-3-3-7 (200Mhz@3-3-3-8 default) at only 2.8v :slobber: A really good find indeed...
When I try to change the timmings with 915 tweaker to 2.5-2-2-7 the system crashed and the dimm was died...

This is very weird... I have vchipset and vdimm mods on P4GD1 and all seems allright by there... maybe the problem is change the voltage of vdimm when system's still run? Maybe 915 tweaker problem?
What do you guys think?

Hope that Mushkin RMA my kit, but what will I get instead of my beloved kit?.
About the OEM dimm there's no problem too, but will I have such luck next time with a OEM stick? (there's another one on the store and I was planning to buy it too to mach with this one, and now...)

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Same thing, windows crash - system hard reboot - error beeps - mem dead...

I don't know what to do more... should I remove the mod and use a booster instead or just follow saaya procedure when it crashes?
I'm afraid I'll burn more sticks...

"OEM" stick is allready exchanged by a new one and i'm waiting for mushkin reply about RMA for my bh5 kit...

But are we sure that powering off, then clearing cmos and powering on again really works and saves RAM? Maybe it dies just after crash and even before powering off :slapass:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kiwi

But are we sure that powering off, then clearing cmos and powering on again really works and saves RAM? Maybe it dies just after crash and even before powering off :slapass:

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thats possible as well... nobody knows... does somebody have some crappy old ram he can use and cause the system to get into the ram killing mood and when it crashes/freezes shut down the system and remove the memory and see if it saves the memory from dieing?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saaya

thats possible as well... nobody knows... does somebody have some crappy old ram he can use and cause the system to get into the ram killing mood and when it crashes/freezes shut down the system and remove the memory and see if it saves the memory from dieing?

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Well, I think I can do that with a 256mb stick I have around...
I want to know if it works to believe more in this system as it burned me 2 sticks so far.

I'm out of home until tomorrow or wednesday, but when I get home I'll test that with no problem and let you guys know.
I'll try to follow several procedures that we talked about in this related threads.