On Friday 20 January 2006 23:36, Stuart wrote:
I am currently using Cosair modules now. I would not suspect them to be bad at this point.
Why not? In case you've missed my past posts on SLE discussing memory, I was in that business in Silicon Valley for a few years (in manufacturing, before it went offshore.) From the symptoms you've described, those modules would be my /first/ guess. Testing each individual module at the factory, beyond pass/fail for basic PCB trace continuity, isn't cost-effective. Instead, they pull random samples from each batch to test a bit more stringently with a memory tester. But, still, what they're trying to detect are problematic /batches/ -- not individual "duds." What this means for you, as a consumer, is you will sometimes experience a DOA or marginal module straight from the factory that is brand spanking new. This is just a fact of life. The only way to avoid this is to pay the (usually very steep) premium for top-of-the-line pre-tested, pre-matched pairs of name brand modules that come with 24 hour advance replacement warranties. If you factor in the value of your time spent running around in circles chasing down an intermittent freeze in a high end system, you'll see it is actually worth the extra money. Note this isn't something you'd do for a midrange or slightly older system, but it makes sense when the system you're building is right at the cutting edge, performance wise. The key symptoms I'm using to arrive at my diagnosis are: 1. Failure to stumble or fall completely over on cold boot. That is the most vulnerable time for a system with a failing, undersized or marginal power supply. 2. The system freezes are truly random and are leaving no clues in the logs. This is certainly a suddenly fatal, hardware based error. These are the hallmarks of a memory problem. 3. The system can be encouraged to freeze by loading it down with an I/O intensive task, like a (buffered) disk to disk transfer... probably one of the best in-situ memory stress tests available, next to something graphics intensive. BTW, did you take basic ESD precautions when installing the modules? - Carl