gigabyte ga-ep35c-ds3r and crucial ballistix ddr2-8500

[bug]

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their advice and Rob for the site in general. It has really kick-started my return to the hardware world. I've been able to buy pretty much all of the "sweet spot" components for my computer, and it's running very nicely. There's nothing quite like being able to play a game while compiling programs or encoding video!

I have the Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R and 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-8500 memory. The system has been perfectly stable so far with the BIOS set to automatic for the memory timings.

However, memtest86+ reports many failures while doing test 7 (which does random read/write operations, I believe). I've done some research and it looks like it's a problem with Gigabyte boards and DDR2-8500 RAM. These sticks were suggested by Crucial's memory advisor.

Has anyone experienced this? If so, what did you have to do to fix it? Should I contact Crucial and trade them for DDR2-6400 sticks (which work better in the motherboards, apparently), or should I just ignore it since my system is stable?

[The Wise Monkey]

If you aren't experiencing any issues, then there is really no point in exchaning the RAM. However, it is up to you - if you want the peace of mind that the slightly lower speeds will provide, then you won't lose anything by getting a replacement. :)

[bug]

I think that I'll let it go through the week burn-in period and then see what happens. I did have one hard lock, but that was after changing the timings to 5-5-5-15. For some reason, the autodetect sees it as 5-7-7-24. Is that reason alone to at least exchange for the same type?

[The Wise Monkey]

Hmm, most motherboards are set up with generic timings so that any RAM will work. If you go into the BIOS, you should be able to set the timings manually. What are the tightest timings you can get? Is your RAM rated at 5-5-5-15?

[bug]

Yes, it's rated at 5-5-5-15. When I set the timings to that in the BIOS, my computer hardlocked (froze) about fifteen minutes after boot.

I spoke with Crucial today and they said that I could RMA it if I wanted or even do a trade-down (with a refund of the difference).

I haven't tried anything tighter than 5-5-5-15. I definitely don't want to do anything like overclocking until at least a week after the burn-in period, if at all.

[The Wise Monkey]

I didn't mean overclocking, I meant does the RAM run at, say, 5-5-5-18? Or 5-6-6-20? Try various things to see if it runs at something other than the generic timings.

If you are having issues, then it might be wise to trade-down. :)

[bug]

Ah, I figured that you had to increase the voltage or clock speed to tighten the timings...

What are good timings? I admit that I really don't know much about RAM these days. I'd rather go from something that's known to be "realistic."

Can I damage anything by using the wrong timings?

[The Wise Monkey]

You may need to increase the voltage slightly to tighten the timings, but not by much. The Crucial website should give details of the recommended voltage for your RAM, so change that in the BIOS and change the timings to what is suggessted. If you still have problems, then you should RMA and either get some 6400 or stay with the 8500 that you have.

[bug]

I think that I'll drop down to the DDR2-6400 with 4-4-4-12 timings rather than have to run the DDR2-8500 at 5-7-7-24. Does that sound reasonable?

The BIOS is reporting the voltage to be 2.23something already. The sticks are rated at 2.2.

[The Wise Monkey]

Sounds good. :)