Dead Ballistix, I want your info :)

C

(cf)Eclipse

Freelance Overclocker
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Messages
30,027
ok guys. it seems we may have a serious problem on our hands. we all know i love crucial, so if you're gonna gripe, do it in your own thread. i won't have it here ;)

basically, all i want is this:

1_87.jpg



see the CL1115J.Z5?
that's the batch number.

IF AND ONLY IF! you have had a stick of ballistix with 5b D chips (single sided 512mb and all 1gb sticks), please post your batch number here. i wanna get to the bottom of this and see if crucial simply made a boo-boo and shipped out a bad batch.. i know from previous testing with a crucial value stick with 5b D that the chips are not as sensitive as it seems they are, and something else must be up.
 
cl1115n.2w i hade if for 2weaks worked good at 270 3-4-3-10 @2.8v then 2 days ago it wold not boot in to win so i lowed oc to 250 was beter but not by much so i put it back to 200 and it wokred for a day then it would not post so i took oen then sticks out and it ran good up to 280 at 3-3-3-10 put other one in and no post it has .16td at teh end of it though not .5
 
2 sticks of 1GB here both are:
CL1115N.2N

Seems to run stable at 3-5-5-10 2T DDR500 2.8v(altho I havent tried dropping voltages)
It is memtest stable at 3-4-4-10 2T DDR500 2.7, 2.75, and 2.8v, but will crash about twice a week

EDIT: this thread should be stickied or something. I dont wanna RMA again just to get another bad set :\
 
I think I started this :)

I'm on my second set that has just gone out.

CL1115N.2R

2X1GB

BL12864Z503.16TD

Same pattern:

1. Purchased 2GB Kit from NewEgg.
2. Ran fine for 4 or 5 weeks.
3. Started getting continous BSODs and restarts.
4. Actually damaged my registry. Had to re-image.

Called Crucial and got an RMA. It was harder because I didn't purchase direct. That's not fair IMHO.

5. Received new memory. Installed.
6. Ran fine for 4 or 5 weeks.
7. Again getting continous BSODS and restarts.

In both cases reinstalling my old PNY 1GB (2X512) modules resolved the issue.

No overclocking. No modifications. Bone stock system running at factory defaults/SPD. No heat issues.

Asus A8V in a Lian-Li PC60 Plus case.

-Larry
 
yeah, i know it's a big problem, which is why i mad this thread. it's more than just a few scattered people, it's like 10-15% everyone who bought the ram in the last month or two

there's also a thread over at dfi-street, but as usual, they're being silly about the whole deal. there's a couple people, though not nearly as many as i see elsewhere, at XS (which makes me wonder)

so far, they're all CL1115N that's dead.
 
shold i rma now or give them some time so it not a nother set of CL1115N?

how many pepel taht thers died have x2 or dfi mb?
 
My ballistix just went bad as well. I just shipped them back to newegg on rma yesterday, but i wrote down the batch numbers and serial numbers - i'll edit my post when i get home from work, since that is where the info is.

Edit:

Here is my Ballistix info:
BL12864Z503.16TD
Batch # CL1115K.BF
PN: 56278

My sticks worked great for about 2-3 months, then when i switched from a DFI nf3 250GB to a DFI rdx200, they wouldn't post. then i got an DFI nf4 eXpert. each board wouldn't post without using other sticks to set settings - but were still unstable in windows. . Then i thought okay, maybe my mem controller is weird, so i bought another cpu, same results. then i used my friends ballistix, they worked great - no lockups on post after clearing cmos, working at theie spec of 250mhz dual spi32 stable. Then i rma's mine, since i had narrowed my problems down to the ram.

(When i had them in the nF3, sometime before upgrading my motherboard to socket 939 windows would sometime crash, and a couple times my machine wouldn't reboot with them in.. a couple days of letting them sit they mysteriously worked again)
 
does any one kown if i rma mine will i get CL1115N or a new fixed one?
 
Ok, I called Crucial to get an RMA for my second dead set of modules.

They wanted to try sending me a third set of the same (which I can understand), but I declined.

Instead I asked them to just send me a set of standard PC3200 modules for my system. This is a production machine, and I just cannot tolerate the down time, trashed registries and re-images that all of this has caused me.

It took a bit of doing, especially since I didn't buy them direct, but I got it done.

I know this won't be the solution for everyone, but I need this to be over with permanently.

-Larry
 
that works :D

also, i just sent an email to the crucial rep i talk to on occasion, see what he has to say about the whole deal. if i don't get anything useful, i'll talk to an engineer instead ;)
 
yashu, was it you who i sold my crucial value stick too? i forget now :(

either way, i'm starting to suspect that it's not the chips, but one or more of the components on the PCB not liking the high current draw that the 5b D demands, perhaps crucial got shipped a bad batch?
 
I have a 2gb set of PC4000 Ballistix in my system right now - and after 3 weeks starting getting BSOD 2 days ago. Called Newegg today, got a refund RMA and have some OCZ sitting here ready to go in but it's only PC3200 Platinum - not sure I'll keep the OCZ, but when I get the Ballistix out, before I package it to send it off for refund I'll post the info off the sticks.

My problem is about the same as everyone else - I beat the crap out of my system building it, followed the OC guide to the letter, found max CPU and max memory (so I thought) backed off both, settled at 2600mhz (260 x 10) at 3-3-3-8 timing. Passed over 30 hours of prime95 and memtest in BIOS and the HCI design memtest. Then 3 weeks later, I get a BSOD, then another one the next day and another the day after. I start playing with memory timings and as of last night ran 10 hours of HCI design memtest at 250mhz 3-4-4-8 @ 2.7v and got errors. Luckily I found this inside the 30 days and so Newegg is just refunding me and I'll be going with OCZ of some kind.
 
LanceDiamond said:
CL1115N.2W - these shipped from Newegg's NJ warehouse around 10/31
Click to expand...


2x PC4000 1gig
CL1115S.CF both dead within a month (run at 240mhz, 3-4-4-8 2t 2.75volts)



2x PC3200 512mb
CL1115K.9J dead within a month (run at 210mhz 2.5-3-3-8 2t 2.8volts)
CL1115J.Z3 Still ok right now

Ive also had 1x PC3200 512mb DOUBLE sided fail.... however i cant remember its batch number
 
let's hope that 512mb stick lasts, as that's pretty damn close to the same batch i have ;)
if one fails and the other doesn't, then i'm gonna be scratching my head.

i've also never killed a double sided stick of 512mb ballistix (aside from one, ESD'd it), and i've given em 3.6v for benching and 3.2v for moderate periods of time, 3v for semi-long term. 5b G is durable stuff.
 
I'm noticing something anectdotally right now in the first few hours of playing with the OCZ.

The Crucial Ballistix PC4000 2 x 1gb set got hot. Even at 2.7v, which was the lowest voltage I could run them at without random reboots - even at 250mhz 3-4-4-8 which is their STOCK speed. After a few hours of memtest, the modules were painful to touch for more than a few seconds.

The OCZ Platinum PC3200 2-3-2-5 memory running at close to stock speed - 2.5-3-3-6 199mhz at 2.8v gets nowhere near as hot as the Crucial.

Also, my PWMIC temp as shown in Smartguardian seems to be much cooler - unfortunately I didn't pay a lot of attention to PWMIC temps before with the Crucial since I figured PWMIC was supposed to be kinda hot. PWMIC now idles at 38 or 39c and under a few hours of memtesting it went up around 50c. I found some screen shots I'd taken of benchmarks with the Crucial in showing PWMIC temp as high as 68c (that was a 10 hour Prime95 run with the Crucial at 2.9v, 282mhz x 9.5 so obviously the OCZ PC3200 isn't going to go anywhere near 282mhz speed but still...)

At stock speed the Crucial gets damn hot. At stock speed the OCZ doesn't. The Crucial shouldn't be cooking itself at stock speed - I wonder if this has something to do with all the problems cropping up with these modules?

I'm running an Antec P180 case with excellent airflow - the 120mm fan on top of the XP120 blows air right across the RAM. Nothing has changed between the hot and not tests except the modules themselves. Ambient temp is around 25c-28c.
 
nah, it's long been known that the ballistix runs hot and really should have active airflow at anything more than 200mhz, 2.6v ;)

you can probably make it last a lot longer by not letting it burn you. think about it, if your cpu runs that hot, would you expect it to last long? i think a lot of people are killing their ram due to heat. some are keeping it cool, i dunno what's up there.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
nah, it's long been known that the ballistix runs hot and really should have active airflow at anything more than 200mhz, 2.6v ;)

you can probably make it last a lot longer by not letting it burn you. think about it, if your cpu runs that hot, would you expect it to last long? i think a lot of people are killing their ram due to heat. some are keeping it cool, i dunno what's up there.
Click to expand...


thanks (cf) for making this thread - I just ordered a 1gb stick of the z503 ballistix. Would you (and other owners) recommend taking off the heat spreader? Or would a case fan blowing on them do the trick?
 
Wow, this stuff really is biting the dust left and right!

-Larry

LanceDiamond said:
I have a 2gb set of PC4000 Ballistix in my system right now - and after 3 weeks starting getting BSOD 2 days ago. Called Newegg today, got a refund RMA and have some OCZ sitting here ready to go in but it's only PC3200 Platinum - not sure I'll keep the OCZ, but when I get the Ballistix out, before I package it to send it off for refund I'll post the info off the sticks.

My problem is about the same as everyone else - I beat the crap out of my system building it, followed the OC guide to the letter, found max CPU and max memory (so I thought) backed off both, settled at 2600mhz (260 x 10) at 3-3-3-8 timing. Passed over 30 hours of prime95 and memtest in BIOS and the HCI design memtest. Then 3 weeks later, I get a BSOD, then another one the next day and another the day after. I start playing with memory timings and as of last night ran 10 hours of HCI design memtest at 250mhz 3-4-4-8 @ 2.7v and got errors. Luckily I found this inside the 30 days and so Newegg is just refunding me and I'll be going with OCZ of some kind.
Click to expand...
 
They are sending me the standard CT12864Z40B. I doubt they will be .16T's, but I don't care. I'm not an overclocker. I just want stability :)

-Larry

(cf)Eclipse said:
that works :D

also, i just sent an email to the crucial rep i talk to on occasion, see what he has to say about the whole deal. if i don't get anything useful, i'll talk to an engineer instead ;)
Click to expand...
 
overlag, an error in one spot = mishandling, ESD death. i'd know, as i've done it before.. more than once ;)
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
overlag, an error in one spot = mishandling, ESD death. i'd know, as i've done it before.. more than once ;)
Click to expand...


so in all these years of handling ram and building pcs ive had NO problems with ESD.. now ive killed 5 out of 6 within 2 years? I could understand one, but 5?!?! :eek:
 
My two sticks: CL1115S.K6 and CL1115J.JF
Currently mostly stable @250fsb with 3.0 3-3-8 & 2t (wigs out at 1t)...2.8 volts

Does this mean my two sticks are from different batches and thus aren't good for dual channel? Because these things were and are a real bitch to get working right!?!?
 
CL1115k.4D

these do not work in my asus board... but work ok in my DFI.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
nah, it's long been known that the ballistix runs hot and really should have active airflow at anything more than 200mhz, 2.6v ;)

you can probably make it last a lot longer by not letting it burn you. think about it, if your cpu runs that hot, would you expect it to last long? i think a lot of people are killing their ram due to heat. some are keeping it cool, i dunno what's up there.
Click to expand...

What surprises me about this situation is that I never was running my memory much higher than 260mhz @ 2.7v for any significant period - it's rated at 250mhz/2.6v so I was close to stock. And I have an XP120 right on top of the memory blowing air through the CPU heatsink across the memory. Ambient temp is 25c-28c or so. And it still got so hot it apparently cooked itself. Crucial should at least tell you "you MUST have good active cooling for this RAM!" :(

I ran the OCZ Platinum PC3200 @ 2.8v, 200mhz over night in HCI memtest. Almost 11 hours - 4100% coverage - no errors and I took the side off the case and fondled the memory - warm to the touch but not super hot. A nice breeze from the XP120's fan right on top of it.

I'm fixing my sig to show OCZ and sending back the Ballistix - problem solved. :D
 
Overlag said:
so in all these years of handling ram and building pcs ive had NO problems with ESD.. now ive killed 5 out of 6 within 2 years? I could understand one, but 5?!?! :eek:
Click to expand...
*shrug*
hahaha.. i dunno. both the sticks i've had that happen to, it's still stable for anything i threw at them, aside from memtest.


mig.. it simply means that they're from different batches the chips inside are exactly the same, so they'll run fine in dual channel. the worst i can see happening is that one stick tops out before the other when oc'ing ;)


lance, i share your sentiments.. but it's also the reason i've been telling almost everyone who gets ballistix that i know of that they MUST actively cool it unless they have superb airflow
 
Got 2 sticks of 1GB PC4000 here still in their sealed antistat wrappers.

Both are batch no.CL1115W.VY

I'll let you know how I get on, they're going into a DFI RDX200.
 
4 sticks, all dead... crucial ballistix... it looks identical to the image you have here.

FOUR STICKS... 4/4... 250 dollars down the tubes.

This is a pretty serious problem if the odds are that high for failure.
 
I have (2) 1gig sticks of PC4000.

CL1115K.BJ


I have been trying to reformat my system. I am getting Blue Screens and error messages. I replaced or RMA'ed almost every component in my system trying to solve the problem including my DFI motherboard. I now have the Expert model.

I bought a stick of cheap Kingston stuff and my system finally ran well enough to load windows although I did encounter a couple of snags through the setup process. I put one of my Ballistix back in and ran memtest. It ran for over an hour with now errors. I swapped for the other stick. It ran memtest overnight with no errors.

I thought if memtest didn't show errors I could rule out my ram being bad. I am still getting blue screens and random reboots.

I am going out of my mind.

This was great stuff while it worked but I don't know what else it could be so I am going to start the RMA process for this ram on Monday.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
crucial has a lifetime warranty you know ;)
Click to expand...

yeah but they start to blame you once you've had more than 2 RMA's

SURELY they are seeing a trend of failures on there high end sticks?
 
i would think that, but i asked a rep and he said they aren't seeing any more rma's than usual. i find that very very hard to believe.
 
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