M2N32-SLI Delux + 4GB == Frequent BSODs?

[kllrnohj]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone here can help me out. I recently gave my rig a small upgrade (X2 5000+ BE + XMS2 DDR2 800), and I am now having frequent BSODs. I started with the standard "probably my overclock", so I ran orthos - passed (15 hours anyway, then windows restarted to install updates :/ ). Then I ran memtest (passed 10 hours - I think it was about 7 loops). I did try dropping down to stock clocks - no effect.

So next I thought it might be the BIOS (I was using the 1503 BIOS at the time) - upgraded to 1603, no change. Downgraded to 1201, and the stability improved in Vista x64 (still get BSODs though), but not in XP Pro 32-bit (BSODs within a couple of minutes of booting up).

Does anyone know of anything I can do to get this thing stable (besides removing 2GB of RAM - I like my RAM )? Is there a "better" BIOS revision I should try?

CPU-Z Report: http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc.php?id=309593 (RAM is 4-4-4-12 now though - system in sig)

 

[mavalpha]

Install MS update patch KB929777 in Vista (64-bit), just to start off. Let's narrow down if it's software or hardware.

 

[kllrnohj]

Install MS update patch KB929777 in Vista (64-bit), just to start off. Let's narrow down if it's software or hardware.

Update is already installed. I also don't think it is software due to the BSODs occuring in both Vista x64 and XP Pro (which is a completely clean install + all patches). But I'm not ruling that out, of course.

Oh, I should also mention that the BSODs aren't the same error, and aren't driver errors (or if they are driver errors it isn't dumping that info) - so far they have ranged from kernal inpage errors to some USB polling error I had never seen before.

 

[ijozic]

Did you try running it without the 2 GBs of RAM for some time? If the RAM is the problem, try increasing the voltage to 2.0V (the motherboard will undervolt it somewhat). I have two sticks of XMS2 6400 working together with two sticks of Crucial Ballistix at 4-4-4-12 but on M2N-SLI Deluxe, not M2N32-SLI Deluxe.

 

[kllrnohj]

Did you try running it without the 2 GBs of RAM for some time? If the RAM is the problem, try increasing the voltage to 2.0V (the motherboard will undervolt it somewhat). I have two sticks of XMS2 6400 working together with two sticks of Crucial Ballistix at 4-4-4-12 but on M2N-SLI Deluxe, not M2N32-SLI Deluxe.

The RAM I have is rated at 2.1v 4-4-4-12, which is what I am running it at.

 

[hasoos]

1. Try moving the sticks of ram to other slots. Also try running only one stick to see if one is bad. Do you have any other ram you can throw in to test it?
2. Do you have any peripheral cards installed that may be causing the error? Like a sound card? If so yank them and see if it goes away.
3. What is the temp of your CPU? It doesn't matter if you turn down the speed if a badly seated heat sync is causing it to heat up. Check your temps.
4. Power supply. A weak power supply can cause BSOD due to system instability. What are you running, and with what kind of graphics card (to determine power load.).

Just a few thoughts.

 

[kllrnohj]

1. Try moving the sticks of ram to other slots. Also try running only one stick to see if one is bad. Do you have any other ram you can throw in to test it?

All four slots are full. I previously used 2 of the 4 sticks in there now, running memtest on the two new sticks yielded no errors.

2. Do you have any peripheral cards installed that may be causing the error? Like a sound card? If so yank them and see if it goes away.

Haven't added anything except a new CPU and RAM - rest of the system has been running rock solid for over a year.

3. What is the temp of your CPU? It doesn't matter if you turn down the speed if a badly seated heat sync is causing it to heat up. Check your temps.

~45C under load.

4. Power supply. A weak power supply can cause BSOD due to system instability. What are you running, and with what kind of graphics card (to determine power load.).

Antec NeoHE 550w. Video card is 7950GT.

 

[xorvious]

I have heard of alot of problems with ASUS boards and Antec PSU's lately, not to mention having to RMA my Antec twice now. And just two days ago I had an old Antec 430 that would not put out enough 5v to run a socket 462 system, 4.6v. I plugged it into a different identical ASUS board and it ran fine although at 4.8v on the 5v line. So in the end my moral of this story would be, ASUS + Antec = test with a different PSU.