Corsair Dominator 1066mhz - Issues!! Kaput??

[OB1UK]

Hi all,

Had a major problem with my PC this morning - after pressing the power button i recieved a continuous beep with a code C1 on my EVGA motherboard which indicated memory problems.

I stripped out all memory and replaced one by one and eventually found that 2 of my 4 memory sticks were causing my PC to either not work at all, or crash just before windows. Worth noting that i have 2 matched pairs of the same type, but bought approximately 2 years apart from each other.

Do you believe i can get replacements from Corsair? What do i need to do? The sticks are CM2X1024-8500C5D 1024mb 1066mhz corsair dominator ddr2.

Many thanks in advance.

[Yellowbeard]

Are you testing them at PC8500 or at PC6400 aka 1066 or 800? What MOBO are you using and how long have you been running 4 modules?

[OB1UK]

Hi Yellowbeard,

Was running them at 1066 using an EVGA nForce 680i SLI motherboard and been running all 4 for the last 2-3 years with no problems.

Thank you for the swift response.

[Yellowbeard]

Test them all individually for 3-5 passes each at DDR800 at 2.1v, 5-5-5-15 timings, using the latest Memtest from www.memtest.org . It could be the memory but, running 4 up OCed for that long, it could be the memory controller deteriorating just a tiny bit. What is your memory controller voltage set to? I have had both Intel and Nvidia MOBOs do this same thing. It required a tiny bump in memory controller voltage to compensate.

[OB1UK]

I have done what you have suggested in terms of increasing the voltage to 2.1 and all seems to be working for now, but as with all electronics i will need to test over the coming weeks to clarify.

However i have to point out that the FSB bios settings were as follows:

FSB MEMORY RATIO
FSB (QDR) MHz 1066.7
Actual Mem (DDR) MHZ 800z

Just wanted to clarify that i was not previously overclocking my memory.

Thank you for your help. Any tips or clippets of information is more than appreciated

[OB1UK]

Hello again

Been a couple weeks since i made the last post and afraid to say that i now have the same problem again.

When i tried the above suggestion from Yellowbeard, all went fine, in fact better than fine because for some reason it also alleviated my graphics card temperature by about 40 degrees.

But sadly today back to square one, i have extracted the two ram chips and manage to boot up fine.

Is it possible to get the ram exchanged?

[Yellowbeard]

You can RMA the RAM but based on what you are posting, I don't think it will help. Your board sounds as if it is aging and can no longer support 4 modules at the speeds you are setting.

Did you or did you not increase your memory controller voltage?

[OB1UK]

Yes, increased to 2.1v which was working wonders for the 2 weeks

[Yellowbeard]

That's memory voltage, not MEMORY CONTROLLER voltage. Please refer to your manual and identify your memory controller. Raise this voltage 1-3 steps above the stock setting.