f13.net

So everyone pretty much knows or should have reason to know I'm not a tech guy, but I've tried to upgrade my RAM now twice and both times fucked up.  The first time I bought an incompatible type and tried to replace all of my ram, and the second time I tried to commingle a different brand with my current setup with poor results. 

Here is (sort of )the RAM I currently have:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145488&cm_re=cmx.1024.3200-_-20-145-488-_-Product
Except I don't know what the timing of my RAM is, or if that matters.  But it's basically that (184 pin/1GB wafers/pc3200/Corsair).



So I either need to find out how to get the exact type I currently have, or to get new shit that will work properly.  Money isn't a problem but obviously I don't want to get ripped off and I probably don't need bleeding edge shit since I'm just trying to go from 2GB to 4GB. 

http://www.crucial.com/index.aspx

Click 'scan my system'.

Cool tool but it says it cannot make a complete match and Corsair isn't even in the manufacturer's drop down box.

I know this isn't too helpful, but maybe it'll jog someones memory. There's a program that'll scan all of your hardware and give you every little detail about what's installed on your Mobo. I think the program used a female name as part of its name.

Edit: Might be AIDA32, but I'm not sure if that's it.

Edit2: Sandra is the program I'm thinking of - http://www.sisoftware.net/?d=&f=home&l=en&a= (http://www.sisoftware.net/?d=&f=home&l=en&a=)

I think there is one called Everest, but I can tell you my mobo and everything else.

So, what is your MB and are you OCing?

Motherboard Manufacturer: abit
Motherboard Model: KN8 Series(NF-CK804)
 

I'm not overclocking (that I know of).

Try this link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=147&Description=&Type=&N=100007611&IsNodeId=1&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=521%3A7965&PropertyCodeValue=523%3A7858&PropertyCodeValue=524%3A7862&PropertyCodeValue=524%3A7946&PropertyCodeValue=525%3A8679&PropertyCodeValue=525%3A7866&PropertyCodeValue=525%3A7867).

You should be able to get your memory timings from the BIOS, though as long as your new stuff is as fast or faster (lower CAS latency + higher frequency), you should be able to set everything at the settings you're currently using and be okay.

I believe my timing is 3-3-3-8.
  So this should be good? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146326

Are there issues when mixing brands of RAM?

Get a dual channel memory kit like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145579

With dual channel memory if you buy the memory in matched pairs your chances of things not working go down. Mixing non-matched memory in dual channel slots even from the same manufacturer increases your chances things won't work. If you do have mixed memory sticks and you don't want to get a matched pair then you may need to run in single channel mode but of course your memory performance will suffer.

Speaking of which, if I currently run 2GBx2 in dual-channel, and I would like to go up to 8GB, but my exact ram is no longer available, should I just replace everything?

Also, any particular suggestions of which set to pick from this page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006042%20600006112%20600006066&IsNodeId=1&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006042%20600006112%20600006066&IsNodeId=1&name=4GB%20%282%20x%202GB%29)

(Those are the same PC-type as my current Corsair sticks)

You can try just adding a new pair.

From that list I'd look first at this pair:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104073

Those Kingston sticks Trippy linked are good stuff. They played nicely with a pair of sticks that were slightly slower when I upgraded.

Thanks. I might even update the video card while I'm at it, once I do my taxes. It's currently just a GTX 260, which was pretty good when I build the system about 2 years ago.

I went ahead and ordered this.  Hope it works, I don't want to RMA anymore.

Memory is finicky, in my experience, so I try to match brands.  Of course, they may or may not come from the same factory anyway.  My solution is generally to buy RAM all at once (as Trippy advises), but this isn't always feasible.

I had a bad board once that fried a couple sticks of Corsair memory. Their return/lifetime warranty policy made me stick with them for every purchase since then.

The RAM came, installed it last night, and it worked.  The one problem is that I loaded up WoW and it crashed twice in the space of an hour.  It's never crashed before.  I don't know why that would happen, it's the same brand, same speed, same timing, same everything.  Really pisses me off, can't they standardize this shit? 

I mean, hopefully it never happens again but I have a feeling it will and I'll eventually get disgusted of doing hard manual resets and take it out.

It may not be your ram.

Are you putting the new ram next to existing ram?

Might be the dimm slots on the MB that are faulty.  You can always try swapping it out your existing ram with the new stuff to clarify that it's not just the ram.

PBKAC maybe?

I think the term is PEBCAC, but no, I think that motherboards have just as many, if not more, reasons to fail than sticks of ram. It could also be a power supply problem. Or a video card problem. Heck, it could be a short in a wire connection to the front USB panel, for all we know. Its sometimes difficult and time/money consuming to fix these things. Just the way it goes. Its especially annoying when the problem is hard to reproduce reliably.

So, that should be the first step; try to reproduce the problem quickly and reliably first. I don't know if you've used Memtest86, but that's a good start. However, you say that 'it crashed'. Do you mean WoW or your machine? Because that can help diagnose the issue. If its JUST WoW, I would say video card, hard drive or memory. If its the whole machine that up and died, then there's all sorts of wondrous possibilities.

WoW froze and the system required a hard manual reset.  Not simply a CTD.  I looked into Memtest and it seemed like it wanted me to create a bootable floppy or mount an ISO and I said fuck it (plus I don't have a floppy drive).

Newer versions of Windows have a memory test if you boot off of the install CD.

There also are versions of Memtest that you can stick on a flash drive.

All memory tests require you to boot off a CD, floppy or flash drive. If you don't even do the most basic testing for a problem you -think- you have, there's no helping you.

I see.  Well, I know for a fact it's the new RAM.  I can take out the RAM and play games forever without crashing.  With the new RAM, I've got from 20 seconds to 20 minutes of playtime before the screen freezes and the computer needs to be manually reset. 

Mounting an ISO file onto a CD and then running diagnostics isn't what I'd consider "basic" troubleshooting.  Could I do it?  Sure, but it would be a hassle and take me much longer than someone like you.  I don't have a ton of free time to fuck around doing shit I hate for minimal gain.

Let me ask you this:  If I did run the memtest would it be able to fix the RAM or would it just tell me the RAM is defective?  Because I already know that it's not working properly. 

I find it curious that I can buy RAM with the same timing, same size, from the same manufacturer (although not the same exact product--tried that--it was out of stock) and it doesn't fucking work.  The older I get the less enthusiastic of a PC gaming enthusiast I become.

For me it is more the older I get, the less of a build-your-own enthusiast I get. I am done building my own, I just pay the extra for a Dell (or whatever), the troubleshooting headaches when self-done stuff goes wrong is not worth it to me. It feels like I generally have way less crashing problems than most people on the games that get reported as buggy here, too, FWIW. (New Vegas comes to mind, I think it crashed twice during my entire run.)

I'm with you.  This computer I'm on now I built myself.  It's just weird because being able to upgrade ad-hoc is one of the advantages of a PC and I see a lot of intelligent people sort of throwing up their hands and verbally shrugging when it comes to RAM compat.  I don't even think of myself as that smart but I'd like to think I know how to take good advice and the only good advice is "buy all your RAM at the same time and if you do otherwise hope for the best."  I mean, how hard could it be for these fucks to get with a standard?

Perhaps you just got some bad sticks?

I blame the mobos. I know mine is particular about what ram and the mem amount. Basically, I have to use all the same type and size for all four slots or else. Kind of sucked when I got 2 sticks of 2gb and popped them along side the 2 1gb sticks already in there and had huge errors. Same manufacturer and speed and everything but the mobo limited the flexibility. Buyer beware.

...for the record, I kind of was aware of the impending limitations and pulled the trigger anyway since the board was extremely cheap and otherwise flexible.

Is your old RAM installed at the same time as your new RAM? If so what happens if you take out the old RAM?

Yes, I had (2) 1 GB sticks.  I tried to add (2) more 1 GB sticks.  So the old and new were commingled.  I haven't yet tried to just play with the new RAM as I didn't see any benefit.  Although I suppose the benefit would be to definitively rule out it being defective.

Is the old RAM in one set of slots and the new RAM in the other?  Usually you'll find a layout like A B A B to get matching.  Going A A B B can cause issues.

Trying only the new RAM is a good test, as well.  You need to know if the RAM is bad, a slot is bad, or if the two pairs don't work together and that can at least eliminate the first question.

It shouldn't matter which slot it's in if it's four sticks of the same type.

Purchased at different times.  It shouldn't work that way, but effectively he may have two different pairs of memory sticks which work fine in one configuration but not in the other.  It's better to eliminate the possibility than to assume it's fine.

I like this. I shall try this tomorrow when I am sober and steady of hand.  Thought RAM should be paired together instead of alternated.  Good stuff.

You ARE pairing them, in their dual-channel slots. It's the dual-channel slots that alternate, to give you some space when only running 2 sticks.

The only thing is, presumably if the original sticks were in the right slots to begin with, the slots that were open would be the right ones for the new ones to go into.

So there are four slots: ABCD.  A being to the far left and D being to the far right.  The original sticks were in the A and B slots.  The new sticks were C and D.  Tomorrow I'll try alternating.  I feel hopeful.

The slots should be color-coded to match.

Voltages can play an issue too. One may like running at higher voltage and might fry the other.

Computers aren't toasters. Get a console.

To be a bit more serious: check your mobo manual for info on the RAM slots, and as Furiously points out, check the voltage tolerances for the new sticks and don't exceed that (voltage settings are in your BIOS).

 :popcorn:

Update:  My RAM slots are color coded, but they are AABB rather than ABAB.  I Tried the new RAM by itself and it worked fine.  Then I put the old RAM in, and went into Advanced CMOS and selected "load fail safe settings."  I noticed my RAM speed was listed as slower after that, but now everything works beautifully with zero crashes. 

I'm guessing I could tinker around and manually change speeds or something and get it to work at a higher speed, but I doubt I ever will.

Were you overclocking?

No, unless "load optimized settings" overclocks.

In some cases it might. Go for 'default' or 'safe' settings first.

It's working now on fail safe.  I might try to bump up to default, and I'll report back at that time (I know you're on pins and needles).