MSI P55-GD55 - unstable system

[kaptain02]

Just built this PC and it's not very stable - experiencing random lockups a few times a day.  It's locking up the same way before and after updating everything (Drivers, windows updates, latest bios...etc -screen just freezes - hard reboot required)

Everything in the bios is set to default; CPU temp is good (40C); plenty of wattage (have tried 2 PS's infact).

After doing some searching on here it looks like there's some conflicts with the Corsair RAM - I'm going to do some more searching to see if I should be tweaking the voltage or other settings in the bios to improve stablity.

SPECS:

Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
Intel Core i5
MSI  GeForce 250 GTS
Corsair 2x 2GB DDR3 (1600)
Thermaltake 600 PS

~Kevin

 

[kaptain02]

I found the exact BIOS specs for my RAM on the Corsair Forum.

CMX4GX3M2A1600C9
PC3-12800 1600Mhz 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) 9-9-9-24 1.65 XMP 1333Mhz 9-9-9-24 240pin DIMM No

Everything was set correctly in the bios but the Voltage - by default\auto the voltage is only set to 1.5v instead of 1.65v.  I changed this to 1.65v (1.651v was the option) so I'll see how it runs now.  I wonder if this is why several other people were having problems with the new MSI boards and Corsair RAM?

 

[Jack the Newbie]

The default voltage for DDR3 modules is 1.5V ?+/- 0.075V (this is the industry standard voltage).  That is why the BIOS will set it.  "PC3-12800 1600Mhz" is an overclocking rating (those modules are actually just DDR3-1333).  The voltage increase is necessary to compensate the overclock to DDR3-1600 and yes, it needs to be set manually.

I wonder if this is why several other people were having problems with the new MSI boards and Corsair RAM?

This has nothing to do with the combination of MSI Mainboard and Corsair Modules in particular.  Using modules with overclocked speed ratings are likely to cause problems like this on every system.

 

[kaptain02]

Bringing this back up since I happened to stumble onto my own old post - mainly for an FYI.

After keeping up with all bios, driver, and OS updates the system stability is still the same - not the greatest.  I'm going to have to try to most recent 'memtest' but I'm fairly sure my Corsair RAM isn't working well with my board (both 1.5 and 1.65 voltages have been used).