Ok, so here is my current plight. I cannot seem to run any computer games whatsoever. Every game I try crashes 5 minutes (sometimes 10) in every single game I try. Doesn't matter what game. I always get an error that says, 'The memory cannot be "read"'. I've gone down a checklist and replaced and switched out just about everything, including the mobo, processor, psu, & video card. The only thing I haven't tested tried is the memory. I finally ran memtest86 and -- surprise surprise -- there were a crapload of errors (over 60,000!). Before I proceed, I probably should list the full specs of my system:

AMD Athlon 3200+ (Barton Core)
MSI K7N2 Delta2-LSR
1GB Corsair Value Select PC3200 (512MB x 2)
eVga Geforce 6600GT AGP
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value
36.7GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Drive
40GB Western Digital Caviar 7200 RPM Hard Drive
LiteOn CD-RW
LiteOn DVD-RW
Aspire Chameleon 550w PSU
Windows XP w/ Service Pack 2

That's about it. As a side note, I haven't yet tried switching out the SATA hard drive, which at one point I suspected to be the culprit, but I ran a test online and it came out fine. Plus I don't feel like reinstalling windows, since I've already tried that half a dozen times. Anyway, when I first ran Memtest86 it came up all those errors in just about every test. I then tried a single stick of ram, and still got some errors. Switched to the other stick, and then no errors. Pulled that one, put the other stick back into another slot, and no errors on that one as well. When I put them both back in the slots they were respectively working in, I got about 600 errors on tests 5 and 6. Tried another combination, and I got about 300 errors on test 5. I haven't tried all the combinatons yet, but I've only got a few choices left. I don't want to put the ram into the same color slots ( I have 3 slots, 2 on 1 channel, 1 on another) because I know that would defeat the purpose of even having dual channel memory. So my question is, why isn't this ram working together? MSI's website says corsair's memory is compatible with my mobo, and Corsair's site recommends the exact ram I have! I'm thinking about buying a 1GB stick of PC3200 Geil RAM, because the single sticks seem to work better and stick the Corsair memory in my girlfriend's computer (if it works). Any recommendations?

Incorrect memory timing settings in BIOS setup are likely to have caused these errors.

Ok, give more details about the configurations you tried with the sticks of RAM and the number of DIMM slot used. It's difficult to tell by your description whether this is a RAM problem or a mobo problem.

Actually, I think I may have solved the issue. I'm not sure why the Corsair RAM wasn't working, but I put it in a different machine and it works fine (no Memtest86 errors). I put the RAM from that computer (pqi power series) and I was able to run games without them crashing!! Granted they weren't running as fast because it was only 640MB of PC2700 that I replaced it with, but still, I've determined that the RAM was definately the cause. I ordered a single 1GB stick of PC3200 geil RAM, and hopefully all should end happily ever after. If not... well, this thread will continue :-/

Maybe that particular RAM didn't like that particular mobo, or vise versa. It happens... In any case, I'm glad you solved your problem! :D Now if you want to get back your 1GB of dual-channel PC3200, at this point I would suggest using another manufacturer, like Kingston or Crucial/Micron. It never hurts to try again if you change the situation.

In an interesting post problem discovery, I found out that the culprit may have been the Cas Latency. I was helping a friend out with some similar RAM problems, and his RAM (some Kingston PC3200) was CL2.5. He ran Memtest86 and got lots of errors, so he decided to exchanged the RAM and got basically the same RAM except it was CL3. Anyway, to make a long story short his computer and games seem to run fine now, and come to find out, I believe I may have had the same problem. The Corsair RAM I got was CL2.5, and the Geil RAM I have now is CL3. So in an effort to fully understand this, I was wondering exactly what this means. The Corsair site still says this RAM was supposed to be compatible with my motherboard. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy I solved my issue, though I am curious as to why the memory didn't work. Oh well. The Corsair seems to work fine in my girlfriend's computer, it passed Memtest86 with flying colors. Although, I haven't tested any games on it yet (you can expect me back here that happens :p ). Anyway, my sole question is this: what's up with lower Cas Latencies, and why don't they work? Is it a bios setting gone wrong, or is it just twitchy timing that is hit or miss?

There's always an intereaction between mobos (specific models and even individual boards) and brands of ram, individual modules, etc. Case in point: I've got 2 X 512 modules of some very high performance dual-channel 2-2-2 OCZ 3200 rev. 2 ram. It runs very well in my albatron nf2 400 ultra mobo, dual channel. At fsb of 200, I can run it at 2-2-2-11, with system overclocked with fsb of 230, it runs at 2-3-3-11. Now, originally I had tried this set of memory in my albatron kt-600 system, and no matter what I did, I got memory errors and games would crash. I had been (and still am) running 512 of corsair xms ram running at 2-2-3 9 in that machine, and it runs just fine. I had tried a second 512 module of the corsair, but it was no go, memory errors, system crashes. So there is something about that kt-600 mobo that does not like 2 512 modules of memory, even good memory. Otherwise, it's been an excellent mobo. So to some extent, it's always a crap shoot, and you've got to spend the time tweaking your settings, including the voltage to your ram. That can make a huge difference.

BTW, you always want to go for the lowest cas setting, in fact, the lowest settings across the board as a rule of thumb, and then raise settings according to what your system will tolerate.

The best recommendation that I can think of re. what memory to use is finding an on-line forum that is specific to your motherboard, and seeing what memory others are using, their experiences, suggestions for settings, and so forth. Good luck.

marty

Thanks, man. Great stuff to know ;)