New Core i7 builds, but big freezing problem on main client! Pls help!

[Phanes]

Dal is a bitch on multi boxers. All I can say about the I7 is I have built a ton of them for various clients and time and time again when it was random crashes/freezes it was caused by the RAM.

I am not saying you cannot get off list RAM to work. I am just saying you cannot get consistant results with off list RAM. I got no reason to lie about it and can make sweeping statments about RAM and I7s because this is what I do to pay my 4 mortgages and feed my two children.

If you are running an I7 and it randomly freezes then make sure the RAM is

1. compatible with the mobo
2. compatible with the CPU
3. running in triple channel mode

You can run memtest all day long and it will tell you your RAM is fine and it probably is. It is just not fine with the I7. The only way to truly test it is toss the ram in and run Prime95 on it.

The I7 has no off CPU RAM controller that can speed up or slow down RAM or mess around with voltages. It is done all right on the CPU and it has very tight specs. I don't know what else to say to convice people of this.

Also if you are going to Multibox and goto Dal I would say at least 12 gigs. Will it run on less sure it will but it will run like crap. RAM is cheap enough right now that if your mobo can handle it then there is no reason to not have as many gigs as the I7/operating system can handle.

TBH get some good on list like 1033 RAM and your I7 will scream right along. DDR3 is already so fast and if you are only playing WOW you will not notice a difference using faster RAM.

I hope you guys get the problems worked out cause I7s are smoking fast when configured correctly.

[jak3676]

The support for RAM faster than 1066 is "unofficial", but it will run at whatever speed the motherboard tells it to run at. Just that Intel doesn't officially support more than that.

Are you still using a 32-bit OS? Have you tried swapping the two sticks around and using different memory slots? I'd say 90% of the "bad RAM" cases I've seen were solved by unsocketing and reseating the RAM stick a few times. But there are some bad ones that make it onto the market as well.

[Phanes]

I know the first I7 box I built I was using 1333 or something like that. The box froze up and crashed all the time. I went to the website and read up about RAM. I discovered that I7 is not officially supported past 1066. From that point on I only built I7 systems with 1066 RAM that was compatible with the MoBos I used and I have not had a problem since then.

Since the northbridge is out the I7 has no physical controller between it and the RAM so any mismatched RAM will cause problems.

Also Memtest and all that stuff would show the RAM being just fine. As soon as I dropped to 1066 stuff the problems would go away.

I am trying to find the link I used before that was on the intel site. It shows you the RAM that has been tested with the I7 right down to the serial number. Soon as I find the link I will post it.

[Phanes]

Link does not work.

[Targ]

These sweeping statements about I7 RAM speeds are not exactly true.
I7-920 (OP's model) doesn't offically support Memory speeds above 1066 and doesn't have internal mulitpilers to get to any faster speeds. You can overclock the processor and get higher effective speeds.

I7-965 does support much faster RAM speeds, it can go faster then any RAM on the market today.

For some interesting Reading on I7 RAM speeds and its effect on the system check out http://techreport.com/articles.x/15967