Is my ram broken?

AngusBrown · May 13, 2019

So I have this 4x4GB kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM, and one stick shows error messages in Memtest. I have tested each single stick, and only this one shows errors.

I have already contacted Corsair support, they insisted that my CPU was broken and not the ram, and that I should contact my Motherboard manufacturer (MSI). He also talked about that after gooling the specific address (94700548) it would seem as a MSI issue.

After contacting them and going through the issue and what I tested, he said that it most likely isn't the memory controller on the CPU as it would cause errors on other sticks too.

Consequently I called Corsair again providing them with what I received from MSI. He told me that the RMA would be approved, up until viewing the memtest screenshot.

After being AFK for a few minutes, he came back insisting it's a CPU problem and I should contact Intel.

What's really happening here? Is it the CPU or the RAM?

PGRacer · May 13, 2019

I just googled " 94700548 RAM" and I can see nothing coming up related at all, this post itself was #5 in the list. Certainly not a list of people with a similar issue.

Have you got XMP turned on or off for this test?

I would try the test with XMP turned on, and with XMP turned off and see if it makes a difference (only try the bad stick).

With the information provided so far it seems very much like a faulty RAM stick.

AngusBrown · May 13, 2019

4 minutes ago, PGRacer said:

Have you got XMP turned on or off for this test?

Hmm, I had it on before, but after switching the sticks it showed the "CPU or memory changed", where I loaded the defaults. Don't know if it changed the XMP setting off or not. I'll check if it's working with either off/on.

SpookyCitrus · May 13, 2019

I don't think Corsair manufactures DDR3 anymore so if it was recently purchased I would check the seller to see if it's used or maybe just a overstocked product, it's more than likely out of warranty here pretty soon as well. If you can try the ram in another computer that would rule out it being an issue with the CPU. Sometimes a bad memory controller can be misdiagnosed as a bad module, they have almost identical symptoms, but usually if it's a bad module, you can check that pretty easily by trying all the sticks in different slots or one at a time in the same slot. However Memtest also tests your CPU not just the ram and the error code that it's giving you is commonly associated with CPU issues.

AngusBrown · May 28, 2019

On 5/14/2019 at 1:32 AM, SpookyCitrus said:

However Memtest also tests your CPU not just the ram and the error code that it's giving you is commonly associated with CPU issues.

My belief is that if the CPU is broken, then Windows would crash as well. But that's not the case.
After removing the one stick that produced errors in Memtest Windows runs stable, since a few weeks now without crashes.

The support contact also said "This error is associated with CPU", but I didn't understand what that means. Can you elaborate which error code you mean?

Basically i'm just trying my luck on getting it replaced. I had luck before with Corsair

SpookyCitrus · May 28, 2019

4 hours ago, AngusBrown said:

My belief is that if the CPU is broken, then Windows would crash as well. But that's not the case.
After removing the one stick that produced errors in Memtest Windows runs stable, since a few weeks now without crashes.

The support contact also said "This error is associated with CPU", but I didn't understand what that means. Can you elaborate which error code you mean?

Basically i'm just trying my luck on getting it replaced. I had luck before with Corsair

The only reason I said CPU is that your memtest is saying it's an error with your CPU, if you look up that memtest error code you can see it's a CPU problem. Also your CPU being broken doesn't just cause Windows issues it can cause a number of things including Ram not detecting or acting faulty, software issues, HDD issues like not showing up etc. If you tried just one module and now everything is fine then I think you found the issue. Unfortunately unless your ram is still under warranty Corsair won't replace it, check if your ram is under warranty still and go from there. DDR3 is cheap because it's getting phased out, so maybe just get a new kit and try that and see if it is just that module.