Every OS runs into memory issues even with replacement RAM

[Alexandroid99]

Setting the stage:

Specs:

Intel Core i7 3770k

Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3 16GB kit

Asus P8Z77-V LX Mainboard

Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming

ARLT Computer 650W PSU

 

A few days ago my PC started acting up, first crashing in a source engine game with a segmentation fault. Since I've run into issues like this before and my overclocked turbo of 4.8 to 4.7GHz seemed to cause memory issues in games and Steam, I clocked it down to defaults again. First booting Windows became unreliable, then I could only boot into Linux. I tried resetting the CMOS by jumper, but then both Linux and Windows crashed on boot. Windows cited IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, Linux reported a kernel paging request failure and other memory-related panics. I left memtest86 running overnight and it reported on both sticks a vulnerability to row hammering bit flips, on only one an error.

 

So I moved on to buying a tested (used though, I'm extremely low on budget) Kingston 8gb kit and put it in. It posted, displayed the by the seller promised 1333Mhz frequency and all 8GB RAM. Yet still it doesn't boot into an OS besides DOS.

 

I then fiddled with downgrading the BIOS to definetely clear out all settings and finally succeeded with AFUEfi64 and an unmodified old bios.

 

It flashed, the PC managed to POST aaaand... Still no luck. Any OS hangs with memory issues, no matter which RAM kit I use. I even tried using a different power supply because I've read that memory issues can occur when the PSU is dying and you get shocks from the case if you touch it. You don't get shocked normally, but you get shocked when touching a radiator while touching the case. Though I must mention that the mains in my room has a broken ground wire and my parents refuse to have it repaired, maybe it's related to that instead. The replacement power supply is a 500W Chieftech and I ran it without a dedicated GPU, if that helps.

 

So, my question is this: How could I troubleshoot further without making any larger purchases and what component is blown? The mainboard, glitchy firmware or dying electrical components? The CPU, after five years finally succumbing to its heavy OC (with adequate cooling though, Skythe Mugen4 PCGH)?

The replacement memory, have I been scammed?

[Neftex]

maybe memory controller in your cpu degraded from overclocking? (im no expert tho)

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

Try cleaning out the memory slots with Deoxit and some isopropyl alcohol. 

[Alexandroid99]

37 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Try cleaning out the memory slots with Deoxit and some isopropyl alcohol. 

I'm going to try it once I can be arsed to deal with this frustrating hunk of metal again, but I doubt it will help. The slots were occupied and there's no dust in them as far as I can tell and I didn't frequently take the sticks out or anything.

[Alexandroid99]

40 minutes ago, Neftex said:

maybe memory controller in your cpu degraded from overclocking? (im no expert tho)

I've figured, well, feared that as well, but I'm not sure as the BIOS has always been quite quirky as well, that's why I tried resetting it. It even complained that "Overclocking failed". Riiight... 800MHz RAM and 1,5GHz CPU... Overclock... Riiight...

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

9 minutes ago, Alexandroid99 said:

I'm going to try it once I can be arsed to deal with this frustrating hunk of metal again, but I doubt it will help. The slots were occupied and there's no dust in them as far as I can tell and I didn't frequently take the sticks out or anything.

That's why I also recommended Deoxit, possible the contacts have oxidized over time. 

[Alexandroid99]

18 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

That's why I also recommended Deoxit, possible the contacts have oxidized over time. 

Well I did basically rinse the slots out with alcohol and there wasn't a spec of dust in them, and the contacts on the RAM that was seated are clean as well, so I'm going to assume that the contacts on the motherboard are as well. Going to boot it up once it's dissipated. Btw if dirty contacts were at fault, I'd guess the mainboard would start complaining along the lines of "no RAM found" or something like that, which it doesn't. One happy beep and that's it.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

4 hours ago, Alexandroid99 said:

Well I did basically rinse the slots out with alcohol and there wasn't a spec of dust in them, and the contacts on the RAM that was seated are clean as well, so I'm going to assume that the contacts on the motherboard are as well. Going to boot it up once it's dissipated. Btw if dirty contacts were at fault, I'd guess the mainboard would start complaining along the lines of "no RAM found" or something like that, which it doesn't. One happy beep and that's it.

The thing is that dirty contacts wouldn't necessarily completely out off the connection. In most cases it will cause intermittent loss of connectivity. Which when it's something like RAM when data is constantly being swapped in and out, is not good to have. 

[Alexandroid99]

Moral of the story: Ended up getting a replacement pair of a Gigabyte motherboard and an i5 3330 for testing, turns out the i7 causes issues even on the other board with either sets of RAM. The i5 runs fine even on the original Asus motherboard. So I guess I've got a faulty i7 now... RIP, it served me well for four years. Gosh, it's a noticeable step down in performance, but it was cheap and even cheaper than buying it individually. I'm going to sell all the spare parts again, maybe I'll even turn a profit.