I am all ears, what do you think my issue is or if there are multiple problems?
I am all ears, what do you think my issue is or if there are multiple problems?
Hi all i am having some odd problems with my pc. It's pretty complicated but i will start from the beginning, first off all my problems start Msi center i just installed for testing rgb lights, the next morning i go to turn on the pc the fan rgb colors were flashing into different static colors, which is odd because at this point i unstalled Msi center the night before, and used OpenRGB instead and made solid white for case fans and memory sticks, so again i turn on on pc and it went to static random colors so i decided to clear cmos still the same, then oddly enough i ran into another problem i noticed i could not run all my 4 sticks of ddr4 back to 3600mhz xmp or 3200mhz xmp, now i was stuck at 2133mhz not matter what settings i played with in the bios nothing work like loseing the memory timings like a lot and manuly pick 3200mhz i even incresed the system agent voltage to 1.250v and memory to 1.5v with very loose timings, so i went the next step and attempt to flash the bios which already had the newest bios but i attempted to reflash the bios it any was figuring maybe the bios is corrupted because had a lot of power outages this week due to freezing rain so i am not sure if that caused any issues, but i never had this happen to me when i went into M-flash i don't even have time to pick the bios file, the system just shuts down and reboots back into the bios so thought well maybe a have 1 or 2 bad sticks of memory or bad dimm slots like dirt etc, so tested each of the 4 test in alll 4 slots they all posted fine, and no i did not run memtest yet on any of the memory yet, so i cleaned out all the dimm slots first with a vacuum, then used 99% alcoho on the dimm slots, i let the pc sit for a hour to dry i put all four sticks back in still the same problem could not get the run the memory at normal xmp speeds and still same problem with m-flash, i even ram 1 stick of memory with stock default bios and m-flash did the same, so get this the pc the loads into windows fine and no crashes at all and when running games this is with memory at 2133mhz all four sticks, and if i run 2 sticks only i have them in slot 2 and 4 of course xmp 3600mhz is stable, so ordered a used motherboard on ebay Msi edge wifi Z490 hoping that's the problem, or i have degraded imc memory controller on the cpu or a or a corrupted bios, so i called Intel support even though is out of warranty the theh support guy is giving one exception he might be able to replace the cpu for free so i am praying on that, and last. i tested my pc with a different power supply corsair 550watt and still the same problems, so ya but i can't seeing my main psu which is a Super flower 850watt Gold leadex VII which is a high end psu be bad i just purchased it a few months ago, and i test both psu's with my psu tester and passed, i also pulled the motherboard out figuring its the motherboard touching back of the case, cause i just bought a new case i week ago its a NZXT H7 flow all white, i bought it looks nice and better air flow then my old case.
I am all ear what do you think my problem is or is multiple problems , if anyone can help i would greatly appreciate it
The wall of text indeed complicates understanding, yet there are a few points worth observing. You didn't specify the CPU or motherboard you're using. A 3600 with four DIMMs typically works with 10th/11th Gen Intel, but a 3200 might not function properly—this suggests an issue. I'm sure it was fine before. M-Flash failure is a clear warning about potential problems with the motherboard. While few experienced this, some older Intel boards offered flashback functionality that allows flashing without entering BIOS. If your board supports this feature, it might be worth checking.
It seems the issue lies in whether the four sticks belong together or if you received two kits with two sticks each and they were mixed. If that’s the case, you’ve already identified the problem. Additionally, the mention of 1.5 V being too high for DDR4 is important—this voltage is the maximum allowed for DDR4 and exceeds safe limits, especially at high speeds like 3200 MT/s. It’s best not to attempt this again.
It seems the motherboard or BIOS might be damaged, possibly due to power issues. M-Flash failures, RGB malfunctions, and XMP incompatibility point toward a faulty board or BIOS corruption. You’ve already checked the PSU and confirmed RAM is functional (two sticks at 3600MHz), so I’d focus on the hardware. Using the used Z490 model is a smart move—swap it in, update the BIOS, and test with two sticks first. A CPU swap could help, but I’m not sure if that’s the main issue.