The motherboard is failing to recognize RAM, or it seems a new GPU is being installed.
The motherboard is failing to recognize RAM, or it seems a new GPU is being installed.
Current specifications: i5-4460 @ 3,2GHz | Stock cooler Asus B85M-G (from the beginning) HyperX Fury Blue DDR3 @ 1600MHz 8GB 1x8, | purchased secondhand about a month ago HyperX Fury Black DDR3 @ 1600MHz 8GB 1x8, | functions in all slots (arrived today) HyperX Fury Black DDR3 @ 1600MHz 8GB 1x8, | dead Corsair CX750F RGB 750W 80+ Bronze MSI RTX 3060 ti Gaming X 8GB LHR (dual fans) ^---previously GTX 750 Ti---^ 1x Goodram SSD 512GB 1x Seagate 1TB HDD From the start, I just aim to upgrade the rest of the PC (mb, cpu and ram), but because of limited funds, I chose to buy the GPU while prices were low and experiment with bottlenecks until I save up for the rest. The issue I’m facing is that two memory sticks have failed recently in the past four days, under identical conditions. The first stick stopped working right after installing the new GPU. On first boot, it worked briefly; I played a few games but had to shut it down. An hour later it restarted and froze on the Asus logo with BIOS entry keys displayed at the bottom. Note: pressing them doesn’t trigger anything. After swapping out one stick, it started up normally, so I suspect my 7-year-old RAM module failed. The next day I ordered another identical unit. After installing it, everything functioned correctly until I restarted and encountered the same problem—froze on the Asus logo. Removed the new RAM to discover the PC booted without issues. What steps have I tried to fix this? - Reset BIOS after the first RAM died before the second arrived. - Inspected for bent pins in the CPU socket. - Checked capacitors for damage or swelling. - Tested dead RAM sticks on another machine, same outcome. - Verified for loose components that could short-circuit the motherboard. - Ran tests with only the faulty RAM sticks, which produced no signal. What might be the cause?
I considered a few things first. Check the CMOS battery—ideally around 3.2 volts. Below 3 volts it won’t work well; under 3.1 volts, give it a try anyway. A solid long-lasting clear CMOS is key. Turn off the PSU, press the power button once to release the caps, and set the CMOS jumper for ten minutes. After that, reassemble and test to see if the memory stabilizes. I’m leaning toward this being a coincidence. It seems you bought memory labeled as DDR3, which is likely outdated and possibly already worn out by the seller. Your chances of getting quality replacements are slim. For better results, consider Corsair Dominators or Adata kits—they’re reliable options.
Sometimes swapping memory sticks can cause timing settings for secondary and third modules to be wrong, even if they share the same part number. The actual chip might differ despite matching the part number. These kits keep the same part number throughout DDR3 use, but not the real chips. If possible, it's best to get a set that matches.
Brought the PC to a nearby shop for testing. They checked the power supply after running it through the tester and noticed a lower PG value than normal. No other issues were found. Replaced the power supply with an older one I owned, installed a new used RAM stick. It functioned properly after startup, but failed again when I restarted. There seems to be a problem with my RAM sticks that I can't identify.