I ordered 2x (2x4GB) Sticks of GSkill Sniper RAM while it was on neweggy sale. The sticks are rated for operation at DDR-3 1600, 9-9-9-24 @ 1.25 volts.
Well, it came in, and I ran memtest. Memory errors left and right. I did a little adjusting and found that
a) If I set the memory timings to auto, it goes with 9-9-9-28 which is the SPD setting. I tested each pair for several hours at SPD and there are no memory errors.
Still, it wont do the rated timing, which to me means its defective. I should return it. And there's no guarantee that if its "broken" in some slight way, it wont get worse later. At least that's my gut instinct.
Two other things to note though:
b) The board I'm testing on is an AM3 board. Gskill says this ram was only tested on P67 and P55 (?) boards.
c) The ram is rated for 1.25v low voltage operation. The lowest the board lets me set is 1.5v, but that's the JDEC spec.
I'm thinking my initial feeling to RMA this ram is still correct, right? I figure, RAM should mostly work with other chipsets, and should work with a little overvoltage anyway (especially when its at JDEC specs?) Thoughts, fellow gerbils? Newegg already approved of the exchange, but a small part of me is wondering if it isnt going to be this way with all the RAM.