ASUS board/memory problems

[stevekav]

Hi there'

I'm new at building and have a problem with my ASUS board.

I am using a Hynix DDR400 512 memory stick in a P4P800-E deluxe board, but the DDR is not on the approved list given by the manufacturer. The system has let me format and partitition the HDD but randomly shuts the power down in the early stages of loading XP. ASUS say this is due to the memory but every one I talk to says this is not normal. Does any one know if the memory does cause this as it is very expensive to buy extra if the board is at fault?

PLease help I'm desperate.

Thanks

Steve

 

[harrack52]

Firstly, I'd take what Asus say with a grain of salt. Why they tell you this is because they might not have "officially" (Hynix may not have payed Asus to put them on that list...but that's another story) tested this exact memory with the board, so they cannot support. That doesn't mean it cannot work as good or better (or worse of course) than what's on the approved list.

To test the memory you can download a bootable cd of Memtest86 . Run all the tests at least twice. If you get errors, then the memory is bad.

If you get no errors, then it might be the power supply or heat.
Strip your system down to its bare minimum, test your psu in a known working system and vice-versa.Also, make sure your heatsink is well-seated on the cpu with a thin layer of arctic Silver/Céramique.