Is my CPU's memory controller dying?

Reubenno · May 17, 2020

My PC specs are listed here:
System Builder

Over the last 4 months I've had issues with DPC latency. Seemingly at random when I open video files with VLC and MPC-HC I get huge DPC latency spikes that cause my system to lock up temporarily, giving a jarring sound and then it goes back to normal. This issue also occurs when opening audio plugins in Adobe Audition whilst the audio is playing.Secondly, I have issues with Dual Rank RAM, I replaced my Crucial Ballistix Sport LT, as I feared that might be the issue (after replacing everything else but the CPU). However after installing the new Dual Rank RAM I can't run the DOCP setting without memory errors, if I try increasing the voltage that doesn't improve the errors. I have tried the Dram calculator but when I put in the safe settings my PC refuses to boot. Sometimes the debugging LEDs say it's an issue with Dram, sometimes CPU.

I've replaced the GPU (tried Nvidia and AMD), Motherboard (for the same model), RAM, Storage, SATA cables.
I have fresh installed Windows multiple times, disabled LAN and audio chipsets. Tried countless latency reducing software techniques. None of them worked.

The old RAM (Ballistix Sport LT 2x8GB), runs at XMP settings without memory errors, however I get huge DPC latency spikes, even with 1 stick installed. These issues go away when I leave the memory at stock clocks (2400mhz). However they come back when I tweak anything in the BIOS.
The new RAM (Crucial Ballistix 16GBx2) throws up memory errors with XMP enabled, and if I touch the clockspeed/Infinity Fabric Clock at all. Again when I leave the RAM at stock clocks I don't have DPC latency issues, however I do get memory errors.
I have tested the new RAM with each individual stick, they still have memory errors at stock settings. Which is what is making me think my CPU memory controller is bad. The chances of getting 2 bad sticks are really slim. Even more so with 4 sticks of ram (2 from each set) all causing DPC issues.

This is the accumulation of 4 months of troubleshooting. I'd really appreciate anyone's help, I'm getting really desperate.
Thanks.

Reubenno · May 17, 2020

UPDATE: Turns out I do get DPC latency issues with the old Ram at stock clocks.

xrobwx71 · May 17, 2020

Welcome to Sysnative!

Just so I'm clear, your current setup is what is in the System Builder link above and you are still having latency issues with spikes that cause visible and audible pauses in your computer use.

How are you determining you have DPC Latency? Have you run Latencymon? If so, add the log please.

What OS are you currently running?

Reubenno · May 17, 2020

xrobwx71 said:
Welcome to Sysnative!

Just so I'm clear, your current setup is what is in the System Builder link above and you are still having latency issues with spikes that cause visible and audible pauses in your computer use.

How are you determining you have DPC Latency? Have you run Latencymon? If so, add the log please.

What OS are you currently running?

Thanks for your reply. Yes that is my current setup. Yes I am using LatencyMon. I've attached the log of a particular spike that has just happened.

I'm currently on Windows 10 1909.

These spikes show various drivers are at cause for the issues, but I can't believe that they are when I am still getting huge spikes with a fresh
install of Windows. I'm really struggling to believe it's anything other than a bad CPU when I've swapped everything else out.

Thanks again.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:26:30 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-HQNIV29
OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 18363 (x64)
Hardware: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC., TUF GAMING X570-PLUS
CPU: AuthenticAMD AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-Core Processor
Logical processors: 16
Processor groups: 1
RAM: 16300 MB total

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed: 3593 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.

WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1476.10
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 14.734050

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1445.70
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 5.492133

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 45.698859
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.000370
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.000370

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 29093
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 887569.334261
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: CLASSPNP.SYS - SCSI Class System Dll, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.023092
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.098656

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 1238524
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 7685
DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 3
DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: ramtest.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 240326
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 105858
Number of processes hit: 123

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 118.488928
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 22.603952
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.022470
CPU 0 ISR count: 6194
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1504.595603
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 16.319734
CPU 0 DPC count: 689993
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 23.325243
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 22.714166
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.031462
CPU 1 ISR count: 7787
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 887569.334261
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 2.182363
CPU 1 DPC count: 51940
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.475006
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 17.604230
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.008071
CPU 2 ISR count: 2881
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 240.337323
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.300802
CPU 2 DPC count: 17690
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 6.095573
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 205.459505
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.049099
CPU 3 DPC count: 6700
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.660298
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 203.826329
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.113894
CPU 4 DPC count: 10523
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.584065
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 197.393821
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.039959
CPU 5 DPC count: 5088
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.269098
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 6 ISR count: 0
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1086.232118
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 0.259822
CPU 6 DPC count: 20432
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 6.061811
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 7 ISR count: 0
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 279.884219
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.056886
CPU 7 DPC count: 8181
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 12.192460
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 8 ISR count: 0
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 302.227665
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 2.069652
CPU 8 DPC count: 164511
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 15.880806
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR count: 0
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 217.192318
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0.976346
CPU 9 DPC count: 76318
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 15.003179
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 10 ISR count: 0
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 213.675480
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0.568628
CPU 10 DPC count: 44511
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 13.736151
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR count: 0
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 209.497356
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0.420970
CPU 11 DPC count: 34101
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 12 Interrupt cycle time (s): 16.462989
CPU 12 ISR highest execution time (µs): 45.698859
CPU 12 ISR total execution time (s): 0.024110
CPU 12 ISR count: 8653
CPU 12 DPC highest execution time (µs): 219.096020
CPU 12 DPC total execution time (s): 0.837123
CPU 12 DPC count: 65531
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 13 Interrupt cycle time (s): 15.422505
CPU 13 ISR highest execution time (µs): 9.608684
CPU 13 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001027
CPU 13 ISR count: 407
CPU 13 DPC highest execution time (µs): 193.776788
CPU 13 DPC total execution time (s): 0.238835
CPU 13 DPC count: 18902
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 14 Interrupt cycle time (s): 15.89890
CPU 14 ISR highest execution time (µs): 17.574172
CPU 14 ISR total execution time (s): 0.002427
CPU 14 ISR count: 1182
CPU 14 DPC highest execution time (µs): 226.580573
CPU 14 DPC total execution time (s): 0.189033
CPU 14 DPC count: 13738
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 15 Interrupt cycle time (s): 18.619923
CPU 15 ISR highest execution time (µs): 17.083217
CPU 15 ISR total execution time (s): 0.004463
CPU 15 ISR count: 1989
CPU 15 DPC highest execution time (µs): 223.805177
CPU 15 DPC total execution time (s): 0.481739
CPU 15 DPC count: 18054
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

xrobwx71 · May 17, 2020

Try performing a clean boot. Re-add each program one at a time. After each one test for a while and when you notice the spikes remove the culprit if you can.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Reubenno · May 17, 2020

xrobwx71 said:
Try performing a clean boot. Re-add each program one at a time. After each one test for a while and when you notice the spikes remove the culprit if you can.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/929135/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows

Thanks for your reply, but as I said in my initial post, I've already fresh installed Windows multiple times, and the issues still occur on those fresh installs.

xrobwx71 · May 18, 2020

Thanks for the info.

A fresh install and a clean boot troubleshooting action are two entirely diffrent things.

If you take a look at the instructions, it provides an explanation. The process of a clean boot as outlined in the instructions helps weed out a possible culprit by process of elimination.

xilolee · May 18, 2020

You can try occt, because you can set a limit for temperatures.
I didn't try that tool myself.

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Is my CPU's memory controller dying?

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