Quick RAM test (5 min or less)

I will be swapping 2x4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM for a single 8GB stick (secondhand) at a PC repair shop. What's a quick RAM test (finishes within 5 minutes) that I can run in-store to rule out any obvious faults? All the mem tests I've seen, while thorough, take hours to complete.

 

Memtest86+ for five minutes is better than nothing; burn to ISO and boot. I've been using it for years and have RMA'd over a dozen sets of memory due to errors uncovered while running that program. Makes for irrefutable reasoning on the RMA form too.
My experience is that if the stick is obviously bad, errors will show up very quickly - within the five minute window you have. I had a set so bad one time that errors showed within seconds.

That said there's no truly quick way to test memory. Memtest86+ for 24 hours is my standard. It's about impossible to fully test all the different combinations - in one lifetime, anyway.

P.S. I've had far better success with computer maker-supplied memory than stuff from aftermarket brands like Corsair or Crucial. I've yet to have manufacturer-supplied memory show errors which is why I pay a little extra from the factory to have it installed there.

 

Yeah. And I can tell you from experience that if you have very weird issues like stuff crashing or BSODs etc, one of the FIRST things you should do is actually let memtest complete all its runs. I had a friend with:
i7-3820
2 x GTX 680
couple SSDs and HDDs
ASUS Rampage IV
1000W PSU

and he kept getting a whole set of errors all over, and he couldn't figure out the issue. We told him try memtest and see, and he let it complete the first test and then would turn it off. Long story short, we ended up replacing the ENTIRE system with all new parts:
4930K
1200W EVGA Supernova PSU
2 x 780Ti
all new SSDs and HDDs
EVGA motherboard (can't remember which one)

Only to find out that when we told him to make sure memtest completed its checks, around test 8 the whole thing lit up with errors like crazy. He didn't need to get a new system at all.

TL;DR unexplainable crashes/errors? Check RAM properly first. It'll take ages, but it's the only way to be sure.

 

Memtest86 is very old.
Run "Memtest hci-design", one instance for every core of your cpu and you will see the difference.
Till Corsair and other manafacturer use it.
Regards

 

Best to test RAM in a pre-Windows environment at boot so Memtest86+ is the way to go

 

I dont want to be rude, but have you ever try?

This software seek and find errors in max 15minutes where memtest86+ take a whole night.

If you ask for speed and reliability test there isn't better software (plus when I had to test a system with 32GB or more of ram (year 2009), memtest86 was not compatible and reliable, developer's words, and take about 6months starting from version 4.0 to work with these type of systems.

Regards

 

No offense taken. I want to isolate RAM from Windows software environment and test hardware only, hence Memtest86+ at boot. As stated by others, longer duration is better/more thorough as far as mem tests go.

 

Lol I dont even

 

Exactly. Test hardware and remove Windows from the equation. I don't know that there is anything that can be that thorough and accurately assess RAM in five minutes. But even if you run it for five minutes or so and it passes, when you get home let it run the full gamut and head right back if it doesn't. 8GB shouldn't take more than an hour to complete one round of all the tests. By default it will loop indefinitely.

 

If it's revealed to be faulty after more extensive at-home testing, I can't take it back because the swap is a done deal. So a bit of a gamble. But most RAM have lifetime warranty regardless of ownership so I should be able to RMA it.

 

Is that friend of yours also a Trinidadian? If so he probably has the most powerful PC in the country, and is likely at least partly responsible for some of the blackouts you've mentioned.

 

octiceps, use Prime95. For me, it revealed a faulty memory module within couple minutes , while memtest didn't discover any errors running whole night.

 

He is Trinidadian, but he was in Canada working for Microsoft when his problems started (and when he bought that new PC). He also has a M17x R4, the lucky bastard.

 

@Starlight5 - how do you know if it was ram after running prime95?

 

You don't. You write CPU, CPU cache, and RAM on Popsicle sticks and draw one from a jar.

 

HTWingNut, RAM was the upgraded component, and I still had my older modules to re-check.

However, now that I remember the situation better, it was not faulty, but high-density RAM, unstable in my notebook. Anyway, night of memtest (the one that runs pre-boot) revealed nothing. If I ran Prime95 instead of half-an-hour memtest when purchasing from seller who later refused to accept return, I would avoid wasting my time on it. Thankfully, I managed to resell at same price, after testing it in buyer's machine.