I recently purchased a new PC setup, and setting it up it appeared to be defective.
So I went back to the shop I bought it from and they took the entire setup to see what was/is wrong.

I've just gotten a reply from them that the RAM isn't compatible with the motherboard.

Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming K4, socket 1151
RAM modules (2x8GB): Crucial 16 GB DDR4-2400 Kit (BLS2C8G4D240FSA)

As far as I can tell, they are compatible. I was afraid this might happen, so I researched it a bit before purchasing already.

1. I tried www.pcpartpicker.com; no issues found.
2. The shop I purchased it from has their own ''PC Builder" - No notification that something wasn't compatible.
3. I checked the ASROCK website, and it also states that my RAM is compatible with my motherboard. (http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Fatal1ty%20Z170%20Gaming%20K4/?cat=Memory)

Am I missing something here? Any comments are appreciated.

PS; This isn't a rant against the shop I purchased it from - I would simply like to know if I missed something.

should be fine.. what did they actually do, just say the ram won't work and then send you on your way?

I would say it is more possible that you got a bad stick of ram.

I gave them my entire setup, they replied (..after my holiday - so no more 24/7 game time ) saying something along the lines of (translated it from my native language);

Why not go into the shop and ask them to show you in person what they did, to prove to you it is the ram. Swapping and testing ram takes only a couple minutes between swaps so it wouldn't take them long.

did they try a different type of ram then to see if that worked? seems kind of half assed if they didn't... lol
it could be the motherboard?

also I have had issues with ram in one build causing it to blue screen.. then swapping that ram with the ram of another computer and then both have worked fine since...that was probably 1.5 years ago.

This post was edited by ghc on Jan 14 2016 02:13pm

When I first called to check with them what I should do about the issue; they were very helpful saying they'd take a look in the store and sort it there if it was an easy issue.
But when I arrived there, the mentality wasn't like that at all, they insisted on taking the entire setup instead of checking it right there on the spot. Which turns out; is really sad if it really is just a compatibility issue. (because they could have seen that if they checked for more than 10 seconds)

However; I might demand that they show me it works when I go there to pick the setup up.
I've had an issue with a previous setup quite like this one where I said I had a suspicions about it being the motherboard, but they insisted it was the RAM modules, they replaced them, and in the end it was the motherboard that was defective.



Yes - they said "we tried other RAM modules with the same specs; just a different brand/producer, and it worked"

if that underlined part is correct then it definitely isn't a compatability issue and it sounds like you have bad ram.
try with just 1 stick of ram at a time and see if you have issues.

I can't. I don't have the setup, the store has it; to fix it.
Although before I brought it to the store, I tried one module(stick) at a time, didn't solve the issue.

It's not a defective RAM module, they said they tried my RAM modules, in another motherboard and it worked fine.


However, I haven't seen this with my own eyes - so who knows.
I suppose I'll have to wait until I can go pick it up. Their store is about a two hour drive, so can't just pop in and out.

Thank you for your replies

yeah definitely demand they show you what the did in person, especially if you bought the stuff there and they assembled it for you. If you bought the stuff from them and there's a compatibility issue they should allow a refund to something that does work.

Assuming the RAM was good, then they probably just didn't set the manufacture's recommended frequency, timing and voltage...manually in the BIOS.

But without knowing more it's difficult to say. What made YOU think the RAM was incompatible? What happened when you turned the computer on for the first time, where there any messages?