What can cause the IMC Test to fail on the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool?

[Delcarto]

I've been experiencing lags, momentary freezes and choppy video on some of the simplest games. So I tried everything I know how to do in order figure this out.

I have ran SFC, Disk Check, DISM commands, Memtest, updated all drivers and probably as few things I forgot. Then I did a reinstall of Win 10. This all lead me to the IPDT (vers 64bit 4.1.4.36) test tool. Well everything passes except the IMC test.

The log says this about the failed test:

Test 1 Ones and Zeros Moving Inversions verification operations - Fail.

--- Memory Stress Test Fail ---

I'm not sure how to proceed or what to do (if anything). Suggestions are more than welcomed. Here are some of the specs on my PC:

HP Envy Phoenix 860-014.

Windows 10 Home Version 1909.

Processor - Intel Core i7 6700.

Mother board is: Thimphu (HP 2B4B).

The chipset is: Z170.

I have 32GB of DDR4-2133.

My GPU is: EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 KO Ultra.

Sound is on board.

Hard drives:

1 - Crucial MX500 1TB SSD

1 - Seagate 2TB 7200 RPM

Also have a couple external drives as well.

Let me know if you need anything else to help sort this out.

Thank you for reading and helping,

Del.

[n_scott_pearson]

This could be a memory problem. Run something like MemTest86 or MemTest86+ and see when it reports.

...S

[Delcarto]

Hello n.scott. Thanks for replying. I will run that overnight tonight. I assume this takes a long time to get a complete result. I think I avoided this one because it is labeled 86 rather than 64. My bad for assuming that it wouldn't run on a 64 bit system.

I ran the Windows MemTest after a restart and it passed. Then I ran another one within Windows 10 called MemTest64. That one wouldn't complete. It kept crashing my PC and also freezing up itself.

I'll post back tomorrow about the results of MemTest86+.

Del.

[n_scott_pearson]

There's also a MemTest32, just to make things even more confusing.

I like MemTest86+ because I can boot it standalone and it starts right up.

...S

[Delcarto]

Ok. I ran the MemTest86+ for nearly 7 hours. It came back with no errors.

I couldn't find a way to print or copy a results report though.

Let me know what you think I should try next.

By the way, the memory in my PC is all new in the last month or two.

The original config for this PC had 12GB. (1) 4GB stick and (1) 8GBG stick.

I thought that was an odd setup and might be problematic. So I replaced them with 4 sticks of 8GB for a total of 32GB.

I'll be in and out today so I'll be doing the same on here.

Del.

Also, about the memory I replaced, not only were they different sizes but different manufacturers as well.

[Delcarto]

Alrighty then. I guess no one has any ideas on this.

[AdrianM_Intel]

Hello Delcarto,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities.  

IMC stands for Integrated Memory Controller a failure of this feature could indicate you might need a replacement of the processor.

Please check the following:

1- Make sure that your processor is fully supported by this Tool with the following link: Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool (Your processor is compatible)

2- Verify that your memory is fully compatible and the frequencies are the right ones for your system. (You have tested 2 different modules and also run memtest86 with no errors so we can say memory works fine.)

3- Make sure that BIOS settings are to date or set to the default ones and then run the test again. (You might test this option).

In case this does not work, I will recommend you to contact HP support so you can check your warranty options for the processor or the whole system.

Regards,

Adrian M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Delcarto]

Hi Adrian. Thanks for replying. I did indeed set my BIOS to default settings during all this. Then I think I also enabled hyper-threading to see if it helped.

This PC is about 4 years old so there is no warranty left to check.

I still have a few questions for you though.

How can I be sure that its the processor that's failing?

Is the IPDT program enough to make a final diagnosis on my processor?

Are there any other diagnostic tools that I could use to make certain that it's the processor failing?

Finally, is it worth buying a new one or should I consider a new Motherboard, CPU and memory? (or a new PC)

I hate to give up on this because the remaining options are all costly.

Anyway, let me know what you think. Kind of at crossroad here.

Del.

[AdrianM_Intel]

Hello Delcarto,

Thank you for your response.

Based on the result of the IPDT tool we can say that IMC is failing and also taking into consideration that you are experiencing lags, momentary freezes, and choppy video so the issue points to the processor since you have tested different memories and the motherboard seems to works fine. The memory controller (IMC) is a digital circuit that manages the flow of data going to and from the computer's main memory which can be placed on the same die or as an integral part of a microprocessor. 

Actually, IPDT is our tool so we can trust on that result, if you want to test a third-party tool you might check with HP for recommended diagnostic tools for your system or you might diagnose your system with an authorized repair shop that you know if you want a second opinion so they can test the components separately but the result points to an issue with IMC.

I would have recommended you contact your local support to look for warranty options, however, based on the fact that your system is an HP, this means that your processor is a tray one so the warranty is covered by the OEM or place of purchase.

Here you can check the differences between the tray and the boxed processor.

Intel® Boxed and Tray Processor Warranty Policy

Regards,

Adrian M.

Intel Customer Support Technician