I’m troubleshooting a RAM slot issue and trying to figure out if my CPU might be the problem. My build is Intel i9-12900K, ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-PLUS WiFi D4 motherboard, 4×16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4-3600, and an RTX 3090 FE. Originally I had an ASUS ROG Strix Z690 motherboard, but it ended up having two bent socket pins, so I replaced it with an ASUS B760 board. I still had the same RAM issue, so I just switched again to the Z690 TUF board. Right now the PC boots and works fine with one stick in the B2 slot (white LED and normal POST), but if I put any RAM stick in A2 (either alone or together with B2) the motherboard starts a red → orange debug light cycle and never posts. I’ve updated BIOS, cleared CMOS, and tested multiple sticks individually. Since the exact same behavior happened across multiple boards, I’m wondering if the 12900K memory controller or CPU/socket contact could be disabling the A memory channel. Has anyone seen this happen before?

Surely can’t be a brand new MB twice, and new ram sticks? They all work just fine. Gpu works just fine, psu is new 1000 watt. Aio cooler new. M.2 slot for memory. My 12900k is the only thing I feel like that can be causing this issue. I’ve tried changing ram frequency, default setting, xmp ON. I’ve tried everything I think I can think of. Made sure the pressure points on the aio to the cpu was good. Idk I need help :(

Ram stick slots failing