High-end PC: RAM not working

So, about nine months ago, I went all out and built myself this high-end rig with an 8700k, a 1080ti, and 16GB of G.Skill RAM, and honestly, it was running like a dream until last week when I accidentally tapped my desk a little too hard with my sleeve—which, let’s be real, totally killed my vibe—and the whole thing just froze up on me. It shut down once after that, but when I tried to reboot, it wouldn't even start, throwing this "CC" error on the motherboard (it's an ASUS ROG Maximus Hero), and after some digging online, I read that it might mean the Noctua air cooler wasn't sitting quite flush against the CPU. I spent some time reseating everything and now it actually boots up and stays cool while gaming, but the second I try to pop that second stick of RAM back in, that annoying CC error pops right back up. I'm currently limping along with just 8GB, but I'm low-key terrified that there's some massive hardware failure brewing under the hood. My cooler is an R1 Cryorig air setup.

fadedviper26 said:So, about nine months ago, I went all out and built myself this high-end rig with an 8700k, a 1080ti, and 16GB of G.Skill RAM, and honestly, it was running like a dream until last week when I accidentally tapped my desk a little too hard with my sleeve—which, let’s be real, totally killed my vibe—and the whole thing just froze up on me. It shut down once after that, but when I tried to reboot, it wouldn't even start, throwing this "CC" error on the motherboard (it's an ASUS ROG Maximus Hero), and after some digging online, I read that it might mean the Noctua air cooler wasn't sitting quite flush against the CPU. I spent some time reseating everything and now it actually boots up and stays cool while gaming, but the second I try to pop that second stick of RAM back in, that annoying CC error pops right back up. I'm currently limping along with just 8GB, but I'm low-key terrified that there's some massive hardware failure brewing under the hood. My cooler is an R1 Cryorig air setup.

I pretty much stripped the entire build down and did a deep dive to make sure nothing was bent on the CPU socket—no bent pins, though I did find some dust bunnies I had to blow out. When I popped both sticks of RAM back in, the PC actually booted up and seems to be working fine for now.

See? I told you I could handle it myself.

I have to admit, I couldn't help but chuckle when I came across that bit about your lackluster punch against the table.