[SOLVED] 3000 MHz RAM is running at 2133 MHz on i5-9600K

[rajeshja]

Hi,

I am using 2 independently purchased Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3000MHz C16 sticks (black) in an Asus Prime B360M-A motherboard, with an i5 9600K CPU.
The motherboard specs say is supports memory speeds up to 2666MHz with CPUs containing 6 cores. The i5 9600K has 6 cores and also says it supports 2666MHz RAM.

However, my RAM seems to be running at 2133 MHz instead. CPU-Z reports DRAM frequency as approximately 1064 MHz.

I see an option on my motherboard to use an XMP profile to increase speeds to 3000MHz. However, I'd like to understand why the motherboard wouldn't use 2666 MHz by default.

Also, is XMP going to run my RAM at higher temperatures? Is it safe? I don't intend to overclock until I have a specific use for it.

 

[rgd1101]

because the default is 2133

 

[TJ Hooker]

If there is no memory profile for 2666 MHz, you'll probably have to set it yourself.

 

[rajeshja]

If there is no memory profile for 2666 MHz, you'll probably have to set it yourself.

Is there any reason to not overclock to 2666MHz? Will the life of my RAM increase if I run it at the default 2133?

 

[rgd1101]

go to bios and see if there is already a profile for 2666

 

[TJ Hooker]

Is there any reason to not overclock to 2666MHz? Will the life of my RAM increase if I run it at the default 2133?

No, there's no harm in running it at 2666 MHz.

 

[rajeshja]

go to bios and see if there is already a profile for 2666

There isn't. There's just one Profile - Profile#1 and that says 3000MHz.

 

[rajeshja]

In the ASUS BIOS, there is an Ai Tweaker, that simply has a dropdown for DRAM Frequency. Is changing that to 2666 MHz sufficient? Or should I create an XMP profile?

And could someone point me at steps to follow for choosing XMP settings?

 

[C0v3r]

ddr4 ram is always default at 2133 you can oc it up to whatever it says its recommended is in the settings you dont even need xmp like i dont use xmp because like u i dont have a 3466 set in xmp settings and the 3600 crashes my pc for whatever reason.

 

[TJ Hooker]

In the ASUS BIOS, there is an Ai Tweaker, that simply has a dropdown for DRAM Frequency. Is changing that to 2666 MHz sufficient?

Just setting the frequency, voltage, and primary timings to whatever are listed in the specs for your RAM should be fine.

 

[rajeshja]

Just setting the frequency, voltage, and primary timings to whatever are listed in the specs for your RAM should be fine.

Thanks, I found those specs for my RAM. But they're for 3000MHz. Do I need a different voltage or timings for 2666MHz?

Also, is there a way to get the full 3000MHz on my setup?

 

[TJ Hooker]

AFAIK there is no way to run it faster than 2666.

2666 is slower, and thus easier to run, than 3000 so whatever voltage/timings it's specced to run at for 3000 should have no problem working at 2666. You could potentially even run at better (lower) timings and/or voltage, but I think the best and easiest option is to just use the same values.

 

[rgd1101]

try this
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/ryzen-dram-calculator/

 

[TJ Hooker]

Idk, that tool says it's tailored for Ryzen CPUs, not sure how useful it is for Intel systems.

 

[rajeshja]

Thanks, guys. My RAM is now running at 2666 MHz.

I went into the Ai Tweaker configuration in Asus's BIOS, changed Ai Overclock Tuner from Auto to XMP, set the DRAM frequency to DDR4-2666, validated that the timings and the voltage were correctly picked up from the XMP profile, saved settings and rebooted. That's it.

I also did one pass of all of the MemTest86 tests. Zero errors.

Looks like I'm good to go.