I've been working on this build of:
- ASRock AB350 PRO4
- Ryzen 3 2200G
- F4-2666C15D-8GVR (DDR4 2666 /PC4 21300) - 2x4GB in dual channel
The background:
I'll start by saying that the RAM isn't directly listed on the QVL, but this series of RAM is meant to be Ryzen compatible. I understand the solution may just be getting RAM on the QVL, but the selection is actually paltry at the size and speed I would like. I'm not sure if I have to adjust my expectations or there is something I'm missing.
I'll admit I'm a little confused about the supposed capabilities of memory with Ryzen as I can't really find a straight answer for current supported configurations. My understanding is the difference between the RAM I purchased and the one on the QVL is the D vs S.
The "D" is "dual rank" RAM and the "S" is "single rank". Of course the one I purchased is 2x4GB modules as well.
I've read some things which indicate that there are maximum speed considerations that the Ryzens can support when using various configurations of single vs dual rank AND also taking into consideration whether running in single or dual channel mode. Most of this info that I'm finding is from about a year ago and I don't know what is still current and what has changed.
The problem:
When doing a test load of either Windows 10 or 2016 Server on my system I initially had no issues (at least related to the questions at hand). Installed OS, loaded drivers, things looked good. I then got my M.2 PCIe SSD and began a new build there. At the same time I had changed the XMP profile in BIOS to 2666 because AUTO was detecting the RAM at 2133.
My initial load of Windows went fine. I then ran several passes with PassMark memtest at 2666 and everything came back aces.
When I went back into Windows to finish loading all drivers I kept having my screen black out whenever I loaded the AMD Ryzen display drivers. After messing around with some things I have definitively determined that this is due to running at 2666. If I go back down to AUTO or set the XMP to 2133 or 2400 it appears to run - and I can install the drivers.
At 2666 however as soon as Windows loads, I see the login screen for a second or two and then the screen goes black. As I can't seem to access the system remotely either it appears the whole thing is crashing (though a signal is still being sent to the display).
It's such a strange issue, but I'm no expert in the architecture of these chips and don't know why the system would run perfectly fine until these drivers were loaded simply due to the RAM speed. Especially when independent memory test show the RAM is stable at that speed.
The Solution?
The QVL for this motherboard is quite small, and I don't think the issue is necessarily that this RAM isn't listed, but rather I'm trying to do something that Ryzen just won't support? Specifically can I not run dual-rank RAM in dual-channel (2 DIMMs) and achieve 2666 speeds?
What is the best solution for the best performance in this system?
Ideally I'd like to have 8GB of 2666 RAM.
I also want to be able to upgrade this later to 16GB or maybe more.
I always thought running dual-channel was better for performance, but it seems that maybe I can't do this and achieve 2666?
So what is the best compromise?
- ASRock AB350 PRO4
- Ryzen 3 2200G
- F4-2666C15D-8GVR (DDR4 2666 /PC4 21300) - 2x4GB in dual channel
The background:
I'll start by saying that the RAM isn't directly listed on the QVL, but this series of RAM is meant to be Ryzen compatible. I understand the solution may just be getting RAM on the QVL, but the selection is actually paltry at the size and speed I would like. I'm not sure if I have to adjust my expectations or there is something I'm missing.
I'll admit I'm a little confused about the supposed capabilities of memory with Ryzen as I can't really find a straight answer for current supported configurations. My understanding is the difference between the RAM I purchased and the one on the QVL is the D vs S.
The "D" is "dual rank" RAM and the "S" is "single rank". Of course the one I purchased is 2x4GB modules as well.
I've read some things which indicate that there are maximum speed considerations that the Ryzens can support when using various configurations of single vs dual rank AND also taking into consideration whether running in single or dual channel mode. Most of this info that I'm finding is from about a year ago and I don't know what is still current and what has changed.
The problem:
When doing a test load of either Windows 10 or 2016 Server on my system I initially had no issues (at least related to the questions at hand). Installed OS, loaded drivers, things looked good. I then got my M.2 PCIe SSD and began a new build there. At the same time I had changed the XMP profile in BIOS to 2666 because AUTO was detecting the RAM at 2133.
My initial load of Windows went fine. I then ran several passes with PassMark memtest at 2666 and everything came back aces.
When I went back into Windows to finish loading all drivers I kept having my screen black out whenever I loaded the AMD Ryzen display drivers. After messing around with some things I have definitively determined that this is due to running at 2666. If I go back down to AUTO or set the XMP to 2133 or 2400 it appears to run - and I can install the drivers.
At 2666 however as soon as Windows loads, I see the login screen for a second or two and then the screen goes black. As I can't seem to access the system remotely either it appears the whole thing is crashing (though a signal is still being sent to the display).
It's such a strange issue, but I'm no expert in the architecture of these chips and don't know why the system would run perfectly fine until these drivers were loaded simply due to the RAM speed. Especially when independent memory test show the RAM is stable at that speed.
The Solution?
The QVL for this motherboard is quite small, and I don't think the issue is necessarily that this RAM isn't listed, but rather I'm trying to do something that Ryzen just won't support? Specifically can I not run dual-rank RAM in dual-channel (2 DIMMs) and achieve 2666 speeds?
What is the best solution for the best performance in this system?
Ideally I'd like to have 8GB of 2666 RAM.
I also want to be able to upgrade this later to 16GB or maybe more.
I always thought running dual-channel was better for performance, but it seems that maybe I can't do this and achieve 2666?
So what is the best compromise?
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