Question Can a bad cpu affect ram?

[Young_marc]

Hey guys recently built my own pc and I have an issue where my pc turns on (all fans working as intended) my motherboard lights up but my pc won’t post as well as the rgb on my ram won’t light up either, my theory is that it’s either my motherboard or cpu, at this point I’m leaning towards cpu any ideas? Here’s the link to what parts I’m using https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PRfYrV

 

[Jason H.]

Hey guys recently built my own pc and I have an issue where my pc turns on (all fans working as intended) my motherboard lights up but my pc won’t post as well as the rgb on my ram won’t light up either, my theory is that it’s either my motherboard or cpu, at this point I’m leaning towards cpu any ideas? Here’s the link to what parts I’m using https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PRfYrV

Hey btw, Nice build bro.

To answer you question. Of course a bad CPU thats not working properly can make RAM not work properly. But the more important question is, is, is it the RAM?

You more likely to have a RAM issue than a CPU issue, at least in my experience. Have you possibly tried each ram stick by itself to try and single out the issue? Have you ran a Memcheck?

And even more importantly, I could dig but I dont have much time atm, does your MB support 3600mhz ram? Im sure it does but just asking.

Do you possibly have a different set of mem sticks to test? If not can u test your current mem sticks in another rig?

 

[Young_marc]

Hey btw, Nice build bro.

To answer you question. Of course a bad CPU thats not working properly can make RAM not work properly. But the more important question is, is, is it the RAM?

You more likely to have a RAM issue than a CPU issue, at least in my experience. Have you possibly tried each ram stick by itself to try and single out the issue? Have you ran a Memcheck?

And even more importantly, I could dig but I dont have much time atm, does your MB support 3600mhz ram? Im sure it does but just asking.

Do you possibly have a different set of mem sticks to test? If not can u test your current mem sticks in another rig?

Checked the ram on a completely different system and it’s working as intended so that’s why my theory would be the processor

 

[Young_marc]

Checked the ram on a completely different system and it’s working as intended so that’s why my theory would be the processor

But I’m also afraid that it could be the motherboard but since it lights up and all other parts are working as intended (fans spinning) and the pc boots just won’t post on my monitor my guess it’s the processor just want to make sure before removing the aio and checking for bent pins (worst case scenario)

 

[Jason H.]

Checked the ram on a completely different system and it’s working as intended so that’s why my theory would be the processor

Have you ran a memcheck on your memory in your current build? The error codes that it could spit out could help us diagnose a problem. Just before we think about making it a cpu issue.

also are you able to get into bios?

 

[Young_marc]

Have you ran a memcheck on your memory in your current build? The error codes that it could spit out could help us diagnose a problem. Just before we think about making it a cpu issue.

also are you able to get into bios?

Nope it won’t post at all, I’ve double checked all other parts on a separate build but it’s intel so the only items I’m unable to check are the motherboard and the cpu, the mb does have an error code and it’s 10

 

[Young_marc]

Nope it won’t post at all, I’ve double checked all other parts on a separate build but it’s intel so the only items I’m unable to check are the motherboard and the cpu, the mb does have an error code and it’s 10

Just found the error code in the manual stands for PEI_CORE_STARTED

 

[Ketchup79]

Yes, try with one memory stick. Make sure you memory is in the correct slots, per what your CPU requires, detailed in your manual. Make sure the AUX 12V connectors are connected. Make sure your CPU fan connector is plugged into the correct location. What are your non-working lights plugged into?

 

[Young_marc]

Yes, try with one memory stick. Make sure you memory is in the correct slots, per what your CPU requires, detailed in your manual. Make sure the AUX 12V connectors are connected. Make sure your CPU fan connector is plugged into the correct location. What are your non-working lights plugged into?

They’re plugged into a fan controller that comes with the case it’s like the fan lights but they do spin the other rgb I have is on ram I’ll test it one ram at a time before determining it if it’s my cpu or board

 

[dstln]

Yes, if any CPU pins are bent or otherwise have issues, they can certainly impact the memory

 

[Ketchup79]

Unplug anything that does't HAVE to be plugged in - so all fans except CPU fan, all but one stick of RAM, all USB connectors, and audio connectors - and see if that change anything.

 

[Young_marc]

Quick update, checked CPU no bent pins tried it in a friends amd build and it works just fine, contacted ASRock about the motherboard having faulty dimm slots waiting on their response to rma

 

[dstln]

Sounds good, best of luck!

 

[Karadjgne]

Memory Speed

DDR4-2133
DDR4-2400
DDR4-2666
DDR4-2933
DDR4-3200
DDR4-3466
DDR4-4133
DDR4-4200
DDR4-4266
DDR4-4300
DDR4-4400
DDR4-4666

That's what your mobo officially supports. 3600/3733MHz are not listed.

The reality is that there are a lot of sub-timings that most people, including enthusiasts ignore. It's one thing to build a piece of hardware to match certain specs but things get messy when software or firmware of any kind is involved. In this case, memory modules have a BIOS of sorts onboard called an SPD EEPROM. The SPD is a feature called "Serial Presence Detect." This has code on it that the BIOS / UEFI reads to determine how to set those values in the UEFI so that the system can use them correctly. Issues can arise from SPD implementation. The SPD also stores EPP and XMP data in addition to the JEDEC approved SPD timing tables. Compatibility problems can arise when the motherboard doesn't detect the SPD timings or XMP timings correctly. This is more common than you think. Motherboard manufacturers may elect to read timings and use a different value anyway. This is either due to an error in the UEFI code, the SPD lookup tables or a conscious decision by the motherboard manufacturer to set memory values a certain way.

Simply put, 3600 may or may not work since SPD may or may not be read correctly. Resulting in no post. It's not a fault, nothing is broken, it's just maybe not compatible. Only ASRock can say for sure, guaranteed, that 3600 will work or not. Get that in writing.

Edit: according to ASRock, that board does indeed support 3600(OC), 3733(OC), so that's good, but the quote still applies, it might just be because the Neo is very new and SPD isn't being read correctly, might take a bios update to fix.

 

[Young_marc]

Memory Speed

DDR4-2133
DDR4-2400
DDR4-2666
DDR4-2933
DDR4-3200
DDR4-3466
DDR4-4133
DDR4-4200
DDR4-4266
DDR4-4300
DDR4-4400
DDR4-4666

That's what your mobo officially supports. 3600/3733MHz are not listed.



Simply put, 3600 may or may not work since SPD may or may not be read correctly. Resulting in no post. It's not a fault, nothing is broken, it's just maybe not compatible. Only ASRock can say for sure, guaranteed, that 3600 will work or not. Get that in writing.

Edit: according to ASRock, that board does indeed support 3600(OC), 3733(OC), so that's good, but the quote still applies, it might just be because the Neo is very new and SPD isn't being read correctly, might take a bios update to fix.

I used a ram kit of 3200 and it still wouldn’t post with a different ram kit

 

[InvalidError]

That's what your mobo officially supports. 3600/3733MHz are not listed.

If the board is listed as supporting faster speeds, any lower speeds are pretty much always implied - if the traces meet the more stringent signal integrity requirements for 4400+MT/s, it is nearly inconceivable that they wouldn't meet requirements for lower speeds. Listing every possible multiplier and base clock within "supported" range would just waste too much space to list every possible speed, so a whole bunch get omitted. Should just say "Up to XXXXMT/s" instead.

And even among those "officially" supported speeds, they are only guaranteed to be attainable using the exact DIMMs listed in the QVL for that particular speed or faster. Anything else is YMMV.

 

[Karadjgne]

Should just say "Up to XXXXMT/s" instead.

Hoo-rah!
But that would be boring. And since when do vendors do anything simplistic and easy to understand and makes sense? My mobo has a TPU header for an additional card that's used by a handful of specialized government departments. On a top line gaming mobo? And you know as well as I that there are buyers easily impressed by big numbers. Could just as easily say supports default 2133, 2400, 2666 and (OC) 2933-4666 but that wouldn't occupy enough lines. 😊

But 3200MHz didn't work either, so there's an issue somewhere, and I'm betting it's bios related.

 

[Giannis_Mag]

Definitely a Motherboard problem. The ram speed shouldnt be a problem, since amd chipsets run ram at low speed(usually 2133) and it can be set to its normal speed (3200mhz in your case¿?) by turning XMP profile on. Asrock knows the problem better, good you reported it to them.

 

[InvalidError]

But 3200MHz didn't work either, so there's an issue somewhere, and I'm betting it's bios related.

An updated BIOS on Ryzen has always been a must for better memory compatibility, so a BIOS update could certainly be helpful.

Memory speed shouldn't be an issue out-of-the-box though since the BIOS should be using the default SPD profile ("safe default" for maximum compatibility) after CMOS reset until you get into BIOS to either pick an XMP profile or set manual clock and timings.

Since DDR4 DIMM slots can be surprisingly stiff the first few times DIMMs are inserted (the first time I installed DDR4, I removed the motherboard from the case because the amount of force required made me uncomfortable and I also wanted to make sure I didn't miss something else), my first thought is that perhaps OP didn't fully insert them in his new board.