Question Can i set my ram speed higher than its actual speed?

[troyer1234567]

Hi
my spec:
mb: Asus b450m-a
ram: Adata 8gb 2666 MHz
cpu: Ryzen 3400g
gpu: none

i can set my ram speed to 3000 MHz in BIOS (or even higher, i haven't tested yet) and it's stable and when i open task manager in windows 11 it shows that my ram speed is 3000MHz , it's stable and ok but i don't know if it's real or just a number! because there is no D.O.C.P profile in my bios for my current RAM and also i don't change anything but ram freq (other settings are on auto, i don't know what voltage or timing i should choose so i don't change them)
so do you guys think it is really working at 3000 MHz freq? or it's just showing a number?

 

[SkyNetRising]

so do you guys think it is really working at 3000 MHz freq? or it's just showing a number?

Check with CPU-Z.
Task Manager is known to show inaccurate readings.

 

[MatthewSterling]

Download CPU-Z, go under the Memory tab and multiply the DRAM frequency by 2 (because you have DDR - Double Data Rate). That'll show you at what speed your memory is actually running at.

Why you might not see a DOCP option though is that the memory itself might not have any DOCP profiles.

Also, if you want to tune the timings, there are great guides on youtube. Leaving it on auto shouldn't be a problem though.

Next, if the ram is stable at that speed, leave the voltage as it is (of course, run tests on memory like MemTest, don't just think it's stable because Windows works).
If not, increase the voltage by about .050 until it's stable (but don't go over 1.400, if the memory isn't stable until then consider lowering the frequency)

 

[Bob.B]

Hi
my spec:
mb: Asus b450m-a
ram: Adata 8gb 2666 MHz
cpu: Ryzen 3400g
gpu: none

i can set my ram speed to 3000 MHz in BIOS (or even higher, i haven't tested yet) and it's stable and when i open task manager in windows 11 it shows that my ram speed is 3000MHz , it's stable and ok but i don't know if it's real or just a number! because there is no D.O.C.P profile in my bios for my current RAM and also i don't change anything but ram freq (other settings are on auto, i don't know what voltage or timing i should choose so i don't change them)
so do you guys think it is really working at 3000 MHz freq? or it's just showing a number?

Set it at 2666 and run a ram speed test then set it to 3000 and run a ram speed test.

 

[troyer1234567]

Check with CPU-Z.
Task Manager is known to show inaccurate readings.

Download CPU-Z, go under the Memory tab and multiply the DRAM frequency by 2 (because you have DDR - Double Data Rate). That'll show you at what speed your memory is actually running at.

Why you might not see a DOCP option though is that the memory itself might not have any DOCP profiles.

Also, if you want to tune the timings, there are great guides on youtube. Leaving it on auto shouldn't be a problem though.

Next, if the ram is stable at that speed, leave the voltage as it is (of course, run tests on memory like MemTest, don't just think it's stable because Windows works).
If not, increase the voltage by about .050 until it's stable (but don't go over 1.400, if the memory isn't stable until then consider lowering the frequency)

i just set it to 3000 MHz in bios, bios and task manager and cpu-z , they all say it is running at 3000MHz speed, but is it? how? the ram is 8gb 2666 MHz , is it possible?
look at these photos:

 

[MatthewSterling]

i just set it to 3000 MHz in bios, bios and task manager and cpu-z , they all say it is running at 3000MHz speed, but is it? how? the ram is 8gb 2666 MHz , is it possible?
look at these photos:

See how it says DRAM Frequency: 1500.0MHz?

Multiply it by 2 because it's DDR and you have 3000.0MHz. That's the frequency of your memory.

 

[MatthewSterling]

i just set it to 3000 MHz in bios, bios and task manager and cpu-z , they all say it is running at 3000MHz speed, but is it? how? the ram is 8gb 2666 MHz , is it possible?
look at these photos:

And yes, if you set it to 3000MHz in the BIOS, it will run at that speed. You can set it to 8000MHz, but it won't POST. But it works at 3000MHz.
You can try going higher, until it isn't stable.
Choose 3333MHz, if it's an option (otherwise the one after 3000MHz) and run tests to see if it's stable

 

[DSzymborski]

RAM doesn't have a set speed (at least in this context). It has a speed, based on binning, that the seller has tested it at and is comfortable advertising for that.

2666 MHz RAM isn't a different thing than 3000 MHz RAM. It's just that the seller believes the 3000 MHz RAM is slightly less defective than the 2666 MHz, thus they can justify the higher rating for it.

 

[troyer1234567]

RAM doesn't have a set speed (at least in this context). It has a speed, based on binning, that the seller has tested it at and is comfortable advertising for that.

2666 MHz RAM isn't a different thing than 3000 MHz RAM. It's just that the seller believes the 3000 MHz RAM is slightly less defective than the 2666 MHz, thus they can justify the higher rating for it.

so should i change it back to 2666 even if it is stable at 3000 MHz? cuz the seller company believes it works better at 2666 MHz

 

[troyer1234567]

And yes, if you set it to 3000MHz in the BIOS, it will run at that speed. You can set it to 8000MHz, but it won't POST. But it works at 3000MHz.
You can try going higher, until it isn't stable.
Choose 3333MHz, if it's an option (otherwise the one after 3000MHz) and run tests to see if it's stable

my APU is Ryzen 3600G and the best ram freq for that, is 3000 MHz , i think i should stick to it if it's stable and not go further.
btw my mb supports up to 4600MHz i guess but my cpu doesn't support more than 3000 Mhz so it's useless right now if i set to anything more than that

 

[MatthewSterling]

my APU is Ryzen 3600G and the best ram freq for that, is 3000 MHz , i think i should stick to it if it's stable and not go further.
btw my mb supports up to 4600MHz i guess but my cpu doesn't support more than 3000 Mhz so it's useless right now if i set to anything more than that

The only limit is the motherboard's limit - 4600MHz.

Your CPU supports up to 3000MHz, but that doesn't mean the memory won't work if it's set to run at i.e. 3200MHz. You can achieve that by also overclocking your CPU and consequently the memory controller, which is built-in the CPU.

If you don't plan on overclocking your CPU and it natively supports up to 3000MHz memory speed + your motherboard supports up to 4600MHz, you can set the memory to run at 3000MHz (unless it's proven to be unstable after tweaking every setting, at which point you should revert to a bit s
lower frequency).

 

[DSzymborski]

You can overclock it to 3000 MHz if you'd like. Companies can't be too aggressive at binning or they end up losing money in returns/RMA/reputation. But you have to test it for stability, using something like Memtest86, and let it run overnight.

 

[troyer1234567]

You can overclock it to 3000 MHz if you'd like. Companies can't be too aggressive at binning or they end up losing money in returns/RMA/reputation. But you have to test it for stability, using something like Memtest86, and let it run overnight.

just tested my ram with Memtest86 9.3 Pro and it didn't find any error
what do u think? should i leave it at 3000 MHz?

 

[MatthewSterling]

just tested my ram with Memtest86 9.3 Pro and it didn't find any error
what do u think? should i leave it at 3000 MHz?

Yes. If it's stable at 3000MHz, there's nothing to lose. You might even gain a noticeable performance improvement, especially with a Ryzen CPU.

 

[DSzymborski]

just tested my ram with Memtest86 9.3 Pro and it didn't find any error
what do u think? should i leave it at 3000 MHz?

And how long did you test this? There isn't even enough time from when the thread started to the most recent post to have tested the RAM properly.

 

[kanewolf]

And how long did you test this? There isn't even enough time from when the thread started to the most recent post to have tested the RAM properly.

Yes, MEMTEST requires 4 to 6 hours for a legitimate test. Overnight is even better.

 

[troyer1234567]

And how long did you test this? There isn't even enough time from when the thread started to the most recent post to have tested the RAM properly.

Yes, MEMTEST requires 4 to 6 hours for a legitimate test. Overnight is even better.

hi, i downloaded memtest86 pro, did 4 passes , all 4 passes finished without any problem and then it showed me a green message (i guess it was this): " Pass Completed , Press Esc For Summary"
i think the test took 2 hours to complete.

2 questions:
A. should i do more passes with Memtest86?
B. i tried to set my ram freq to 3200 but didn't boot up and i had to change it back to 3000 MHz . My ram stick is a simple 8gb adata ram (not gaming or rgb or etc.), doesn't this overclock hurt my ram or cpu or mb?

( @MatthewSterling you seem to know answer to my questions, if u do please answer me, thank u)