[SOLVED] Can i use 3200mhz RAM if CPU or Motherboard can't support such high speed ?

[worstalentscout]

hi,

so with 3200mhz and 2666mhz RAM selling for the same price........can i just put in a 3200mhz RAM (without modifying BIOS or anything) and use it ?

or will the RAM not work at all ?

the CPU i'm planning to get only goes up to 2933mhz..........i don't mind the lower speed since i don't play games at all........

 

[Lutfij]

Model for the processor? Make and model of your motherboard? If the chipset and processor will not allow you to work with higher frequency rams, the ram sill de downgraded to a frequency that both the chipset and the processor's memory controller want.

 

[worstalentscout]

Model for the processor? Make and model of your motherboard? If the chipset and processor will not allow you to work with higher frequency rams, the ram sill de downgraded to a frequency that both the chipset and the processor's memory controller want.

many thanks for the quick reply......

the CPU will be a Ryzen 3 3200g.......the motherboard will be ASRock B450m Pro4 R2.0 .......cheapo stuff

 

[worstalentscout]

Model for the processor? Make and model of your motherboard? If the chipset and processor will not allow you to work with higher frequency rams, the ram sill de downgraded to a frequency that both the chipset and the processor's memory controller want.

so just to confirm, i can still use a faster RAM without making any fancy changes ?......it will run at the CPU or motherboard's default speed ?

 

[bfollett]

Official AMD support for the Ryzen 3 3200g is 2993 but almost all will have no problem running with 3200Mhz or higher ram, they usually top out between 3400 - 3600Mhz but I've seen some users posts even higher. I would go for the 3200, although, you will likely have to go into the bios to enable XMP (DOCP) to load the high speed settings for what ever ram you decide on or it will probably just default to 2133Mhz.

 

[worstalentscout]

Official AMD support for the Ryzen 3 3200g is 2993 but almost all will have no problem running with 3200Mhz or higher ram, they usually top out between 3400 - 3600Mhz but I've seen some users posts even higher. I would go for the 3200, although, you will likely have to go into the bios to enable XMP (DOCP) to load the high speed settings for what ever ram you decide on or it will probably just default to 2133Mhz.

many thanks for the info............

so it will drop to 2133mhz..............even when the RAM is 2666mhz ?

what if i buy 2666mhz RAM now.......then add a 2nd stick of 3200mhz since i don't think 2666mhz RAM will be available in the future......

 

[bfollett]

It's a little hard to answer the question whether the 2666Mhz ram will default to 2133. It's really up to the manufacturer. They put the low speed in as default for max compatibility and let you set xmp-on in bios to get the higher speed ram. They certainly could put the 2666 as default but you would have to check with the manufacturer of the ram. You might even find a 3200Mhz set as default but I wouldn't suspect you'd find many like that. There are tangible performance benefits with running Ryzen with 3200Mhz ram, so I'd really suggest that. If it doesn't work, it just one more trip into the bios to manually set the 3200Mhz speed down to 2933Mhz.

Bob

 

[worstalentscout]

It's a little hard to answer the question whether the 2666Mhz ram will default to 2133. It's really up to the manufacturer. They put the low speed in as default for max compatibility and let you set xmp-on in bios to get the higher speed ram. They certainly could put the 2666 as default but you would have to check with the manufacturer of the ram. You might even find a 3200Mhz set as default but I wouldn't suspect you'd find many like that. There are tangible performance benefits with running Ryzen with 3200Mhz ram, so I'd really suggest that. If it doesn't work, it just one more trip into the bios to manually set the 3200Mhz speed down to 2933Mhz.

Bob

roger.......many thanks indeed for your time........