[SOLVED] Checking what motherboard supports my RAM

Zuher Laith

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May 12, 2020
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Hi

I have a T-Force 8GBx2 Xcalibur 3600Mhz, and my processor is AMD R5 3600
I want to know what motherboard supports the RAMs I have.. Basically.

This is the MSI B450-A PRO MAX
  • DDR4 MEMORY
1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667Mhz (by JEDEC)
For AMD Ryzen Gen3 (R5/R7/R9)
2667/ 2800/ 2933/ 3000/ 3066/ 3200/ 3466/ 3733/ 3866/ 4000/ 4133 MHz (by A-XMP OC MODE)
For AMD Other CPU
2667/ 2800/ 2933/ 3000/ 3066/ 3200/ 3466 MHz (by A-XMP OC MODE)

The 3600Mhz XMP is not listed, meaning it won't run in 3600Mhz?
Or is that 3600 XMP is not supported on the motherboard?

And if my RAM model name is not found on the memory supported list of motherboard, does it mean it won't work?

I hope you answer this simply..
Thanks!
 
Solution
So much for the short answer... 😂

1.) theoretically Yes, just set xmp/docp/eocp/a-xmp or whatever it's called and the e-prom on the ram itself will supply the bios with all the necessary jedec tables, voltages, timings etc.

However, cpus are unique. There's no two identical cpus at all, they each have their own individual little quirks. So sometimes xmp is not fully stable. The ram might have an xmp setting of 1.35v for 3600MHz to be stable, but the memory controller (inside the cpu) might want the ram set at at 1.37v since 1.35v isn't enough. That's not a busted or broken thing, that's just lack of simpatico between the cpu quirks and ram solid settings.

Meaning you might have to change a few settings yourself to get the 3600MHz...

Karadjgne

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It's supported because motherboards don't support ram as such, the cpu does. There's a clue to that with the differences between 3000 series, which supports upto 5GHz (so far that's the fastest available), 2000 series supports upto 3200MHz and the 2000/3000 series APU's are different again. 4133MHz was the fastest ram at the time that was printed. Vendors seldom do updates or their Web IT departments would need to hire extra people to do all that work.

Works the same way as vendors do not test every stick of ram available or the QVL would take a million manhours to compile and be thousands of pages long. Instead the vendors only sample a few sticks.

When you consider that ram is made by only a handful of OEMs, who sell the sticks under contract to final vendors and then slap a heatshield and paint job on it, the chances of your ram actually being tested and on the QVL are actually quite good. It's just under another brand and/or model.
 

Zuher Laith

Prominent
May 12, 2020
64
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530
It's supported because motherboards don't support ram as such, the cpu does. There's a clue to that with the differences between 3000 series, which supports upto 5GHz (so far that's the fastest available), 2000 series supports upto 3200MHz and the 2000/3000 series APU's are different again. 4133MHz was the fastest ram at the time that was printed. Vendors seldom do updates or their Web IT departments would need to hire extra people to do all that work.

Works the same way as vendors do not test every stick of ram available or the QVL would take a million manhours to compile and be thousands of pages long. Instead the vendors only sample a few sticks.

When you consider that ram is made by only a handful of OEMs, who sell the sticks under contract to final vendors and then slap a heatshield and paint job on it, the chances of your ram actually being tested and on the QVL are actually quite good. It's just under another brand and/or model.
That's great, I get the idea now.

Now to finish this thread with a short answer, just to be clear:
If I buy that motherboard, stick my RAMs, enable XMP will set me auto to 3600Mhz, correct? I don't need to make a custom profile or so.

On any motherboards specifications If I don't see the 3600Mhz in "For AMD Ryzen Gen3, ..3466/ 3733.. ,by A-XMP OC Mode", it will still run my 3600Mhz RAMs, correct?

I'm also sorry for not having much knowledge in this, I'm in the phase of learning deep details..

Thanks a ton, appreciate it so much!
 

Karadjgne

Titan
Ambassador
So much for the short answer... 😂

1.) theoretically Yes, just set xmp/docp/eocp/a-xmp or whatever it's called and the e-prom on the ram itself will supply the bios with all the necessary jedec tables, voltages, timings etc.

However, cpus are unique. There's no two identical cpus at all, they each have their own individual little quirks. So sometimes xmp is not fully stable. The ram might have an xmp setting of 1.35v for 3600MHz to be stable, but the memory controller (inside the cpu) might want the ram set at at 1.37v since 1.35v isn't enough. That's not a busted or broken thing, that's just lack of simpatico between the cpu quirks and ram solid settings.

Meaning you might have to change a few settings yourself to get the 3600MHz.

2). Yep, sorta. Many B450 mobo's vendor pages are set for 2nd release Ryzen. Which had limits with ram speeds. So you'll see a max of maybe 3466MHz on a few, commonly 3200MHz. But, that only applies to the original intended 2nd release cpu, not the 3000 series, which can go way higher after updating the B450 bios for 3rd release cpus and their included ram tables. Ram speeds run from cpu, not mobo.

MSI MAX boards are 3rd release compliant right out of the box, so already include higher ram tables, but vendors aren't about to update every page, so even the MAX might show original values of 3800 or 4133 etc, but realistically can go higher since the cpu can go higher and ram is now upto 5000MHz. Basically out-of-date info. That'll apply to any motherboard. An older base Intel Skylake mobo might say only 2133MHz period, but that only applies to Skylake cpus, if you update the bios to include Kabylake cpus, they'll have updated ram tables, and Kabylake runs at 2400MHz.

Meaning, some info must be taken with a grain of salt, especially on 3rd party Vendor sites such as Amazon, and older pages from even the manufacturer may not be fully updated with addendums for new equipment.
 
Solution

Zuher Laith

Prominent
May 12, 2020
64
0
530
So much for the short answer... 😂

1.) theoretically Yes, just set xmp/docp/eocp/a-xmp or whatever it's called and the e-prom on the ram itself will supply the bios with all the necessary jedec tables, voltages, timings etc.

However, cpus are unique. There's no two identical cpus at all, they each have their own individual little quirks. So sometimes xmp is not fully stable. The ram might have an xmp setting of 1.35v for 3600MHz to be stable, but the memory controller (inside the cpu) might want the ram set at at 1.37v since 1.35v isn't enough. That's not a busted or broken thing, that's just lack of simpatico between the cpu quirks and ram solid settings.

Meaning you might have to change a few settings yourself to get the 3600MHz.

2). Yep, sorta. Many B450 mobo's vendor pages are set for 2nd release Ryzen. Which had limits with ram speeds. So you'll see a max of maybe 3466MHz on a few, commonly 3200MHz. But, that only applies to the original intended 2nd release cpu, not the 3000 series, which can go way higher after updating the B450 bios for 3rd release cpus and their included ram tables. Ram speeds run from cpu, not mobo.

MSI MAX boards are 3rd release compliant right out of the box, so already include higher ram tables, but vendors aren't about to update every page, so even the MAX might show original values of 3800 or 4133 etc, but realistically can go higher since the cpu can go higher and ram is now upto 5000MHz. Basically out-of-date info. That'll apply to any motherboard. An older base Intel Skylake mobo might say only 2133MHz period, but that only applies to Skylake cpus, if you update the bios to include Kabylake cpus, they'll have updated ram tables, and Kabylake runs at 2400MHz.

Meaning, some info must be taken with a grain of salt, especially on 3rd party Vendor sites such as Amazon, and older pages from even the manufacturer may not be fully updated with addendums for new equipment.
Great!, thanks for explaining all this, in a short way of course 😂

I think I will upgrade that motherboard to a better one, same b450 chipset.

Thanks so much man!
 

Zuher Laith

Prominent
May 12, 2020
64
0
530
Might look at the B550 as well, it has pcie4.0 capabilities, some have the header for USB-C which many cases are starting to come with on the front panel.
B550 isn't available in my area currently, but X570 is, and it's NOT CHEAP, just a 100$ extra on the B450 (basically 230-250$), I'm thinking yeah 4000 gen is coming and it's worth future cpu upgrades.
But at the same time, I'm saving my bucks on a better GPU.