[SOLVED] DDR4 won't go to 3200MHz, CPU LED lights up

Solution
Because the CPU is somehow booting, does that mean the RAM can't go above 2933MHz?
Since B550/A520 boards aren't supposed to support anything older than Zen 2, your BIOS is likely missing parameter tables required to make Zen+ work properly on it. As others have written, it is already surprising that the board boots at all in the first place.
Your motherboard dose not work with your CPU not compatible acording to part picker so you need to buy an motherboard that can run with your CPU. Also with the bent pins you fixed it but would test it out to see if everything still works. But my suggestion since you got the motherboard maybe you could get an CPU that will work with it!

Click Link and edit part list and click on CPU and you find list of CPU that will work with your motherboard you have now

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/t4Bwb8
 
Last edited:
Your motherboard dose not work with your CPU not compatible acording to part picker so you need to buy an motherboard that can run with your CPU. Also with the bent pins you fixed it but would test it out to see if everything still works. But my suggestion since you got the motherboard maybe you could get an CPU that will work with it!

Click Link and edit part list and click on CPU and you find list of CPU that will work with your motherboard you have now

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/t4Bwb8
Really? How does it work still then? That is super super interesting.

What about the RAM issue?
 
Because it's incompatible it only goes up to 2933 right?
If your motherboard is detecting the installed processor, it maybe setting the ram to timings the cpu is rated for. You can try to change the speed of the memory in the BIOS and activate X-Amp settings if your motherboard allows it with the installed processor.

Just to ask but you do know that if you're looking at the memory frequency in BIOS and it says 1600Mhz, that is actually what you should see since DDR stands for Double Data rate, 2x1600=3200Mhz. I'm sure you know this but in case you didn't, now you do.
 
If your motherboard is detecting the installed processor, it maybe setting the ram to timings the cpu is rated for. You can try to change the speed of the memory in the BIOS and activate X-Amp settings if your motherboard allows it with the installed processor.

Just to ask but you do know that if you're looking at the memory frequency in BIOS and it says 1600Mhz, that is actually what you should see since DDR stands for Double Data rate, 2x1600=3200Mhz. I'm sure you know this but in case you didn't, now you do.
The computer can definitely boot into Windows just fine. I did see that the Ryzen 7 2700 is not compatible with B550, but for some reason it works? The highest I can go is 2933MHz, which is what you seem to suggest. I think getting a CPU that does work will fix the RAM issue because I know CPU and RAM go hand-to-hand in a lot of things.
 
Dual rank memory configurations like 4x8GB or 2x16GB with Ryzen 2000 CPUs, have trouble running stable at 3200 and usually require dropping the speed to 2933 or 3000. You can get 3200 working but it often requires either time consuming memory timing tweaking or using looser timings. Looser timings have the possibility of negating the extra speed compared to just running 3000 CL14 or CL16. It's usually only around a 5-7fps performance difference in games, so you won't likely notice much difference between 2933 and 3200.
 
Dual rank memory configurations like 4x8GB or 2x16GB with Ryzen 2000 CPUs, have trouble running stable at 3200 and usually require dropping the speed to 2933 or 3000. You can get 3200 working but it often requires either time consuming memory timing tweaking or using looser timings. Looser timings have the possibility of negating the extra speed compared to just running 3000 CL14 or CL16. It's usually only around a 5-7fps performance difference in games, so you won't likely notice much difference between 2933 and 3200.
I used to have a 2600 and I could easily get 3200MHz on my system using A-XMP (the predefined timings). It is super odd that the 2700 won't even work with 3200MHz. However, since Ryzen works along with the RAM, I'm sure that's why it won't even go up to 2933MHz since the 2700 is not compatible with a B550.

I guess we'll see when I get a Zen 3 CPU.
 
Because the CPU is somehow booting, does that mean the RAM can't go above 2933MHz?
Since B550/A520 boards aren't supposed to support anything older than Zen 2, your BIOS is likely missing parameter tables required to make Zen+ work properly on it. As others have written, it is already surprising that the board boots at all in the first place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: drea.drechsler
Solution
Here you have the list of supported CPUs on the MSI support page for your motherboard.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/MAG-B550-TOMAHAWK#support-cpu

I am really astonished that it boots at all with a Ryzen 7 2700
I'm not...there have been many reports of Ryzen 2000, in particular, booting on B550. But most have also reported operation is unreliable (as OP is finding out I think) with the system failing to achieve full potential. It is, after all, unsupported.

I suppose the good thing is it enables someone to update BIOS to one that's Ryzen 5000 compatible. But if you do I've wondered if will even boot without a 3000 or 5000 processor.

It would be nice if that's the intent, just let the community know. After all, people upgrading to B550 with a 5000 processor could feel confident they can at least update to a supporting BIOs with whatever AM4 processor they have on hand.
 
Last edited:
I'm not...there have been may reports of Ryzen 2000, in particular, booting on B550. But most have also reported operation is unreliable (as OP is finding out I think) with the system failing to achieve full potential. It is, after all, unsupported.

I suppose the good thing is it enables someone to update BIOS to one that's Ryzen 5000 compatible. But if you do I've wondered if will even boot without a 3000 or 5000 processor.
Fair point. Guess we'll see when I get a Zen 3 today.
 
Hope you actually get one. Zen2 was a quick sellout and with the way things are now I'm sure Zen3 will be too...and slower to restock. AMD's had three recent major CPU releases, I really don't expect them to do a phantom launch so restock problems will be genuine.
I am definitely sure they will go out quick. Newegg did say the 9's will go out quick, with 5 and 7 being more in stock.
 
I suppose the good thing is it enables someone to update BIOS to one that's Ryzen 5000 compatible. But if you do I've wondered if will even boot without a 3000 or 5000 processor.
AFAIK, the Zen 3 updates are supposed to retain full compatibility with Zen 2. It is compatibility with Zen+ and older that is getting axed at least on boards with limited BIOS size.
 
Not sure if this is CPU related or DDR4 related.

Mobo is B550 MSI MAG Tomahawk, Ryzen 7 2700, and RAM is this: https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-CMW3...=ddr4+3200+corsair+32gb&qid=1604367153&sr=8-2

The CPU light on the Tomahawk stays lit and the CPU pins on the back of it have been bent a little, but straightened near perfect. Is the CPU not good enough and won't allow the RAM to go to 3200MHz or is the RAM just somehow messed up?
As of things you could potentially do, try updating to the most recent bios. Newer bios revisions have more optimizations and filter out bugs. My friend had a 3000mhz corsair kit with a x470 board and 2600 and he couldn't get it go go past 2133mhz (bios would enable XMP for 3000mhz, except it'd run at 2133 in windows). After manually putting in timings, voltage, speed, and having nothing work, a bios update fixed everything. I'm not saying that'll exactly happen in your case, but it's definitely something to consider.

If it still doesn't work after a bios update, try slowly undervolting the ram. I've seen voltage control issues in the past being a contender for ram not hitting their advertised speeds.
Hope this helps. I'm guessing it's the cpu's fault. If you can get your hands on another board, I suggest trying your cpu and ram on that one and seeing if it has similar results.