Question Dual Channel RAM = Three Beeps / Single Channel Boots

[cannoncd]

Hi all, here's my setup:

MB: ASROCK A520M-HDV
Mem: G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Like the title says, I can boot fine with one stick (either stick) in the A1 slot. However, when I add the second stick to A2, the system gives 3 beeps and doesn't boot/display. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Look in your bios and see if advanced boot memory training is on, or at auto. If it is try turning that off. If it is off try turning it on. 3 beeps does indicate it has trouble reading the ram. Is this ram new to the board?

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hi all, here's my setup:

MB: ASROCK A520M-HDV
Mem: G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Like the title says, I can boot fine with one stick (either stick) in the A1 slot. However, when I add the second stick to A2, the system gives 3 beeps and doesn't boot/display. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Have you reset CMOS? Anytime you change memory configuration it's a good idea to reset CMOS. Do it by removing the battery for a few minutes in addition to shorting the reset pins.

 

[sizzling]

You should also check for any bent cpu pins.

 

[cannoncd]

Look in your bios and see if advanced boot memory training is on, or at auto. If it is try turning that off. If it is off try turning it on. 3 beeps does indicate it has trouble reading the ram. Is this ram new to the board?

Will definitely take a look at that.

I just did a heart transplant on my machine, so it's a brand new board and brand new RAM.

I intended to run a Ryzen 5 5600X, but it didn't work out of the box which I blamed on an outdated BIOS. Odd, now that I think about it...I believe I had both sticks installed and didn't get the error, just a POST with no display. I switched to the 3600 in order to flash the BIOS, but wanted to fix the memory issue before putting the 5600X back in.

 

[cannoncd]

Have you reset CMOS? Anytime you change memory configuration it's a good idea to reset CMOS. Do it by removing the battery for a few minutes in addition to shorting the reset pins.

I did switch the sticks around several times while troubleshooting, will give this a shot.

 

[cannoncd]

You should also check for any bent cpu pins.

I gave it a pretty good once-over....but I'll double check.

 

[cannoncd]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

One thing that just came to mind (although not sure if it matters too much)....when I have both sticks installed and get the memory error beeps, the LEDs on the A2 stick power on just like the A1 stick.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

I notice in the motherboard memory qvl list GSKILL 16gb sticks are not listed only 8gb and 32gb. ASRock > A520M-HDV

 

[cannoncd]

I notice in the motherboard memory qvl list GSKILL 16gb sticks are not listed only 8gb and 32gb. ASRock > A520M-HDV

Oh, wow! Great catch, didn't even cross my mind to check. PCPartPicker has steered me wrong

Interesting that the single stick works. At least I am up and running until I can get something new. I'll update the thread for posterity once I reset and replace.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

Oh, wow! Great catch, didn't even cross my mind to check. PCPartPicker has steered me wrong

Interesting that the single stick works. At least I am up and running until I can get something new. I'll update the thread for posterity once I reset and replace.

I know Amd ram requirements can be tricky. I hope this sorts out your problem.🤞

 

[drea.drechsler]

Oh, wow! Great catch, didn't even cross my mind to check. PCPartPicker has steered me wrong

Interesting that the single stick works. At least I am up and running until I can get something new. I'll update the thread for posterity once I reset and replace.

It should still boot at lower clock speed even with an incompatible RAM. If it can't boot at 2133Mhz in dual channel then I'd suspect defective RAM for at least one of the sticks. It was the 1st gen CPU's, and to a lesser extent 2nd gen, that was picky about RAM. 3rd gen Ryzen has a very solid memory controller.

Also, PCPartPicker doesn't likely test ram compatibility themselves but use MFR's compatibility listings. But whoever does it, they can't possibly test every possible kit of RAM made either so not being on their compatibility list could very well mean nothing.

 

[cannoncd]

I ordered some Corsair RAM (P/N CMK32GX4M2E3200C16, which is on the QVL list). However, the list specifies v4.32 and the RAM I received was v4.49. The only place I found the version was on the sticks themselves so it seemed unpreventable. The RAM doesn't seem backwards compatible as neither of the Corsair sticks worked in any configuration.

Onward to new sticks!

 

[cannoncd]

Also, PCPartPicker doesn't likely test ram compatibility themselves but use MFR's compatibility listings. But whoever does it, they can't possibly test every possible kit of RAM made either so not being on their compatibility list could very well mean nothing.

Yeah, lesson definitely learned there.

 

[Darkbreeze]

PCPartPicker has steered me wrong

No, they didn't. PCPP does not have ANY ability to check whether a given memory kit has been validated for a certain board or not. All they can check is to see that it is the right TYPE of memory for a given board, and that the memory SPEED is supported on that board. That's it. They do not check for compatibility, because they have no way to do that. It is always the builders responsibility to check either the memory compatibility list (G.Skill memory configurator, Corsair memory finder, Crucial memory advisor, etc.) or the motherboard QVL/Memory support list, to make sure that the memory has been validated on that board. Otherwise, it's a matter of hoping for the best, rolling the dice and then potentially trying to make voltage or timing adjustments if there are minor problems.

If there are major incompatibilities, as there can be in some cases, then that kit is simply not going to work. And that does happen, quite often in fact.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What he posted had no relevance to what I said and I was definitely not trying to be an *. PCPP does not check ANYTHING related to compatibility on a memory kit vs board model basis. I was simply trying to tell you this for future reference, not for any other reason. But at this point, I could probably care less since you clearly have a bad attitude in general.

 

[cannoncd]

What he posted had no relevance to what I said and I was definitely not trying to be an asshat. PCPP does not check ANYTHING related to compatibility on a memory kit vs board model basis. I was simply trying to tell you this for future reference, not for any other reason. But at this point, I could probably care less since you clearly have a bad attitude in general.

My apologies then, your tone with selective all caps came across as quite abrasive and piling on. Regardless, I've learned to "trust but verify" compatibility in general.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Caps are used for emphasis of specific words. I've never heard of anybody who thought using caps was "abrasive" unless somebody was using aggressive language AND using ALL caps. Then, yeah, probably.

In any case, the QVL/memory compatibility list that is available through the product page of every motherboard model gives you a very SMALL sampling of what is compatible, as the board manufacturers only do minimal testing, and only early on.

The memory manufacturers on the other hand do extensive testing because they are in the business of selling memory, unlike the board manufacturers, so they test ALL of their kits on each specific board configuration to ensure there is a clear picture when it comes to their kit models and specific boards. They don't generally revisit it after the initial testing phase though so often kits they release later on are neither tested nor validated, so those are essentially roll the dice kits in the end.

PCPP though, does none of that. They simply check that if it's a DDR4 board, you have DDR4 memory chosen and that if the board supports only up to 3600mhz, that you didn't pick out a 3800mhz kit. So only very basic "this kind of memory can work on this motherboard" checking but no actual validation or compatibility checks of any kind are done by PCPP.

Also, as I always tell people, even being on the list is not always a 100% guarantee because as you yourself noticed, the version of the memory kit might mean there has been a complete redesign of that kit, completely changing it's compatibility with various boards. Sometimes even if it's the same part number, as seen here where three different memory configurations all share the exact same kit model number.

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/amd-ram-compatibility.3210050/#post-19785792

 

[cannoncd]

Update for posterity:

I essentially went through the entire QVL for the listed board, and wasn't able to find any RGB memory I cared to purchase (or could even find). I ended up changing from the budget ASRock to a midrange ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-PLUS, where I was able to get my 32GB of G.Skill RGM RAM in a 4x8 config.

Also found a great Black Friday deal for a Ryzen 7 5700x, got an upgrade there too!

Thanks all for the advice and input.