Question Help Reaching Rated RAM Speed Ryzen 2600x

Butterpants

Reputable
Nov 4, 2019
10
0
4,510
Just built a PC for the first time, and am having difficulty getting my RAM up to their rated 3200mhz.
System Specs:
CPU - Ryzen 5 2600x
Mobo - ASrock b450m Pro4
RAM - Team T-Force Vulcan Z (2x8gb, 3200mhz) slots a.2 b.2
GPU - Gigabyte RX590
SSD - Orico 512gb SATA3 M.2
PSU - Rosewill Photon Series 550w 80+ Gold
All drivers up to date. Bios matches latest version from ASrock site (did not flash, came as default).

Default RAM speed is set to 2400mhz. Want to get my full 3200mhz which seems like it should be doable, but failing that as close to it as possible.
Have run Thaiphoon Burner and C-Puz for module info, and also the Ryzen DRAM Calculator (screen caps of DRAM Calc and TPBurner included).

After going through and manually adjusting timings/voltages/etc. in the OC tab of bios to match DRAM Calc, I ran memtest86 and got 1 error through 4 tests.
Went back and reset UEFI to default, clicked XMP profile and changed nothing else. Ran memtest86 and got 1 error through 4 tests.
Left settings this way (auto XMP) and attempted to load into Windows. No joy. Windows loads to login screen, I logged in, and black screen after a couple seconds of load wheel.
Reset UEFI to default and restored Windows, updated all drivers again. This is where I sit now (with 2400mhz RAM speed).

So trying to figure out my next step. There are a few things that I'm unsure about -
- Thaiphoon Burner couldn't identify my die type. On the part number for Micron, the final letter after the : is supposed to indicate die, and as you can see it is a ?. So I had to make some assumptions. Googling my RAM type with the first sequence of my part number only yielded 1 result that also matched the rest of my visible part number, and that was a B-die. So I went with Micron B-die in DRAM calc, but can't know for certain if that is correct.
- Not all the fields from DRAM Calc are present in my bios OC setup, and vice-versa. So I don't know how much that affects things. Things that DRAM Calc didn't provide values for I left untouched.
- The recommended voltages from DRAM Calc don't seem to be able to be input into my bios (only allows incremental ?or preset values within a range?). So I had to input values between recommended and max (seems unlikely this would cause issues, but the 1.40v for RAM voltage I input is very close to the max 1.41v DRAM Calc lists).
- I only tried booting into windows after both adjustments, so I don't know for sure which one caused the issue (I have high confidence the Windows boot issue was do to the adjusted RAM settings). I would expect it was due to the XMP profile settings as that's what was active when I attempted to load Windows, but that is just my assumption as I don't know enough about these things to say for sure.
- On the ASrock support site for the b450m Pro 4, the bios version that came installed on my mobo is not suggested for Pinnacle Ridge cpus. *ASRock do NOT recommend updating this BIOS if Pinnacle, Raven, Summit or Bristol Ridge CPU is being used on your system.
So I don't know if this means I should roll back to the previous version, or if they are simply saying not to UPDATE an EXISTING bios.

Finally, everything I've found talking about OCing RAM with Ryzen talks about Infinity clock settings. I can't find any fclk, uclk, mclk to adjust in my bios. Is this only something that became adjustable in Zen 2, or is it just absent on my mobo/zen+ setup? Would this affect anything?

Sorry for such a long post. Wanted to get as much info in as possible. This has been frustrating. Have had the system assembled for 2 days now and haven't done anything but fiddle with settings. grrr.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1t30nseivr8ga3u/DRAMCalc.png?dl=0
 

Butterpants

Reputable
Nov 4, 2019
10
0
4,510
So last night I set all the primary timings and the dram voltage to what is listed on my ram sticks, 3200mhz 16-18-(18)-18-38. 1.35v
Also changed the soc? sod? (On my phone e cant remember the abbreviation) to 1.15v
Didnt change anyrhing else.
Forgot I had removed memtest from my usb drive, so I loaded into windows, downloaded memtest again and created the usb boot drive. Everyrhing ran fine. But when i did memtest86 overnight it returned 4 errors through 4 tests.

Right now I am running memtest85 while I am at work with the stock UEFI settings to see what it returns.

How critical is it to make sure there are zero errors in a memtest?
 

Butterpants

Reputable
Nov 4, 2019
10
0
4,510
OK, doing as you suggested (set to 2933mhz and enable XMP) has returned no errors in memtest86. Very good.

Is my next step to try ticking that up one step at a time?

Am I hoping too much to be able to hit that 3200 the sticks are rated for? I've seen people OCing ram PAST their rated speed, so it seems like I should be able to at least hit the 3200 my sticks are rated for...what am I missing here?

Thanks!
 

DMAN999

Honorable
Ambassador
Yes you can now set it to 3200 and if it boots run Memtest86 again.
But you may Not be able to get it to run at 3200, that really depends on YOUR CPU and BIOS version.
Every CPU is different and even if you have the same type of CPU, yours may not be as well binned as someone elses.
Also your BIOS might be the problem, some BIOS versions OC RAM better than others.

What BIOS version do you have ?
For the 2600x on your MB, BIOS Version 2.0 (with AGESA 1.0.0.6) is probably the best to use.
The newer versions are all aimed at improving compatibility and performance with 3000 series CPUs.
 
Last edited:

Butterpants

Reputable
Nov 4, 2019
10
0
4,510
My board came out-of-the-box installed with the latest bios (3.60).
However, on ASRock's website it stats *ASRock do NOT recommend updating this BIOS if Pinnacle, Raven, Summit or Bristol Ridge CPU is being used on your system

The 2600x is Pinnacle Ridge, correct? So does this mean ASRock does not recommend I use the bios version they preinstalled and shipped the board with? Or are they simply saying if you already have a board that is running fine, then you shouldn't update to this bios?

I can roll back to a previous bios but everything I have read has implied there is a degree of risk in flashing the bios, and I would prefer to avoid doing that unless it seems the only way to get everything runniing as well as possible.

Lastly, and this is probably just for my own curiosity and not of any applicable value, I can't find anything in my bios that deals with Infinity fabric, fclk, etc. Was this not made adjustable until Zen2? Is this simply a limitation of my mobo? Am I just missing where to find it in my configurations?

Thanks again!
 

DMAN999

Honorable
Ambassador
There probably is a work around that would allow you to down grade your BIOS version BUT read the note for BIOS 3.50:
*** User will not able to flash previous BIOS once upgrading to this BIOS version.

So if you are not Very familiar with BIOS flashing I would Not recommend that you do that.

And as for FCLK that is a feature of Zen 2 CPUs (Ryzen 3000 series).
So it is not available with your 2600x (and yes, that is a Pinnacle Ridge CPU).